outletstores

In September, EBay plans to open an online outlet store with products from Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Spanx and Bluefly. It could help the company grow, but it's also another step away from its madcap auctioneer roots. Is eBay getting boring?

Remember when you had to drive into the middle of nowhere to find a factory outlet store? From my house in Sacramento, I had to drive two hours to Gilroy, the Garlic Capital of the World, to shop at one, but it was worth the travel because I knew I was going to score a great deal on designer goods,...