Value Added Resource Week In Review 9-17-23

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

eBay News

SAG-AFTRA has chosen the eBay For Charity platform to host celebrity auctions to raise funds and awareness for crewmembers impacted by ongoing actors and writers strikes, but with recent anti-union activity, is eBay the best platform to promote union solidarity?

As Celebrity Auctions Go Viral, Is eBay The Best Place For Union Solidarity?

Union Solidarity Coalition celebrity auctions go viral, but with recent anti-union activity, is eBay a good choice to promote this event?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay is partnering with longtime seller Linda's Stuff to offer a new eBay Consignment program for luxury handbags, raising questions about whether eBay can still claim not to compete against sellers.

eBay Partners With Linda’s Stuff For eBay Consignment On Luxury Handbags

eBay is partnering with longtime seller Linda’s Stuff to offer a new eBay Consignment program for luxury handbags.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay acquired NFT marketplace KnownOrigin for an undisclosed sum in June 2022, betting big on the nascent crytopart market, but progress on Web3 initiatives has stalled as the NFT bubble deflates.

eBay’s KnownOrigin Web3 Strategy Questioned As NFT Bubble Bursts

1 year after eBay acquired KnownOrigin, the NFT hype is over - will execs face scrutiny for strategic missteps & execution failure?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay Germany is going cashless to make transactions "more secure" by eliminating the cash payment option for local pick up sales.

eBay Germany No Longer Allows Cash On Pickup, Requires Use Of eBay Payment Processing

eBay Germany goes cashless to make transactions “more secure” by eliminating cash payment option for local pick up sales.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay sellers report the scan to list feature in the app that uses image recognition technology to streamline listing Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic The Gathering cards is no longer working - no matter how many cards they try, the tool is not able to find a match.

eBay Scan To List For Collectible Card Games Not Finding Matches

eBay sellers report Scan To List for collectible card games fails, image recognition no longer able to find matches.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay's social media sharing tool for store owners runs into problems as Twitter/X and Meta make changes to API for businesses.

As social media companies act to restrict use of APIs and limit reach of posts with off site links, will sellers be forced to start selling on these social media platforms directly if they want to monetize their followings?

eBay Social Sharing Fails As Meta & Twitter Cut Off API Access

eBay’s social media sharing tool has run into problems as Twitter/X & Meta make changes to API for businesses.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

A coding change in the eBay community forums intended to alert users before navigating to an external site is causing confusion and concern as the warning is applied to some internal links in error.

The move may help to combat spam, but it goes without saying that it may also discourage users from sharing and visiting links to legitimate outside sources of information.

Is this just one more way eBay is trying to divert seller attention away from social media groups, YouTube channels, and articles from both mainstream and independent news sources?

eBay Community External Site Warning Causes Confusion & Concern

eBay community forums external link warning causes confusion & concern as popup appears for some internal links in error.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Sellers who share their experiences on YouTube and across social media are facing a new dilemma as they are increasingly finding opportunities to engage directly with eBay executives about important business-impacting issues may require signing non-disclosure agreements that stifle their voices.

eBay Seller Dilemma: Sacrificing Free Speech For Executive Access

Should sellers have to give up right to speak publicly about their experiences for their feedback to be heard by eBay?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Other Ecommerce News

Amazon customers file proposed class action lawsuit alleging the company wrongfully recharged them for items that were properly returned on time and in original condition.

Amazon Faces Class Action For Recharging Instant Refunds On Returned Goods

Amazon hit with class action alleging they wrongfully recharged for items returned on time & in original condition.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Sellers are sharing thoughts and concerns about Etsy's new Share & Save incentive program as Etsy staff answer community questions.

Etsy Sellers Share Thoughts & Concerns About Share & Save Program

Ety sellers share thoughts & concerns about Share & Save incentive program & Etsy staff answer community questions.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Etsy is funding a $5 discount promotion in the US, UK and Canada and while using the new Share & Save feature is not a requirement, the offer is clearly intended to entice sellers to sign up!

Etsy Funds $5 Discount To Pump Up Share & Save Social Sharing

Etsy funding $5 coupon in US, UK & Canada, enticing sellers to try Share & Save - but premature marketing may sink offer before it starts.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Unfortunately, many sellers are worried they may not be able to benefit from this promotion due to a glitch or AI bot enforcement gone wild that is showing a message saying "sorry, this item is unavailable in your region" message to buyers on desktop and mobile browsers.

Sellers speculate the issue may be related to updated prohibited photo content policy that recently went into effect.

Etsy Item “Unavailable In Your Region” Glitch Stiffles Sales During Discount Event

Etsy users report major glitch with items showing “not available in your region” in desktop and mobile browsers.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

The AI Listing Content Generator some Amazon sellers started seeing last month has officially been rolled out at the Amazon Accelerate seller conference this week.

Amazon AI Tool To Generate Listing Content Seen In The Wild

Amazon’s new AI-powered tool to help sellers generate listing content spotted in the wild as feature rolls out to more sellers.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Amazon is introducing an end-to-end, fully automated set of supply chain services to help sellers ship worldwide.

Supply Chain By Amazon Helps Sellers Ship Worldwide

Amazon is introducing an end-to-end, fully automated set of supply chain services to help sellers ship worldwide.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

And on the same day, Flexport launced AI-powered self-service, global trade solution for finance, freight and fulfillment with Flexport Revolution and Flexport+, moving ahead after abrupt leadership change at the company.

Flexport Revolution Promises AI-Driven Supply Chain Solutions For Entrepreneurs

Flexport launches AI-powered global trade solution for finance, freight & fulfillment with Flexport Revolution.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

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