VENDORS: CHARGEBACKS, AUCTIONS SAME AS THEY EVER WERE.

HFN: The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, November, 2003 by Report, HFN Staff

NEW YORK-The practices of chargebacks, reverse auctions and competitive line reviews are bad and getting worse, according to home furnishings vendors.

Vendors polled in the new HFN exclusive Chargebacks and Reverse Auctions Survey clearly view such tactics as profit centers for retailers, and say the sharp price points they must accept for goods are not being passed on to consumers.

The downward spiral is absorbing vendor profits, raising prices and damaging the same business models that used to reward loyalty and a job well done, according to vendors. "It's squeezing ...