Ecommerce news: Etsy payment problems and Amazon requires GS1 barcodes
Last week Amazon started cracking down on sellers not using GS1 barcodes, and over the weekend Etsy sellers started experiencing some serious delays in payment processing. We’ve put together a quick overview of the latest ecommerce news,and what might affect your online business.
Etsy payment problems
Etsy sellers have been experiencing delays in payment processing since 1 July due to problems with its third party payment processor, Worldpay. According to Etsy, the technical issue has meant that when some customers place an order and pay using credit card or a gift card their payment is taking a long time to be processed - anything from a few hours to a few days.
Etsy has said that their partner is working to resolve the issue, and that affected orders will be processed on a rolling basis. In the meantime, they have updated the pending order email notification to let buyers know about the processing delays, and are advising sellers not to ship orders until the payment is processed. Integrated and stand alone PayPal has been unaffected by the issue.
Find the latest updates on Etsy’s payment processing delays here and find out how to deal with payment problems on Etsy here.
Amazon requires sellers to use GS1 barcodes
Amazon is going to start removing listings with invalid Universal Product codes (UPC), and may also remove sellers Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) creation or selling privileges if they don’t comply with UPC requirements.The only valid UPCs for Amazon are those supplied by GS1, the global authority that issues Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN).
Amazon has said that they “verify the authenticity of product UPCs by checking the GS1 database. UPCs that do not match the information provided by GS1 will be considered invalid.”
Some sellers have been using fake UPCs, purchasing them from third-party retailers, or paying for real UPCs and applying them to products that already have them - all of which Amazon will now be cracking down on. As a seller this means that if your products don’t come with a UPC from the manufacturer, or you have modified your products, then you will need to register with GS1 and pay for a GTIN.
Find out more about Amazon’s GS1 barcode requirements here.
Amazon Prime Day will be on July 12th
The second Amazon Prime Day will be taking place on Tuesday 12 July. Over 100,000 deals will be available throughout the day starting at midnight in the UK, and new deals will start as often as every five minutes for 24 hours.
This year sellers had to be invited to submit a proposal for Prime Day Lightning Deals, and if they were accepted they were notified by 18 May. However, even if you’re not able to offer a Lightning Deal, there will still be a lot more buyers on Amazon on the 12th than your average Tuesday, which should mean an increase in sales for even non deal listings.
Find out more about Amazon Prime Day 2016 here.
eBay expands its Global Shipping Programme
eBay is expanding its Global Shipping Programme in the UK to offer easy shipping to 38 more countries. Sellers will now be able ship to these countries by sending purchased products to eBay’s processing centre in the UK, from there eBay handles everything including the export paperwork, customs and duties.
The new countries are Antigua & Barbuda; Aruba; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belize; Bermuda; Bolivia; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Cayman Islands; Dominica; Ecuador; Egypt; French Guiana; Gibraltar; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guernsey; Iceland; Jersey; Jordan; Liechtenstein; Macau; Maldives; Martinique; Monaco; Montserrat; Nicaragua; Oman; Pakistan; Paraguay; Peru; Reunion; Saint Kitts & Nevis; Saint Lucia; Sri Lanka; and Turks & Caicos Islands.
Find out more about eBay’s Global Shipping Programme here
