News Clip
June 18, 2008, POLITICO

Retail merchants want feds to crack down online

The stores blame online auction sites — particularly those that allow sellers to offer items anonymously — for boosting the crimes from a few stolen razor blades to enough theft to supply a burgeoning industry. They want Congress to limit the types of items that can be sold online and to require the sites to investigate their sellers.

The proposal, though, has sparked an outcry from the e-commerce community that believes it would unfairly target its sellers and their business models.

“This is not about consumer protection; it’s about competition,” said Steve DelBianco, executive director of the NetChoice coalition of e-commerce businesses. “Retailers want to prevent competition from online sellers of new and used goods.”

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