With Quill Protection Gone, What Should Online Sellers Do?

June 23, 2018 4:17 pm

Even if you’re a small online seller with a presence in a single state, should you immediately start collecting sales tax from your out-of-state buyers? That’s a question on many …
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Supreme Court Throws Out Longstanding Sales Tax Rule-Book

June 23, 2018 11:27 am

Just the mention of “taxes” can cause stomachs to tighten, but Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v Wayfair is inducing anxiety in small business owners who aren’t sure …
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Amazon Announces Yet Another Fulfillment Center, the First in Alabama

June 22, 2018 5:00 pm

Amazon will open its first fulfillment center in Alabama as it continues to build out its logistics network. The over 855,000-square-foot center will be used to fulfill small items such …
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NRF Says Supreme Court Sales-Tax Ruling Levels the Playing Field

June 21, 2018 10:53 pm

The National Retail Federation (NRF) hailed today’s Supreme Court ruling on sales tax in South Dakota v. Wayfair. While online marketplaces eBay and Etsy see the issue as a big …
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eBay Runs Another Sitewide Sale to Goose Sales

June 21, 2018 9:02 pm

eBay is running yet another sitewide sale, this one good for a $15 coupon off a minimum purchase of $75. The 1-day sale kicked off at 7 am (Pacific) and …
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Etsy CEO Hails Supreme Court Chief Justice Dissent in Sales Tax Case

June 21, 2018 4:26 pm

Etsy CEO Josh Silverman quoted Chief Justice Roberts dissent in today’s Supreme Court ruling on sales-tax collection requirements in South Dakota vs. Wayfair. Roberts had pointed to the burden micro …
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eBay Urges Congress to Act in Wake of Sales Tax Ruling

June 21, 2018 4:07 pm

eBay called on Congress to provide clear rules and a small-business exemption after the Supreme Court ruled in South Dakota v. Wayfair. Today’s decision overruled the 1992 Quill Corp. v …
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Brands Say Amazon Has Unfair Data Advantage

June 19, 2018 11:05 pm

A new survey of over 300 brand marketers show three-quarters of them feel Amazon has an unfair “data” advantage, with 86 percent stating they would benefit from understanding competitors’ search, …
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Bonanza Runs Membership Sale as It Celebrates 10-year Anniversary

June 19, 2018 10:33 pm

Online marketplace Bonanza thanked members old and new for helping it reach age 10. The company is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a membership sales promotion. Sellers don’t have to …
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PayPal Acquires Hyperwallet for $400 Million in Cash

June 19, 2018 9:08 pm

PayPal is acquiring a company called Hyperwallet, which it calls “a leading global payout platform.” Or as the company says on its website, “Go global, pay local.” While it’s relatively …
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New Portal Showcases eBay Germany Sellers

June 19, 2018 12:43 pm

eBay features 17 million buyers on its German marketplace. It created a new German-language portal to showcase some of the “tens of thousands” of businesses selling over 140 million listings …
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Amazon to Open a Fourth Fulfillment Center in Michigan

June 19, 2018 9:52 am

Amazon will open its fourth fulfillment center located in Michigan. The 850,000 square-foot fulfillment center will feature “innovative technologies” including Amazon Robotics and will be used to fulfill small items …
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Amazon Launches Prime in Australia

June 19, 2018 8:53 am

Amazon launched Prime in Australia this week, just in time for next month’s Prime Day global shopping event. Prime offers free 2-day shipping on domestic orders to 90% of Australians …
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Etsy Kicks Off Birthday Sale

June 18, 2018 10:50 pm

Etsy is celebrating the 13-year anniversary of its founding by organizing a sale. As we previously reported, Etsy gave sellers instructions last month on how to participate (“create a sale …
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Google Shopping to See Influx of Chinese Products via JD.com Deal

June 18, 2018 4:19 pm

Expect more competition from China on Google Shopping thanks to a new deal announced on Monday. Google is investing in Alibaba rival JD.com, China’s second largest ecommerce player. “As part …
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Amazon Opens New Office in Ireland

June 18, 2018 2:06 pm

Amazon opened a new office in Dublin today and said it would create 1,000 new technology jobs in Ireland over the next 2 years. That’s double the commitment it made …
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Amazon Advises FBA Sellers to Prep for Prime Day

June 17, 2018 9:07 pm

Amazon sent an email to sellers who participate in its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program this month advising them to prepare for its annual Prime Day shopping holiday. “Is your …
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eBay Gives Competitive Insight Tool to Select Partners

