Value Added Resource Week In Review 8-21-22

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

eBay News

eBay has announced yet another round of category changes and item specifics requirements effective September 20, 2022.

That's the same week as the eBay Open seller conference and if history holds true, it will not surprise me if we get a Fall Seller Update around that time as well.

Get all the details plus a list of impacted categories:

eBay Category & Item Specifics Update September 2022

eBay announces another round of category & item specifics updates effective September 2022.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Funko and eBay have launched their first exclusive collection together since eBay joined a consortium that acquired a 25% stake in the company.

eBay & Funko Launch First Exclusive Collection

eBay & Funko launch first exclusive collection since consortium to acquired 25% stake in company in May.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

All domestic US shipping options are now available to sellers when printing labels in the eBay app - including the long awaited option for eBay Standard Envelope!

eBay Standard Envelope, More Shipping Options For Sellers In App

eBay finally adds Standard Envelope, other shipping options from desktop label printing experience to app.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay will protect UK sellers from impacts of the Royal Mail Strike by automatically removing item not received service metrics and negative or neutral feedback related to delivery delays.

eBayUK Will Protect Sellers During Royal Mail Strike

eBay has announced protections for sellers in the UK impacted by Royal Mail strikes.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay CEO Jamie Iannone seems to have skipped the usual media interviews after the recent Q2 earnings report, but he and CFO Steve Priest will be making appearances at investor events hosted by Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs & Piper Sandler in August & September.

eBay Execs To Attend Investor Conferences In August & September

eBay leadership to make appearances at Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs & Piper Sandler events in Aug & Sept.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

This week I explored how lack of a transparent and easy to understand fee structure may be holding back adoption of eBay's new Vault service.

Why Would You Use eBay Vault?

eBay Vault for trading cards debuted in June, but lack of transparent pricing may be holding back user adoption.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

And it appears eBay is testing out new return policies for Motors Parts & Accessories that would require sellers to accept "doesn't fit" returns, but provide some seller protections - if fitment and compatibility information was provided in the listing.

eBay Forces Returns In Motors, Some Protection For Fitment

eBay forces returns in Motors Parts & Accessories, but provides some protection for compatibility & fitment.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Technical Issues

Etsy suffered a major technical meltdown this week that disabled API keys and broke integrations for many 3rd party applications like PirateShip, ShipStation, Selro, Royal Mail Click & Drop, ShippingEasy, Printful, Shippo and more.

Etsy 3rd Party Integration, Shipping & API Problems

Sellers report problems with PirateShip connection. Etsy confirms 3rd party integration issues, fix in progress.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Sellers also reported a glitch with Etsy Explore videos showing other sellers' videos on their shop pages.

Etsy Explore Glitch Shows Wrong Videos On Seller Pages

Etsy Explore glitch shows wrong video on sellers’ shop pages.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay sellers report 90 day sales totals reported in the app differ dramatically vs what is being reported in the desktop experience.

eBay 90 Day Sales Total Glitch

eBay sellers notice dramatic drops in 90 day sales totals shown in the eBay app vs desktop experience.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Item view counts on eBay also experienced problems this week, freezing and not updating for about a 48 hour period.

eBay Item View Counts Not Updating, Showing 0 Views

eBay sellers once again report problems with item view counts not updating or showing 0 views in Seller Hub.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Once again eBay sellers are asking is it a glitch or unannounced update - this time with some newly listed items suddenly showing a hyphen at the end of the title, along with a message that says "show original title" on the listing page.

eBay Show Original Title - Glitch or Test?

eBay sellers notice listings saying “show original title” - is it a glitch or unannounced test?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

And finally, an important cybersecurity warning - there's a new phishing scam going around that uses compromised PayPal accounts to send real invoices with the goal of getting victims to call fake "customer support" for help.

Phishing Scam Sends Invoice From Compromised PayPal Account

Watch out for this PayPal phishing scam that uses actual invoices sent from a fake or compromised account.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Other Ecommerce News

For the first time ever, Amazon is tacking on peak holiday fulfillment surcharge fees for FBA orders.

The increase will be effective October 15, 2022 to January 14, 2023 and will average $0.35 per item - but that's just an average and can vary significantly depending on package size and weight.

Amazon FBA Tacks On Peak Holiday Fulfillment Fee

Amazon announces peak holiday fulfillment fee averaging $0.35 per item will be applied for FBA orders.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Rumors were swirling earlier this week about a possible partnership between Verb Technology and Etsy on livestream shopping, fueled by a screenshot that appeared to be a sales deck slide pitching Verb MARKET + Etsy.

Verb CEO Rory Cutaia addressed the issue on Monday's Q2 2022 earnings call - details 👇.

Are Verb Tech & Etsy Partnering On Livestream Shopping?

Rumors are swirling that Verb Technology Company may be partnering with Etsy on livestream shopping.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

USPS has pushed back the effective date for planned changes to First Class package service.

USPS Pushes Back Changes To First Class Package Service

USPS has pushed back the effective date for planned changes to First Class package service.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Etsy sellers are concerned about no longer being able to hide or remove pictures and videos from customer reviews

Etsy Sellers Concerned About Changes To Reviews

Etsy sellers express concerns about no longer being able to hide videos or pictures from reviews.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Shopify has launched Collabs to help pair up creators and influencers with brand partners on the platform.

Shopify Collabs Pairs Influencers With Merchants

Shopify launches Collabs to help match creators & influencers with brand partners on the platform.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

And recent trademark fillings show Walmart may not be far behind, with possible plans for a Creator Collective to match influencers with 3rd party marketplace sellers for social marketing opportunities.

Is Walmart Courting Influencers With Creator Collective?

Walmart trademark filing hints at Creator Collective matching social media influencers with 3rd party sellers.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

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