Business in brief: EBay to revise fees
EBay Inc. bowed to pressure Monday from some of its high-volume sellers, saying it will further cut listing fees for books, music, movies and video games sold through the online auction site.
Monday’s move amends a fee structure announced last month and could mean savings for merchants who sell those goods in high volume. Those sellers had expected to lose money from the new plan, slated to take effect Feb. 20. Some had threatened to stop selling on eBay.
The company said last month it plans to cut the fees for listing an item but raise eBay’s commissions on items that sell. Merchants complained the cuts were not enough to balance the hike in commissions.
Monday’s amendment further cuts – by as much as half – the listing fees for items in the “media” catego- ry selling for less than $25.
BERLIN
Conspiracy probe spurs candy raids
The German Federal Cartel Office raided seven candy and chocolate makers amid allegations of a conspiracy to fix prices.
Silke Kaul, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the companies – including the German offices of Mars, Kraft Foods Inc., Nestle SA, and Ritter – had agreed at the beginning of the year to raise prices.
A Kraft spokeswoman attributed the rise in chocolate prices to the massive increase – between 30 percent and 100 percent – in the price of raw materials in the past year.
The companies face possible fines that could amount to 10 percent of their annual income.
SAN FRANCISCO
Court overrules salmon-label suit
The California Supreme Court breathed new life Monday into a consumer campaign to get grocery stores to label farmed salmon that are artificially colored.
The justices decided unanimously to overturn two lower court rulings tossing out the legal challenge. The lower courts had sided with grocers, who said such labeling disputes should be resolved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and not through lawsuits.
The lawsuit was filed by 11 consumers and backed by California Attorney General Jerry Brown. The suit names some of the state’s largest grocers. The consumers allege that farmed salmon are naturally grayer than wild-caught fish.
LOS ANGELES
Tolkien estate sues film studio
The estate of “Lord of the Rings” creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn’t paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide.
The suit, filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims New Line Cinema was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts to Tolkien’s estate and other plaintiffs, who contend they only received an advance of $62,500 for the three movies before production began.
If successful, the suit could block the long-awaited prequel to the films.
From wire reports