EcomCrew
Blog and podcast sharing candid insights into running an e-commerce business, including niche selection, sourcing, and marketing. Co-founder Mike Jackness and team document their own brands’ journeys and provide advanced Amazon seller strategies, making it a practical resource for store owners
U.S. Customs’ “5H” Inspections Hit Chinese Imports Hard
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has launched the “5H” Entry Processing Hold, intensifying document‑focused inspections of Chinese imports. Inspection rates at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have risen above 30%, leading to thousands of containers detained or returned. The AI‑driven ACE system cross‑verifies invoices, HS codes, and bond qualifications, flagging misreported values, incorrect classifications, and missing certifications. Importers must tighten documentation to avoid costly delays, demurrage fees, and potential penalties.
U.S. Customs Tightens Importer of Record Rules
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that, effective March 20, 2026, it will begin canceling Importer of Record (IOR) numbers for declarations submitted after 12:01 a.m. ET. Importers must now provide an updated CBP 5106 form, government‑issued photo ID, EIN verification...
14 Broom & Dustpan Sets Just Patented in the US
Fourteen broom and dustpan sets have recently received U.S. design patents, many of which already rank among Amazon's top‑selling household items. The patents were filed between 2021 and 2024 and will remain in force through the 2030s and 2040s. Concurrently,...
USPTO Grants 19 New Design Patents on March 10, 2026
The USPTO’s March 10, 2026 Official Gazette granted 19 new design patents covering items such as walking canes, garden lights, lamp accessories, and a portable pickleball net. Design patents protect only the ornamental appearance of a product, not its function, but infringement...
Amazon to Stop Accepting Meltable FBA Inventory From April 20
Amazon will stop accepting meltable inventory for FBA after April 20, initiating a seasonal restriction that runs until September 28. Products that melt at 155 °F or lower—such as chocolate, gummies, and wax items—must be removed or risk being marked unfulfillable. Starting May 1,...
U.S. Customs to Refund IEEPA Tariffs Within 45 Days
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced a new ACE‑based system to refund IEEPA tariffs within 45 days after a Court of International Trade ruling. The solution aggregates refunds by importer, bypassing the need to process each entry individually. Only about...
IATA: E-Commerce Will Drive 30% of Air Cargo by 2027
IATA says e‑commerce will drive 30% of air cargo by 2027, up from 20% today. It projects total air freight volume reaching 71.6 million tons in 2026 with a 2.4% annual increase. Growth is strongest in Asia‑Pacific, especially Southeast Asia, where...
This TikTok Easter Toy Made $97,000 in a Week
A TikTok‑driven Easter toy egg featuring a water‑activated unicorn sold 5,769 units between March 1 and March 7, generating roughly $97,200 in revenue. Each $18.30 set contains six eggs that hatch after a 12‑24‑hour soak, revealing a grow‑and‑shrink unicorn. Influencer videos accounted...
Amazon Launches Multi-Channel Fulfillment in Germany
Amazon has launched its Multi‑Channel Fulfillment (MCF) service in Germany, extending the program to brands that sell on Amazon and through direct‑to‑consumer channels. The service lets sellers store stock in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and use the same inventory for orders...
TikTok Shop Is Dominating U.S. Health & Beauty E-Commerce
TikTok Shop has surged to become the sixth‑largest U.S. health and beauty e‑commerce retailer, with sales surpassing $1.34 billion and accounting for 79.3% of its total revenue. Since its September 2023 launch, the platform’s buyer base grew 88%, and average annual spend...
Amazon Now Offers a 7% Discount on Late Deliveries
Amazon announced a new option that gives customers a 7% rebate when they select a slower delivery window, signaling a pivot from its traditional fast‑shipping promise. The move comes as UPS and FedEx have raised basic shipping rates by roughly...
Amazon Just Banned AI Agents From Its Seller Platform
Amazon updated its Business Solutions Agreement on March 4, 2026, adding a new Agent Policy that bans AI agents from accessing its seller platform unless they self‑identify and can be shut down on request. The agreement also forbids using Amazon’s...
