Are shipping costs scaring eBay shoppers away? In a discussion board thread this morning ("eBay Called Me Yesterday"), a seller said eBay told them that passing along their shipping discounts to buyers would help their sales.

The longtime seller said eBay called them on the phone and asked if they were aware that their shipping preferences were set not to pass along postage savings to buyers. "They first asked if I was aware of this setting, and then, was I willing change my setting. They quoted some statistics about how this would help my sales."

One seller suspected eBay was going to change ... Read More

Yes, you can write great descriptions, take stunning photographs, and optimize your product attributes - but to really succeed on online marketplaces, you need to pay extra to advertise. At least that seemed to be the message from eBay, Walmart, and Amazon in recent blog posts.

eBay published a post on December 22 where it listed enhancements it had rolled out to its "advertising solution portfolio" in 2023, including adding additional slots in search ("Campaigns can now appear in three additional premium placements on the search results page") and dynamic bidding ("eBay sellers can stay competitive in an ever-fluctuating ... Read More

Every run-up to Christmas Day is accompanied by reports of shipping slowdowns, some years minor, and some years, near-catastrophic for the online sellers who face severe performance-metric consequences from marketplaces for delayed deliveries. So where are the shipping sticking points this year?

There have been anecdotal reports of slower-than-usual transit times on  industry forums, and the USPS noted it had experienced some disruptions in certain locations.

We've also seen reports in recent days of isolated trouble spots - one news article reported postal delays in Missouri City, Texas.

And on Reddit, there were reports of Chicago being a black hole ... Read More

Tis the season...for stressing about lost packages and late deliveries. This annual hand-wringing event may have also spawned a new phenomenon: Community sleuthing to help track down mis-delivered items.

We first noticed this occurring on one of the local community Facebook groups we follow. This is how it goes: a member starts a thread about an item that was supposedly delivered to their home, but never showed up.  In our Facebook group, for example, one of the posts began, "(A carrier) delivered my package to the wrong address today," and the original poster included an image they received from the shipping ... Read More

Amazon launched a new live-chat option for sellers who need customer support. But sellers who reacted to the announcement said they need better quality support, not new ways to access customer support reps.

In an announcement titled, "You can now reach Selling Partner Support through live chat," Amazon wrote: