eBay Sends Late Shoppers Elsewhere

New feature is just for Christmas procrastinators.

In a move reminiscent of a scene in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street," eBay is telling shoppers to go shop somewhere else.

The San Jose-based website introduced its new GiftsNearby feature on Tuesday. And it shows users, well, where to find gifts at nearby stores.

If you ordered online today, there's almost no chance the iPad or video game your kid wants will be under the tree by Saturday morning.

But if you enter a zip code on the eBay site, you'll see if it's in stock at the Fry's down the street. While you are there, you can also compare prices with Best Buy and even get driving directions.

Unfortunately, this will require physically going to the store the old-fashioned way, but it's better than explaining to your kids how Santa forgot your address this year.

GiftsNearby is powered by Milo.com, a shopping search engine eBay acquired earlier this month.

In the Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street," Santa sends customers to stores other than Macy's for better deals. eBay says it's not trying to lose any business, it's just looking out for the procrastinators out there.

And remember, last-minute shopping doesn't give you an excuse to buy a Billy Bass singing fish or any of the other 50 worst gifts of all time.

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