Amazon will hold its Prime Day event next week (June 21 – 22). As in years past, other retailers are capitalizing on the opportunity as people go looking for deals. (Profitero calls it the “Prime Day halo effect” and said 58% of shoppers will be price checking Prime Day deals on other retailers before buying.)
RetailMeNot said hundreds of retailers generally offer promotions alongside Prime Day, with over half of them mimicking Amazon’s “Lightning Deals” theme and offerign short-duration flash sales. About 30% of them actually use Prime messaging in their offers or codes.
The shopping event comes after a strong month of sales in May; online apparel sales were up 228% year-over-year, according to Signifyd, as consumers prepared to head back into the real world (“where pants and shoes are required”). Overall ecommerce spending was up 151% in May, a strong indicator that the habits consumers adopted during the height of the pandemic will endure, it said.
While ecommerce has been strong, marketplace sellers have had to adapt to some major policy changes in the past month. eBay banned Adult items, killed off its PowerSeller program (as of June 20th), and Etsy banned gun parts and accessories – even products that are solely decorative.
eBay sellers are also continuing to struggle with changes to Category and Item Specifics mandated in the Spring Seller Update, including in collectibles.
And speaking of collectibles, Antique Trader is running some excellent profiles of notable “celebrities” in the antiques and collecting world. Catch the ones for Terry Kovel, “The Grande Dame of Antiques,” and Tom Johnson, “The Man Behind Ruby Lane’s Success.”
Shipping insurance may be a necessity for certain items, but as we learned on the May 10th AuctionBytes Blog post, there are challenges. In today’s issue, Kenneth Corbin talked to some experts and shares, “What Online Sellers Should Know about Shipping Insurance.”
Sellers busy listing on stores and marketplaces may not always think of it, but PayPal has a way to sell directly on message boards, specialty sites, classifieds sites, social platforms, and through email. The Auction Professor guides us through how he uses it to easily add a new revenue stream to his business.
Also in today’s issue, Collectors Corner looks at the Pokemon craze, and we wrap up with Letters to the Editor.
Thanks for reading.
