Auction Autopilot Blog

eBay Introduces Fashion Outlet
The virtual outlet mall has arrived, allowing shoppers access to discounted designer fashion. The Fashion Outlet extends eBay’s selection of clothing, shoes and accessories with deals on new merchandise direct from a collection of lifestyle brands and retailers, including Neiman Marcus Last Call, BCBG, Spanx, Brooks Brothers, Jockey, William Rast, Fila, Timberland, Hanes and more.The fashion items sold through the “Buy It Now” feature are priced at 20 percent to 65 percent off retail price. [via CNET]

X.commerce’s Matthew Mengerink Looks at Four Trends Commerce Trends
In a GigaOm guest post by X.commerce‘s Matthew Mengerink, he writes that mobile, local, social and digital are the four mega trends shaping the future of commerce. Merchants of all types—from brick-and-mortar retail outlets to non-profits, to manufacturers and even those selling online, need to ensure they’re ahead of the commerce curve. [via GigaOm]

Further News
+ Is social e-commerce in Facebook’s future? Mark Zuckerberg explained at the f8 conference this week.
+ Simple steps to building a strong mobile commerce foundation and generate success for your brand.
+ Is advertising on social media good for small business?
+ Retailers are looking for job candidates with e-commerce skills.

Looking Back on eBay Ink
September 22, 2010: eBay introduces the eBay tech blog – @ebaytechblog. The eBay Tech Blog was launched earlier this week and I for one am very excited at the possibilities. Partner this with our eBay Developer Blog and I think we’ve got some pretty cool information on cutting edge innovation coming out of our company.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

Source: eBay Ink

In preparation for the coming holiday shopping season, eBay has announced a series of incentives to encourage sellers to offer free shipping, expedited shipping services (i.e. one-day turnaround), and 14-day …

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Source: About.com eBay

Online sellers are concerned about conditions in Amazon warehouses after the Morning Call published a report on Saturday. The newspaper interviewed 20 current and former warehouse workers who called …

Source: EcommerceBytes Blog by Ina Steiner

Etsy sellers can now pay to have their listings appear at the top of search results on the handmade/vintage marketplace ( see story in EcommerceBytes Newsflash ). Sellers can pay a minimum $5 for 5 …

Source: EcommerceBytes Blog by Ina Steiner

Amongst the usual stream of interesting auctions this is an unusual one, a fundraiser being held by WikiLeaks. Amongst the goods on offer are a signed photo of Julian Assange …

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Source: About.com eBay

eBay is testing a new model in Germany in which it processes payments from shoppers, and then forwards the payments to the seller – a similar, though not identical, model to one Amazon.com uses …

Source: EcommerceBytes Blog by Ina Steiner

EFO launched today and looks like a solid US version of what we’re familiar with from the UK+DE.  We first discussed EFO here, so you may want to read our predictions there before going on.

The retailers

EFO has launched with twelve anchor tenants that are:

• Reeds
• Calvin Klein
• Lastcall (Neiman Marcus)
• Tommy Hilfiger
• Jockey
• Brooks Brothers
• William Rast Outlet
• Hanes Outlet
• Timberland
• Custo Barcelona
• FILA
• Spanx

That’s a pretty good launch list and there are many more on the way.

The User experience (UX)

The UX is pretty much what we expected based on what we’ve seen in the UK and DE.  You can access the micro-site via this vanity URL: http://fashion.ebay.com/outlet  or get their from the homepage via Fashion/Fashion Outlet from the left category nav.  

The home page for EFO is what you would expect – a hero image with call out of the stores plus a brand (the interior brands) search:

When you click on one of the stores, you see that the EFO merchants have a lot more store design capabilities than the average eBay store.  Here’s a great example with Tommy Hilfiger: (click to enlarge)

The store has improved nav/search and design capabilities.

The other point of integration that’s interesting and new is in the eBay search results, you will see that every outlet merchant has a logo in the search results where you would normally have the eTRS badge. Here’s an example of a snippet of SERPS with two Tommy direct items->

Look for a lot of EFO promotion and news.

EFO is a huge focus for eBay as they battle it out with Amazon and Google in the Apparel/Fashion segment.  Stay tuned for a ton of promotion as well as lots of home page love from eBay like this hero from the homepage today->

SeekingAlpha disclosure- I am long Google and Amazon. eBay is an investor in ChannelAdvisor where I am CEO.  Many of the retailers featured in EFO are some of our > 3000 customers @ ChannelAdvisor.  I am wearing Tommy Hilfiger slacks as of this writing.

Source: eBay Strategies

Online merchants who use Amazon FBA to fulfill orders on their behalf began reporting what they believed were errors in how Amazon was charging them for its new storage fees. Readers may remember …

Source: EcommerceBytes Blog by Ina Steiner

eBay is running a free listing promotion this weekend for private UK sellers listing items in auction format. The promotion waives insertion fees on items listed this way for up …

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Source: About.com eBay

eBay’s New Ad Campaign for 2011 Holidays
It’s been two years since you’ve seen eBay on your television screen, and now eBay is embarking on a major ad campaign aimed at consumers shopping on their smarthphones. The “When it’s on your mind, it’s on eBay” advertising campaign kicked off this week and emphasizes emergence of mobile helping consumers shop anywhere, anytime, whenever they want. In addition to the TV spots, street-level outdoor environments will be created using custom QR codes that can be accessed using eBay’s RedLaser technology, allowing consumers to shop for products on the spot. [via eBay Ink]

PayPal Unveils New Payments Platform For Merchants
PayPal held an event this week in Los Angeles for merchants to get an early look into the company’s new technologies. PayPal’s plan is to make tools available to merchants allowing them to use existing credit card terminals to accept payments through PayPal. Several payment methods will be possible, although they will ultimately depend on the type of terminals merchants have. [via The PayPal Blog]

Further News
+ How large is the role of social media in the lives of consumers?
+ Businesses that are online need to think about mobile.
+ Will socially awkward teens drive mobile payment adoption?
+ Startups show off small-business tools at TC Disrupt

Looking Back on eBay Ink
September 15, 2010: In a video interview, eBay partners with the National Federation of the Blind; Enhanced features for visually impaired. The site includes enhanced features for users to search, browse, buy, bid and sell using the keyboard alone, as well as using assistive technologies such as screen access software. Additional support includes seed funding for promising blind entrepreneurs and a selling training program.

You can visit the website to find out about all the features available to eBay users with special access needs.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

Source: eBay Ink