eBay Main Street

Proving that retailing and recycling can go hand-in-hand, Patagonia and eBay have launched the Patagonia Common Threads Initiative + eBay store. It\'s the first time eBay and a retail clothing brand have partnered to encourage the buying and selling of pre-owned branded clothes and gear. Read more in this Wall Street Journal blog post.

In the early 1990s, a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Africa led Elizabeth Bennett to change her career as a franchise entrepreneur and management consultant and start selling African crafts. Elizabeth sold only at shows and through wholesale to shops until a customer recommended eBay in 1997. Her business, Africa Direct, is now eBay’s largest seller of African art and trade beads, and also sells ethnic jewelry. In 2009, Elizabeth was honored by Fortune Magazine as one of the ten Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs. Read more.

Following the adoption by the Dutch House of Representatives of the amended Telecommunications Act, eBay, the parent company of Marktplaats.nl, wishes to express its concerns on the nature and adoption process of Article 11.7a relating to the use of so-called \'cookies\'. The implementation of the revised ePrivacy Directive across the EU presents an opportunity to promote practices to achieve a better, user-friendly system that involves improved information to users, without compromising responsible service providers\' use of an important tool. We call upon Dutch decision-makers to re-assess the wording of Article 11.7a and include Recital 66 of the Directive.

eBay Inc. applauds the most recent cosponsors of H.Res. 95, supporting the "Preservation of Internet Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses." Congressman Richard Hanna (NY-24) and Congressman Tim Griffin(AR-2), both freshman Members of the House of Representatives, have joined the bipartisan effort to oppose new tax requirements on small e-tailers. eBay applauds their leadership and their dedication to protecting small online businesses in this economic environment. Read eBay Inc.’s position on the Internet sales tax issue here or read H.Res 95 in its entirety.

eBay’s Asset Protection team is taking to the airwaves to warn consumers about scams made to look like legitimate eBay auto sales. Jack Christin, Associate General Counsel for eBay Inc., talks here to Florida’s Fox 4 Morning Blend TV show about protecting consumers against fraud and how to safely buy vehicles through the popular eBay Motors site. Read more.

According to Bartlett Cleland, policy counsel with the Institute for Policy Innovation, recently-proposed Internet sales tax laws are an attempt by Big Box stores and the U.S. Congress to create a retail monopoly. He warns that new tax burdens on America’s small businesses will take a predictable toll – “less hiring and less spending, all within an already disastrous economic context.” Read the entire Washington Examiner article here.

David London and Richard Nash of eBay Inc. Government Relations met with legislators this week at California\'s State Capitol in Sacramento to promote eBay-endorsed public policy.

Paul Jones, Head of Global Asset Protection for eBay Inc. talks about best practices in preventing organized retail crime and how companies like eBay are using technology to identify and bust crime rings. Read the entire interview from Retail Solutions Online.

Source: iStockAnalyst. “Today, there\'s such a thing as tax-free Internet shopping. But not for long, if U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, gets his way. Durbin is chief sponsor of legislation that would rewrite the ground rules for Internet and mail-order sales, eliminating the ability of Americans to shop online without paying state sales taxes…” Read the full article here.

The Utah Governor\'s Office of Economic Development (GOED) approved this week a $38M tax incentive for eBay Inc. to build a new, state-of-the-art facility in Draper. Utah Governor Gary Herbert joined eBay Government Relations staff and Steve Boehm, the company’s Senior Vice President for Global Services for the announcement. Congratulations to the State of Utah as well as our colleagues in eBay Tax, Legal and Real Estate departments. The new Draper, UT facility is expected to bring 2,200 jobs to the area over 20 years.