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/.

eBay Opts Sellers Back Into Global Shipping Program

October 3, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

eBay sellers say the company has once again placed them into its Global Shipping Program (GSP). The program is controversial for several reasons – not the least of which is that it is an opt-out rather than opt-in program. A Read more

USPS to Maintain Current Prices for First Class Mail

October 3, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

While many online sellers expect a postage rate increase each year, the cost of mailing a letter will remain the same come January. The USPS will not raise prices in January for Market Dominant products, good news for sellers of Read more

PayPal Rival Stripe Gets Boost to Ecosystem with $10 Million Fund

October 2, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

Can a new $10 million fund help create some “killer apps” for online payment service Stripe? One of its investors, venture capital firm General Catalyst, is banking on a larger ecosystem to extend Stripe by launching the GC Stripe Platform Read more

eBay Top Rated Sellers Struggle with Return Policy Glitch

October 2, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

Sometimes you do everything right and you still can’t catch a break. eBay makes sellers who wish to get Top Rated Seller status and the perks that come with it to jump through a number of hoops. But on Wednesday, Read more

And By the Way, PayPal Has a New President

October 2, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

With all the attention eBay received this week about its plans to breakup eBay and PayPal, the announcement on Tuesday that it had finally named a replacement to former PayPal president David Marcus may have been overlooked. eBay named Dan Read more

Sellers’ Money Goes Missing on PayPal

October 2, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

Sellers all over the Internet were scrambling when payments went missing from their PayPal accounts for hours on October 1. And it impacted not just sellers on eBay, but on Etsy, Bonanza, and even people who transferred their money from Read more

The Annual Return of Chocolates to Amazon Fulfillment Centers

October 1, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Amazon sent a sweet reminder to sellers informing them that its fulfillment centers are once again accepting “meltable inventory” such as chocolate. Sellers who use Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) can only send Read more

Delivery Concerns Drive Earlier Start to Holiday Shopping

October 1, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

More people will start their online shopping for holiday gifts earlier this year in order to ensure on-time delivery, according to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by ORC International for Pitney Bowes in August 2014. In fact, half of Read more

Etsy Enhances Checkout, Phone Support, Other Seller Features

October 1, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

Etsy reminded sellers of recent enhancements to the marketplace in a blog post called “Etsy Community News,” including a reminder of its expanded phone support and improvements to Direct Checkout and the shipping process. The company also revealed it plans Read more

Moody’s Places eBay on Review over $7.5 Billion Debt

October 1, 2014August 28, 2017 Ina Steiner

Moody’s Investors Service placed eBay’s ratings under review for downgrade following the company’s announcement of its plan to divide into two separate, publicly traded companies, in a transaction that will effect a spin-off of its PayPal subsidiary. eBay is positioning Read more