What Alibaba’s 1m UK members are buying

June 30, 2011

Understandably proud of achieving one million users in the UK, Alibaba have released some data on how those users are spending their money. There’s a pretty wide range of goods, but top of the heap is machinery (10.7% of UK purchases), followed… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Ecommerce, Marketplaces | 8 Comments 

eBay “scale back” the Online Business Forum

June 30, 2011

eBay are “scaling back” the Online Business Forum, which was opened at the end of 2010 as “a place for SMEs, especially those in the online business world, to come together and share ideas and insights, and debate the issues that matter most to… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk, Social Media | 6 Comments 

eBay make 70% of mens suits invisible in search

June 30, 2011

eBay have yet again played around with item specifics causing more work for sellers, and this time in their flagship category Clothes Shoes and Accessories. Up until now Mens Suit Item Specific sizes have been in the format “44 Regular” or “42… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk, Featured | 12 Comments 

eBay cull certified providers to just 15 in new program

June 30, 2011

eBay have relaunched their Certified Provider Program and slashed the number of certified providers to just 15 companies. There are new criteria, requirements and benefits to become (or remain!) a member of the program in an aim to make it more… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.com | 9 Comments 

Birmingham is UK’s fastest growing eBay city

June 28, 2011

Since the recession began in 2008 over 45,000 new businesses have opened up on eBay. The total turnover of these new ‘recession bloomer’ businesses exceeded £350 million in 2010, showing a new wave of entrepreneurialism has hit the UK. Over… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk, News | 21 Comments 

Canada Post employees return to work

June 28, 2011

The Canada Post website has confirmed that their employees will return to work and customers can expect to start seeing mail delivered again from today. There will be some ongoing delays as mail held in the system during the strike action is… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.ca, eBay.co.uk | Comments Off 

eBay Seller Sphere for Pro & Biz sellers

June 27, 2011

eBay UK have just launched a new microsite – eBay Seller Sphere, which aims to keep business and professional sellers up to date with everything you need to know to run your business. The site will cover the latest e-commerce news, as well as… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk | 12 Comments 

Harry Potter and the magic of marketing

June 27, 2011

John Hayes is the EMEA Business Development Executive for iContact, who offer email marketing and social media tools to enable small and medium sized businesses to collect data, build community and effectively engage with their clients. You can sign… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Ecommerce, Marketing, Social Media, Web Design | 2 Comments 

Seller loses TRS but is still promoted in search

June 26, 2011

There is a seller on eBay who has lost their Top Rated Seller badge but still has their items promoted as a Top Rated Seller in eBay search. TameBay reader Dario spotted the anomaly and if you check the seller’s feedback or the “Seller… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk | 20 Comments 

Google services to be reviewed by FTC

June 24, 2011

The Official Google Blog has announced that that Google are being investigated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Google say they received notification of the formal review of their business yesterday and will be working with the FTC to answer… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Internet | 5 Comments 

Greater UK & DE visibility on eBay Italy

June 24, 2011

From this week eBay are testing great visibility for UK and German sellers on eBay Italy. Your listings may be shown on eBay Italy if you are a top rated seller, have defined Italy as a country you ship to and your listings are being searched for by… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk, eBay.com, eBay.com.au, eBay.de, eBay.it | 8 Comments 

eBay Australia to hand sales data to tax man

June 24, 2011

If you’re in Australia, and have sold more then $20,000 AUD on eBay, then be prepared for a call from the tax man. Australian Taxation Office have notified eBay that they intend to issue formal requests for information relating to sales by… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.com.au | 17 Comments 

Top level domain “.eBay” to be available in 2012

June 24, 2011

This week a decision was made which will change the Internet as we know it. Up until now there have only been 22 of what are called Top Level Domains, but in the future there will be unlimited choice only restricted by affordability. A Top Level… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, Internet | 9 Comments 

No Royal Mail strikes in London this summer

June 23, 2011

Whilst posties in Canada continue to strike, there’s better news from Royal Mail in the UK. Royal Mail have agreed a Joint Statement with the CWU which sets out the basis for completing all aspects of the London Mail Centre Rationalisation. The CWU… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under News | 2 Comments 

Media reaction to private seller fee increases

June 23, 2011

There’s been some interesting media coverage of eBay’s announcement to raise fees for private sellers. The Metro led with the headline “eBay’s plan to raise sales fees could leave sellers out of pocket”. The phrase “could leave sellers out of… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk | 7 Comments 

Sorry about that…

June 23, 2011

Thanks to all of you who’ve let us know over the last couple of days that TameBay was down. Turns out that letting people download an ebook from your own hosting may not be your smartest idea, unless you have unlimited bandwidth – which we don’t,… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Meta | 9 Comments 

eBay rationalise fees for Private Sellers

June 21, 2011

eBay today announced rationalising (upping the price ;-) ) of fixed price final value fees for private sellers. The fees will go up to 10% on the 21st July, which eBay say will make it simpler and easier for you to calculate up-front the fees you’ll… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk | 9 Comments 

Gift Aid added to donate at checkout on eBay

June 20, 2011

If you have ever ticked the box to donate to your favourite charity when buying on eBay then you can now boost your donation by 25%. You’ll need to confirm that you’re a UK tax payer but then MissionFish will claim Gift Aid on the eBay Checkout… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk | 1 Comment 

PayPal Access Card (replaces PayPal Top Up Card)

June 17, 2011

It was only yesterday I asked the question “How long will it before before you can pay for your weekly shopping in Tesco with your smartphone?”. What I actually meant was how long would it be before you can pay with PayPal. Whilst you can’t pay with… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Paypal | 17 Comments 

eBay suggest buying your dad a dress for Father’s Day

June 16, 2011

Father’s Day is just around the corner and what better place on eBay than to find that perfect gift. It could be a ladies Speedo Black Xylia Swimsuit or perhaps your dad would prefer a South Tiered Ruffle Dress available in two colours! Well… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under eBay, eBay.co.uk | 7 Comments 

Pizza Express launch in-restaurant mobile payment system with PayPal

June 16, 2011

PayPal announced a world first today, the ability to use PayPal via a smartphone to pay for pizza in restaurants. This is the first time that an online payment method has been made available in an entire chain of retail outlets across the whole… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Paypal, video | 13 Comments 

1st UK Facebook Commerce Index published

June 16, 2011

ChannelAdvisor have launched a Facebook Commerce Index, which tracks the trends in page fans for online retailers and uses that data to deduce best practices for online retailer fan acquisition. Originally the Facebook Commerce Index launched… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Facebook | Comments Off 

Alibaba: Payment methods on AliExpress

June 16, 2011

Earlier this month PayPal decided they’d cut ties with Alibaba’s AliExpress platform and would cease to process payments to merchants from the 3rd of August this year. We asked AliExpress their thoughts on PayPal’s decision to part company with… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Marketplaces, Paypal | 6 Comments 

Meet the company: Terapeak

June 15, 2011

It’s been roughly seven years since two Canadian brothers set out to discover the patterns within ecommerce. Since then Terapeak has grown tremendously, but still manages to retain the entrepreneurial spirit that made it the success that it is… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under News | 2 Comments 

Monsoon hits 50m items sold on Amazon milestone

June 15, 2011

Monsoon Commerce, a solution enabling sellers to list product on eBay, Amazon, Buy.com and Play.com, have hit a major milestone. They’ve now helped their merchants to sell over 50 million Items on Amazon.com. They’ve also announced release of the… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Amazon, Selling Tips | 2 Comments