Value Added Resource Week In Review 1-28-24
Welcome to the Value Added Resource ecommerce news week in review!
eBay News
eBay announced a mass layoff of 1,000 employees this week, as CEO Jamie Iannone says "overall headcount & expenses have outpaced the growth of our business."
Liz Morton
While much attention has been placed on the loss in tech jobs & plans to reduce use of contractors, eBay's growing physical warehouse operations have been curiously absent from the conversation.
Take a deeper look at the impact these layoffs may have on authentication workers and how Iannone has radically changed eBay from its previous asset-light business model with labor-centric acquisitions.
Liz Morton
As layoffs & legal battles loom, on-campus pub Walker's West/The Sellar raises questions about corporate culture & priorities.
Liz Morton
Buyers and sellers have reacted to the news with concerns about the increasing use of AI and automation for critical support, trust and safety functions.
Liz Morton
Buyers and sellers reported a major slowdown in page loading and timeout errors this week, preventing them from searching, purchasing, listing new items for sale or editing existing listings, and bringing activity on the site to a halt.
Liz Morton
eBay's handling of USPS shipping changes that went into effect January 21 is creating confusion and concern as sellers report incorrect information still being shown in the listing form and possible problems with new cubic rate calculations.
Liz Morton
Sellers are perplexed by a new banner being shown in Seller Hub advising "We’ve made some updates to the eBay Marketing Program Terms, but have the terms really changed or is the warning a glitch?
Liz Morton
Buyers are confused and concerned by a new eBay advertising ploy suggesting items "you might also like" in a post-purchase pop up, leading to increased cancellations and chargebacks.
Liz Morton
eBay continues making changes to the feedback system, extending visibility of both buyer and seller replies to listings, store pages and other places where feedback is shown across the site.
Liz Morton
Other Ecommerce News
Etsy has confirmed the "big surprise" was in fact Gift Mode, and that it will be featured in their debut Super Bowl ad.
Gift mode is powered by a combination of machine learning, human curation, and OpenAI’s GPT-4 to provide a new way to shop for gifts on Etsy.
Liz Morton
Amazon has announced starting January 31, product pages will display multiple images provided by multiple selling partners, raising concerns about inaccurate pictures and ASIN hijacking.
Liz Morton
Bonanza is launching webinar series for sellers hosted by CEO Quincy Faison with the first installment, “Making eCommerce Accessible with Vercado - Unleashing the Power of Vercado for Seamless Growth.”
Liz Morton
Q4 2023 earnings are just around the corner and it looks like once again, eBay and Etsy are battling it out to see who gets to go last.
Liz Morton
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