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Ina Steiner EcommerceBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on ecommerce.
by Ina Steiner, Editor of EcommerceBytes.com
Wed May 22 2013 20:44:43

What Can Online Merchants Do About Listing Theft?

By: Ina Steiner
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Often online sellers spend a lot of time taking photos, writing descriptions and presenting their listings carefully in order to entice buyers, a wise investment to differentiate their listings from other sellers.

But unfortunately "competitors" can steal components of their listings and use them in their own listings, one of the reasons why you see a lot of sellers watermark their photographs.

I received a letter from a distressed eBay seller  recently who said she works hard on servicing her sewing machines, taking lots of pictures, and working very hard to come up with accurate descriptions of the machines.

"I just had a ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: What Can Online Merchants Do About Listing Theft?
Comments (15) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Sun May 19 2013 23:28:51

eBay Sends Sellers Personalized Emails to Treat Yourself

By: Ina Steiner
Sponsored Link
Readers have reported an email sent by eBay with the line "Treat Yourself" and a message stating they'd earned x amount of dollars. Sellers discussing the issue say they aren't sure how they earned the cash, since they aren't members of the eBay Bucks program.

"The number kinda threw me. I've sold a lot more than that last month, also the next line of the email said "treat yourself". It sounded like I'd won something." Another wrote, "The email said I'd earned 159.50 as a seller. Then a page came up that said "Shop Now".  I'm guessing I really didn't win ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: eBay Sends Sellers Personalized Emails to Treat Yourself
Comments (26) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Thu May 16 2013 12:11:07

Next-Day Delivery A Reality for Some Online Shoppers

By: Ina Steiner
Sponsored Link
We've all heard complaints about delayed delivery of online purchases, but have you ever received a package earlier than you expected? An EcommerceBytes reader who is a buyer and occasional seller who lives in Illinois said he routinely receives his Amazon orders a day earlier than scheduled.

Most people think of same-day and next-day deliveries as being possible only in urban centers like New York and LA, but this reader does not live in Chicago. As a member of Amazon Prime, he gets free 2-day shipping on his orders, but because of his proximity to two Amazon distribution centers, he ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: Next-Day Delivery A Reality for Some Online Shoppers
Comments (10) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Wed May 15 2013 14:07:33

Google Turns YouTube Into a Store for Consumer Brands

By: Ina Steiner
 
Google found a new way to monetize its YouTube video site beyond advertisements - it will now let companies showcase products and help viewers find and purchase those products, all integrated into those companies' own YouTube channels.

Google is working with brands to turn their YouTube channels into stores. Unilever is the first brand to use Google's new YouTube channel gadget to showcase their Tresemme line of hair care products, which had already generated more than 2.7 million views on its channel.

Google said consumers' use of YouTube presents an opportunity for consumer goods brands "to reach shoppers in the moment ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: Google Turns YouTube Into a Store for Consumer Brands
Comments (13) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Tue May 14 2013 17:15:13

Is eBay Doing a Better Job Catching Bad Buyers?

By: Ina Steiner
 
eBay has done its best to reassure shoppers worried about bad sellers on its marketplace, but some of those shoppers have figured out how to game the system unfairly, especially after eBay took away sellers' ability to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers.

With no consequences to their feedback reputation, some buyers have gotten bolder about making unreasonable demands of sellers, including partial or full refunds or even a second item to replace supposedly faulty products.



eBay now claims it is seeing positive results after improving a feature that lets sellers report bad buyers. This month eBay has been sending emails to ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: Is eBay Doing a Better Job Catching Bad Buyers?
Comments (65) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Mon May 13 2013 013:15:13

Amazon Coins Launch But Not Helpful to Third-Party Sellers

By: Ina Steiner
 
Amazon.com launched its anticipated Amazon Coins virtual currency this morning. Visitors to the home page will see a letter from Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. The information Kindle owners have been waiting for:

- If you own a Kindle Fire, you'll receive 500 Amazon Coins.

- 500 Amazon Coins = $5.

- The coins can only be used for games and apps in the Amazon Appstore.

Reaction is only just starting to come in on Twitter - ‏@shannonstacey wrote, "So 500 "Amazon Coins" = $5.00? That's quite an exchange rate. (Also, do we really NEED Amazon Coins?)"



Many Kindle Fire users will probably be disappointed to learn ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: Amazon Coins Launch But Not Helpful to Third-Party Sellers
Comments (11) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Sat May 11 2013 18:20:51

Is eBay Charging Correctly after Fee Overhaul?

By: Ina Steiner
 
eBay instituted new standard seller fees in April and new Store fees on May 1st. We've received a reports from a few sellers that eBay has been overcharging them since the new fees went into effect, so I thought I would open up the blog to questions and concerns.

An eBay seller filed a report on the Ecommerce EKG board on May 2nd:

"eBay charging the "old" FVF for sales after May 1st. Called and got a "courtesy" refund for sales May 1st and 2nd (the "new" FVF for my category is supposed to be 7%, eBay is charging me ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: Is eBay Charging Correctly after Fee Overhaul?
Comments (32) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Thu May 9 2013 09:19:37

Is Amazon Giving Away Your Secrets?

By: Ina Steiner
 
Online merchants work hard on product sourcing, and when they can find a popular item that no one else is selling, they can reap the rewards. Unique products mean no competition and no "race to the bottom" on pricing. But Amazon is making that strategy more difficult for sellers.

Amazon sent out letters to a large number of sellers at the end of April telling them about a new program called the Amazon Virtual Account Manager program (VAM) that offers personalized coaching. In its letter, Amazon wrote that sellers would benefit from a direct relationship with the Amazon Services team, "connecting ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: Is Amazon Giving Away Your Secrets?
Comments (16) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Tue May 7 2013 16:29:00

Should eBay Allow Buy Now Option on Auctions?

By: Ina Steiner
 
eBay changed its policy on BIN auctions, which is proving controversial. There is also disagreement about whether eBay should even allow sellers to offer a Buy It Now option on auction listings.

BIN Auctions is a hybrid of an auction and a fixed-price listing. With auctions, it's possible bidders can drive up the final price quite high, so some sellers like to offer shoppers an option to buy the item immediately at a BIN price higher than the auction starting price.

The shopper who doesn't want to wait for the auction to end, or who doesn't want to risk the price going ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: Should eBay Allow Buy Now Option on Auctions?
Comments (22) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Mon May 6 2013 22:27:57

Sellers Still Coping with eBay Photo Requirements

By: Ina Steiner
 
eBay sellers have a lot to say about eBay's new photo requirements that requires they provide bigger pictures and eliminate borders, text and artwork in their photos. When eBay told sellers this year (in March) about the July 1st deadline, there were a lot of questions about its ban on borders and on text that sellers include in images as watermarks.

Now sellers are focusing on the size of their images - as of July 1st, sellers will not be able to upload images unless they are at least 500-pixels on their longest side.



As we reported in today's Newsflash newsletter, eBay is ... Read More
Reading EcommerceBytes Blog: Sellers Still Coping with eBay Photo Requirements
Comments (45) | Leave Comment | Permalink
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