Retailers Banning eBay Sellers

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AuctionBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on
ecommerce and the online auction industry
by Ina Steiner, Editor of AuctionBytes.com

August 08, 2007

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

By: Ina Steiner

Wed Aug 8 2007 11:36:30

AuctionBytes ran a piece on Tuesday about Pottery Barn Outlet stores banning eBay sellers from making any purchases. As expected, this is generating lots of discussion. Some sellers who were banned from the stores wrote to me to share their experiences, and I'd like to give them the opportunity to share their thoughts here. Please feel free to comment below.

Here are some questions I have for these sellers, plus I'd be interested to hear what others think about this, and if they have had similar experiences at other retail stores.

How important are Pottery Barn Outlet store purchases to you in your eBay businesses (for example, what percentage of your eBay inventory is sourced through Pottery Barn purchases)?

Have you been banned? If so, what was the reason given? (and from which store?)

If you were banned, how did the store staff know you were a reseller? Had you ever given the store your tax-exempt reseller number?

What kind of behavior did you observe from eBay sellers in the store, was it ever disruptive? If so, was it an ongoing problem? What did the store staff do to try to minimize the disruption? (which store?)

If you were banned, did you send someone else in your stead to make your purchases?

I've read that retailers often will put limits on how much of a particular item a customer may purchase. Would that work in the case of the Pottery Barn Outlet stores?

Why do you think Williams-Sonoma's Pottery Barn banned eBay sellers from their Outlet stores, and is there anyway they could ever enforce such a policy fairly?

There's also some talk about Williams-Sonoma's activity in terms of asking eBay to pull auctions that violate their trademark/copyright through the eBay VeRO program. Any observations?

This is an issue I'm sure I'll be revisiting, thanks for your comments, and feel free to email me as well.

Comments (130) | Comments Off | Permalink

Readers Comments

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Christine

Sat Aug 11 12:13:17 2007

Yes, stores do have a right to set standards and policies for their company. But the previous writer fails to realize these cover all buyers. All customers must wear shoes, not just some customers.
I believe pbk does legally a right to ban, but I wouldn't recommend it. They're gong to kill their bottom line. The ebayers spent millions in their outlets, stores & on-line. Ebayers have put alot of money in pbk's pocket over the years.
Pbk might have trouble with how their staff handles the banning. If an african american woman is denied a purchase, even if she is an ebayer, you're up for lawsuit.
Also, pbk's issue of not selling to resellers is mute. They already sell their odds and ends to a chain in Utah, who intern resells it.
I think in the end who is banned and why is a grey area. Courts don't like grey areas. So, the ebayers have a good chance of winning in some manner.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Rather not Say

Tue Aug 14 05:50:48 2007

In our outlet store, the store managers would beg us to purchase items that weren't moving. Two days before we were banned, they wanted us to buy shades and told us about them before bringing them out. They were very grateful to ebay for bringing their sales up and would thank us.

Also, an ebayer gave them a computer printout of all the small new ebayers that were shopping in the store and management has not banned any of them. She pointed them out before leaving but they are still shopping and selling on ebay.

It appears that Pottery Barn does not want to get rid of all ebay.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Ebay Powerseller

Sat Aug 18 21:00:51 2007

I think the biggest complaint by many banned customers is that there was no warning that ''reselling'' was an issue. I too experienced the staff patting me on the back when I would purchase items that were not moving as well as others. One day I'm addressed by name and the next I'm shown the door. I was never anything but polite and followed their rules of limited quantities. Now I'm being told that I can't even buy anything for my own personal use. What's funny is that I spent a lot of my profits on other Pottery Barn items for my own house. Another situation that I think will come back and bite them in the rear is that there are EBay powersellers that say they are still using their tax id numbers to purchase items in the retail store. Even though I have a tax id, I never once tried using it at the PB outlet. How can it be OK for some, but not for others. It seems as though that would be discrimination. We shall see what the future holds ~ But, I can guarantee that if Williams Sonoma doesn't rethink this crazy decision, they will feel it's negative affects for years to come.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Stephanie

Mon Aug 20 19:45:40 2007

If WS has banned Ebayer's from shopping in their stores then why does WS Corp., have an ''About Me Page''? Please read on,

About Me: williamssonomatm( 0 )

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. About Me Page

WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.

