eBay Main Street

Did you know that the eBay Fraud Investigations Team (FIT) is now part of the eBay Legal/Government Relations team? Check out this feature article profiling David Napper, Sydney, Australia-based manager of investigations. David travels the country educating cops and regulators on how eBay works. See what it\'s like to be part of the Government Relations Team down under!

Did you know that the eBay Fraud Investigations Team (FIT) is now part of the eBay Legal/Government Relations team? Check out this feature article profiling David Napper, Sydney, Australia-based manager of investigations. David travels the country educating cops and regulators on how eBay works.

The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a hearing on Thursday, Feb. 4 to discuss various state tax issues, including the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP). Click here for more information on this week\'s hearing; Click here to read eBay\'s point of view on imposing remote sales tax collection burdens on small businesses.

As of February 1, the eBay Community had already donated more than $1.5 million to organizations providing relief and recovery services to those affected by last month\'s disaster in Haiti. Click here to see how you can contribute by buying, selling or making a donation via PayPal.

Some impressive members of the eBay Main Street Community are featured in the new eBay brochure, "eBay: Empowering Small Business Entrepreneurs." The inspiring pocket brochure profiles successful eBay sellers and was designed to show lawmakers how eBay is enabling and empowering small business.

A bill to prevent retailers from setting minimum prices passed the U.S. House Judiciary Committee last week. The "Discount Pricing Consumer Protection Act" (HR 3190), passed the Competition Policy Subcommittee after much debate and with the strong support of eBay. eBay users often can buy and sell goods at prices far below conventional retailers. "When large manufacturers and their dominant retail partners engage in price-fixing, they burden consumers with inflated prices and rob the economy of the value provided by small business competition," said Tod Cohen, eBay deputy general counsel for government relations.

What\'s new? Look for new eBay Main Street polls every week or two. We want to hear from you! That\'s why we created a Twitter and Facebook account, and why we\'re launching our first-ever member survey in February. Main Street members: look for the survey invitation in your email soon!

Click here to check out the PayPal blog article on how you can help support those affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

Dusty Brighton, Senior Manager of eBay Government Relations, represented eBay and StubHub this week before hundreds of leaders of the ticket community. The Ticket Summit, held in New York City, is the leading trade show and conference in the ticket resale industry. Brighton spoke to the community on issues ranging from industry mergers, closed loop ticketing, and fans\' rights. Read more about eBay/StubHub\'s position on ticket sales here.

eBay employees and visiting Stanford Law School students were treated this week to a presentation by renowned Internet scholar, author and Harvard Law Professor, Jonathan Zittrain, at the company’s San Jose, CA headquarters. The presentation entitled, "Minds for Sale," touched on issues raised in Zittrain’s recent book, "The Future of the Internet...and How to Stop It." eBay’s Government Relations and Privacy teams hosted the standing-room-only event. For more information on “the engine that has catapulted the Internet from backwater to ubiquity,” check out Zittrain’s website & blog.