Ecommerce Weekly

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. Amazon announcement, Amazon bans incentivised reviews: Chris Dunne at FeedbackExpress reports that Amazon.com have announced a ban on incentivised reviews for free or discounted products unless they are facilitated through the Amazon Vine program. Amazon has said the changes apply to all product categories with the exception of books. An announcement was made by the VP of Customer Experience, Chee Chew, and published on Amazon’s website on 3 October 2016. Continue reading... Facebook takes on eBay, Gumtree and Craigslist with marketplace feature: Dan Wilson at Tamebay reports that Facebook is making a serious bid into the ecommerce marketplace space with the launch of a new feature billed as a marketplace. Facebook has long been a forum where people have sold things to each other but this formalises and streamlines the process. Continue reading... Amazon adds 1,000 free books, magazines and comics to new 'unlimited' reading for Prime members: AFP at The Daily Mail reports that this week Amazon launched a new Prime Reading program in [...]

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. Google, Facebook, Amazon join forces on future of AI: Jane Wakefield at BBC News reports that Amazon, Google's DeepMind, Facebook, IBM and Microsoft are joining forces to consider the future of artificial intelligence (AI). The companies will join forces on issues such as privacy, safety and the collaboration between people and AI, and will include external experts. Continue reading... Amazon to launch in Australia? Chris Dawson at Tamebay reports that Amazon is being tipped to launch in Australia. Amazon.com.au already exists but only sells Kindle and Audible books. Analysts suggest that Amazon could generate sales of up to $4 billion in Australia which could have a devastating impact on local retailers. Australians already love Amazon—it’s estimated that they spend somewhere in the region of $500 million to $700 million on Amazon sites. Continue reading... A secret deal means Amazon's Jeremy Clarkson show 'The Grand Tour' could one day air on TV: Jake Kanter at Business Insider UK reports that ITV is among a host of [...]

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. Handmade at Amazon travels abroad: Ben Fox Rubin at CNET reports that Amazon's hub for handcrafted, artisanal ware is making its first move outside the US, in time for the holiday season. The site, called Handmade at Amazon, expanded on Thursday to the e-retailer's five European marketplaces: UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Now, calligraphy invitations and chunky-cable knit hats can be purchased by Amazon customers across Europe, not just in those five countries. Continue reading... Amazon undercuts rivals with launch of new photo printing service, Amazon Prints: Sarah Perez at TechCrunch reports that Amazon has quietly launched a new service called Amazon Prints, which allows consumers to print photos and custom photo books, and soon, other photo products like stationery and calendars, at prices significantly cheaper than rivals. Though the company made no formal announcement, Amazon Prints debuted last week and is being made available to customers who use the Amazon Drive cloud storage service. Continue reading... UK Retail Report 2016 celebrates 21 years [...]

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. Amazon launches Echo voice-controlled speaker and Alexa assistant in the UK: Samuel Gibbs at The Guardian reports that Amazon is releasing its wireless, voice-controlled speaker, the Echo, in the UK and Germany, along with its Alexa personal assistant. The Echo is a Wi-Fi speaker that users speak questions, commands and playback requests to, with Alexa – Amazon’s challenger to Apple’s Siri, Google’s Now and Microsoft’s Cortana – replying in kind, only now in a British accent. Continue reading... Morrisons to install over 1,000 Amazon collection lockers: John Glenday at The Drum reports that Morrisons and Amazon have agreed an ambitious collaboration programme which will see the supermarket chain install over 1,000 Amazon pick-up lockers in locations such as shopping centres, convenience stores, airports, train stations, and universities. Each secure drop off point will provide online purchasers with a convenient point to pick up their goods, saving the need to wait in on the postman during the working day. Continue reading... Lucid launch FeedbackExpress for Amazon [...]

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. eBay.com set more stringent shipping expectations: Chris Dawson at Tamebay reports eBay sellers in the US are getting a little upset, as eBay have upped the delivery expectations for First Class and Priority Mail Express sent via USPS. USPS say that Priority Mail Express is usually “Overnight scheduled delivery by 10:30 am” and First Class Mail is “Delivery in 1 to 3 business days”. eBay have said that they’ll be updating the estimated delivery date for seller on-time shipping performance in line with USPS expectations. Continue reading... Amazon brand gating, what does it mean for your business? Leah McHugh via WebRetailer reports on Amazon's decision to charge sellers to sell certain branded goods on its marketplace. In order to sell those brands you must now submit three official invoices and/or a letter from the brand owner, and new sellers to the brand must pay a non-refundable “approval fee” as part of the approval process. The good news is that it won't affect current sellers of [...]

