Author: Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.

Sneak Peek at Adobe Holiday Shopping Results

January 10, 2021January 10, 2021 Ina Steiner

Online spending saw strong growth over the holiday shopping season in 2020. Here’s a closer look at the numbers, including a peek at how small sellers fared compared to large, and a look at growth rates of popular product categories. Read more

Brexit Impacts eBay Terms for Global Shipping

January 10, 2021January 10, 2021 Ina Steiner

eBay UK announced it updated its Terms and Conditions for a service offered to sellers. The Global Shipping Program makes items available to over 60 million buyers worldwide while allowing sellers to ship the item domestically to eBay’s shipping center. Read more

Desperate Amazon Seller Sues over California Taxes

January 10, 2021January 10, 2021 Ina Steiner

An Amazon seller from Illinois said California’s tax agency froze her bank account just days before Christmas and took over $2,000 from her account. Now she’s fighting back, and it’s a matter of survival. Isabel Rubinas filed a civil rights Read more

From the Editor – January 10, 2021

January 9, 2021March 4, 2021 Ina Steiner

Online marketplaces eBay and Etsy just passively “raised” their fees for 2021. That’s because with higher shipping rates (USPS rate take effect in 2 weeks), they get a bigger commission on sales. That’s true whether sellers charge actual shipping costs Read more

EcommerceBytes Soundoff: Letters to the Editor – January 10, 2021

January 9, 2021January 9, 2021 Ina Steiner

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 your views. Dear Ina,An unethical short story I encountered from Read more

eBay Provides Update on 2021 Shipping Rates

January 7, 2021 Ina Steiner

eBay provided an update about shipping carrier rate changes for 2021. Notably the marketplace announced that UPS rates on eBay Labels remain at 2020 pricing for now, despite the fact UPS and FedEx raised rates for the New Year. (However, Read more

eBay Payments Coming to More of Europe by April

January 7, 2021 Ina Steiner

eBay announced it’s expanding the rollout of Managed Payments in parts of Europe by the end of the first quarter. The company is currently rolling out its own payments management to sellers in the US, Germany, UK, Australia and Canada. Read more

Walmart Updates APIs, Offers Advice for Marketplace Sellers

January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 Ina Steiner

Walmart offered encouragement to third-party marketplace sellers to kick off the New Year, encouraging them to become Pro Sellers and review changes to its APIs to become more efficient. Marketplaces may hide or deactivate listings for a number of reasons, Read more

eBay to Post Annual Shipping Rate Increases

January 6, 2021January 8, 2021 Ina Steiner

eBay manager Brian Burke discussed annual shipping-carrier rate increases during a podcast on Tuesday. He indicated eBay would post the new rates by the time of the podcast airing, though they hadn’t appeared on the Seller Announcement board as of Read more