(Williams-Sonoma®, Williams-Sonoma Home®, Pottery Barn®, PBteen®,

pottery barn kids®, west elm®, hold everything®)

Welcome to Williams-Sonoma, Inc's ''About Me'' page on eBay. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. operates specialty retailers of home furnishings and kitchen products in the United States and Canada. Our brands are among the best known and well respected in the industry, including such famous brands as Williams-Sonoma®, Williams-Sonoma Home®, Pottery Barn®, pottery barn kids®, PBteen®, west elm®, and hold everything®. This page will mostly be of interest to eBay sellers as it is focused on the proper use of our brands, trademarks, and other intellectual property in their auction postings. There is no authorized William-Sonoma, Inc. store on eBay and, if you are interested in purchasing new products from one of our stores or websites, we suggest that you visit www.williamssonoma.com; www.potterybarn.com; www.potterybarnkids.com; www.pbteen.com; www.holdeverything.com; or www.westelm.com.

A variety of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.'s products are offered for sale on eBay. Sellers may want to use our trademarks and other intellectual property to help sell and describe their items. We understand that many eBay sellers are loyal fans of our brands and do not intend to infringe any of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.'s rights when posting items for auction. While it is legal to resell authentic Williams-Sonoma, Inc. products in their original, unaltered form it is not legal to misappropriate our trademarks or copyrights to help sell your items or to suggest that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has authorized or approved your products or sales. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a member of the eBay VeRO Program and, if your listing infringes Williams-Sonoma, Inc.'s intellectual property rights, we will request eBay to remove your listing from the site.

We believe that it is easier to explain our concerns by way of example and are taking this opportunity to describe typical instances in which our trademarks and copyrights are misused or infringed in eBay listings. These examples are by no means exhaustive of the ways in which our rights may be infringed. Any re-publication of our copyrighted images or designs (be it from the catalog or the products themselves) or mis-use or over-use of our trademarks will be removed from the site. Repeat offenders may lose their eBay privileges altogether. We, of course, cannot provide you legal advice, but if you have concerns that your proposed listing may violate Williams-Sonoma, Inc.'s intellectual property rights, it may be best to err on the side of caution.

The following are common examples of auction listings that raise problems under the copyright and trademark laws.

· Using photographs taken from Williams-Sonoma, Inc.'s brand catalogs or websites to depict your auction item. These materials are copyrighted and intended only for our use within one of our authorized retail channels.

· Copying our distinctive product designs or re-using our products and associated designs to produce your own products. For example, you may not copy a design from one of our pottery barn kids® linen sets in your children's artwork, even if that artwork is merely intended to complement the genuine linens. Likewise, you may not use the genuine linens to fashion your own products (e.g. light switch plates or lampshades) made from so-called ''Pottery Barn'' or ''pottery barn kids'' fabric. In these cases, use of our product designs infringes our copyrights and use of our trademarks to sell them violates our trademark rights. In addition, our products meet rigorous quality control tests before they are sold, but are tested for their intended purpose. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. cannot have its brands associated with products that we do not ensure meet our standards and, because of the use to which they are put, may not perform properly or safely.

· Using Williams-Sonoma, Inc. trademarks to attract buyers to a listing in a way that suggests some sort of affiliation with or authorization by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. While it is appropriate when selling one of our genuine, branded items to refer to our brand name in the listing, it is not appropriate for a seller to suggest any kind of relationship with one of our brands. For example, you may not identify yourself in your store name, domain name, eBay ID or otherwise as ''Williams-Sonoma Fan,'' Williams-Sonoma Shopper,'' or ''Williams-Sonoma 4 u.'' Further you may not suggest that you have any authorized connection to our brand. You may not, for example, make statements such as ''Official Pottery Barn® Outlet'' or ''Your exclusive online destination for west elm® products.'' Over-use of our trademarks in your listing (any use beyond that necessary to adequately identify your item) will have the same effect. A disclaimer disclosing the lack of authenticity of items for sale or lack of association with Williams-Sonoma, Inc. does not cure the violation of our trademark rights.

· Using one of our brand names in your auction if you are not selling authentic Williams-Sonoma, Inc. products. If your item was not manufactured and sold by Williams-Sonoma, Inc., you cannot use our brand name to sell it. For example, using phrases such as ''Pottery Barn Style,'' or ''Like Pottery Barn'' in the auction title or description is not allowed when the product you are selling is not a genuine Pottery Barn® product. This practice is misleading as it attracts buyers who are searching for authentic Williams-Sonoma, Inc. goods. This practice also infringes the trademarked Williams-Sonoma, Inc. brand names by taking advantage of the goodwill associated with our name, as well as exploiting the large investment we have made in our trademarks.

