Online resales worry retailers
— -- Triss Budoff of Houston spent about $1,000 on 25 Rafe handbags that were available for a limited time at Target. But Budoff didn't use the purses. Instead, she posted 10 of them on eBay and earned about $750 in profit.
"I viewed it as a low-risk investment," Budoff says. "Anything I didn't sell I could return to the store within 90 days and get my money back."
Retailers are especially concerned about reselling of clothing and accessories, a category that has grown 73% on auction website eBay the past two years.
For retailers, "Jewelry and handbag sales are especially hurt by e-commerce," says Ken Nisch, chairman of retail consulting firm JGA. "More of these items sell online because people don't have to worry about clothing sizes."
Companies often can spot potential resellers by their purchasing habits even before they get to the Web. EBay users are more likely to buy identical products in bulk because it makes selling them on the Internet easier. Selling 50 shirts of different colors would require making 50 posts on eBay, but 50 shirts of the same color can be sold on a single posting. "It increases productivity, and it's just easier," says Donna Klein of Birmingham, Mich., who sells plus-size and bridal lingerie on eBay.
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