Online Shopping

As part of our strategy for maintaining buyer confidence, we allow only pre-approved sellers to offer these top-selling products in Video Games. We are committed to making sure that all sellers provide a high-quality buyer experience in Video Games, and that order fulfillment meets or exceeds buyer expectation. We periodically re-evaluate individual seller performance, and adjust the list of pre-approved sellers. All sellers in Video Games can still offer ASINs that do not require pre-approval.

Amazon Announcement

The move is expected to expand Amazon's offerings in the growing craft and hobby segment. Amazon.com on Wednesday acquired online fabric store Fabric.com, which is expected to expand Amazon's offerings in the growing craft and hobby segment. Financial details were not disclosed. Fabric.com offers custom measured and cut fabrics, as well as patterns, sewing tools, and accessories. The acquisition is expected to expand Fabric.com's offerings while increasing the number of products available on Amazon.com in a growing market segment.

By Antone Gonsalves

BEIJING - Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce firm, launched on Wednesday a free online advertising service, Alimama.com, with the goal of being the largest within five years. Alimama.com, a wholly owned unit of Alibaba.com Inc, is targeting small-to-middle sized websites, but did not reveal a timetable for when it would begin charging for the new service. "The goal for Alimama.com set by Ma is to acquire the largest share of online advertising in China within 3-5 years," said Wu Yongming, general manager of the company, referring to Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

On reuters.com

PARIS — Amazon, the online retailing giant with a fast-rising share of the consumer book market, has adopted the literary equivalent of a nuclear option for rebellious publishers who balk at its demands.In the latest in a series of disputes over the division of revenue from online sales, Amazon has disabled the “buy now with 1 click” icon on its British Web site for hundreds of books published by the British unit of Hachette Livre, from back-list Stephen King novels to, naturally, “The Hachette Guide to French Wine.”The button allows registered users to purchase titles instantly, with free shipping. Customers can still buy the affected books, but they have to navigate to an open marketplace that links them to third-party sellers of new or used books. And they have to pay for shipping.

By DOREEN CARVAJAL

Unprecedented Collaboration from Key Industry Players Enables Launch of the Bonded Shopping Network

ARLINGTON, Va., June 3 - buySAFE, Inc. today announced the launch of the buySAFE Bonded Shopping Network ("BSN"), a performance-based advertising network that directs consumers looking for risk-free shopping directly to buySAFE Bonded Merchants. The Bonded Shopping Network solves a core problem of eCommerce: it brings together consumers searching for risk-free shopping with trustworthy online merchants.

Alibris, a marketplace for third-party media sellers, told booksellers this week it would cap commission fees on high-value books. All sellers currently pay Alibris a minimum sales commission of 15% of their list price when a sale is made through Alibris' retail sales channels. For items priced over $400, sellers will soon pay a flat sales commission of $60.

By Ina Steiner

Ztail.Com Becomes Best Starting Point for Buyers and Sellers to Find the Worth of Anything Under the Sun

PALO ALTO, CA-Ztail (www.ztail.com), the first interactive pricing guide for anything under the sun, launched today bringing buyers and sellers a valuable, compelling and free resource to make smarter transactions. While pricing guides such as Kelley Blue Book are common in specific categories like cars, Ztail takes the concept to another level so its users can quickly determine the "Worth" of any item.

Amazon.com is resuming testing of a new "Leave seller feedback" page, it announced on Monday. Half of visitors will see the new page during testing. Specific changes Amazon.com is testing include the following: Buyers can get to the feedback page with only one click after logging in; all feedback-eligible orders are visible on one page, and buyers can leave feedback on as many orders as they want without having to leave the page; and the message "If your order hasn't arrived yet, please note that it's still before the delivery estimate" is more prominent.

By Ina Steiner

AMAZON.COM STRENGTHENED THE LINK BETWEEN Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley this week, sending more than a message that mobile transactions and marketing have arrived on cell phones. The new service, called TextBuyIt, lets customers with Amazon accounts find and buy products in less than one minute via text message through Amazon's Web site. Using Amazon's service simply requires consumers to send a text message to "AMAZON" (262966) with the product name, search term, UPC or ISBN.

by Laurie Sullivan

www.rubylane.com - To help celebrate its ten year anniversary, rubylane.com will roll out its lower maintenance fee structure tomorrow. "We are pleased to announce an updated version of our current pricing system," says Tom Johnson, Founder and President/CEO of rubylane.com. "We wanted to help our shop owners with a new lower maintenance fee. This new program includes a tiered structure that makes it even more affordable for our more than 1,800 shop owners to add and maintain items, so they can grow their business. The benefit to shop owners is simple - lower costs. And Ruby Lane shoppers receive a larger inventory to choose from."

Amazon.com is looking for sellers to participate in usability sessions regarding selling products on Amazon.com. The sessions will take place April 8-10, 2008, and will be approximately 90 minutes long, and participants will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. Sellers must be at least 18 years old, able to get to Amazon's offices in Seattle, Washington, and be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Interested sellers can complete a questionnaire for consideration.

By Ina Steiner

RedRoller Holdings has appointed Michael Tribolet as Chief Executive Officer. A seasoned executive with more than 17 years of marketing, sales and customer care experience, Tribolet will execute the next phase of RedRoller's business strategy. Working closely with Tribolet, Bill Van Wyck, the Company's founding CEO, will continue to serve on RedRoller's senior management team as President, directing product innovation and strategic initiatives.

By Ina Steiner