· Using a token item from one of our brands to attract buyers to another product you are selling. This includes the sale of an item of a small value (even if genuine) along with the central product you are selling. A token item may include a branded candle, votive, catalog, shopping bag, gift card of a small value, etc. By using our brand name to advertise such a sale, listings for the items with which these small value products are paired are misleading to potential buyers who are searching for our branded products. Buyers may also become confused about whether the central item that is offered for sale is our product.

· Using multiple brand names to describe an item you are selling. For instance, you may not use ''Williams-Sonoma-Restoration Hardware'' to describe either a Williams-Sonoma® brand product or one produced by its competitor, Restoration Hardware. This is true even if both brands mentioned are Williams-Sonoma, Inc. brands. For example, a listing should not state ''West elm-Pottery Barn chair.'' The Pottery Barn®, Williams-Sonoma® and west elm® and other Williams-Sonoma, Inc. brands are used to identify distinct products. You are entitled to identify the single brand that is genuinely associated with the product in your listing. By using more than one trademark to attract buyers to your listing, it is unclear which brand of product you are selling and is misleading.

· Offering coupons or other items that are not for transfer or resale. Williams-Sonoma, Inc., often to discourage theft or other kinds of fraud, may restrict the resale, transfer or uses of items such as merchandise cards or coupons that are issued when a product is returned, or special codes or coupons that are issued as part of specific promotions. You may not sell any such items that are restricted to a single or specific customer and are not intended for resale or transfer.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s brands and intellectual property are important assets. Many eBay sellers already pay close attention to the principles that we have discussed. We hope that this “About Me” page is informative so that all listings on eBay will observe our rights.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: dean

Tue Aug 21 13:27:34 2007

I would like to say thank you to PBK and williams-sonoma, Inc. for allowing there product to be bought by real consumers.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Susan

Tue Aug 21 13:46:38 2007

The banned ebayers are real consumers! If you seen inside their homes you would see tons of PB items that they have bought for there own homes!

Also many many people do not live near one of Pottery Barn's outlet as there is only 9 in the country and most are on the east coast.

Ebayers provided many items to buyers that have no way to get those items as they were either sold out or no longer available at PB.

WS now sends their clearence items to stores in Utah and guess what? They have ebayers who now sell PB items on ebay!

They did not stop ebayers from selling their(PB) stuff on ebay!They also said how the ebayers were bringing PB's sales down on their website because they(ebayers) could sell it much cheaper than what they were selling it for.

Well guess what? The Utah ebayers are selling the stuff much much cheaper than the banned ebayers ever did!Not only that the stuff they are selling has mostly been taken out of their packaging.The outlets never did that with the clearence.

So now who is hurting their internet sells? Not the banned ebayers!

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: anonymous

Tue Aug 21 19:24:19 2007

My sister was banned from their store. She had only sold on ebay a few times and it was years ago. She is expecting a baby and went in to shop for her nursery, for her own personal use. The Pottery Barn manager told my sister that it didn't matter that she hadn't used her ebay id for the past several years or that she had never been a big seller. Of course the manager knew this was true, because she hadn't seen my sister more than a couple of times in the past several years. Yet they banned her anyway. So at what point does it become their peragotive? Do you want to start losing your rights at anyone's whim? It was really traumatic for her, being kicked out of a store like a criminal when she had done no wrong. She was in tears and her blood pressure went high. This was not a good situation to place a pregnant woman in. Pottery Barn tried to make it as traumitic as possible because the store manager approached her with a big bouncer looking guy in tow while they stood there intimidating and humiliating my sister who was with my elderly disabled mother. Did they really think they needed muscle to toss out a disabled lady and a pregnant lady? My sister is such a quiet shy person and my mom is so sweet, both of them are really good people. She was also told any friends or family associated with her would be banned by association, even if they were seen with her outside of their store, ie, walking around the mall, etc. So now Pottery Barn says if they see, hear, or associate you with someone they have blacklisted, you are automatically banned, it's outrageous. Since when it is okay to threaten people like this?

I think some of the unjust bannings need to be caught on tape and the media needs to play them for the world to see and show what's really going on and how badly people are really being treated. Pottery Barn would hate that, because they would be ashamed of their behavior if everyone was seeing it with their own eyes.

