FITUG e.V.
Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft
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http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT32ZDSKEEC&live=true
Lex: German e-commerce
Published: October 16 2000 20:08GMT | Last Updated: October 16 2000 20:19GMT
As if making shops close at 8pm on weekdays and from 4pm on Saturdays through to Monday mornings were not enough, Germany's antiquated retail regulations risk driving e-commerce groups out of the country. Two recent rulings highlight the regulations' eccentricity.
Hamburg's district court upheld a competitor's complaint that online retailer Letsbuyit was breaking two laws. Letsbuyit's "co-buying" business model - cutting the price of goods the more people apply to buy them - broke the 1933 Rabattgesetz because it meant some customers paid lower prices than others. It contravened the 1909 Gesetz gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb since it "exploited the thrill of gambling". A Cologne court said Germany's PrimusPowerShopping, another co-buying site, contravened the latter law because its sales methods were "excessively alluring" and encouraged customers to make unplanned purchases. Isn't that the whole point?
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