June 17, 2018 8:32 pm

eBay has a new tool to help sellers compete in the new product-based shopping experience it’s rolling out (PBSE, as eBay calls its Amazon-like catalog approach). However, it’s only available …
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eBay Loses Canada Post Shipping Discount for Sellers

June 17, 2018 1:38 pm

It will cost eBay sellers in Canada more to ship some of their packages as of July 1, 2018 because Canada Post is no longer providing discount prices to eBay …
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As eBay Preps for Payments, It Eschews Role of Chief Technology Officer

June 16, 2018 12:32 am

eBay will begin testing a new payments system in July and shuffled some managers overseeing technology to help prepare for the impact on eBay’s platform. eBay appointed Steve Fisher, its …
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eBay Launches Free-Shipping Program in Australia

June 16, 2018 12:00 am

eBay officially launched its $49/year membership program in Australia on Thursday that mimics Amazon Prime. Shoppers who subscribe to the program get free shipping and free returns on certain items …
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Etsy Raises Fees, Promises to Boost Marketing

June 14, 2018 8:38 am

Etsy is raising seller fees and introducing new subscription plans while promising to boost its marketing budget to bring more buyers to the site. One positive thing worth noting: listing …
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Etsy Kicks Off Marketing Campaign in UK

June 12, 2018 10:38 pm

Etsy kicked off a marketing campaign in the UK. It’s working with five “influencers” who will post about the campaign on their social media accounts, giving exposure to Etsy and …
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Amazon Signals Commitment to the UK Market

June 12, 2018 10:25 pm

Amazon signaled is commitment to the UK market, showing again its ability to remain above the political fray as the UK moves toward exiting the EU, while staying focused on …
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eBay Bucks Runs Buy-or-Sell Promotion

June 12, 2018 4:21 pm

A new eBay Bucks promotion offers members of the eBay loyalty program 10% in eBay Bucks for buying or for selling. The invitation-only promotion offers the following: 10% in eBay …
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Facebook Offers Digital-Marketing Training for Small Businesses

June 12, 2018 11:02 am

Facebook has two programs that small businesses can use to improve their digital marketing skills. The company made a pledge to help the US workforce in a June 8, 2018 …
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eBay Canada Gets Automotive Parts Catalog Feature

June 11, 2018 8:17 pm

eBay launched its parts compatibility feature called Fitment on eBay Motors 8 years ago, but it’s just rolling out to Canadians this month. eBay Canada announced in its February Spring …
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eBay Pitches Luxury Brands on Benefits of Marketplace Ads

June 11, 2018 7:35 pm

eBay said 21 million of its shoppers hold “black” and “platinum” credit cards, and it revealed other tidbits about its high-spending buyers in a bid to persuade luxury brands to …
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Amazon Offers Sellers an Hour of Coaching for 75 Bucks

June 10, 2018 10:51 am

Amazon has been sending an invitation to sellers this month giving them the opportunity for coaching. The Amazon Support Connect program costs $75 for a one-hour session and is conducted …
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From the Editor – June 10, 2018

June 9, 2018 8:04 pm

Handmade and vintage marketplace Etsy is turning 13 (time flies!) and is celebrating this month with a sales event kicking off on June 18th and running through June 22nd – …
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Are You Missing Out by Avoiding International Sales?

June 9, 2018 8:03 pm

Imagine being able to boost sales by between 10 and 25 percent. What’s the catch? Opening yourself up to buyers in other countries, which of course comes with its own …
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The New and Confusing eBay Item Location Policy

June 9, 2018 8:02 pm

Many readers are familiar with Skip McGrath who has been writing about online selling since the late 1990s. His latest newsletter features an article, “Has eBay finally jumped the shark? …
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EcommerceBytes Soundoff: Letters to the Editor – June 10, 2018

June 9, 2018 8:00 pm

In every issue, readers soundoff about issues important to them. From shipping issues to payment processing, from fees to online marketplace policies, EcommerceBytes Soundoff gives you a chance to air …
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Amazon Announces Plans for a Second Fulfillment Center in Oklahoma

June 8, 2018 11:15 pm

Amazon follows up on its announcement to build a Fulfillment Center in Oklahoma by announcing plans to build a second such facility in the state. The second FC will be …
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eBay Runs Flash Sale in UK

June 8, 2018 12:07 pm

eBay is running a flash sale in the UK today til 8pm (or 3 pm ET). Normally we call these types of sales “sitewide” to indicate they are open to …
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Rakuten Acquires Curbside

