By Marie Marra

In the ongoing commerce saga of Bricks Vs. Clicks and Online Auctions, how you source your inventory is becoming a point of friction, especially in the category of accessories, such as jewelry and handbags.

“eBay is like a modern-day yard sale,” noted John Devlin, an attorney representing Big Box retailers Home Depot, Nike and Nordstrom. Attorney Devlin, in “Online Resellers Worrying Some Retailers” by Elaine Hughes (August 7, 2007 USA Today via NewsFactor.com), concluded that retailers can do little to prevent their products from being resold on Internet auctions.

Little, except ban amateurs from the playing field. Bricks-and-mortar retail brand managers are pushing back, imposing limits on the number of Sale-Priced Designer Handbags or Same-Color Men’s Shirts they will let a retail customer purchase.

1. Major retailer Target caps the number of Special Sale products (like Rafe handbags on a limited-time promotion) or Collectibles that it will allow an individual to buy, lest Target see the extras show up for resale on eBay.

Even more worrisome, a “bulk-buying” retail customer – the one who tries to snatch up 50 sale-priced boy’s polo shirts in the exact same color, since that is an easy single listing at an online auction site — may try to return unsold shirts, abusing Target’s 90-day return policy.

2. Kids clothing store Gymboree won’t let customers buy more than five of the same thing at one time. As quoted in the article cited above, PR/Advertising director Jamie Falkowski says Gymboree is simply protecting its image. “We can’t ensure a product’s quality on eBay, and we don’t want people to think we’re selling things on eBay.”

3. For good measure, Target also warns online buyers about the questionable product quality of online goods, which are sold in “… a largely unregulated marketplace …” and could be “… stolen and fraudulent” (Target representative Paula Thornton-Greear quoted in “Online Resellers Worry Some Retailers”).

Auction amateurs can’t hide behind “carriage trade” goods, either. The more up-market or luxury the resale auction items are, such as designer leather goods and accessories, the harder a bricks-and-mortar Brand Manager will push. If Coach luxury leather goods maker matches eBay resellers of their products to their in-store customer database, then the unauthorized online distributors are banned from shopping in Coach stores.

This brand protection strategy is motivated by more than a corporate desire to control image: According to eBay, its clothing and accessories auction category has grown 73% since 2006. Retail consultant Ken Nisch of JGA focused on the Accessories half of the category when he noted, “Jewelry and handbag sales are especially hurt by e-commerce.” That, of course, is the end result of removing sizing worries from online purchase transactions.

Are big branded retailers right? Are online auctioneers practicing e-Evil Commerce??

Sourcing and contracting inventory is where auction amateurs get separated from online power-sellers. The latter acquire their products through transparent bid transactions and industry-specialized Wholesaler/Reseller auction networks.

That just so happens to be a starter description of a Vertical Search Engine or a Tier 3 Shopping Engine — one that organizes itself by categories of expertise and specialized industry knowledge. Some Wholesale/Resale vertical search and shopping engines offer value-added services to their members and affiliates, including:

• Paid advertising campaign support;
• Additional keyword, search ranking and placement opportunities;
• Media production services;
• Insider industry info
• Trade show coverage
• Tips and tactics to market wholesale, reseller, off-price and discount products
• Participant forums, blogs and peer-to-peer interactions.

Consult Wikipedia’s definition of Vertical Search Engine here
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JP_Communications >. (Disclosure: You’re reading one of that VSE’s News Articles.)

At minimum, help eliminate online auction amateurism. A Brand Ban is not the kind of “banner” that helps your ROI.