AuctionWire

Chinese e-commerce Web site company Alibaba has announced a partnership with Intel to launch a kind of special computer to meet the e-commerce demand of small and medium enterprises in China. The computer, which local media reported will be made by designated PC manufacturers and embedded into Alibaba's e-commerce platform for SMEs, is expected to come out within the year. Alibaba and Intel said they have yet to choose the right PC manufacturers and have them be responsible for the production and sale of the computer.

On zdnetasia.com

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 12 - Vendio Services, Inc., the leading provider of services that help merchants acquire customers and manage transactions, today announced Competitive Seller Research, a significant enhancement to the Vendio Research suite that provides improved visibility into the top eBay sellers and their sales techniques for any product or category. This Competitive Seller Research feature is available to all existing Vendio Research users at no additional cost.

SWANSEA, MA, May 12, 2008- AuctionTNT.com announced today the availability of a new tool to help eBay sellers. eBay sellers can now check their eBay sales & history using their Cellphone, PDA, or web browser. Up until now it has been impossible for eBay sellers to know their sales status without logging in to their eBay account with their web browser. With people always on the move, having the ability to monitor one's eBay business while away from the office is crucial. Now they can simply set a “Favorites” URL address on their phone and in a few seconds check it as often as they want.

Hi everyone - I'm back with a number of important shipping updates.

New! Free Shipping for Calculated Listings - Now sellers can offer Free Shipping when using calculated shipping. (Previously, Free Shipping could only be offered with flat rate shipping.) In the Sell Your Item form - and coming soon in Turbo Lister - you can check the "Free Shipping" checkbox next to the shipping service you'd like to offer free to your buyers. You can still use calculated shipping for up to two other shipping services if you wish. Remember, listings with Free Shipping will receive the new eye-catching Free Shipping icon that appears on the view item page.

Ebay Announcement

My Portfolio colleague Amy Wallace interviewed just-departed eBay CEO Meg Whitman for the May issue. Of course, only a fraction of the interview got in the magazine. So I asked Amy to share the rest here. Other than a few trims, here is the mostly unedited transcript

By Kevin Maney

Back in January eBay announced some bold changes to the way Feedback will work.

The changes will take effect the week of 12 May on eBay.com.au. They include:

• Sellers may only leave positive feedback for buyers.
• Negative and neutral Feedback left by a member will be removed if that member is suspended.
• Feedback can be given for up to 60 days after a transaction (down from 90)
• Feedback will be removed when a buyer fails to respond to the unpaid item process.

eBay Announcement

Google Checkout allows sellers to process payments online, and its new shopping cart feature allows users to give websites "online store" capabilities. Prem Ramaswami, Associate Product Manager for Google Checkout, joins Ina Steiner of AuctionBytes to give us an update on Google's payment service. Ramaswami says Google Checkout's mission is to create the fastest, safest and most convenient shopping method for buyers, while enabling merchants to set up stores with simple point-and-click functionality.

By Ina Steiner