News and Announcements
This week ProStores gets an update. The new release includes several improvements that allow sellers to more easily create, manage and display attributes and details about items in their own Web store. Now ProStores sellers can add up to 10 attributes for each product, and then share those attributes across their entire product catalog, rather than having to apply them to products one at a time. Read more about the new features here.

CanadaPost and eBay.ca are running a month-long promotion in June that will give Canadian eBay sellers using Xpresspost up to 25 percent off shipping costs if they use the online PayPal shipping tool. Using Xpresspost within Canada qualifies for a 15-percent discount while using the shipping service for packages being sent to the USA and overseas will save you a total of 25 percent.

After weeks of rumors, eBay formally announced its acquisition of StumbleUpon, a company that helps people discover and share content online. The transaction was valued at approximately $75 million and gives eBay exposure to a community with approximately 2.3 million users. Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America, says that while StumbleUpon will operate as a separate business unit within eBay Inc., the company will be exploring the possibilities for synergies between StumbleUpon and eBay marketplaces, Skype and PayPal.

According to industry news reports, eBay Inc. reached an agreement with Sanook, a Thai online portal, to launch a Web site in the country that will enable cross-border trade through eBay's global Web sites. The Thai-language local site is expected to launch in five to seven months and will be managed and operated under a newly formed subsidiary of Sanook.

Third-Party eBay Services and E-Commerce Tools
GoodStorm released a new MixTape widget — a technology that enables bands and musicians to upload their MP3 music and sell it on any blog, social network or Web site. Musicians can expect to make 65 cents per song (or download) and fans referring users to download the music can earn 5 cents per download.

GoodStorm MixTape allows music enthusiasts to listen to 30-second samples of each song and if they decide to download, all purchases take place securely in the MixTape platform itself, allowing artists and digital music entrepreneurs to instantly convert fan interest into a sale, according to the company. Currently in pre-beta form, registration will be limited to the first 10,000 users.

Demandware and Allurent have partnered up, which means Allurent's shopping and merchandising functionality will be merged with Demandware's merchandising and e-commerce platform.

New Demandware eCommerce Platform modules will include Allurent Detail, which allows shoppers to see merchandise information, view product images and select the specific item attributes they wish to purchase in a concise presentation. Allurent Inline Cart gives customers immediate access to the items in their order and the running total without leaving the shopping process. Finally, Allurent Display creates interactive product displays that link directly to the shopping process.

Eye on the Little Guy: Search eBay in 3D
This Monday, June 4, authorized eBay developer SpaceTime is expected to unveil the beta version of its free PC software application that enables 3D search, shopping and browsing. SpaceTime supports many popular search-based Web and social sites and lets you navigate through an eye-pleasing 3D stack of search result pages.

A New Perspective: View listings in a floating, 3D stack. (Click for larger image.)

I managed to get a sneak peek of the beta version of SpaceTime, and spent more time searching for fun on Google and eBay than I thought I would. A big benefit of the free utility is that it removes the need to click a text hyperlink to view a page, then hit the back button to go back to the search results multiple times. Instead, SpaceTime displays the search results in a 3D stack allowing you to easily scroll through the results. Additionally, in the case of an eBay search, you can click the image to see pertinent auction details or even view the item page directly from within the SpaceTime application.

The SpaceTime software offers an address field for URLs and that Web page will open up in the 3D tile view as a single image. As you enter in more Web addresses, each of those sites will add to your 3D image stack, a visually-based layout that anyone using Microsoft Vista will be familiar with already. You can also choose to enter in a search word (or phrase) after selecting a predefined search from eBay, Google, Yahoo Search, or Flickr. For each search, you are able to view a stack of 10 results at a time.

After you have scrolled through those, you can select the next 10 and the SpaceTime software will fetch and display those results. There are also other useful options for those using SpaceTime to search eBay. For example, a 'more images' button will load other images the seller has placed on the item page, and you can remove one item from the stack, which is handy if you have decided it's not one you want, and you can also use the place a bid button or 'star' the item. Once you have starred two or more items you can then use the compare function to view the images you have starred in a side-by-side comparison mode. Finally, you can also choose to view the whole item page listing instead of just the image for that listing.

SpaceTime is a search tool that puts a focus on the visual aspect of searching, and it's just as fast as traditional eBay search functions. If you consider eBay searching to be a laborious process of searching, visiting multiple pages to view listings, hitting the back button multiple times and also adding items to your watch list for further investigation and comparison, you will find that using SpaceTime actually saves you time when looking for items on eBay.

Research Says...
According to eBay Pulse this week Webkinz still remains the most popular search on eBay.com, holding first place above both Wii and xBox 360. Here is a snapshot of several U.S. eBay categories and the corresponding top three searches in each on eBay.com for May 31, 2007:

• Books: Harry Potter, Stephen King and Easton Press.
• Books > Textbooks, Education: Abeka, Nursing, and Spanish.
• Pottery & Glass: Art deco, Roseville and Mccoy.
• Pottery & Glass> Pottery & China: Mccoy, Roseville and Fiesta.

In other research this week, statistics released by Nielsen//NetRatings say that the New Zealand market is experiencing continuous strong growth, with 61 percent of adult New Zealanders purchasing online each month. Even more interesting is that 91 percent of those purchasing online said that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their online shopping experience.

Only on eBay...
If you've been reading the news for the past decade and then some, you're no doubt aware of the emphasis being put on environmental awareness and going green.

Gang Green: Starbucks and celebrities auction umbrellas for environmental campaign. (Click for larger image.)

Starbucks is sponsoring several green auctions over this month in which bidders can compete for umbrellas that are being auctioned to the public, with purchase money benefiting Global Green USA.

In addition to the winning bids, Starbucks will also contribute $25,000 to the organization. Celebrities supporting the cause are designing the umbrellas, turning them into original works of art based on the theme "Be Green this Summer."

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