EBay may have the online auctioneering game covered, but it should be looking over its shoulder at competitor Amazon.com, according to a recent consumer report.

Online retailer Amazon.com is doing a better job at customer satisfaction, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index released on Tuesday by the University of Michigan and ForeSee Results. That should be worrying for eBay as the two leading online businesses increasingly intersect, said the head of ForeSee results, Larry Freed.

The survey gave eBay a score of 80 to Amazon’s 87.

With more third-party sales of used goods on Amazon’s site, and eBay selling many brand-new and direct-from the retailer items, the lines between online auctioneers and retailers have become increasingly blurred, said Freed.

“EBay will need to bring more innovation to satisfy customers like more traditional retailers do,” Freed said. The report did acknowledge that eBay has limited control over customer satisfaction due to its business model of individual transactions between buyers and sellers.

Spending on loyalty programs with customers has crimped Amazon’s net profit in recent quarters. A discount shipping program, Amazon Prime, and spending on technology to make its Web site easier to navigate have proven expensive.

But some analysts say that Wall Street does not fully appreciate Amazon’s customer-service focus.

“Amazon is singularly focused on one extremely important constituent — its customer — and we believe that this attitude toward its business may be its most valuable hidden asset,” wrote Stifel Nicolaus analyst Scott Devitt in a research report earlier this month.

The survey results show that the online commerce segment, whether retail, auction, travel or brokerage sites, outpaces other segments when measuring customer satisfaction.

Barnes & Noble was the overall winner in the e-retail category with a score of 88.

                                             Admit it, you’d be tempted to buy that fake Louis Vuitton bag.
    But what about fake food? Medicines? How about a Europe trip on an airplane that may be flying on fake parts?
    According to law firm Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, counterfeit goods today extend beyond perfumes and handbags, and are increasingly showing up in daily-use products like food, medicines, household products and even auto and airplane parts.
    So although it may seem harmless when you flaunt that nearly-original-looking handbag, but not as much fun when you end up with a stomach ache after swallowing what you thought was real, FDA-approved medicine.
    The New York-based law firm, which co-sponsored the Third Annual Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy in late January, outlined a few statistics about counterfeit goods at the meeting:
    — The World Health Organization estimates that $35 billion worth of counterfeit pharmaceuticals are sold each year.
    — The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration estimates that 2 percent of the 26 million airline parts installed each year are fake.
    — 5.2 million fake foodstuff, drinks and alcohol are seized at EU borders each year.
    The risk may escalate to a level where in the next five years, one in every five people may be using counterfeit medicine, said Pfizer’s Senior Vice President Robert Mallett at the meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland.
    “If you think you can avoid these counterfeit and pirated goods simply by avoiding flea markets and other such stores, you’re wrong,”  said Mark Mutterperl, a partner in Fulbright’s New York office.
    As for fake airplane parts - the FAA calls them “suspect unapproved parts” and has set up a special office in Washington D.C. to coordinate its efforts to identify and remove such parts from aircrafts, according to a report on the FAA Web site.
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration created the Counterfeit Alert Network in February 2004 to warn health professionals and consumer groups about counterfeit drugs and to inform consumers about exposure and recall information.
    Besides just proving bad for trade, counterfeiting also costs people jobs and results in tax and revenue losses and higher spending to fight it, according to Fulbright’s study.
    Besides increasing consumer awareness, other ways to stem counterfeiting include tightening existing laws and devising special ones for free trade zones and for Internet piracy, said Mutterperl. 
    But for those who still really crave that $50 fake Fendi — think beyond the bargain, he says.

As children increasingly put down traditional toys at earlier ages for flashier, higher-tech gadgets like Apple Inc.’s iPod, toy makers appear to have reached the following conclusion: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. 

At the American International Toy Fair in New York, toy makers signaled they’ve adapting to the changing marketplace, with many exhibitors showcasing PC-compati ble toys that can play music from an MP3 player.  

“The toy industry manufacturers and the youth product manufacturers really upped the ante in terms of looking at what kids of today are interested in and how to make toy products for that market,” said Reyne Rice, a toy trends specialist at the Toy Industry Association. 

Many are hoping the balancing act between technology and traditional play translates into strong sales.   

Hasbro Inc., the nation’s second-largest toy maker, previewed its “Power Tour Electric Guitar” at the fair, which not only teaches users guitar basics, but also functions as a speaker for their MP3 player. 

The company also introduced ”I-CY,” a robotic, dancing penguin that dances to music from an MP3 player. 

Meanwhile, Robosapien Media showcased the “WowWee,” a singing, dancing robot that plays MP3s, while Erector rolled out the Spyke, a robot equipped with voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) and a video camera. 

And yeah, it too plays MP3s. 

Even rival fashion dolls Barbie and Bratz have jumped into the fray. 

Mattel Inc.’s Barbie brand introduced “Chat Divas,” a doll that can move and lip synch to music from an MP3, while MGA Entertainment updated its Bratz Big Babyz line with a doll that basically does the same thing. 

Even pre-schoolers can get in on the fun. 

Hasbro’s Playskool division previewed its “Made for Me” infant toy line at the fair, which includes an MP3 player that is pre-loaded with 50 songs. It gives parents the option of downloading more music. 

That blast of winter that has turned much of the U.S. into Ice Station Zebra proved to be a boon for many U.S. retailers. Most retailers posted January sales that beat expectations, as gift-card wielding consumers, buoyed by lower gas prices, swept up the sweaters and scarves that stayed in store shelves during the unseasonably warm holiday shopping season.

According to Retail Metrics, 59 percent of retailers beat forecast in January, while only 39 percent missed expectations. Even Gap, which had seen same-store sales drop every month for a year, said sales same-store sales were flat in January.:
Notes: The table includes the range of mean estimates* given by analysts polled by Reuters, the average of those means#, and the actual change in same-store sales reported by the companies^.

All figures expressed in percentage change over the same period last year except number of estimates.

The January sales period included five weeks for most retailers. But many of their same-store sales comparisons were based on a four-week period to match the year-ago January sales period. The table provides either or both comparisons where available.

## For U.S. stores
^^ Reported on Wednesday
^^^ Reported on Tuesday
~ For the month ended Jan. 31, 2007

Book sellers are champing at the bit for the July 21 release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final installment of J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful fantasy series, which has sold 325 million copies worldwide.

And with some industry experts expecting Harry Potter 7 to become the fastest-selling title of all-time, an honor currently held by the sixth installment, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” retailers are looking to capitalize by offering a slew of early discounts for customers pre-ordering the book.

The pre-orders ensure hard-core fans will be able to get the book the day it comes out, helping them to avoid the inevitable disappointment that will ensue in the event book 7 is sold out, said Al Greco, a professor of marketing at Fordham University and an analyst for the Book Industry Study, which produces an annual study of book sales.

The pre-orders also function as a key harbinger of demand, enabling publishers to know how many books they will need to print.

“When Harry Potter 5 came out, they did not have enough printed copies to meet demand and Scholastic had to go back to press and print more copies,” Greco said, adding that it will be heavily discounted.

Amazon.com Inc.’s early returns suggest demand will be higher than ever. 

The online retailer said Friday that first-day advance orders rose 547 percent from book six and is offering early buyers the book for $18.89, 46 percent off the list price of $34.99 

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is offering pre-orders for $17.27

Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble, the top U.S. bookseller, is offering Harry Potter 7 for $20.99, or 40 percent off, but is allowing members of its awards program to order it early for $18.89.

Borders Group Inc., the second-largest U.S. bookseller, is selling pre-orders for $20.99, while wholesaler Costco Wholesale Corp. is also selling it for $18.99.