eBay Launches Celebrity Auctions
eBay Celebrity launched this week, allowing fans to join their favorite celebrites in supporting important causes. Fans can purchase exclusive items directly from celebrities with the proceeds going to the celebrity’s charity of choice. This site is the perfect destination for fans wanting to get their hands on concert tickets and merchandise from A-list celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, and others. [via eBay Ink]

PayPal’s Android App Receives Update
PayPal has updated its Android app to give those with a Near Field Communication (NFC) device a reason to use the new features. PayPal’s NFC money transfer feature has been the most talked about since first introduced at Mobile Beat 2011. The new feature allows users to transfer funds by bumping smartphones. To use the feature, the user must add the new PayPal Request Money widget, which comes with the new app on their Android home screens. The user then enters amount of money to be transferred and taps the two phones together. The other user will instantly receive a notification about the transfer and by entering their PayPal password, the transaction is finalized. PayPal has also added other new features its Android app, including a refined interface and address book auto-completion when sending money. [via Venture Beat]

Further News
+ Studies shows early adopters of social media are showing signs of fatigue.
+ Incentives become crucial for mobile device purchases this holiday season.
+ Retailers capitalizing on holiday crazed fans, releasing deals before this Black Friday holiday.

A Week Ahead
I will be hosting the first ever #eBayChat on Twitter with @Vistaprint‘s social media team, @jeffespo and @jaykeith. Join us on Twitter using #eBayChat on Tuesday, November 15 at 12pm PST to discuss e-commerce, social commerce, social media and more.

Looking Back on eBay Ink
eBay launches holiday season campaigns all aimed at those of us who “Love to Give”. The campaign is centered around one thing – eBay and the Holidays. Specifically, the concept of “Love to Give” and this week, eBay has launched a number of ways in which people can shop, give and share their holiday experiences. For more information, visit eBay’s holiday homepage at http://gifts.ebay.com.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

New eBay Shopping Cart
Shopping on eBay has become even simpler using the new eBay Shopping Cart. With the shopping cart, browsing items, comparing prices and taking all of your items through one checkout session has never been easier. The eBay Shopping Cart team has also created a comprehensive FAQ to educate shoppers, which you can find here. Also, in case you missed it, I sat down with the eBay Shopping Cart team to talk about the roll out. [via eBay Stories]

PayPal Opens Store in NYC
The PayPal Shopping Showcase is a pop-up store demonstrating the use of the PayPal payment card. The new technology allows customers to pay for merchandise in stores from their mobile devices. By a simple click of the PayPal button, customer’s can choose the option of mailing their purchase to their home from the store. Jamie Patricio, a PayPal spokeswoman said, “the focal point is to showcase some of the tools and technologies that are going to be debuting over the next few months.” [via The New York Observer]

Further News
+ Mobile phones are increasingly becoming the primary platform to access the Internet.
+ Industry analysts are predicting a good 2011 holiday shopping season for retailers.
+ Social media driving the growth of e-commerce in India

Looking Back on eBay Ink
November 1, 2010: eBay has launched eBay Group Gifts, a new way of shopping/giving on eBay allows users to pitch-in towards the same item together in an effort to give a “group gift” to a friend or family member. You can follow eBay Group Gifts on Twitter: @ebaygroupgifts and share personal stories using the hashtag #groupgifts.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

Innovate 2011 Overview
PayPal unveiled X.commerce this week at the at the X.commerce Innovate Conference 2011, bringing together the technology assets and developer communities of eBay, PayPal and Magento and further expanding eBay Inc.’s mission of enabling commerce. Announced that same day, Facebook’s new Open Graph functionality is now integrated into eBay’s X.commerce open commerce ecosystem, allowing third-party developers to access eBay’s global commerce technology. PayPal also unveiled PayPal Access to developers this week. Making it easy to take your profile across the web, PayPal Access will let users log-in to participating retailers’ sites and pay with their PayPal username and password, rather than logging into multiple accounts. [via eBay Ink]

eBay Brings Image Recognition Technology to Mobile Phones
eBay users will soon be able to snap a photo on their mobile phone of items they wish to find on eBay. The feature which will roll out by the end of next year, will allow users to take pictures of items and scroll through similar items available for sale on eBay.com. [via USA Today]

Further News
+ Gear up for the holiday rush on your e-commerce website.
+ The rise of tablets has increased mobile shopping.
+ Steve Jobs changed the e-commerce landscape.

Looking Back on eBay Ink
October 18, 2010: Fox Business kicked off its “Three Days in the Valley” specials today and a number of CEOs descended on eBay’s North campus to be a part of it. eBay CEO, John Donahoe, was interviewed (below) and reiterated the assertion that PayPal will be bigger than eBay in the future… the “MINT” building (Building 17), “The Greenest Building in San Jose” also got some love.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

eBay CEO Reflects on the Passing of Industry Leader, Steve Jobs
In a brief statement, eBay’s CEO John Donahoe reflects on the life technology leader, Steve Jobs lived saying, “Steve understood the power of technology to enrich our lives in simple, elegant ways. His impact on consumers all over the world is apparent wherever one goes. Without a doubt we have lost the greatest innovator of our time.” [via eBay Ink]

John Donahoe Talks Commerce with Robert Scoble
In a recent video interview, internet blogger and tech enthusiast, Robert Scoble (@scobleizer), sat down with CEO John Donahoe to discuss the future of commerce. Robert and John discussed the effect of emerging technologies and it’s affect on small retailers, eBay’s opportunities in China and how developers are using eBay platforms to drive innovation. More discussions like these will take place at the X.Commerce Innovate conference next week. [via eBay Ink]

eBay Customers Take Advantage of Instant Sale for Old iPhones
On October 5th, eBay Instant Sale allowed customers to secure an instant cash offer for select smart phones, including up to $357 for an AT&T iPhone 4 in excellent condition. A few Customers have tweeted their plans to use that money towards the purchase of the new iPhone 4S. eBay Instant Sale continues to feature competitive cash offers for qualifying smartphones from Oct. 6 – Oct. 18. [via CNET]

Further News
+ PayPal is displaying its new mobile payments platform with a pop-up store in New York City.
+ Mobile commerce was a hot topic at the 2011 GigaOm Mobilize conference.
+ What does social commerce means for retailers?

