Value Added Resource Week In Review 1-14-24

Welcome to the Value Added Resource ecommerce news week in review!

eBay News

eBay has been found criminally liable in connection to the 2019 cyberstalking of journalists Ina and David Steiner of EcommerceBytes, agreeing to pay a penalty of $3 million and undergo 3 years of compliance monitoring as part of a deal to defer further prosecution.

eBay Criminally Liable For 2019 Cyberstalking, Will Pay $3 Million Penalty

eBay found criminally liable for 2019 cyberstalking of Ina and David Steiner of Ecommercebytes, will pay $3 million penalty for six felony offenses.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

eBay has updated their user agreement for users in Ireland for the first time since June 2021, with changes effective February 11, 2024 to comply with new legislation as a result of the Digital Services Act.

eBay Ireland Updates User Agreement To Comply With Digital Services Act

eBay has updated their user agreement for Ireland, effective February 11, 2024, to comply with Digital Services Act - get the details here!

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

eBay has finally broken their silence on the shipping fluctuations many sellers have experienced over the last week.

While they declined to state whether it was a technical issue or intentional change, they have backtracked, reverted to the old rates and promised impacted sellers will be credited if they paid the higher rates.

eBay Sneaks In USPS Shipping Increase Effective January 8, 2024

eBay sneaking in stealth USPS rate increase 1-8-24 with no warning, despite previous promise to “try” to give two weeks notice of changes.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Shipping and tracking functions on the site experienced several other issues this week, with sellers unable to manually add tracking numbers and problems with the format for pting labels.

eBay Sellers Can’t Add Tracking, Shipping Labels Print 2 Per Page

eBay sellers report problems with adding tracking & shipping label printing 2 per page as glitches continue to plague the platform.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Sellers are reporting listings showing extra long delivery estimates or being required to ship orders on Sundays - is eBay changing their working day and cutoff time settings without their knowledge?

Is eBay Changing Sellers’ Working Days & Cutoff Times Without Their Knowledge?

Sellers report long shipping & delivery timeframes, shipping required on Sunday - is eBay changing working days & cutoff without their knowledge?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Are high postage costs, lack of free shipping driving buyers away? eBay Australia surveys buyers & sellers to find out!

eBay Surveys Australian Buyers & Sellers About Shipping Costs

Are high postage costs, lack of free shipping driving buyers away? eBay Australia surveys buyers & sellers to find out!

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

eBay says Authenticity Guarantee for trading cards, sneakers, watches and jewelry builds trust for buyers, leading to a boom in sales in key "enthusiast categories" but are long delays and inconsistent results chasing buyers away?

Are eBay Authentication Delays Getting Worse?

eBay says Authenticity Guarantee builds trust for buyers, leading to boom in sales in key categories, but are long delays chasing buyers away?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

The eBay community chat for January has been pushed back a week, raising questions about whether a Winter Update may be coming soon.

eBay January Community Chat Postponed, Winter 2024 Seller Update Coming Soon?

The eBay community chat for January has been pushed back a week, raising questions about whether a Winter Update may be coming soon.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Other Ecommerce News

Q4 2023 earnings calls are just around the corner and we'll soon find out how well major ecommerce companies fared during the all important holiday shopping season!

Q4 2023 Ecommerce Earnings Call Roundup

Q4 2023 earnings calls are just around the corner - track important ecommerce marketplace earnings dates here!

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

USPS says delivery performance is stable despite declines in reported on time delivery for October 1 through December 29, with only 85.4% of first class mail delivered on time.

USPS Reports 5%+ Decline In On Time Delivery For Q4 2023, Calls Performance “Stable”

USPS says delivery performance is stable despite only 85.4% of first class mail delivered on time October 1 - December 29.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Etsy sellers in Turkey report a troubling wave of stores being shut down with no explanation and no recourse for appeal - is this another round of bots gone wild on the platform?

Is Etsy Targeting Turkish Stores In Latest Round Of Automated Deactivations?

Etsy sellers in Turkey report troubling wave of stores being shut down with no explanation & no appeal.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Amazon has notified sellers they will need to update their listings to remove unsupported documents like 2D CAD, 3D CAD, Application Guides, Brochures, Comparison Charts, Compatibility Guides, FAQs, Size Guides, Specification Sheets, and Product Documentations from their item pages.

Amazon Warns Sellers To Update Items With Unsupported Documents By February 26

Amazon has notified sellers they will need to update their listings to remove unsupported documents by February 26.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton