Value Added Resource Week In Review 8-28-22

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

eBay News

eBay announced two major acquisitions this week, both aimed at bolstering CEO Jamie Iannone's vertical focus strategy.

First was collectible card game marketplace TCGplayer, which eBay is buying in a $295M deal expected to close Q1 2023.

While the announcement says TCG will continue to operate autonomously, it will be interesting to see if eBay plans to leverage or expand on the fulfillment capabilities TCG brings to the table.

eBay Acquires TCGPlayer In $295 Million Deal

eBay announces acquisition of collectible card game marketplace TCGplayer in $295M deal to close Q1 2023.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay has been pushing into the collectible card game space with exclusive product launches and promotional collaborations with Metazoo - a partnership that raises some concerns over eBay's conflict of interest in turning a blind eye to price gouging and presale violations on the platform.

eBay Metazoo UFO Lunchbox Price Gouging

eBay promotes price gouging & presale violations in partnership with Metazoo UFO Lunchbox collaboration.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

The second acquisition is myFitment to enhance the Motors Parts & Accessories listing experience.

eBay Acquires myFitment For Motors Parts & Accessories Listings

eBay has acquired the myFitment Group of Companies to Enhance Part & Accessories Listing Experience.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay has long struggled with how to handle fitment and compatibility data in the Motors Parts & Accessories categories.

One parts seller suggests the issue is fundamentally an execution problem with how eBay has implemented the fitment chart functionality, complete with bugs that have persisted for years and eBay's usual lackluster QA testing - will myFitment be able to solve these problems?

Problems With eBay Motors Parts & Accessories Fitment

eBay has long struggled with fitment in Motors Parts & Accessories - will myFitment acquisition really help?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay also announced changes to the Board of Directors this week, saying goodbye to Chair of Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee Kathleen Mitic, who will be leaving September 15, and welcoming Aparna Chennapragada, effective immediately.

eBay Makes Changes To Board Of Directors

eBay board of directors is saying goodbye to Kathleen Mitic & welcoming Aparna Chennapragada.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

I've been tracking open job positions at eBay for about a month now and while it appears hiring in general may be slowing down at the company, there's one area eBay is looking to ramp up hiring - Crypto & NFTs.

eBay Hiring For Crypto & NFT KnownOrigin Positions

eBay hiring for NFTs & cryptography after KnownOrigin acquisition - could cryptocurrency be on the horizon?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

eBay Final Value Fees will be increasing for Watch Parts, Accessories, Tools & Lots, effective September 12.

eBay Fee Increase For Watch Parts, Accessories, Tools & Lots

eBay will increase final value fees for Watches Parts, Accessories, Tools & Lots effective September 12.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

And in a surprising move, eBay has completely dropped the minimum price requirement for sneakers to qualify for its authentication service.

The terms and conditions now state "Authenticity Guarantee is available for select models and brands" but does not give a full list of models that qualify - meaning eBay can change the rules at any time and sellers have no way to know if sneakers will go to the authenticator until after they are listed and sold.

Did eBay Get Rid Of Minimum Price For Sneaker Authentication?

Sellers ask - did eBay remove minimum price requirement for sneaker authentication?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Etsy News

Etsy sellers were caught off guard this week when they suddenly received notice they need to verify their bank accounts via Plaid.

Many sellers were concerned about the security of logging in with their online banking credentials and struggled with a manual verification process that experienced errors and locked them out of their accounts.

Etsy Sellers Struggle With Plaid Bank Account Verification

Etsy testing using Plaid micro-deposits for bank verification & some sellers report serious problems as a result.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Also this week, Etsy announced expanded 24/7 chat support for sellers with no policy violations but many sellers have been unable to access it, which is especially poor timing given the major meltdown with payment verification.

Etsy Says Support Has Expanded, But Sellers Aren’t Seeing It

Etsy says chat support will be 24/7 for sellers with no policy violations, sellers question definition of violations.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

And if you're wondering what the sellers behind the Etsy Strike in April have been up to, they've been using the momentum created by the movement to build the Indie Sellers Guild, officially launching on Labor Day, September 5th.

Etsy Strike Now Indie Sellers Guild Official Launch September 5th

Sellers behind the Etsy Strike movement are launching Indie Sellers Guild on Labor Day.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Other Ecommerce News

Shopify's Shop Cash rewards program is in early release, giving 3% back on qualifying purchases across the Shop app.

Shopify Shop Cash Rewards Program Seen In The Wild

Shopify’s Shop Cash rewards program is in early release, giving 3% back to qualifying buyers in the Shop app.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

Poshmark announced they will not be raising PoshPost rates for the holidays, despite USPS peak season rate increases.

Poshmark Will Not Raise PoshPost Rates For Holidays

Poshmark will not raise PoshPost rates for holidays, despite USPS rate increases.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

CollX continues growing their footprint in the trading card hobby with the acquisition of Card Dealer Pro and introduction of CollX Deals enabling buying and selling within the app.

CollX Deals - Now You Can Buy & Sell Trading Cards In App

CollX Deals & Card Dealer Pro- a new way to scan, price, buy & sell sports trading cards.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

And finally, Walmart Marketplace is easing their once strict approval process, paving the way for more 3rd party sellers to join the platform.

Walmart Welcomes More 3rd Party Sellers To The Marketplace

Walmart eases once strict approval process, paving the way for more 3rd party sellers to join marketplace.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

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