As part of eBay’s strategic partnership with the US Department of Commerce (DOC) aimed at promoting US small business trade, eBay recently co-hosted a webinar with the US Commercial Service entitled “3 Surprising Truths About International E-Commerce.” eBay seller and Main Street Member Chris Ko, Owner and Managing Partner of Nationwide Surplus, and Aparna Lahiri, Marketing Lead for eBay&rsqu
This article originally appeared on the eBay Inc. blog.
Come help us celebrate our anniversary on September 10 and 11 in San Jose.
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Twenty years ago, eBay created one of the first online marketplaces. Twenty years later, eBay is the most vibrant and unique place to shop online—thanks to you, our sellers.
Don’t miss this FREE webinar sponsored by the U.S. Commercial Service to learn more about digital innovation, social media and mobile marketing strategies for exporters. “3 Surprising Truths about International E-Commerce” will feature insights on international ecommerce from industry leaders, including Aparna Lahiri, Marketing Lead for the Global Shipping Program on eBay, and eBay Seller Chris Ko, owner and managing partner of Nationwide Surplus.
With the recent separation of eBay and PayPal, we’ve taken the opportunity to evolve the eBay Main Street website. What was formerly an eBay Inc.-focused website is now dedicated to the eBay Marketplaces family of companies, with an entirely new look and feel. But this change is about much more than just branding. The new eBay Main Street website has been completely redesigned to focus more closely on the content that you, our Main Street members, want and need.
Happening in Congress
Supporters of internet-enabled small businesses everywhere rejoiced when the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) failed to pass in the House of Representatives last year. Unfortunately, policymakers began the new year by looking at potential Internet sales tax alternatives and reintroduced the MFA in March. Although the MFA does not appear to be headed towards becoming law in 2015, another bad Internet sales tax bill has arrived on the scene – the Remote Transactions Parity Act (RTPA).
On June 29th, 2015, President Obama signed the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill into law after weeks of contentious debate. This legislation clears the way for the President to negotiate trade agreements that afford small businesses equal access to international markets. TPA is an important step toward modernizing trade policies originally passed in the “pre-internet” era.
eBay Seller Mac Griffiths and former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
Yesterday eBay Seller Cori O’Steen, owner of UPakNShip (based in South Carolina and California) participated in a hearing entitled, “Targeted Tax Reform: Solutions to Relieve the Tax Compliance Burden(s) for America’s Small Businesses.” Throughout the hearing Ms. O’Steen testified about the tax compliance burdens of her company, and how the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) creates cumbersome tax burdens for small businesses all across the country.