Two companies that help online merchants with their shipping automation were scooped up this year by Stamps.com, highlighting the importance of ecommerce to the shipping industry. Stamps.com paid $22 million in cash for ShipWorks this month, and it paid $50 million (plus Read more
Smaller merchants who run their own online stores saw high growth in July, August and September compared to the same period a year ago, according to an analysis conducted by Bigcommerce. Growth was aided by back-to-school shoppers, the company found. Read more
eBay exchanged a carrot for a stick when it comes to trying to force Top Rated Sellers to offer extended returns during the holidays. Rather than penalizing Top Rated Sellers by taking away their 20% discounts if they didn’t offer Read more
Amazon is working with the USPS, offering it a variety of innovative services, including same-day delivery and Sunday delivery. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has now granted the Postal Service permission to test a new grocery-delivery service called Customized Delivery, Read more
Etsy believes it can help give shoppers at street fairs and shows confidence to hand over their credit cards to sellers with the help of the Etsy brand. The company believes that’s good for both itself and its sellers, and Read more
eBay is running a free-listing promotion that kicked off on Saturday and runs through October 29, 2014, but as is often the case these days, it’s by invitation only. eBay UK is also running a promotion but for private (casual) Read more
Amazon grew third-quarter sales 20% to $20.58 billion, making eBay Marketplace’s 7% growth seem anemic by comparison. But Amazon stayed humble thanks to what the Wall Street Journal called its largest quarterly loss in 14 years. The company reported a net loss Read more
Etsy launched a payments card reader to let its sellers accept credit and debit card payments processed in person at offline venues such as flea markets and craft shows. It can also record cash sales. But make no mistake – Read more
eBay is raising fees by raising the maximum commission on high-value goods and through changes to its automatic relist feature. The reason given: “At eBay, we monitor our rates, and periodically make adjustments to them.” The changes take effect on Read more
One of the best ways to get one’s brand or business noticed happens through the accumulation of positive ratings and reviews from customers. But a cutthroat online marketplace where greed or malice can sometimes exceed common sense has laid a Read more
