Almost since its inception, eBay has been used as a platform for people trading in counterfeit, “knock off” and replica branded items, with branded purses being one of the most common items. Those items tend to get mixed in with the genuine items causing confusion in the marketplace. eBay has responded to this problem by establishing the VeRO, or verified rights owners, program, which gives rights owners the ability to monitor the marketplace for counterfeit items and remove any offending listings.
The VeRO program has been a very controversial one, on one hand many rights owners still feel it is too cumbersome to monitor the entire eBay site, while sellers often feel they have listings for genuine items pulled with no explanation or recourse, giving the perception that these rights owners are attempting to eliminate the secondary marketplace for their items entirely.
Recently Tiffany & Co has taken this a step further and sued eBay for turning a "blind eye" to the sale of counterfeit Tiffany jewelry on its Web site. Tiffany has requested injunctive relief that would require eBay to eliminate counterfeit silver Tiffany merchandise from its auctions. eBay has argued that it is not responsible for determining each product's authenticity because it does not take possession of any of the goods sold on the site, and that it has done its best to keep counterfeits off the site. At the heart of the lawsuit is who should be responsible for policing the Web site for counterfeit products -- eBay or Tiffany.
The trial was held near the end of November and the two sides are waiting on the judge’s decision, although with the stakes this high it is doubtful that this decision will be the final word on the issue. At Auction Inn, we are very diligent in verifying the authenticity of any branded items that are brought in for us to sell. We even have a couple of in house experts in branded purses that help us spot any counterfeit items. Stay tuned and we will keep you informed on the latest in this important case.
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Effective 12/31/07, UPS has announced they will be increasing their shipping rates for 2008. UPS Ground and UPS Standard to Canada will both increase by 4.9%, with Air and International Express services increasing 4.9% as well, even after a 2% reduction in international fuel surcharges. The first question most people are thinking is “How much will shipping be now?” Well, let’s break it down for a second. A standard package sent UPS Ground, costing normally $8.00 in 2007, will now cost approximately $8.39 in 2008,. This isn’t the quantum leap most were imagining, surely, but it’s an increase nonetheless. Will this affect eBay sales? Come January 1st, will the eBay marketplace become an empty, forgotten website? Probably not. Most buyers won’t even blink at the change, some won’t even notice that rates went up, but everyone will keep bidding. With UPS still being one of the largest commercial shipping companies, most buyers and sellers have conceded to the fact that inevitably rates will change, but the need for that special item will not.
Over the past few weeks, Auction Inn Lancaster has been able to all but completely liquidate their entire stock of Schoenhut children’s musical instruments. From Baby Grand Piano’s to kid’s guitars, Schoenhut has been a leader in producing quality musical instruments for children, with the affordability of a massive chain store like Wal Mart or K-Mart. After the bustle of Christmas, the Lancaster store is left with just a few “My First Piano” models, all of which will be available from their eBay store. Don’t wait, they are selling out fast!
Upcoming Fundraisers! As 2007 comes to a close, Auction Inn is already gearing up for a very successful 2008! Auction Inn and 101 The Rose, a local radio station, are again teaming up to help the community! With dates to be determined, the first quarter of 2008 brings two brand new fundraisers. For more information, please feel free to contact Auction Inn, or visit the non-profit’s websites shown below.
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If you belong to a local nonprofit group in either the Lancaster, Harrisburg, or York, PA areas, and would like more information about our fundraising options, please feel free to contact us at 888-TO-THE-INN!
On January 1st, 2008 Auction Inn Lancaster will begin another WORK-ABLE job training class. This new class will consist of three fresh faces, all Boys and Girls Club members from the community. We are all very excited for the opportunity to both teach and learn from the new trainees, and help them turn into the next Auction Inn success stories!! Look for individual biographies on each trainee in the newsletters to follow!
The end of the most recent WORK-ABLE job training session has now approached, with much success. This training class consisted of two local Boys and Girls Club members Terrance Tate and Vick LaPore. Both of these trainees will be graduating high school this year (McCaskey H.S. and Lancaster Catholic H.S., respectively) and are currently in the process of enrolling in further education programs. We would like to thank Terrance and Vick for their outstanding efforts in the WORK-ABLE job training program, and wish them both the best in their higher education and careers of choice!
On a related note, Auction Inn Lancaster is happy to report yet another success story resulting from the WORK-ABLE training program. Tiani Luciano, a graduate of the training program and current Auction Inn Lancaster employee, has just finished obtaining her High School Diploma. On December 15th, 2007, Tiani graduated with the rest of her class from The Lancaster Academy. Currently Tiani is working at Auction Inn in the Shipping department, and is working on getting into a local Technical College. We are very excited for Tiani and her accomplishments and can’t wait to see her excel in the future!