June 7, 2018 8:39 pm

As the popularity of in-store and curbside pickup is growing, ecommerce giant Rakuten announced it is acquiring Curbside, a service that helps stores and restaurants offer customers “order ahead” service …
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BQool Launches New Feature for Its Amazon Product Research Tool

June 7, 2018 5:20 pm

BQool launched a new chrome extension for its product-research tool BigTracker. When users search Amazon for a particular product, the BigTracker extension aggregates all of the results on a single …
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Etsy Holds Annual Shareholder Meeting

June 7, 2018 11:17 am

Etsy held its annual shareholder meeting this morning. It webcast the event, but only shareholders as of the record date were allowed to attend the virtual meeting. We checked in …
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eBay Launches Bullion Buyback Program

June 6, 2018 2:49 pm

eBay launched a program that lets users sell their gold and silver to its partner through the eBay Bullion Buyback program. Users simply take a photo and send it to …
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Discogs Offers Centralized Payments in Footsteps of Etsy, eBay

June 6, 2018 1:22 pm

Discogs is going down the same path as Etsy and eBay by becoming a payments intermediary, and will use the same payments processor to power Discogs Payments that eBay chose …
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Shipping Disruption Possible as UPS Union Opens Door to Labor Strike

June 6, 2018 11:50 am

CNN reported the possibility of a labor strike of UPS union workers that could disrupt the economy, estimating that shipments UPS transports equal an estimated 6% of the nation’s GDP …
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eBay Names New Head of Portland Office

June 5, 2018 9:13 pm

eBay named Gail Frederick the new General Manager of its Portland office, which is an eBay Center of Excellence and an innovation hub specifically for its mobile development and eBay …
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Mercari Selling App Launches Seller Badges

June 5, 2018 8:51 pm

Mercari launched seller badges designed to give buyers an indication of seller reliability. The badges display information about sellers, including: how long they’ve been a member of the marketplace, if …
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BigCommerce Integrates with WordPress

June 5, 2018 2:40 pm

For the many sellers who use WordPress to host their websites, there’s now BigCommerce for WordPress. BigCommerce launched its first “Commerce-as-a-Service” offering – meaning sellers don’t have to host their …
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Amazon Reminds Sellers of Fair Shipping Rate Policy

June 5, 2018 9:21 am

Amazon reminded sellers of its Fair Pricing policy after a story went viral about a woman who said she was charged $7,400 for shipping for some boxes of toilet paper …
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Rue La La Buys Gilt, Long Live Flash Sale Sites

June 4, 2018 10:16 pm

Rue La La is acquiring rival Gilt Groupe, though the terms of the sale aren’t known. Once the darlings of ecommerce, flash sale sites have become passé, though Rue La …
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eBay Touts Role in Creating Jobs, Helping US Economy

June 4, 2018 4:52 pm

eBay published data today to show its contributions to the US economy, touting its role in helping to create jobs. The missive from Dan Tarman, Chief Communications Officer, eBay, comes …
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Walmart Rebalances International Portfolio as It Seeks Growth

June 4, 2018 1:39 pm

Walmart is selling 80% of Walmart Brazil to private equity firm Advent International. Walmart entered the Brazilian market 22 years ago, and Walmart Brazil today has 438 stores in 18 …
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Walmart CEO Addresses Shareholders at Annual Meeting

June 3, 2018 8:42 pm

Imagine serving nearly 270 million customers a week in 28 countries and generating $500.3 billion in revenue. Those are Walmart’s stats cited by its CEO Doug McMillon at last week’s …
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eBay Entices Buyers with eBay Bucks Promotion

June 3, 2018 3:31 pm

eBay is running a promotion for buyers that kicked off on Saturday and ends today – it’s limited to *invited* members of its eBay Bucks program. A trusted tipster sent …
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eBay Entices Sellers to Offer 30 Day Returns

June 1, 2018 4:14 pm

eBay sent an email to sellers on Friday enticing them to change their return policies using the subject line: “Save on labels when you change your return policy.” For sellers …
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eBay CEO Devin Wenig Addresses Shareholders at Today’s Annual Meeting

May 30, 2018 1:28 pm

eBay CEO Devin Wenig answered shareholder questions after he gave a presentation following this morning’s annual meeting. eBay webcast the event, but the audio went dead for the last minutes …
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PayPal Acquires Jetlore as It Expands Marketing Services

May 30, 2018 10:52 am

PayPal has acquired Jetlore, an ecommerce service that helps retailers offer personalized search results using “Predictive Ranking,” which matches each customer’s unique preferences directly to inventory in real time. The …
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FCC Requests eBay and Amazon Crackdown

