Pre-orders for .co domain names are now available

March 16, 2010

As an inveterate collector of domain names, I have to resist the temptation to gather every possible domain suffix. I want the .com – maybe the .co.uk if that’s where my customers are likely to be, the odd .net and .fr… but generally I can resist… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce | 7 Comments 

Using voucher codes to bring shoppers to your website

February 25, 2010

I was shopping online this morning. I got to the checkout, quite happy with the €30 total of my shopping basket, and then I stopped: there, just above the “pay us now” button, was a small box labelled “discount voucher?” It hadn’t occurred… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce, Marketing | 31 Comments 

EU may allow manufacturers to insist on B&M

February 4, 2010

Amazon Europe VP Greg Greeley has spoken out against European Union proposals which could allow manufacturers to insist they’ll only supply retailers with a “bricks and mortar” physical outlet. The EU is consulting with member states on the proposed… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce, Featured, Internet, News | 11 Comments 

eBay Partner Network close accounts using shortened URLs

January 6, 2010

If you’re using the eBay Partner Network (ePN) affiliate program to make money don’t use URL shortening services such as is.gd or tinyurl. If you do they’ll kick you off the program. My friend Barry just found this out to his cost and received an… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Affiliates | 10 Comments 

PayPal reserves, holds : policy changes explained

December 21, 2009

We’ve heard from a number of sellers recently that PayPal seem to be stepping up the number of rolling reserves and 21 day holds they’re putting on accounts at the moment. There’s been some conflicting information going about – not least from PayPal… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce, Internet, Paypal, Selling Tips | 30 Comments 

What’s the difference between a PayPal reserve and a hold?

December 21, 2009

There’s been a lot of discussion about PayPal reserves and holds recently. What PayPal does in practice has changed somewhat in the last couple of weeks, and we’ll be looking at that in another post later today. However, for the sake of clarity (and… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce, Paypal | Comments Off 

9 ways to say “ja” to overseas buyers

November 21, 2009

With eBay adding 180 million potential new buyers to the site, there’s really never been a better time to think about selling outside your home market. But if you’re not already selling abroad, the thought of foreign buyers might seem daunting:… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce, Selling Tips | 8 Comments 

Glyding into easier media sales

November 17, 2009

A new media marketplace site launches in the US today which aims to reach those sellers put off by the complexity of selling on eBay or Amazon. Sellers on Glyde.com can list books, CDs, DVDs and video games in just a few seconds by matching their… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce, News | 11 Comments 

“Jump Start your ProStore” giveaway

October 27, 2009

Sorry, everyone else, but this one’s just for our US readers: Prostores, eBay’s solution for “off-eBay” ecommerce sites are running a competition to giveaway three Jump Start packages which are designed to help you get your ProStore up and… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce | Comments Off 

eBay Q309 earnings call “cautiously optimistic”

October 22, 2009

“These are strong results from a strong company which is getting stronger,” said John Donahoe, eBay’s CEO, at the beginning of tonight’s Q3 earnings call, adding that the company is “executing well” the three year strategy that plans to have them… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce, News | 5 Comments 

OFT investigates online pricing

October 15, 2009

The Office of Fair Trading is to run two studies into pricing on the internet. The first will look at the ways in which customers’ online behaviour and personal is monitored and used to create “individually tailored” prices. The second will look… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce | 2 Comments 

Amazon UK offer free shipping for Christmas

October 15, 2009

Amazon UK have announced that they will be abolishing their Super Saver Delivery threshold until 10th January. UK domestic orders placed with Amazon themselves can now be delivered free of charge, independent of value. Crucially for merchants… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce | 1 Comment 

eBay Inc. launches new corporate info site

October 10, 2009

eBay has launched yet another official site aiming to bring together all the corporate information on eBay Inc. eBayInc.com combines much of the information that was previously rather hidden on the eBay.com site, such as press releases, job openings… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Blogging, News, Site Changes, eBay.com | 1 Comment 

eBay affiliate program goes cost-per-click

August 19, 2009

eBay’s affiliate program, the eBay Partner Network, announces major changes today. Affiliates will no longer be paid by action (when buyers buy something, or when a new eBayer signs up for an account), but will instead be paid when links to eBay are… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Affiliates, Ecommerce | 14 Comments 

