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Big Retailers Making Push for "E-Fencing" Legislation

by Tim Stevens on September 25, 2008 at 08:40 AM

Big Retailers Making Push for Chances are you've seen some good deals online; some really, really good deals. Sometimes they're due to closeouts of the last year's hot gadget; other times they're simply a barely used good that didn't suit the needs of its purchaser. However, sometimes that good deal really was too good to be true and was a stolen item. Nobody wants those goods appearing online, and big retailers are pushing for more power to stop their sale. But, questions are being raised about whether retailers are trying to stop crime, or trying to protect their bottom lines.

The legislation is called the E-fencing Enforcement Act of 2008 and would give retailers the power to request that goods it believes to be stolen to be removed from online vendors like eBay or even other online discount retailers. That sounds reasonable enough, but some are saying that this is simply the retailers striking back against the online competition. Companies like Wal-Mart and Target would be given the power to pull any goods from the competition or, at a minimum, get the online retailer to tell them where and how they purchased those goods so inexpensively. That could be a huge advantage for big stores and a huge hindrance to small online shops, perhaps too much for the possible good that could come from this legislation. [From: The New York Times]

Tags: legislation, retailers, shopping, wal-mart

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