If any part of this is price-fixing, it is simply illegal.

rwgray, Brighton, UK

I'm glad to see that Ebay are being forced to take responsibility for their actions at long last. Their shoddy attitiude towards buyers and sellers and their inability to police their own site is making them a laughing stock and destroying the lives of people who rely on Ebay to make a living.

Sarah , London,

What the article is NOT saying is that all of these companies have approached retailers with an agreement that states they can only sell at the RRP, not below. Maclaren & Mama's both sell direct to the public at the RRP. Coinsidence - I don't think so! Why are these companies not being investigated?

Ann, Manchester, Lancs

No worries I just wait and buy secondhand so theses manufacturers and the cosy retail cartel are the losers. And their European tactics fortunately do not work in Asia where all these products are available at discount retailers and on-line

Patrick, Taipei, Taiwan

what do you expect ?
You are cutting big business profit and there is always the possibility of pirated goods.
The solution is simple buy another brand, this will force Big Business to get real

Howard , Basildon, England

Sounds like the manufactuers have found a way to stop ebay undercutting their "Recommended" price. I.e. back to rip off prices.

Ian, Tokyo, japan

The EU regulation allows selective distribution agreements. I spend my life negotiating around these rules - it is one of the most fun jobs in the UK. The EU regulation expires in 2010 - lobby now to affect its replacement on these issues.

But yes sometimes within the rules you can do this.

Susan Singleton, London,

Surely what they are suggesting is price fixing which I thought was illegal, am I wrong?

Caroline, Saffron Walden, England

If you are unlucky to purchase a pushchair off ebay which then turns out to be an import which is not UK approved, so no fire retard functions or other subtle bits which make it a safe chair for your child in UK and you find out the hard way (which I know a family who has), then you would think diff

Ian, Northampton, Northamptonshire

Why does the EU constantly stifle competition?

ken, Coventry,

I think it's a great idea. If i buy baby goods on line i want to be sure that the item i buy is safe.There are loads of items on line that you can bargain hunt for, but do you really want to put your most precious thing in a bargain car seat or pushchair that is unsafe.?

You get what you pay for!

Paul Robinson, Bedford, England

Although I agree in principle with what some of the posters are saying here, E Bay was not set up for independant stores to sell on, thus saving them setting up there own web sites, so you could say the independants are being greedy too by cutting the costs of administering their own sites!

Pete, St Albans, England

Because in THIS window the shop owner, who pays higher rents and taxes, spends his time demonstrating products to people who have no compunction about then buying from THAT window where they don't have the same overheads, aren't closely monitored, so can undercut competitors. This was inevitable.

Joanne, Exeter, UK

The manufactures are the owners of the product. They have the right to dictate how THEIR product is sold. If stores don't like it don't sell the prams.

Porter, Hull,

Retail margins in Britain are a scandal and have been for decades. Anything that breaks that cartel is well worth pursuing.

Colin, Shrewsbury, UK

So Mc Claren sells inferior products in countries other than the UK? Interesting to know as I don't live in the UK. These UK companies want to be seen as "green" but insist you use petrol, etc to buy their products in a store. If you can't buy online - boycott!

kr, france,

I have a Bugaboo but that is the last time I buy a product from that company if they really want to start tampering with the progress towards free markets in Europe. And here I thought Bugaboo was such a great company...

Howard, London, UK

Manufacturers and the high street have formed an unholy alliance to inflate prices to produce 'prestige' brands. Its only now that they are losing market share to the honest brokers on the internet that they are throwing their "toys out of their prams"!

Phil, Epsom, UK

Whilst there is no doubt that ebay allows scammers and fakes to flood it's site I think it's unfair to brand all on line sellers with the same brush.I think these particular firms are merely safe guarding their high profits under the guise of protecting the customers.Ebay is killing itself anyway.

kevin, Lowestoft, UK

Isn't it illegal to tell a retailer where they can sell a product? (Unless of course there are government restrictions such as with alcohol).

Rece Porter, Orlando, USA

Selling on-line is just like having another shop window.

How can the manufacturere jusitfy saying we approve of THIS window but not THAT window.

It has NOTHING to do with safety etc.

It's just about corporate GREED. How else can they justify a pushchair costing up to 10% of a WHOLE CAR!!!

Lance, Crawley, UK

This is like trying to stop the tide comming in. If they don't allow their products to be sold online then another manufacturer will step in and fill the gap.

Get your heads out of the sand guys!

David, Bawdeswell, UK

Seems like a case for the competition authorities. The benefits of online trading are that you don't have to drive to a store and that the retailler can have lower operating costs. Additionally the web gives indication of pricing levels a useful tool in the consumers armoury.

Ian Manzie, Mazamet, France