If you are an eBay user, you may already have received the following e-mail.  If you have, as a believer that everyone should be able to buy and sell on the internet, I would urge you to sign the eBay petition.  If you have not seen the e-mail before, it would be great if you would join eBay and sign their petition. (You never know you may also find some bargains to snap up!)   EBay has pioneered the concept on freedom on the internet and I believe they deserve our support.  I can assure you that in my MEP capacity I will be doing all I can to stop the unfair trade practices outlined in the email.    

EBay was built on a simple idea – that we could empower people by building a global trading platform where practically anyone could buy or sell practically anything. But that idea is now under threat from certain brand owners and manufacturers who are trying to turn back the clock and block the sale of their products on online marketplaces and other websites across the EU.

Ultimately, what is at stake is the right of sellers to compete fairly in the wider online marketplace, and the right of buyers to be able to access the best possible deals from the widest possible selection of goods.

Some of these brand owners argue that their objective is to prevent the sale of counterfeits on eBay.  But thanks to our work with 31,000 other rights owners, only 0.15% of listings last year were detected or
reported as potentially counterfeit. The real aim of these brands is to block the sale of all their products on our site – regardless of whether such items are new or second-hand, genuine or fake. It’s not just luxury items that are affected, but also everyday items like children’s toys, electronic equipment, lawnmowers and pushchairs. And if we want to prevent other brand owners from following suit, we need to act now.

We are therefore calling on European policymakers to amend EU competition law to stop these unfair trade practices. But we need your help to persuade them to take action. If you would like to join our
campaign against online trade barriers, please sign our petition.

Regards,
Your eBay Team