Value Added Resource Week In Review 2-2-25
Welcome to the Value Added Resource ecommerce news week in review!
eBay News
eBay's labor troubles continue with new allegations of discrimination and retaliation surfacing amidst backdrop of larger H-1B immigration debate.
Liz Morton
In other legal news, eBay is seeking to exclude social psychologist Dr. Adam D. Galinsky as an expert witness in ongoing cyberstalking lawsuit, saying Galinsky's "pseudoscientific testimony is not based on any reliable scientific method and relies on an improper use of 'social framework' analysis."
Liz Morton
eBay has released their January 2025 Seller Update, revealing a Final Value Fee increase for the US and more!
Liz Morton
Sellers are on the lookout trying to spot their listings on Facebook Marketplace in the weeks following major eBay and Meta partnership announcement, but so far they've come up empty handed.
Liz Morton
Some eBay sellers in the US report receiving confusing and conflicting information about sales proceeds being held until after item delivery, and an overlooked part of the latest Payments Terms of Use update could hold the answers.
Liz Morton
eBay Canada sellers received notice this week their Store subscriptions were going to lose an important perk with quarterly coupons for eBay branded shipping supplies being phased out by the end of the year - but after significant pushback, eBay reversed course in less than 24 hours!
Liz Morton
Sellers in the eBay Canada community forums are also frustrated with lack of updates and communication about monthly chat with eBay staff that appears to have been discontinued without notice.
Liz Morton
eBay Germany has put out the call to private sellers, inviting them to sign up for a new pilot program with promises of increased exposure through curated product feeds and social sharing opportunities.
Liz Morton
Other Ecommerce News
Etsy is removing the option for sellers who use calculated shipping to add handling and packaging costs to the shipping price, claiming it will improve the buyer experience while conveniently leaving out it will also likely boost an important financial metric for the company with no extra sales needed.
Liz Morton
Mercari Japan launches auction offering to reduce the burden of price negotiations and help users make quick sales - could it expand to the US if successful?
Liz Morton
Mercari Japan announces launch of a new NFT marketplace, allowing users to buy and sell crypto art seamlessly through OpenSea with future plans to issue and sell NFTs in partnership with businesses and IP holders in Japan and around the world.
Liz Morton
Fresh off a new funding round and explosive growth in 2024, livestream shopping platform Whatnot is investing in expanding their support teams in 2025 with an emphasis on looking to their existing pool of sellers to find breakout customer service stars.
Liz Morton
Poshmark has officially announced Smart List AI image-based listing will be available in the US and Canada in February 2025!
Liz Morton
After almost 2 months of testing, Poshmark has officially announced Swipe To Bid for Posh Shows to simplify bidding and prevent accidental taps in the livestream shopping experience.
Liz Morton
And finally, I didn't have time this week to do a full breakdown on UPS earnings, but UPS announcing they are reducing unprofitable volume from Amazon is more than a bit ironic considering USPS said much the same thing about why they were not renewing the contract to handle last mile delivery for UPS and others. 😉
For details, check out this fantastic write up from Cathy Roberson at Rethinking Supply Chains.
Cathy
And if you aren't already following/subscribed to Cathy for shipping and logistics news, you should be - especially with this weekend's announcements about tariffs and de minimis duty exemptions that could have a major impact across the ecommerce industry!
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