To the person who said Pottery Barn can do whatever they want to. You are wrong and you only say that because it isn't happening to you personally. It's easy to say people can take your rights as long as they aren't YOUR rights. There are laws in place so that people can't do just whatever they want to. Because sometimes what people choose to do is wrong and sometimes the law has to make it right. Pottery Barn will end up doing what the people and the law lets Pottery Barn get away with. So if the people choose to fight this and the law looks at it, they are going to see some definite wrongs, and these will have to be addressed fairly and according to our laws, both state and federal.

Discrimination comes in many forms, all of which are illegal.

It's also my understanding through the grapevine that Pottery Barn has put several not so veiled threats out there trying to shut people up. One being threatening to alert the IRS of anyone who has sold any product of theirs on ebay, a classified ad, or a yard sale if that person chooses to participate in the law suit forming against them. Another threat being that they have collected an ongoing ''list'' of people they consider to be ''ebayers'' and that they may sell these list to other stores to prevent you from shopping in other stores as well.

So you might walk into a store to buy yourself a pair of shoes down the road and because someone somewhere once labeled you an ''ebayer, you are denied service. I have heard that Pottery Barn was collecting information, checking accounts and credit card numbers to track buying history. To me personally, I believe lines have absolutely been crossed.

You may not be personally affected by the Pottery Barn bans, but anyone who appreciates having freedom and having rights that we as Americans have should be outraged by Pottery Barn's treatment of people. I might expect this in another country, but not here in America.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: PowerSeller101

Wed Aug 22 15:49:04 2007

I too am a Powerseller banned from my PB outlet. Many times the oulet called me when they wanted my money. It was all about sales margins and when they weren't making sales. They LOVED me at those times. But problem I was told directly from our manager is "profit margine". They believe that ebayers bring down the profit margin by buying tons of discounted items and little full price items. But it is an OUTLET for sakes. We are all looking for bargins. The items we buy are damaged, discontinued and items PB cannot move. We are their inventory contol when you cannot move thru their stores. Complete FIRE hazard if you have ever been in a PB outlet. Sofas tripled stacked ontop of each other, isles so packed you cannot get a shopping cart nor wheelchair thru. Maybe the Handicapped Assoc. ought to check out. Or the local Firemarshalls. Anyways, the newest news I heard is that another Ebayer local to me received a letter from a PB Kids store and was offered to buy all their clearance items directly. They would hold and when she sold one on ebay, they would do their shipping for her? WHAT IS UP WITH THAT??? Came form the seller herself so I am sure it is true. So I don't think PB's plan is to eliminate Ebayers because here they are encouraging. I was told personally I could shop in all their regular stores and online and sell all I want on Ebay. Just no the Outlet stores. Rumors are PB is being bought out, maybe that has something to do with it???? But on Aug 29 2007, WS will make public their 2Q profits (expected to be low with only 1month ban of ebayers), imagine what 3Q will hold with 15-30 million dollars per year ban of ebayers. Our outlet has about 30 ebayers, about 10 large ones out of those and spendings of 3-5 million yearly. Take that by 9 outlets. HUGE MONEY WS IS TURNING AWAY to accomplish WHAT? Noone is saying...

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Alex

Thu Aug 23 16:37:39 2007

This is an VERY interesting subject.

Do these ''banning eBay seller stores'' have a sign in the window ? Such as - ''We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone - for any reason.''

If not - I don't think the law is on their side, at least not in most states.

Another thing banning people from your store, when they haven't done anything disruptive or illegal - is probably a violation of civil rights laws. (Especially if they are in a recognized minority.)

A smart lawyer will pick this up & run with it if presented the opportunity.

If this affected me personally, I would be checking with one...

J.M.H.O.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Jrdn

Thu Aug 23 20:33:41 2007

Brand name stores have right not to have their products sold on ebay. No amount of playing the race-card of I'm brown, black or yellow and being discriminated against is going to cut the mustard. Sorry!

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Chris

Thu Aug 23 21:25:19 2007

Three women walk into a pb outlet:

A blond with two kids & a coach bag, who buys $1,000 worth of merchandise.

A brunette, in a MC Donald's uniform, who buys $1,000 worth of merchandise.

A red head, with her girlfriend, who buys $1,000 worth of merchandise.

