Value Added Resource Week In Review 10-6-24
Welcome to the Value Added Resource ecommerce news week in review!
eBay News
The big news out of the UK this week is eBay has dropped selling fees for private UK sellers across all categories except Motors.
Liz Morton
While private sellers mostly cheered the news, many small business resellers feel betrayed by eBay execs who stood up just two weeks earlier at the eBay Open UK event knowing this change was coming soon and not saying anything about it, to avoid facing heated questions in person.
Private sellers would be wise to read the fine print carefully. As part of the new fee structure, they'll be moved into mandatory use of eBay Balance which will remove options for daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly scheduled payouts, replacing them with a manual payout process instead.
Liz Morton
eBay shrewdly chose to make the big headline the fee-free selling with press releases and a major media push hyping up the good news for sellers, while tucking the "bad news" about buyer fees coming in 2025 into their 8-K so it would be less likely to get as much attention.
Liz Morton
Global VP General Manager Business Selling Murray Lambell has left eBay after almost 17 years at the company, moving on to take the Chief Customer Officer role at British meal kit retailer, Gousto.
Liz Morton
In legal news this week, eBay has won dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the EPA last year seeking to hold the company liable for pesticides, chemicals, and illegal emissions control cheat devices sold on the platform.
The judge ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects eBay from liability, since they operate as "pure peer to peer third party marketplace" - but could TCGPlayer sales be grounds for an appeal or challenge of eBay's status as "just a venue"?
Liz Morton
A hearing in the eBay cyberstalking case this week explored whether Ina & David Steiner of EcommerceBytes can pursue punitive damages on top of $100M+ already sought in compensatory damages, with particular interest paid to whether allegedly defamatory statements made in Craigslist ads were published nationally or locally within Massachusetts.
Liz Morton
Unionized workers at eBay-owned TCGPlayer rallied in NY this week, calling on the company to raise pay and negotiate a fair contract. The event coincided with release of TCGunion-CWA's "Tapped Out At TCGPlayer" report, detailing wage data & cost of living concerns.
Liz Morton
PSA is now officially the sole provider of authentication services for both raw and graded trading cards sold through eBay's Authenticity Guarantee program, kicking Certified Collectibles Group (CGC) to the curb.
Liz Morton
eBay is expanding their luxury handbag consignment service to the UK in new partnership with Luxe Collective Fashion.
Liz Morton
eBay has posted an update for sellers on peak season holiday surcharges and rate increases for UPS, FedEx, and USPS - but the good news is, if you print labels through the platform, some of the surcharges won't apply!
Liz Morton
Sellers have been frustrated and confused about the status of the eBay Listing Quality Report, with many losing access earlier this year, but discussions with staff at eBay Open 2024 have finally revealed the future plans for this feature.
Liz Morton
Other Ecommerce News
Poshmark also announced big changes to fees this week, becoming the latest marketplace to shift some fees to buyers on the US marketplace October 3.
Liz Morton
Vinted Pro has launched in UK, allowing businesses to sell pre-owned clothing, toys, tech accessories & more for free. Will eBay business sellers upset with new fee policy giving unfair advantage to private sellers make a switch?
Liz Morton
Chief Product Officer at Etsy-owned musical instrument marketplace Reverb, Bradford Shellhammer, has left the company, just weeks after a round of layoffs that put the future of the site on shaky ground.
Liz Morton
Etsy VP Growth Mike Jacobs has taken on a new job at Upside, leaving active buyer and GMS growth strategy up in the air at critical time for the company.
Liz Morton
Livestream shopping site Whatnot is starting Q4 off with a bang, releasing their first State Of Livestream Selling Report and revealing over $2 Billion in sales made through the platform so far in 2024.
Liz Morton
And Bonanza marketplace is reversing course on controversial $2 shipping fee introduced last year as peak season shipping rates increase and shoppers look for holiday deals.
Liz Morton
Never miss a headline - follow Value Added Resource on Google News to keep track of all the important ecommerce marketplace news! 📰