May 29, 2018 11:08 pm

A government agency took an unusual step of getting directly involved in ecommerce matters. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requested the heads of eBay and Amazon do more to …
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eBay Sends 20 Sellers to Washington to Lobby Legislators

May 28, 2018 9:51 am

eBay sent 20 small businesses who sell on its marketplace to Washington, DC, to lobby their legislators as part of its 13th annual Advocacy Day event. The focus of this …
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Amazon Improves Package-Tracking Capabilities

May 28, 2018 9:19 am

Amazon is improving package-tracking capabilities, according to Cnet. Buyers have always been able to get detailed tracking through the numbers provided by shipping carriers. But Amazon had provided less transparency …
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Amazon to Open Its First Fulfillment Center in Oklahoma

May 26, 2018 11:04 pm

Amazon announced today it will open its first fulfillment center in Oklahoma. The more than 600,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will be used to fulfill small items such as books, household items …
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US Retailers Are Subject to GDPR, Says National Retail Federation

May 24, 2018 10:06 pm

The first paragraph of a new report from the National Retail Federation and EuroCommerce is grim: “The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets out changes to almost every area of …
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eBay Explains Philosophy as It Kicks Off Memorial Day Promo

May 24, 2018 5:16 pm

eBay is running several versions of a promotion designed to encourage sellers to list in any format ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Interestingly an invitation forwarded by a …
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Here Comes Another Etsy Sale

May 23, 2018 8:11 pm

Etsy is holding another sales event, this one in June to celebrate the 13th anniversary of its founding. The new CEO Josh Silverman is clearly a fan of sales and …
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Privy CEO Warns Sellers Not to Overthink Optimization

May 23, 2018 11:33 am

For ecommerce pros, fine-tuning their marketing provides a method of evening the playing field. But sometimes SMB sellers do a little too much. EcommerceBytes and Privy CEO Ben Jabbawy discussed …
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eBay to Sellers: All Your Listings Are Belong to Us

May 22, 2018 4:24 pm

eBay announced it is updating its User Agreement effective June 21, 2018.* One provision eBay pointed out stands out as it clarifies what sellers have been feeling – to paraphrase …
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eBay Announces Summer Seller Update: Changes Ahead

May 22, 2018 10:37 am

eBay is announcing the Summer Seller Update today that includes some major changes to eBay Stores and an expansion of its new product based shopping experience (PBSE), which it has …
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Adobe to Acquire Magento Commerce for $1.68 Billion

May 22, 2018 12:26 am

Adobe is acquiring ecommerce platform Magento Commerce for $1.68 billion. Magento CEO Mark Lavelle will continue to lead the Magento team as part of Adobe’s Digital Experience business. Last month, …
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eBay Lures Buyers with Bucks Promotion

May 21, 2018 11:39 pm

eBay is running some variations of a promotion to entice buyers through its eBay Bucks program. A seller who forwarded two invitations said, “I received the 10%/$50 minimum promo in …
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eBay Launches Ambitious Plan to Manage User Identities

May 21, 2018 8:26 pm

eBay wants to eliminate the need for users to have passwords, though it’s not the first time eBay has laid out ambitious plans when it comes to managing user identities …
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Amazon Launches Marketplace App Store for Sellers

May 21, 2018 7:56 pm

Amazon launched an app store to make it easier for sellers to find Amazon-approved tools to help them sell more efficiently as it also appears to be seeking tighter control …
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eBay Appeals to Buyers Directly with Promotions

May 18, 2018 9:38 am

eBay is changing things up when it comes to promotions. eBay has long relied on promotions to encourage sellers to list items that would attract buyers, but eBay is doing …
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PayPal to Buy iZettle for Two Reasons

May 17, 2018 9:23 pm

PayPal is turning to an acquisition for growth, betting on international and in-store opportunities. On Thursday it announced it had agreed to acquire iZettle, allowing it to expand offerings in …
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Amazon Announces New Fulfillment Center in Arizona

May 17, 2018 10:29 am

After announcing plans to build another fulfillment center in Ohio on Monday (the sixth in the state), Amazon announced Wednesday plans to build a new center in Arizona. The new …
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eBay Announces Personalized Shopping Feature Called Interests

May 17, 2018 9:17 am

eBay announced a new feature called Interests that shows shoppers what eBay thinks they want to see based on what shoppers have told it, and matching it to shopping themes …
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eBay Surveys Sellers on Diversity

May 16, 2018 4:42 pm

eBay is surveying sellers on the topic of diversity. The marketplace explained the Seller Diversity Questionnaire “is intended to gather demographic information that will allow us to better understand our …
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Amazon Accepts Cold Hard Cash via Coinstar Kiosks

