AuctionWire

ARLINGTON, Va., July 2 - buySAFE, Inc. has announced a strategic partnership with MerchantAdvantage, a leading tool-based data-feed management solution for ecommerce and mobile commerce. MerchantAdvantage was selected as buySAFE's first product syndication partner for the Bonded Shopping Network (BSN). MerchantAdvantage is the only industry solution that doesn't charge setup costs, fees for transactions, or a revenue share when optimizing, feeding, and analyzing client product catalog feeds to over 150 shopping destination sites, comparison shopping engines, mobile shopping engines, affiliate sites, and marketing channels.  These channels include marketplaces -- Amazon.com and Shop.com -- and now BSN shopping sites such as TheFind (www.thefind.com) and www.buysafeshopping.com.

Alibaba Group has announced that Zhang Wei, the former COO of Star Group China, formally joined Alibaba Group. According to Cai Chongxin, CFO of Alibaba, Zhang Wei will be senior vice president and in charge of the strategic investment department of the group. Her main responsibilities will be to help Alibaba and its subsidiaries evaluate trends of new businesses through cooperation, investment and acquisition, and to grasp new strategic opportunities in the Internet industry.

On chinatechnews.com

eBay has bowed to pressure from its users and scrapped a plan to force customers to use its wholly-owned payment subsidiary, PayPal.The move comes just days after a fiery meeting in Sydney, where eBay sellers attacked the plan and accused the company of becoming aggressive, monolithic and dictatorial. The meeting was convened by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which was investigating whether eBay should be giving legal immunity from sections of the Trade Practices Act over the PayPal plan.

By James Thomson

Five per cent of goods online are fake making an £800m criminal market. Auction web sites are increasingly becoming a significant channel for the sale of counterfeit and illegal products, according to research. For every £100 spent in web auctions, around £5 is spent on counterfeit items, says the study, which also revealed that the estimated value of fake goods including fashion and cosmetic items, consumer electronics, motor equipment and sports items sold over the web in the UK each year totals £800m.

By Angelica Mari

Members of the Internet Merchants Association (IMA) say the Board of Directors and the Ethics Committee butted heads in recent days. The organization is composed of eBay and online sellers. Some members say the tensions began when the Board overruled the committee's decision in an ethics matter and failed to act transparently, and a few have said they believe the group may be in danger of disbanding. Suzanne Hallam of aGenius-Marketing.com wrote about the incident on her blog, writing that she had been "recent Chairman of Ethics and Moderation for one of the trade groups dealing with internet commerce and ebay sellers," a reference to IMA. In the post, Hallam wrote that "things were done in the back room and not reported to the members."

By Ina Steiner

Need for Stronger Solutions Underscored by eBay Counterfeits Ruling in France; US Decision Imminent

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, England-In light of the recent legal ruling in France resulting in a $63 million fine against eBay for selling counterfeit luxury goods, the global issue of product authenticity among online auction sites has been brought sharply into focus. Cybercrime and "e-fencing" are serious matters in the US as well, costing consumers an estimated $4 billion annually. A judge in the US is due to rule at any time on a similar case brought by Tiffany. This threat was identified eight years ago by the founders of CheckMEND.com, an online property validation service, who have compiled what is now the world’s largest database of counterfeit and stolen goods with more than 100 million records. A simple online search (or "check") allows auction sites, consumers and manufacturers to validate the authenticity of a product for less than a dollar.

“Twitter’s not going to make their money with advertising. So how can they be a Billion Dollar Company in a year?”, writes Nate Westheimer over at Silicon Alley Insider.The answer, he says, is for Twitter to get into the P2P mobile payments space.It’s an interesting idea and one that merits some consideration.Imagine the scenario: you’re out at a restaurant with friends or colleagues and it’s time to divvy up the bill. You open up your favorite mobile Twitter client or use Twitter via SMS to reimburse the person who is going to settle with the waiter. Instead of the @ (reply) or “d” (Direct Message) machine code, a “p” for payment is used instead.

by Steve O'Hear

In past classes I used to tell my students to use eBay, and specifically the 'About Me Page' to link folks to their own private website. Many already know, but in case you are not an 'eBay junkie' that has come to an end. External links are only allowed to non-selling sites and they don't like the linked page to have links that could take them on to other selling sites. Links are helpful in many ways so I am experimenting with a link to the U.S. Post Office to see if it gets censored. After all, they are an approved vendor and we use them quite a bit.

On .t-g.com

SAN FRANCISCO - A French court dealt eBay Inc a blow for selling fake luxury goods, but while the Internet auctioneer's business model is unlikely to change, further legal setbacks could shave its margins. In the near term, the biggest damage could be to the eBay brand, which promises shoppers the widest range of goods in a marketplace that connects millions of buyers and sellers.

By Alexandria Sage

MANILA, Philippines -- eBay is looking to provide support for Filipino developers who can create promising applications running on its marketplace, a top regional executive said. eBay recently announced it is opening up its portal to third-party application developers, a move similar to that made by social networking site Facebook and online software provider Salesforce.com. By opening itself to third-party developers, eBay is turning to its community for innovation while spurring new services for buyers and sellers. eBay mounted a regional competition looking to encourage developers to create innovative applications for local markets like the Philippines.

By Lawrence Casiraya

Claudine Beaumont and Matt Warman offer advice on ways to avoid rogue web traders. Earlier this week eBay, the popular online auction website, was fined €38.6 million (£30 million) by a French court for allowing the sale of fake goods through its site. The ruling has raised a serious question: just how can you spot fake goods on eBay? With British eBay users spending an average of two hours on the site each month, and viewing 250 pages in that time, it's more important than ever to ensure that what you're buying is the real deal, rather than a dodgy knock-off.

On telegraph.co.uk

A Canadian fiddler who is no stranger to controversy has put half his future music earnings up for sale on eBay, the auction website. Ashley MacIsaac, who says he declared personal bankruptcy in 2000, is seeking a minimum bid of C$1.5 million from an investor who would in turn get half of what the Cape Breton musician earns during the rest of his career. MacIsaac achieved international prominence and raised a few eyebrows in 1997 when he revealed more than his Celtic dance moves while taping "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." According to media reports, he exposed his private parts on the television show while kicking up his kilt during his performance.

By Lionel Perron