Weekly News Roundup (December 4 – 10, 2017)
The interwebs buzzed with Amazon news last week and EcomCrew’s news roundup is filled to the brim with it.
Let’s get right down to it.
Amazon is being sued over selling fake Mercedes-Benz products
Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, recently took the ecommerce giant to court over the sale of fake Mercedes-Benz wheel caps. Amazon has been put in a negative spotlight over counterfeit products on its website and has been sued many times, but this new lawsuit could change the tides.
The litigation reads in part:
“… rather the sales at issue are infringing products that are “shipped from and sold by Amazon.com.”
This lawsuit could set a new precedent for holding Amazon liable for the products on its website. That is, if it does not disappear from public view and gets settled out of court.
Amazon and Google feud
Amazon also made headlines last week when it squared off with Google, with the end result being Google pulling off Youtube from Amazon’s media streaming devices. The two tech giants has long been in a simmering feud but this escalation is affecting customers more than anyone.
Despite all the trouble brewing on Amazon land, the ecommerce giant still can’t be stopped in its tracks.
Amazon's growth in apparel, furniture, and handmade goods
Its apparel line now ranks number 2 in sales, trailing only behind Walmart.
It also shook the furniture world with Rivet and Stone & Beam, its two newly unveiled furniture lines.
It has also begun targeting Etsy with Amazon Handmade, offering last-minute delivery of necklaces, pottery, and other handmade goods through Prime Now. Whether or not it will succeed in taking sales away from Etsy especially in this busy holiday season is something we will see in the next couple of weeks.
EcomCrew Updates
Speaking of unstoppable growth, Dave wrote an interesting post about selling internationally, specifically in the UK. If you are planning on expanding to the UK and Europe in general and don’t know where to start, check out Dave’s blog post to learn the basics of international selling.
And what better way to end the year than to talk about strategies for next year? Mike gets down to business in our 102nd episode and discusses how he plans to launch products on Amazon next year, step by step. Go to ecomcrew.com/102 to listen to the episode.
Bill D’Alessandro of Elements Brands takes the spotlight in Episode 103. He and Mike discuss why he prefers buying businesses over starting one from scratch and when you can do the same. Head over to ecomcrew.com/103 to learn more.
That has been our roundup for December 4th to 10th. Until next week, happy selling!
