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/.

Holiday Searches Are up 79% on Etsy over Last Year

October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 Ina Steiner

Etsy is seeing an increase in holiday-related searches, it revealed on Monday. Searches for “holiday” were up 79% in early October compared to the same time last year, while searches for “gift” were up 128%. Etsy surveyed buyers in September Read more

Amazon Offers Volume Discounts on Currency Conversion Fees for Disbursements

October 20, 2020October 20, 2020 Ina Steiner

Amazon is offering merchants volume discounts on currency conversion fees, it announced today. “Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS) is Amazon’s official payment solution that allows you to receive disbursements in the currency of your choice,” it told sellers. “ACCS Read more

Etsy Shoppers Can Now Pay in Installments: Impact on Sellers

October 20, 2020October 20, 2020 Ina Steiner

Etsy announced shoppers can now pay in installments thanks to a third-party service called Klarna. Etsy explained how it impacts sellers in today’s announcement, “We’ll send all of your funds for orders made with Klarna to your payment account the Read more

Etsy Deletes Inactive Teams with Little Warning

October 19, 2020 Ina Steiner

Etsy announced the launch of a new Teams “experience,” calling it a facelift. Ironically we can’t where Etsy posted the announcement – a seller sent us a link directly to the announcement, titled “We’re launching a new Teams experience.” We Read more

Etsy to Launch Curated Holiday Sales Page Next Month

October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 Ina Steiner

Etsy will launch a special holiday sales page in early November, and it’s asking sellers to put their items on sale and follow best practices for a chance to be featured. “Our team of merchandising experts will curate this new Read more

First Class Mail On-time Delivery Is Still Down but Holding

October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 Ina Steiner

On Thursday, the USPS provided Congress with what appeared to be positive news: new service performance data showed that despite a surge in mail volume, there was a slight increase (0.18%) in on-time delivery of First Class Mail service from Read more

USPS Click-N-Ship Now Available without a Printer

October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 Ina Steiner

The USPS now allows customers who don’t have access to a printer to pick up a shipping label at the Post Office. The Postal Service has integrated Click-N-Ship with Label Broker. USPS explained: “Now, when a customer uses Click-N-Ship to Read more

Amazon to Open 2 New Fulfillment Centers in Kansas

October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 Ina Steiner

Amazon announced plans to open two new fulfillment centers in Kansas next year. Each facility is one million square-feet and will be used to fulfill bulky or larger-sized customer items such as patio furniture, outdoor equipment, and rugs. The fulfillment Read more

Stamps.com Now Offers Discounts on UPS Shipping

October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 Ina Steiner

Online sellers can now get 48% off UPS Ground rates through their Stamps.com account, with many common surcharges waived. The news comes as both UPS and FedEx are aggressively pursuing ecommerce opportunities, with both carriers adding 7-day delivery in January. Read more

Amazon Unveils Holiday Dash, Lessens Risk of Early Shopping

October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 Ina Steiner

After wrapping up Prime Day this week, Amazon is back with another holiday promotion. In announcing Holiday Dash, Amazon encouraged customers to shop early, and it worked on making it less “risky” to do so. Amazon reassured shoppers that they Read more