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."

More than a million people like Budoff make a portion of their income from selling products on eBay . And that has some retailers worried. To protect their businesses and their brands, they are taking steps to curtail customers who are buying products for resale.

Retailers are especially concerned about reselling of clothing and accessories, a category that has grown 73% on auction website eBay the past two years.

complete article from USA Today