Though many have tried, no online ticket sellers have even come close to touching Ticketmaster. It doesn’t hurt that its parent company is Live Nation, which owns or operates many of the biggest concert venues and promotes the biggest touring acts. Is Amazon one of the few companies with enough size and reach to actually take on Ticketmaster? We might soon find out. [More]
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Amazon Tells Third-Party Booksellers To Speed Up Deliveries
By 8.8.17
That paperback book you ordered from Amazon for your upcoming beach vacation might just arrive faster than you thought. But it’ll come at a new cost for the third-party seller providing the title: Amazon is once again tightening the reins on sellers who don’t use the company’s fulfillment services, reducing their required delivery window. [More]
Here’s How Some Brands Are Fighting Back Against Amazon
By 8.7.17
From groceries and household supplies to electronics and clothing, Amazon has steadily been expanding its product categories in an effort to appeal to as many customers as it can. But some brands don’t want the e-commerce giant horning in on their business, so they’re fighting back. [More]
Amazon Changes Return Policies For Third-Party Sellers, Who Worry About Fraud
By 8.2.17
One of the ways that Amazon has been able to offer such a wide selection of items has been through its Marketplace, or third-party sellers. These businesses or individuals would ship from their own bookshelves, garages, or warehouses, handling order fulfillment and letting Amazon expand its inventory without building any new warehouses. Now a new policy makes it clear that sellers who handle their own orders are at a disadvantage. [More]
Hundreds Of Thousands Of Glittery Phone Cases Sold At Major Retailers Recalled After Burning People
By 8.1.17
Slapping a glittery, shiny case on your smartphone might give the device a bit more pizzazz — and possibly protection — but it could also burn you. At least that’s the case for 263,000 iPhone cases being recalled by MixBin Electronics. [More]
Please Do Not Buy Counterfeit Solar Eclipse Glasses
By 7.28.17 — Updated: 7.30.17
There’s a total solar eclipse coming across much of the country on Aug. 21, which will be amazing to watch. However, use caution, and make sure not to risk your eyesight to see it. Not only should you wear special eclipse-viewing glasses when you look at the sun, but you should make sure that those glasses aren’t counterfeit. [More]
Amazon Reportedly Has A Secret Team Working On Virtual Doctor Visits, Other Medical Services
By 7.27.17
Two months after Amazon was rumored to be thinking of getting into the pharmacy business by offering customers the option of ordering their prescription drugs through the e-commerce giant’s supplier channel, the company is taking its desire to be doctor a step further, reported developing a team focused on virtual medicine. [More]
Congratulations To Jeff Bezos, The New Richest Person In The World
By 7.27.17
For the first time since 2013, the world has a new richest person. Thanks to a rise in the value of Amazon stock, the company’s founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, has taken the top spot on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index from Microsoft founder Bill Gates. [More]
Amazon Holds National Job Fair, Looking For 50,000 Workers
By 7.26.17
The e-commerce behemoth Amazon is so keen to fill 50,000 open jobs that it’s holding a series of job fairs across the country. Most of those jobs are in its warehouses and sortation centers, and the problem Amazon is encountering is that the labor market for people who work in warehouses is becoming very competitive. [More]
FTC Reportedly Looking Into Potentially Deceptive Amazon Discount Pricing
By 7.21.17
When you say you’re selling an item for 30% off of some higher original price, there are rules about how real that “original” price has to be. If that reference is made up, or the item never actually sells for that price, you can land yourself in some legal trouble. And now sources say that the Federal Trade Commission is having a look to see if that’s what Amazon is up to. [More]
As Sears And Kmart Shrink, Amazon Grows
By 7.20.17
Earlier today, we shared the announcement that Amazon and Sears would be teaming up to sell Kenmore brand appliances, beginning with air conditioners. The retailers have more in common than you might think, though. [More]
Sears Begins To Sell Kenmore Brand Appliances On Amazon
By 7.20.17
Would you buy a Kenmore air conditioner, refrigerator, or dishwasher if you didn’t have to go to a Sears store, leave your house, or register for a Sears.com account? As part of its ongoing efforts to increase sales and make the most of its store brands, Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, announced that it will be selling Kenmore appliances on Amazon, beginning with air conditioners. [More]
Amazon Spark: Like Instagram, But Dedicated To Convincing You To Buy Stuff
By 7.19.17
Have you ever found yourself scrolling through your Instagram feed and thinking, “Gee, all these photos of my friends’ meals and their feet are great; but I really wish every single photo was an ad for a product?” It just so happens that Amazon has something just like that. [More]
Now Amazon Wants To Sell You Meal Kits
By 7.18.17
It’s not enough that meal kit services are advertising on every screen you see and every podcast you hear: Now even the Everything Store wants to sell them to you, too, through its Amazon Fresh grocery service. [More]
Lawmaker Wants Antitrust Panel To Take A Closer Look At Amazon, Whole Foods Merger
By 7.14.17
A month after Amazon and Whole Foods announced they would be joining forces in wedded grocery bliss, one lawmaker is asking his colleagues on a House antitrust panel to hold a hearing on the $13 billion merger plan. [More]
Target Testing Curbside Pickup For Online Orders…. Again
By 7.12.17
Sure, Target isn’t new to the online retail game, but the big box chain seems to perpetually be playing catchup to rivals like Walmart and Amazon. Case in point: Target is once again testing a curbside pickup program, a year after shutting down a similar pilot program. [More]
Best Buy, Amazon Fighting To Get Into Your Home To Install Smart Devices
By 7.11.17
For years, Best Buy’s Geek Squad has offered to enter customers’ homes to install, troubleshoot, or teach people about their new electronic devices. With the rising popularity of the connected home, such a service seems all the more useful. Not one to be left on the sidelines, Amazon is getting into the installation and education business when it comes to their own connected home devices, setting up a house-call showdown of sorts between the e-commerce giant and the brick-and-mortar electronics retailer. [More]
Amazon’s Voice-Activated Devices Are Going To Be Super Cheap On Prime Day
By 7.10.17
Listen, it’s up to you whether or not you want to partake in the annual panic-shopping event that is Amazon Prime Day. But if you do, Amazon is offering some pretty big discounts across the board on its Alexa-powered digital devices. [More]
