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/.

USPS Warns Online Shoppers to Beware of the Grinch

November 27, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Front porch shopping, as mail theft is called in these days of online shopping, is such a problem that the US Postal Service issued an advisory called “Holiday Shipping Security Tips,” asking people to report suspicious activity to local police Read more

How PayPal Chargebacks Can Come Back to Bite You

November 27, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

A reporter for a television station in Las Vegas warned viewers about a “PayPal loophole” that could prove costly for people selling on eBay. Consumer advocate Michelle Mortensen looked into the case for a local woman who sold a boat Read more

eBay UK Adds Support for Courier Tracking

November 26, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

eBay requires sellers to do their best to upload tracking information to its system, and in the UK, eBay is now integrating with shipping couriers to help them do that. eBay is introducing an on-time delivery metric that will go into effect Read more

What Fraudsters Will Be Shopping For on Cyber Monday

November 26, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Fraudsters have discerning taste, and will be “shopping” online on Cyber Monday with everyone else. A fraud-prevention solution provider analyzed its data and came up with the 20 most targeted items. Not surprisingly, Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton handbags made Read more

Sellers Deal with Third eBay Outage in a Month

November 26, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Sellers were unable to complete basic selling tasks on eBay on Wednesday morning as the site experienced the third outage in the past month. Things ground to a halt in the early morning hours the day before Thanksgiving – with Read more

eBay Promotion with Cap on Fees Results in Confusion

November 25, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

eBay is running a promotion in which it is capping the Final Value Fee for sellers on up to 100 items. One version of the promotion caps the FVF at $5, the other at $10. The promotion is resulting in Read more

Amazon Uses Google Paid Search to Promote Black Friday Deals

November 25, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Target and Amazon are the top two Black Friday advertisers on Google Paid Search when it comes to spending. That’s according to AdGooroo, which studied Black Friday-related keywords on US Google desktop paid search ads between September 27 – November Read more

Amazon Resets Passwords on Some Accounts

November 25, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Amazon reset the passwords of some users’ accounts on Tuesday. ZDnet broke the news, reporting that Amazon had force-reset an unknown number of accounts after passwords may have been compromised. Amazon has not responded to our request for more information about the Read more

Amazon Builds Out Its Own Delivery Network

November 25, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Amazon announced on Tuesday it will open its first Massachusetts fulfillment center. The company already has a Sortation Center in Stoughton and a Prime Now delivery hub in Everett, and it has research and technology offices throughout the state. EcommerceBytes Read more

Where eBay Is Delving into Groceries

November 24, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

eBay is getting into groceries – in Korea, that is. It will offer perishables such as vegetables, meat and dairy through Korea’s Gmarket and IAC platforms. The Partnership Program Director for eBay Korea Ju Cheol Lee said, “We’ve aligned with Read more