With Thanksgiving upon us and the holidays right around the corner, it is the perfect time of year to give thanks to everyone who made this yet another successful year.  The eBay Inc. government relations team would like to thank our customers, who are the backbone of eBay Inc.’s continual success. 

Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY) toured eBay’s San Jose campus Tuesday to see how eBay is helping small businesses break down international trade barriers and enabling a new era of global commerce.

As a former attorney with experience in customs law, Owens is a leading voice on trade and customs issues in the House of Representatives. He is the co-chair of the House Northern Border Caucus, a congressional body that works to promote stronger border security and trade opportunities for states like New York that share a border with Canada.

The Marketplace Fairness Act could significantly impact small online businesses if Congress does not reevaluate the bill's current small business exemption, according to a new VentureBeat article written by Matt Winn of Volusion - one of the largest online shopping cart providers for small businesses. The piece highlights three reasons why members of Congress should revisit the bill's "small business exemption:"

This week National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) President Fredric Rolando sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) stating NALC's opposition to the Marketplace Fairness Act as it is currently written.  Specifically, NALC is concerned with the inadequate small business exemption and its potentially devastating impact on eBay sellers nationwide.  eBay sellers collectively constitute the single largest package customer for the USPS.