Which one do you say can't buy the merchandise?? Not sure?? Does the McDonald's girl sell on ebay?? The blond was definately here last week shopping, but she's very high end. The red head? I've never seen before, but she's buying 2 sets of this item & that makes me suspecious.
You realize they're leaving this decision in the hands of staff making about $10 an hour. Eventually they'll reject the wrong person. Someone who's let's say married to a lawyer or the siter-in-law of some mucky muck. Someone with some power and a voice, unlike the ebayers.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: texas-shopper

Sun Aug 26 22:59:21 2007

Someone above said:
Another thing banning people from your store, when they haven't done anything disruptive or illegal - is probably a violation of civil rights laws.

What many of the banned sellers aren't saying is that they were illegally infringing on the company's copyrights by using photo's stolen from their websites to use as there EBay pictures. Since I have purchased from several EBay sellers located near outlets, I know this to be true. All 5 were using stolen photo's!

Now, many are acting like they are the injured party, leaving out this fact!

Why shouldn't a company ban people that are stealing there copyrighted photo's? I doubt this ban will be seen as illegal, especially when applied to sellers that were doing illegal stuff themselves in order to resell the items bought at outlets.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Steph

Mon Aug 27 09:33:43 2007

Any retail store has the right to ban and refuse service to anyone they want. They can just walk up and say get out. It is totally legal. Just like on ebay, we can block bidders who are obnoxious rude, and don't pay for items.

It is just a fact.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Meredith

Mon Aug 27 13:44:52 2007

Let's face it. If the original retailer could sell it for full price in a timely manner and make money, they would. Since they were unwilling or unable to do that, they put it on sale or consigned it to their outlet. Why should they be upset if another enterprising person is able to make a profit when they weren't. That's the American way!!

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: zynski

Mon Aug 27 23:11:31 2007

I was also banned from the Pottery Barn Outlet (Burch Run, MI) store in a public embarassing way. I was just a regular shopper (twice a week) because I purchased a home in the area. HAS ANYONE ORGANIZED A LAWSUIT? Please email if you have any information.
Thanks

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: bubba

Tue Aug 28 11:09:32 2007

Yes, a lawsuit is in the works. Contact Tim Maloney in Texas to be added to the class action list. There are also attorney's in other states that will be working with Tim. Consult one in your state and have him contact Tim. It's a good idea to have representation in your own state too as each state has it's own laws and this banning does violate some of the states laws. Check to find out what your states trade restriction laws are. There are several different angles to this and it can be multiple laws that are being violated here. Finding the right attorney who is hungry for this case is a good idea, he will have other attorney's he or she wants to bring in. The more the merrier because the more heads that get involved, the more winning case files they can pull up that will give you a winning advantage in blah verses blah a judge rules this about this...yada yada. They will have people digging. I've heard that attorney's will be fighting over this case, so get in early and get with someone good. It's a smart idea to have documented as much as you can. If they called you from the store to get you to come in and shop then get the phone records from the phone company. You can do this going back for years on both your home or cell phones. Any conversations that were had, note them, people will be sworn in, so they are not as likely to lie even if Pottery Barn wants them to. If you were discriminated against in the store, have that documented as well. Past employees saw first hand things that were going on? Go ahead and make a list of those names and dates if you have them, the attorney is going to want to interview with them. Do you have information about PB or WS employees sellling on ebay? I know many did. If you have that information gather it up, hard copy everything. Gather up all the email address and names you have in connection. Copy them, bring them in. I know one employee in WS corperate was practically stalking people on ebay, bidding on auctions to gain their personal information, writing customers creating transaction interference. If he bid on your auctions make sure you pull the records on him. Pull your paypal payments or money orders, however he paid. Go through all your feedback and see if his id's appear there. If you received harassing emails from people that you did not know, print those as well. He may have been switching from male female aliases. The court can supenea ebay to make them tell who is behind the id's. Ebay keeps this information for life so even if the id is dead now, beause he uses so many o them and then ditches them, it won't matter because the information can still be obtained. Even if they registered with fake information, it's not very hard to trace back what ip address this came from and from there link it to the person behind it. Easy as pie in fact. Get all your ducks in a row. Talk to your attorney about media coverage. Also, have your attorney immediately demand a copy of your spending history in writing. If PB won't give it to you, have a judge order it. That is after all what they are claiming sets you apart as an ebayer. Because if they are going alone on heresay or if they are assuming or just pointing fingers without a lot of valid evidence then they are going to be paying out a massive settlement in the end. If the managers accepted and encouraged you, that is going to come into play as well, especially if they did so for years. After the media coverage the average shopper will be really turned off and scared to shop there anymore. Nobody wants someone breathing down their neck when they are shopping. Regardless if they are buying for multiple homes, or have eclectic taste. If they feel they are being watched and scrutanized, they will simply take their business elsewhere. Which sounds like a good idea to me.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: lisaduka

