EBay, Accenture to Launch Service

Moving further from its roots as an Internet market for mom-and-pop collectibles, EBay Inc. is working with Accenture Ltd. on a service aimed at helping big companies unload excess merchandise on the site.

The consulting firm will operate the Connection to EBay service, which is scheduled to be fully up and running this autumn. The platform will be geared toward large companies that want to sell discontinued or out-of-season products on EBay but need someone else to deal with the details.

Accenture estimates that U.S. companies try to sell off $80 billion worth of excess merchandise each year, usually through multiple vendors and distributors. The firm will try to show that EBay offers a far more efficient system.

Accenture will get a fee for each product listed, and EBay will collect its usual fees as well. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed, but it included a licensing fee from Accenture to EBay.

EBay already has smaller-scale arrangements with other companies that facilitate multiple product listings for big sellers--part of what EBay calls its “preferred solution-provider program.”