Amazon change to “charge on ship”

August 18, 2009

Amazon are enabling “charge when shipped” for third party sellers on the site. Rather than charging a buyers credit card when the order is placed, in the future they’ll only be charged when the goods are despatched by the seller. Amazon told… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Ecommerce | 8 Comments 

An interview with EPN’s Will Martin-Gill

August 17, 2009

Murray Newlands interviews Will Martin-Gill, eBay’s Director of Internet Marketing, about the eBay Partner Network affiliate program. Will talks about advances in comparison shopping sites, a new widget which (as Murray says) sounds a lot like… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Affiliates | 3 Comments 

Apple building “PayPal killer”?

August 5, 2009

photo credit: William HookSilicon Alley Insider is reporting “Wall Street gossips” saying that Apple are considering extending iTunes so that it can be used on third-party sites as a payment service. iPhone users can already use iTunes to… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce, News | 11 Comments 

Changes to eBay affiliates’ program

July 21, 2009

The eBay Partner Network (a.k.a. the affiliates’ program) has announced some changes to their terms of service effective from 1st August for existing affiliates. Minimum payouts have increased from 5 units of your currency to 25 (so £25, $25,… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Affiliates, Ecommerce | 6 Comments 

Google Base: “condition” now compulsory

June 30, 2009

If your website sends a feed to Google Base, you need to be aware that as of today, the “condition” attribute will be required for all listings. Acceptable values are new, used, or refurbished…. Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce | 13 Comments 

PayPal survey: why shoppers abandon their shopping

June 24, 2009

photo credit: avlxyzPayPal have published the results of their second annual Checkout Abandonment Survey, looking at why website buyers don’t complete purchases. Just like last year’s survey, an excessive shipping fee was the number one reason for… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce, Marketing, Paypal, Selling Tips, Web Design | 8 Comments 

Who needs bubble wrap…

May 23, 2009

It’s a tempation familiar to many eBay sellers: your buyer just doesn’t want to pay postage and packing, and for a fleeting moment, you want to slap a stamp on the item itself, and stick it in the post box. Now one Swedish artist (who, as far as I… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under CLD, Glitches, Internet, News | 8 Comments 

Why can’t eBay be more like Amazon?

April 27, 2009

This week saw both eBay and Amazon release their Q1 figures, with what’s becoming a sad norm: eBay underperforming, Amazon bucking ecommerce’s downward trend. Mark T. posted the obvious question in our comments: why? “Let me get what I want” So… Read more

Written by Sue Bailey · Filed Under Ecommerce | 36 Comments 

TameBay Morsels 01/04/09

April 1, 2009

Skype is released for the iPhone and is coming to Blackberries in May this year. I wonder just how much penetration they need before someone comes up with a tempting offer to part them from eBay? eBay are to offer Japanese – English translation… Read more

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Ecommerce | 3 Comments 

TameBay Morsels 29/03/09

March 29, 2009

Meg Whitman in BusinessWeek. It’s a rather lightweight discussion but it’s interesting enough esp re IP/VeRO and eBay’s internal biz culture. Quite interesting BBC piece on Google from Matt Frei. Detailed proposal for the Post Office to offer… Read more

Written by Dan Wilson · Filed Under Ecommerce | 5 Comments 

DSR Dashboard launches on eBay.co.uk

March 27, 2009

As you will doubtless have already noticed, the detailed DSR Dashboard has finally launched on eBay.co.uk. Please share your impressions, views, ideas and questions… Read more

Written by Dan Wilson · Filed Under Ecommerce, eBay.co.uk | 36 Comments