Looking Back on eBay Ink
October 9, 2010: Nightline featured a segment called, “eBay Turns 15″. It was great to see a lot of our eBay Ink Social Media Sellers and more celebrating at eBay: On Location in San Jose.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

eBay “Makes It Pink” for October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month
eBay Giving Works is running it’s 8th annual “Make It Pink” campaign, raising money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The fundraising campaign includes sales of special items and fantasy experiences to benefit breast cancer research and programs, plus basic eBay fee credits to sellers who wish to donate from 1 percent to 100 percent of an item’s sale price to Komen. Also, On October 8, eBay sellers and buyers can donate $1 or more directly to Komen through the Donate Now feature–no purchase necessary. [via eBay Ink]

Further News
+ Retailers are gearing up for the “couch commerce” rush
+ Small business owners get help from Facebook
+ Is social sharing is having an impact on your online shopping?

Looking Back on eBay Ink
October 1, 2010: eBay has announced an agreement to use open source content management system (CMS), Joomla, to launch a community portal as part of eBay’s internal analytics platform. Known as “community analytics,” the initiative will be accessible by all eBay employees, and will incorporate social aspects of active collaboration, including content creation, sharing and open discussion.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

eBay’s New Ad Campaign for 2011 Holidays
It’s been two years since you’ve seen eBay on your television screen, and now eBay is embarking on a major ad campaign aimed at consumers shopping on their smarthphones. The “When it’s on your mind, it’s on eBay” advertising campaign kicked off this week and emphasizes emergence of mobile helping consumers shop anywhere, anytime, whenever they want. In addition to the TV spots, street-level outdoor environments will be created using custom QR codes that can be accessed using eBay’s RedLaser technology, allowing consumers to shop for products on the spot. [via eBay Ink]

PayPal Unveils New Payments Platform For Merchants
PayPal held an event this week in Los Angeles for merchants to get an early look into the company’s new technologies. PayPal’s plan is to make tools available to merchants allowing them to use existing credit card terminals to accept payments through PayPal. Several payment methods will be possible, although they will ultimately depend on the type of terminals merchants have. [via The PayPal Blog]

Further News
+ How large is the role of social media in the lives of consumers?
+ Businesses that are online need to think about mobile.
+ Will socially awkward teens drive mobile payment adoption?
+ Startups show off small-business tools at TC Disrupt

Looking Back on eBay Ink
September 15, 2010: In a video interview, eBay partners with the National Federation of the Blind; Enhanced features for visually impaired. The site includes enhanced features for users to search, browse, buy, bid and sell using the keyboard alone, as well as using assistive technologies such as screen access software. Additional support includes seed funding for promising blind entrepreneurs and a selling training program.

You can visit the website to find out about all the features available to eBay users with special access needs.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

eBay Building New Facility in Utah
eBay is investing $110 million in an expansion of its operations in Draper, Utah. The project, which will receive a $38.2-million tax credit from the state, will create 2,200 jobs in the area. The facility will complement the company’s existing facilities in Draper and also its state-of-the-art data center in South Jordan. Currently, eBay employs about 1,400 in those two cities. [via Newsday]

PayPal Adds Services to Russia
PayPal will begin carrying out money transfers in Russia and Ukraine next month. Previously PayPal restricted money transfers to Russia and Russians were only able receive money from another PayPal customer in special circumstances, such as a refund for an item that was not received from eBay. The new services will allow for easier transactions for Russian customers. [via Russia Times]

Further News
+ Consumers increasingly buying products through their phones
+ Many companies deciding to sell their products directly on Facebook
+ Ticketmaster teaming up with Facebook, buy tickets and see where your friends are sitting

Looking Back on eBay Ink
August 24, 2010: eBay will be moving to a single, consolidated checkout process, and effective June 30, 2011, eBay Checkout will be the only checkout process on eBay.com. What does that actually mean? Checkout is obviously a key part of shopping online – we all want an effective, secure, simple method for making our purchases. A consistent checkout experience helps buyers complete their purchases in confidence. And for sellers, one consistent checkout experience – with business functionality like payment processing and tax collection – can help streamline business operations. A single, familiar checkout experience is key to reducing confusion and improving how people shop on eBay. We’ve been working with sellers and providers for some time and will continue to do so for a seamless transition next year.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

Gold Booming on eBay
For gold sellers on eBay, the recent stock market turmoil has been a boom for business. Gold and silver sales on eBay have been rising steadily over the past several years, so much so that eBay created a special “bullion center” in May to make it easier for buyers to find sellers. Last month eBay Ink published an infographic taking a closer look at buying and selling trends of gold and silver on eBay. [via Newsday]

Further News
+ Benefits of eCommerce for small businesses
+ The more time customers spend in your store, the more they’re likely to buy
+ Small businesses utilizing social media increasingly

Looking Back on eBay Ink
August 16th, 2010: eBay launched a new free Half.com iPhone app and Buying Wizard to help students quickly find great deals on textbooks (and more fun stuff of course) heading into the school year. It’s the second eBay app to integrate barcode scanning technology and allows users to scan the barcodes on items to find the best deals on textbooks, DVDs, video games and more. The app provides Half.com buyers access to over 80 million active listings from more than 700,000 sellers.

Check out the following demo video to learn more:
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