Accenture to use eBay to sell businesses' surplus

From...

By Brian Sullivan

(IDG) -- By the end of the year, consumers could be buying surplus items from major manufacturers and retailers on eBay, a spokesman for the San Jose-based online auctioneer said.

Under the terms of an agreement between eBay and consulting firm Accenture in Hamilton, Bermuda, companies that want to liquidate surplus inventory will be able to sell directly to users of the auction site, said eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove.

Accenture has run a test program on eBay selling personal digital assistants, laptops and desktop computers and will continue testing the program over the next few months, Pursglove said. The idea behind it is that Accenture will set up partnerships with major manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers that have more than $1 million in annual sales.

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Accenture will then handle the logistics of getting inventory from those companies listed and sold on the eBay site.

Accenture believes that liquidation efforts are "mired in a multistep process" that can be streamlined by selling directly to consumers on eBay, Pursglove said.

He added that Accenture will conduct more tests and will announce several partnerships over the summer. By year's end, the program, called Connection to eBay, should be operational.