Ecommerce Marketplace News Week In Review 4-3-22

Liz Morton ~ Founder
Liz Morton ~ Founder


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Welcome to the Value Added Resource ecommerce marketplace seller week in review!

We'll kick things off with a reminder - just one week to go until the planned Etsy Strike April 11-18.

Etsy Strike Sellers Speak Out
We interviewed a group of Etsy sellers planning strike to protest fee increase & bring attention to issues on the site

It's been awesome to see the support and coverage this seller-led movement has been getting since I first interviewed them last month.

Their petition has garnered over 25,000 signatures so far. 😲 Keep it up and good luck y'all!

Payments & Ads

eBay Wallet was announced on March 10th at the Investor Day and Seller Check In events, including the ability for sellers to spend Managed Payments funds on site which is rolling out now by invitation only.

eBay Wallet Spendable Funds Rolls Out By Invitation Only
eBay Wallet Spendable Funds rolls out by invitation only - allowing sellers to use sales funds to buy on the platform.

This expansion of payment related offerings is powered by Adyen's growing reach into financial and banking sectors.

Adyen also recently held an investor focused Capital Markets day where they previewed plans to offer multi-currency bank accounts, corporate credit cards, short-term cash advances based on pending payment transactions, and instant business loans.

Adyen Expands Financial & Banking Services For Marketplaces
Adyen expands beyond payments to offer instant payouts, working capital loans & more for clients like eBay & Etsy.

The eBay Ads team had a major fumble in seller engagement with a post that ruffled feathers in the community with a reminder about the importance of seller level metrics.

Sellers were not impressed with what some called a spammy sales pitch or the reminder of the hoops eBay makes them jump through just for the "privilege" of paying for Promoted Listings.

eBay Sellers Bristle At Seller Metrics Reminder From Ads Team
The eBay Ads team ruffled feathers in the community today with a “reminder” about the importance of seller levels on eBay.

Interestingly, the Ads Team did not return to further engage with seller concerns or feedback.


Shipping

UK delivery service Hermes has rebranded to Evri in what many believe is a bid to rehabilitate a severely damaged brand image due to poor customer service and package mishandling.

The reaction on Twitter provided a perfect example of why it's important to proactively and positively engage in brand management -  your customers will continue to talk about your brand, whether you choose to be part of the conversation or not. 😉

Hermes Parcel Delivery Rebrands To Evri
Hermes is now Evri in apparent bid to rehabilitate damaged brand image due to poor service & package mishandling.

eBay Australia announced they will be downgrading Aramex services, Sendle 250g, and Australia Post Tracked letters with priority sticker from express service to standard due to lagging delivery times, effective April 30, 2022.

eBay Australia Changes Some Shipping Options To Standard
eBay Australia downgrades some express shipping services to standard due to lagging delivery times, effective April 30.

And an eBay seller gave the community a sneak peek into the new USPS Connect Local delivery service.

eBay Seller Gives Sneak Peek Into USPS Connect Local
An eBay community member gives a sneak peek into USPS Connect’s local delivery option.

Technical Issues

Mercari experienced a major outage on March 27th, with the site being completely unavailable both on desktop and mobile apps for several hours.

Mercari Experiences Major Outage 3-27-22
Mercari is currently experiencing a major outage and support has confirmed they are working to fix the technical issues ASAP.

eBay search was broken on March 30th, with many users reporting receiving 0 results in error when there were many items matching their search terms active on the site.

eBay Search Broken Returns 0 Results 3-30-22
eBay users report broken search returns 0 results in error on Android & iOS versions of app.

eBay's printerless shipping option also had a snafu this week, generating invalid QR codes that were not recognized by USPS when sellers tried to ship their packages.

eBay Shipping Label QR Codes Not Valid
Sellers are reporting problems with QR codes for eBay’s printerless shipping labels, error says code is not valid.

And currently there is a widely reported error occurring in eBay's mobile app that is preventing sellers from viewing payment transaction details.

eBay Payments Open Circuit Error 443 In App
eBay sellers report receiving an Open Circuit error 443 preventing checking payment transactions in mobile app.

Other News

eBay is expanding options for authentication of luxury watches...for a fee.

The original Authenticity Guarantee Program for watches sets the qualifying price at $2,000+. That still holds and for now at least, there are no fees for authentication at that price point.

Now for watches priced between $1,000-$2,000, eBay has announced an add on option for "expert verification" at a cost of $80 plus tax.

eBay Expands Luxury Watch Authentication Expert Verification
eBay is expanding options for authentication of watches, lowering the minimum price point...for a fee.

And finally, CBD and cannabis products have long existed in a grey area on the eBay marketplace but as regulations ease, so does the path for legitimate businesses to sell these products online.

It didn't make many waves here in the US, but eBayUK quietly cracked the CBD door open in February with the addition of gated sub-categories under Health & Beauty specifically for CBD products.

eBay Launches CBD Cannabidiol Pilot Program In UK
eBayUK quietly cracked the CBD door open in Feb adding gated Health & Beauty sub-categories for approved sellers.

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Week In Review