From the Editor – March 11, 2018

eBay wants more control over the prices of goods on its marketplace, and it may even be willing to subsidize sellers in order to goose sales, a recent survey indicated – you can read more about it here. It’s also urging sellers to lower prices of items that buyers have placed in their shopping carts to give shoppers an added incentive to complete the purchase – and it launched a dollar-store style shop where all items are $10 or less.

This comes at the same time eBay revealed more about its multi-year move toward becoming a payments intermediary. On Wednesday, it confirmed that buyers will pay eBay, and it will disburse all payments from buyers into sellers’ bank accounts – see the slide on this page.

eBay also announced it’s changing to a product-based shopping experience rather than the current listings-based search, and it continues to ramp up the “guidance” it provides sellers about what they should sell and at what price, while continuing to pressure sellers around shipping and returns policies.

eBay announced the 2018 Spring Seller Update on February 27th – readers had plenty to say on the EcommerceBytes Blog.

The bottom line: eBay wants more control over its marketplace as it transitions to a more Amazon-like platform. It’s a “cake and eat it too” scenario, as sellers will continue to bear the risk of providing the inventory for sale on the marketplace as they cope with the downward pressure on prices and the upward pressure on costs.

In today’s issue, we look at how two entrepreneurs are using online channels and third-party tools to grow their businesses. Amanda Horner explains how she’s using channels like Amazon and eBay to grow sales of a product her father invented. And we look at how Laura Belmar is using tools to make her business more efficient so she can concentrate on marketing her own invention that was born out of necessity. We also mine marketing lessons for online sellers from a surprising source.

Today’s Collectors Corner reveals there are still treasures to be found at library book sales, and we wrap up with Letters to the Editor.

Remember to turn your clocks ahead – spring can’t be too far away!

Thanks for reading.

Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.