 Amazon must decide whether to go it alone in the fight against a bill meant to deter online sales of counterfeit and stolen goods, after its e-commerce peers Etsy and eBay threw their support behind updated House legislation set for a Thursday hearing.
eBay, Etsy, Mercari, OfferUp, and poshmark Form Coalition to Protect America's Small Online Sellers3/30/2021
Coalition members are committed to encouraging lawmakers to find thoughtful solutions to issues impacting eCommerce while also protecting the important role casual and small-scale sellers play in this economy.  Washington, DC. – Today, a number of leading third-party marketplaces and eCommerce platforms announced the formation of the Coalition to Protect America’s Small Sellers (PASS Coalition). The PASS Coalition brings together like-minded industry leaders who are working to protect the interests of everyday people, small business entrepreneurs, and medium-sized businesses who sell online. Member companies will help to educate policymakers on the benefits of their eCommerce business models while also working collaboratively with policymakers to find thoughtful solutions to consumer protection, competition and economic development issues impacting their industries. The Coalition will support policy initiatives which favor business growth, support entrepreneurship and digital innovation and ensure a safe, secure and convenient shopping experience for consumers
 Amazon rivals are banding together to launch a new coalition that will urge lawmakers to think twice about how legislative reforms targeting Big Tech could harm smaller players.
The Coalition to Protect America’s Small Sellers — launched today by online marketplaces eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, Mercari and Offer Up — aims to represent entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized businesses on competition, consumer protection and other tech policy issues. The members are concerned that some new regulation in these areas could inadvertently create more burdens for sellers and threaten their ability to do business on those sites, potentially feeding even more power to the very giants Congress is trying to rein in.  When the INFORM Consumers Act was introduced last week, several brands and retailers got behind the effort to thwart counterfeit operators with new seller transparency requirements. But not everyone.
On Tuesday, eBay, Etsy, Mercari, OfferUp and Poshmark said they’ve formed The Coalition to Protect America’s Small Sellers, or PASS Coalition, to address what they see as unfair rules that could harm small sellers. Up first is the proposed INFORM legislation. There’s a cynical political lobbying strategy that companies use time and time again: proposing new laws to hobble their biggest competitors — while dressing up their cause in high-minded pretext like safety, consumer protection, or privacy.
Unfortunately, we’re now seeing yet another move like this, from Walmart and other leading retailers: an effort to hurt their biggest competitor Amazon, using the pretext that a small number of bad people sell counterfeit and stolen goods online.  Retirement should be your time to relax and enjoy life, without alarm clocks and meetings. Unfortunately, saying goodbye to your boss also involves saying goodbye to your paycheck.
If you haven't already saved ample funds to a 401(k), IRA, Health Savings Account, or a regular old savings account, you may be nervous about making ends meet. Social Security certainly isn't going to cover your lifestyle on its own. And it's tough to whip up dividend income, rental property income, or business income without a large cash outlay. The good news is, there are ways to raise money in retirement, even when you don't have investable cash. Here are six of them.  When Robin Camarote attends a Zoom meeting, she no longer needs the heels, the blazer, or even the pants she used to wear to the office. So instead of letting these “business casual” staples idle in her closet, she’s selling them all online.
“I don’t see a scenario where I’m going to wear these clothes again,” says the 45-year-old management consultant.  Big clothing chains are struggling in the pandemic, but for Christina Hurtado, sales are booming.
Hurtado, a full-time nurse, sells clothing under the handle @glittermethod on resale site Poshmark, which connects buyers with sellers of new and used merchandise. Shoppers have been scooping up athletic wear and swimwear from her, she said, and they can't seem to get enough of her Lululemon-branded clothes, which sell within hours or even minutes of being posted. |