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. eBay Seller Release – A new partnership approach with sellers: Chris Dawson at Tamebay reports that eBay have started listening to its sellers, following its autumn seller release. eBay are giving sellers three months grace if standards slip, meaning a one-off emergency will no longer kill your entire business. eBay have also created a new seller hub to replace all your offline Turbolister, online SMP and other seller pages.  Continue reading… Amazon’s plan to fight counterfeiters will cost legit sellers a ton: Ari Levy at CNBC reports Amazon is taking steps to protect big brands after a recent surge in counterfeiting, and many rule-abiding sellers are paying the price. Online stores wanting to sell brands like Nike and Adidas are being told they have to pay a one-time non-refundable fee of up to $1,500 per brand. That’s after being asked to provide invoices from manufacturers or distributors that show the purchase of 30 items within the last 90 days. The process which started rolling out [...]

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. eBay adds 6 new countries to Global Shipping Program: Chris Dawson at Tamebay reports that eBay has added six new countries to its Global Shipping Program (GSP)—South Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia. With this expansion into new markets, sellers will gain access to millions of additional buyers without having to deal with the hassle of international postage and customs. Continue reading... Amazon just bought a company that's like Skype for gaming: Ben Gilbert at Business Insider UK reports that Amazon just bought another video-game company, Curse Inc. The company's biggest success in recent years is a service called Curse Voice, which lets players chat with each other while playing online games like "League of Legends", one of the world's most popular and heavily played games. Continue reading... eBay UK launches eBay Local: Chris Dawson at Tamebay reports eBay have just launched eBay Local, a peer to peer selling experience across the country. eBay says they know that buyers love to [...]

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. Walmart wants to acquire Jet.com: Chris Dawson at Tamebay reports Walmart, the biggest bricks and mortar retailer in the world, is in talks to buy Jet.com according to the Wall Street Journal. Acquiring Jet would extend Walmart’s capabilities and give them a much easier run at cutting a chunk out of Amazon’s business. Jet was set up to compete with Amazon in 2014, eventually launched in 2015 and already have 3.6 million customers and have turned over a billion dollars. Continue reading... Netflix extends lead over Amazon in streaming battle: Christopher Williams at  The Telegraph reports that according to Ofcom data, Netflix has rapidly extended its lead over Amazon Instant Video, as the UK’s most popular subscription streaming service. The communications regulator’s main annual survey of consumer behaviour found that nearly a quarter of the population, 23%, watch Netflix, compared with just 7% for Amazon’s service. Continue reading... Amazon told to clarify 'misleading' delivery charges after complaint: The Press Association via The Guardian report that [...]

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. Amazon to step up UK tests of delivery drones: James Titcomb at The Telegraph reports that Amazon will step up its drone tests in the UK, after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) granted them special permission to test its aerial vehicles. The agreement will see Amazon move a step close to Jeff Bezos’s dream of fleets of drones delivering small packages directly to shoppers within 30 minutes. The tests are due to begin imminently and will be the most extensive trials of Amazon’s drones anywhere in the world. Continue reading... eBay feedback left for others hidden from view: Chris Dawson at Tamebay reports on a change at eBay this week. eThe marketplace is now hiding the feedback “Left for Others” tab. You can now only see what others have said about your buyer—you can’t see what your buyer said about others. Of course as is often the cases with tests on eBay, this is a UK only test. Continue reading... Will Amazon deliver on earnings [...]

Welcome to Ecommerce Weekly, SellerExpress' review of the top ecommerce, Amazon and eBay news from around the Web this week. eBay could launch pop-ups in Sainsbury’s stores as it talks up the ‘power’ of physical retail: Thomas Hobbs at Marketing Week reports that following Sainsbury’s £1.3bn acquisition of Argos, eBay has said it is open to putting pop-up or click and collect experiences within the supermarket’s 1,200-store estate. eBay already has a partnership with Argos that allows its 200,000 sellers to drop off sold products in-store. Continue reading… News from eBay: structured data, Seller Hub, changes to search on the way: Dan Wilson at Tamebay reports on a blog post by eBay's Chief Technology Officer, Steve Fisher. It’s well worth a read as it outlines the developments which will have a significant impact on eBay sellers. Fisher states, “Over 20 years, we’ve built one of the very best search engines optimised for ecommerce—we pretty much find you what you want to buy almost all of the time. And, we’ll keep investing in search science innovation." Continue reading… Got a car and some spare time? Amazon will [...]