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/.

Amazon Pushes Sellers to Price Low

December 1, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Amazon is pushing sellers to price low, at least during the holidays in Europe. Citing the poor shopping experience that higher prices can cause, Amazon sent the following letter to a European seller in the Toy category this month: “You are receiving Read more

PayPal Gets Off to Rocky Start on Cyber Monday

December 1, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

PayPal experienced an outage on Cyber Monday, the second day in a row during what is the busiest time of year for most online merchants. The problem began after 8:30 am ET and appeared to be over within an hour. Read more

Is Former eBay CEO John Donahoe Looking for a Job?

December 1, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

A new report indicates former eBay CEO John Donahoe may be looking for a job, having stepped down from the company in July after the breakup. His name was included in a report from Wall Street firm SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Read more

Bonanza Opens Paid Search to All Sellers

November 30, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Many online merchants are not satisfied to simply post listings and hope that shoppers will find them, even on marketplaces that draw traffic to their sites. That’s why Bonanza, which launched in 2008 to give eBay sellers an alternative selling Read more

Online Sellers Protest Changes to USPS Mobile App

November 30, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

The US Postal Service updated its iPhone app on November 20th, and users are complaining about problems with the new version. One of the biggest complaints – users say the process of scheduling a pickup is now so laborious that Read more

Black Friday Bump in Sales Is Real

November 30, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Some people might be skeptical about the hype around Black Friday given the fact it feels more like a week or more of sales rather than one day. ComScore data shows that shoppers continue to like shopping on the day after Thanksgiving – and Read more

Brief Outage Strikes PayPal Ahead of Cyber Monday

November 30, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Online shoppers were unable to pay for items on eBay and other ecommerce sites early Sunday morning due to an outage at PayPal. Attempts to pay or login to the PayPal website resulted in error messages, with many users reporting Read more

Message for Sellers Using Zen Cart Shopping Cart

November 27, 2015August 2, 2017 Ina Steiner

Merchants who use the popular shopping cart Zen Cart received some serious news this week. A security firm issued an alert on Wednesday warning of a serious vulnerability that could be exploited by hackers. On Thanksgiving Day, Zen Cart issued Read more

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