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/.

Two New Features Coming to eBay?

March 5, 2018March 5, 2018 Ina Steiner

Sellers have spotted two new features that may be coming to eBay – one provides shoppers with an estimate of the time it takes sellers to respond to offers (called Best Offers). The other is an unusual move to entice Read more

Pitney Bowes Gets Secret Weapon by Hiring Top USPS Executive

March 5, 2018March 5, 2018 Ina Steiner

Pitney Bowes made a strategic hiring when it plucked a longtime USPS executive for its own. If anyone understands the ins and outs of the US Postal Service and the needs of its business customers here and abroad, it’s Cliff Read more

Amazon Reportedly Eyes Consumer Banking Service

March 5, 2018 Ina Steiner

Amazon is in talks with banks to work on a customized branded service for its customers, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing “people familiar with the matter.” “The talks with financial firms are focused on creating a product that Read more

Sales Tax Chaos Has Been Unleashed on Sellers

March 4, 2018 Ina Steiner

Amazon and Etsy began collecting Washington state sales tax on behalf of third-party merchants this year in a move that caught many sellers by surprise. Next up, Pennsylvania. All thanks to “Marketplace Facilitators” laws. Sellers are dealing with regulation on Read more

eBay UK Runs Selling Promotion for Private Sellers

March 4, 2018 Ina Steiner

eBay is running a promotion for UK sellers. The offer is by invitation only to private (non-business sellers). Those who receive the invitation and activate it can list up to 100 listings and enjoy listing fees of up to £1 Read more

Amazon Germany Opens State-of-the-Art Logistics Center

March 4, 2018 Ina Steiner

It’s no secret that Amazon is building out its logistics capabilities with fulfillment centers, sortation centers, and a network of vehicles and planes to move inventory from point A to point B. But Amazon also learns a lot over time Read more

Sellers Share Wish Lists with Etsy CEO Josh Silverman

March 2, 2018 Ina Steiner

In a blog post on Wednesday, “What’s Coming Up In 2018: More buyers, better tools, real talk,” Etsy discussed its plans for the year and invited users to submit questions for CEO Josh Silverman. The post came a day after Read more

Amazon Raises FBA Fees and Introduces Storage Limits Policy

March 1, 2018March 1, 2018 Ina Steiner

Amazon is raising fees for sellers who use FBA fulfillment and introduced a new policy in an effort to optimize space in its warehouse. Sellers already know not to take a “send it and forget it” approach to using Amazon Read more

Hardware Issue Takes Down AbeBooks Marketplace Again

March 1, 2018March 1, 2018 Ina Steiner

The Abe Books website is experiencing another outage due to a hardware issue. The Amazon-owned marketplace experienced a similar incident in September, after which it refunding all sellers 7 days subscription fees. UPDATE 3/1/18: The AbeBooks.com website is back up. Read more

Etsy to Close Etsy Studio and Manufacturing Sites

February 28, 2018 Ina Steiner

Etsy announced today it is closing Etsy Studio and Etsy Manufacturing later this year. Significantly, it made no mention of any plans to close Pattern, its store-hosting service for sellers. The announcement comes as Etsy’s new CEO Josh Silverman continues Read more