May 15, 2018 4:14 pm

Amazon users can now load up their account balance by adding cash at a Coinstar kiosk. Here’s the pitch to buyers: “Want to shop on Amazon.com without a credit or …
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Amazon Expands Logistics Network with Ohio Fulfillment Center

May 14, 2018 9:07 pm

Amazon will build another fulfillment center in Ohio, its sixth in the state. In addition to the centers currently operating in Etna and Obetz, Amazon will launch operations at previously …
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PayPal UK Boasts of Small-Business Lending

May 14, 2018 1:34 pm

Norah Coelho, PayPal UK’s Director of Business Financing, took to the corporate blog last week to share the news of a milestone reached by its PayPal Working Capital program. PayPal …
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Amazon Tweaks Feedback Policy for Late Deliveries

May 14, 2018 1:17 pm

Amazon gives US sellers a way to purchase and print shipping labels using Amazon Buy Shipping in Seller Central, and this month it launched a new policy to offer some …
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eBay Mobile App: Tech Issues, Greater Connectivity

May 14, 2018 12:44 pm

eBay buyers have experienced some technical issues using the eBay mobile app of late. eBay also announced recently it is working with new technology to make some improvements to the …
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eBay to Canadian Sellers: Prep for May 16th Campaign

May 13, 2018 8:07 pm

eBay is running a “Buy Canadian” campaign in Canada that launches on May 16, 2018. It sent an email to sellers alerting them so they can take advantage of the …
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From the Editor – May 13, 2018

May 12, 2018 8:04 pm

It’s always interesting to compare the sales growth rates of the major marketplaces when they release them each quarter. eBay announced first-quarter earnings on April 25th – it grew Gross …
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Sellers Guide to eBay Guaranteed Delivery

May 12, 2018 8:03 pm

With the Guaranteed Delivery program, eBay is allowing shoppers to filter search results to show only items that offer guaranteed delivery within 3 days. That means sellers who don’t participate …
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Happy Anniversary to the New Etsy and Its CEO

May 12, 2018 8:02 pm

It’s hard to believe that just one year-and-10-days ago, it was business as usual at Etsy under a CEO who had happily reigned for 6 years. But on May 2, …
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Collectors Corner: Wade Figurines, Beanie Babies, and Bolivar

May 12, 2018 8:01 pm

It’s spring – Finally! – and in accordance with the season, it’s time to clean out our update folder and bring you up-to-speed with some of your (and our) favorite …
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EcommerceBytes Soundoff: Letters to the Editor – May 13, 2018

May 12, 2018 8:00 pm

Amazon to Launch Shop for Indie Beauty Brands

May 12, 2018 4:03 pm

Amazon will launch a beauty shop next month in which brands will sell directly to consumers, according to an online publication called Beauty Independent. Amazon’s Justin Boettcher announced Amazon’s Indie …
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eBay Eastern European Seller Summit 2018

eBay Holds Seller Summit for Eastern Europeans

May 11, 2018 1:22 pm

eBay’s Moscow news team described a recent gathering of sellers held in Budapest, Hungary, at its Eastern European Seller Summit. eBay Vice President of Cross Border Trade John Lin spoke …
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eBay Partners with Australian Shopping Rewards Program Flybuys

May 10, 2018 11:13 pm

eBay partnered with Australian shopping rewards program flybuys to offer point collection at 40,000 online stores. It’s kicking off the program by offering Australian shoppers 10 times flybuys points on …
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eBay CEO Devin Wenig to Relaunch eBay India

May 9, 2018 11:34 am

eBay CEO Devin Wenig tweeted the news that he plans to relaunch eBay India: “We will be back in the India market soon with http://eBay.in . We will start by …
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Amazon Showcases Smart-Home Technology at New Experience Centers

May 9, 2018 9:28 am

Amazon announced it is opening what it calls Amazon Experience Centers inside Lennar model homes to showcase its “smart home” technology, known as IoT (the Internet of Things). “Customers can …
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Etsy Grows Sales by 18 Percent in First Quarter of 2018

May 8, 2018 4:55 pm

Etsy grew Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) by nearly 18% in the first 3 months of 2018. Specifically, Etsy GMS grew 19.8% year-over-year, or 17.6% on a currency-neutral basis. Etsy saw …
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Facebook Ads Still Viable For Privacy-Conscious Sellers

May 8, 2018 1:25 pm

Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg made news for the social network’s privacy practices. Prudent online sellers may be concerned about how potential customers drawn from Facebook perceive their brands …
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