Last week Amazon ruffled retail feathers by offering up to $5 off purchases originating from its barcode-scanning Price Check app. Now eBay is offering $10 coupons for shoppers that go straight to the source. Spending at least $100 with eBay-owned PayPal at the websites for Dick's Sporting Goods, Aeropostale, Toys "R" Us, or Babies "R" Us (the eBay stores for the latter two are also included) will net you an emailed coupon. The coupon can then be redeemed the next time you make a purchase at the brick-and-mortar location of the same retailer.

While the move is being framed as a positive for both physical and online retailers — eBay President and CEO John Donahoe said the program "reflects the future of retail" — it's much more about exploiting fear of Amazon to push PayPal and eBay instead. eBay is a natural fit for retailers, providing a secondary online storefront without siphoning sales. The benefits to shoppers are less clear, however: $10 will do little more than cover the sales tax most don't need to pay when ordering from Amazon, and tying the coupons to physical stores makes redeeming the offer inconvenient at best. Still, a discount is a discount. The offer is available to US residents only, and will run through December 19th. The coupons will be emailed out no later than December 22nd — just in time for some last minute holiday shopping.

Image credit: daysofthundr46 (Flickr)