Value Added Resource Week In Review 2-19-23

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

eBay News

Just ahead of Q4 2022 earnings, eBay has announced another acquisition - AI assisted compliance software 3PM Shield will theoretically help fight against counterfeit and illegal items sold on the platform.

I tried taking the 3PM free trial for a spin to see how their counterfeit detection works, but unfortunately despite the promise of a 24 hour turnaround time, it's been 6 days with no results.

eBay Acquires AI Powered 3PM Shield To Fight Counterfeits & Boost Compliance

eBay has announced an acquisition of AI assisted compliance software 3PM Shield to fight counterfeits on the platform.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay also launched Guaranteed Fit for car parts this week, ostensibly to increase buyer trust and satisfaction, but sellers are concerned they may end up paying a heavy price for returns due to eBay's glitch ridden fitment functionality.

eBay Launches Guaranteed Fit For Car Parts - Will Sellers Pay The Price?

eBay touts Guaranteed Fit for car parts - will sellers pay the price for eBay’s not fit for purpose fitment charts?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Speaking of glitches, eBay had a major billing malfunction this week as the implementation of the Winter Update fee changes went into effect and charged sellers for Gallery Plus fees in some categories in error.

eBay Gallery Plus Fee Charged In Error 2-15-23

eBay fee update implementation goes wrong, charges some sellers Gallery Plus fee in error.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Sellers noted a baffling intentional design change to the eBay listing form that prevents them from selecting USPS flat rate envelopes or boxes without entering dimensions.

eBay Flat Rate Padded Envelope Shipping Not Available

eBay listing form prevents sellers from selecting USPS Flat Rate Padded Envelope without entering dimensions.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Opinions are mixed about another design change that uses large bold font to draw attention to listing descriptions.

eBay Updates Listing Page To Highlight Descriptions

eBay uses large bold font to draw attention to listing descriptions - will it be enough to alleviate buyer issues?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

And a recent shift in policy enforcement has purged many vintage passports from the platform, leaving eBay sellers perplexed and highlighting the hazards of unevenly enforced policies, automated mass flagging & a labyrinthine support system that often provides users with conflicting information.

eBay’s Vintage Passport Purge Perplexes Sellers

Shift in eBay vintage passport policy enforcement & conflicting info from support frustrate collectible sellers.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Other Ecommerce News

A Citron Research report calls Etsy the "largest organized clearing house for counterfeit goods in the world" - do you agree?

Citron Research Takes Etsy To Task For Counterfeits, Sends Stock Falling

Citron Research report says Etsy is the largest organized clearing house for counterfeit goods in the world.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Shopify President Harley Finkelstein faced analyst questions about the platform's future partnership with Amazon on the company's Q4 2022 earnings call this week with particular interest in whether or not Buy With Prime will be allowed in Shopify stores.

Is Shopify Ready To Make Nice With Amazon Buy With Prime?

Shopify walks back on Buy With Prime, says they are talking to Amazon to “make it work.”

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Poshmark users express concerns about increased 3rd party advertising being on desktop and in the app, leading some to question how Naver plans to further monetize the site going forward.

Are You Seeing More Ads On Poshmark?

Poshmark users concerned about increase in 3rd party ads, question how Naver will further monetize the site.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

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