Mon Sep 3 22:35:45 2007

I'm glad they are getting rid of these people. I was practically pushed out of the way by a 60 year old ebayer in Gaffney SC who took a rug right out from under me. He grabbed the rug and put it in his cart. I said '' I was just about to get that rug for my daughter's room'' and he said ''you'll see it on eBay tomorrow''.
I was so mad I went and said something to the clerk and she told me he was rude and very regular.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Evamarie Martin

Tue Sep 4 12:51:11 2007

I am one of those people who do not live near a PB outlet and value what the eBayers bring to the marketplace. With that said, it should be a fair and equal marketplace, which doesn't ban noticeable, routine customers (which is the only way someone could be banned, as referenced in the article). And the concern over diminishing the brand - then don't keep the Outlet stores open. The corporation wants them open for the pure purpose of still selling product that didn't originally sell in the prime store.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: KK

Fri Sep 7 21:01:48 2007

As a consumer who regularly shops at the PB outlets. I have encountered many Ebayers, they are very easy to spot. They are rude, remove things from other customers carts. Work in groups to block the aisle, grab all the merchandise and move to another location and sort their "loot". As far as ebayers only buying items that didn't sell in the catalog or damaged merchanise as several of you have claimed. That's a crock of bull! You all know that if it didn't sell in the catalog and its' not selling in the outlet then why would you buy and item that would be difficult to resale. As anyone knows that shops the outlet, not all items are damaged, out of season or defective. There are many items that are sold as a new item, there is plenty of new merchadise in those outlets. If it was all junk I don't think you would be in there purchasing and reselling. I think what you are all missing is the point that non re-sellers are complaining to Pottery Barn about you! Plain and simple. If you wanted to continue shopping there you should have learned to be considerate purchasers and not interfer with non-resellers shopping experience. Now I've noticed most of you are saying you were always above board in your actions. If this were true the outlets would not be enforcing their policies. You only have yourselves to blame! Way to go WS and Pottery Barn. Thanks for sticking up for the "regular consumer"!
Your negative behavior has caused return policies to change and be enforced both in the outlets, stores and catalogs. Now the regular consumer has been penalized because of your actions. I look forward to your lawsuit and wait to learn that you won't have a leg to stand on. (interesting that only a Texas atty is getting involved) Just like any other establishment they have a right to refuse service to anyone they deem disruptive to their business! It's sad to some of you as I'm sure there are some very good ebayers out there that are considerate of other shoppers but I haven't seen them yet. I've experienced the ebayers in Leesburg Va outlet and Lancaster, Pa outlet. I will say the ones that shop the Lancaster outlet are the worst of the lot.

Retailers Banning eBay Sellers - Your Experiences

by: Paul

Sat Sep 8 09:54:14 2007

I am an ebayer from the Lancaster store.I never took stuff out of other peoples cart! As a matter of fact people took stuff out of my cart and I allowed it cause if they wanted it I gave it to them! I tried not to cause any problems with customers(by the way I am also a customer my money is just as good as anyone elses!)or the employees.The real reason for the ban? Is because ebayers are driving away customers from their catalog and website cause we can sell it cheaper.Was there troublemakers? Yes there was as there was also "regular customers" who also were troublemakers who fought between other customers for stuff that they each wanted.Also PB had limits on the amount you could buy of something and I always followed that limit! There is troublemakers at every outlet and I really doubt the Lancaster one is the worse! I am pretty sure a WS employee has posted on this thread and they have no idea how the ebayers were treated by the employees.Work in groups to block the aisle? Really? I must say I have never seen that at all!As small as those aisles are its not hard for two people to "block an aisle".Outlets are overstock and discontinued items and yes new items that are not moving very well.We could get it so cheap that we could resell even if it didn't do well on their website.I happen to know of a ebayer that was complained about to an employee because this ebayer would not allow them(a regular customer) to take something out of the ebayers cart that the ebayer had first! Is that right? No it is not! When there is money involved there will be problems and thats why there was rules and I followed those rules.

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