Value Added Resource Week In Review 10-16-22

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

eBay News

Two more former eBay employees have been sentenced for their roles in 2019 cyberstalking scandal.

Senior Manager of Global Intelligence, Stephanie Popp, was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in prison and 2 years of probation.

Manager of eBay’s Global Intelligence Center, Stephanie Stockwell, was sentenced to 2 years of probation, with 1 year to be served in home confinement.

Two More eBay Security Employees Sentenced In Cyberstalking Case

Stephanie Popp & Stephanie Stockwell sentenced for their roles in 2019 eBay cyberstalking scandal.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay introduced updates to the sneaker authentication program last month that it said would "lead to a better experience" but sellers are finding themselves in the dark with no exact dates for when the new policies take effect and few details about how the new shipping program and seller protection policies will work.

eBay Sellers Left Hanging On Shipping Authenticated Sneakers

eBay sellers left hanging with little info on new shipping program or seller protections for authenticated sneakers.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay is looking to increase Promoted Listings adoption with quick setup for Advanced Cost Per Click campaigns and new job opening aimed specifically at advertising incentives.

eBay Tries To Entice More Sellers To Use Promoted Listings

eBay looks to entice sellers to Promoted Listings with Quick Setup for CPC ads & hiring Ad Incentives Manager.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay Australia announces partnership with HUBBED to offer buyers the ability to drop returns off at certain convenience stores and 24/7 locations across the country.

eBay Australia Partners With HUBBED For Drop Off Return Service

eBay Australia partners with HUBBED to offer returns drop off at convenience stores across the country.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Sellers showed up to this month's community chat about eBay Seller Capital looking for answers to important questions like - will eBay offer working capital loans paid back as a percentage of sales in the US any time soon?

Unfortunately, the eBay Seller Capital team had no answers and barely even interacted with the sellers who took time out of their day to participate in the chat. What a colossal waste of time and missed opportunity.  🤦‍♀️

eBay Seller Capital October Community Chat

Sellers showed up to the eBay community chat with questions about Seller Capital, but eBay forgot to bring the answers.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Technical Issues

Sellers report eBay is adding a Featured Categories module to their Stores without their permission and there is no way for them to remove it - is it a glitch, test, or unannounced changed?

eBay Adds Store Featured Categories Without Seller Permission

eBay is adding Featured Categories to Stores without seller permission - is it a glitch, test, or unannounced change?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay users report problems with search results and saved search emails including thousands of irrelevant results due to what appears to be a case of autocorrect gone wild! 🤯

eBay Search & Saved Search Emails Autocorrect Problems

eBay users report search results & saved search emails including irrelevant results due autocorrect gone wrong.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBayUK sellers whose accounts were originally registered on the US site are unable to add bank accounts or update their registration info, leaving them in limbo with no way to get paid for orders.

eBay UK Sellers Can’t Add Bank Accounts If Registered In US

eBayUK sellers originally registered in US are unable to add bank account for payouts or update registration info.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

There were multiple reports this week from eBay users who are seeing messages, bid notifications and items in cart that they did not add themselves and that appear to belong to unassociated accounts, raising some serious cybersecurity concerns.

eBay Users See Bid Notifications & Items In Cart That Don’t Belong

eBay users report receiving bid notifications & seeing items in cart that don’t belong to their accounts!

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Other Ecommerce News

Facebook Marketplace has introduced a new Account Health Program to evaluate seller performance standards, with possible selling restrictions for those who don't measure up.

Facebook Upping Seller Standards, Account Health Program

Facebook announces new Account Health program to hold marketplaces sellers to performance standards.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Etsy has added some additional updates to the Star Seller Program with more support options and flexibility for off hours auto-responses to messages.

Etsy Star Seller Program Updates 10-13-22

Etsy has announced more updates to the Star Seller program in response to seller feedback

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Etsy also announced this week they are expanding their offsite ads program so Etsy listings can be purchased directly on Google Shopping with Google Partner Checkout.

Etsy Listings Can Now Be Purchased Directly On Google

Etsy announces items can now be purchased directly on Google Shopping with Google Partner Checkout option.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Shopify introduced Shopify Tax this week, promising to "take the stress out of sales tax" but some sellers are concerned about the possible hefty price tag.

Shopify Tax Helps Merchants With Sales Tax But At What Cost?

Shopify Tax promises to “take the stress out of sales tax” but may come with a hefty price tag for some merchants.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

A leaked internal Shopify employee survey shows the company is interested in what they're employees think about corporate culture and leadership, but one question about rival Amazon is raising eyebrows.

Leaked Shopify Employee Survey Asks About Amazon Rivalry

Shopify employee survey asks about culture & leadership - but question about Amazon is raising eyebrows.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

And finally, it's time for the Q3 2022 ecommerce earnings call round up!

I always encourage sellers to pay close attention to earnings calls for the marketplaces and companies that power their businesses - it's often the first look we get at new initiatives and interesting to note similarities and differences in messaging when executives are addressing investors vs sellers. 😉

Keep track of all the important Q3 earnings call dates 👇

Q3 2022 Ecommerce Earnings Call Roundup

Q3 2022 earnings calls are just around the corner - track all the important ecommerce earnings dates here!

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

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