Meta Ends Credit Card Payments for DTC Ad Accounts—Amazon Next?
Meta announced that, effective March 2, it will no longer accept credit card payments for high‑spend direct‑to‑consumer advertising accounts, requiring a switch to monthly invoicing by March 31. The new billing model extends a credit line based on account history...
TikTok Shop Scraps Controversial Shipping Overhaul Under Seller Pressure
TikTok Shop announced on February 17, 2026 that it is pausing the enforcement of a policy that would have eliminated independent shipping for U.S. sellers, keeping the existing fulfillment model in place for now. The original mandate required merchants to...
Amazon and Shopify Now Control Nearly Half of U.S. E-Commerce
Amazon now commands roughly 35.7% of U.S. online retail, generating about $440 billion in 2025, while Shopify’s merchant network accounts for 14% of the market. Together they control 49.7% of the $1.2 trillion U.S. e‑commerce landscape, up from 43% in 2021. This...
Amazon Will Implement DD+7 Policy and Sellers’ Payment Recovery Time Will Be Extended
Amazon announced a global DD+7 payout rule effective March 5, 2026, with the German marketplace following on March 12. Under the new policy, seller funds are released seven days after delivery confirmation, extending the typical cash‑in cycle to eight or nine days. The...
Jumia’s Fiscal Year 25 Revenue Was US$190 Million, a Year-on-Year Increase of 13%
Jumia reported full‑year 2025 revenue of $188.9 million, up 13% year‑over‑year, while GMV reached $818.6 million, a 14% increase. The fourth quarter showed a 34% revenue jump to $61.4 million and a 36% rise in GMV, driven by a 26% surge in active...
From “Emotional Consumption” To “Green Compliance”, What Blue Oceans Does Amazon’s 2026 Trend Report Reveal?
Amazon's 2026 Global Consumer Trends Report identifies two converging forces—emotional consumption and green compliance—reshaping cross‑border e‑commerce. By 2025, 73% of shoppers will factor emotions into buying decisions, while over 60% of European consumers will prioritize environmental standards by 2026, prompting...
Wayfair Shifting From Online to Offline?
Amazon eclipsed Walmart with $716.9 billion revenue, becoming the U.S.'s top seller, while the furniture sector lagged at 2.3% growth in 2025. Wayfair and TJX Home Goods each captured just over 15% market share, outpacing IKEA’s 7%. Despite a modest 1%...
E633: I Snuck Into Alibaba’s China HQ
In this episode, host Dave recounts his misadventure of missing Amazon's China conference and unexpectedly gaining access to Alibaba’s Hangzhou headquarters, offering a behind‑the‑scenes tour of the modern campus and its co‑working culture. He contrasts Alibaba’s ecosystem—highlighting Taobao’s massive GMV...
E-Commerce Stocks Rally as Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs
The episode examines the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision that invalidated most of former President Trump's global tariffs, a move that instantly lifted e‑commerce stocks such as Amazon, Wayfair, Etsy, Shopify, eBay and Pinduoduo. The hosts explain how the tariffs, imposed...
The Top 7,000 Amazon Sellers Get Over Half of All Amazon Sales
The episode breaks down the extreme concentration of Amazon's US third‑party marketplace, revealing that roughly 7,000 sellers—just 1.6% of the seller base—account for over half of all third‑party GMV, while the top 20% generate 90% of revenue. It highlights how...
Amazon’s New Image Policy: Platform Can Now Replace Your Product Photos
The episode breaks down Amazon’s 2026 product image policy, which now allows the platform to replace seller photos—including brand‑registered listings—if they don’t meet stricter standards. It outlines the exact technical requirements (white background, 1600+ px, 85‑100% product fill, etc.), the red‑flags...
E632: Amazon’s Stock Is Cratering – Here’s What Happened
In this episode Dave breaks down Amazon’s near‑10% stock plunge, contrasting it with an 8% e‑commerce growth rate and record‑high AWS revenue. He examines the factors behind the dip, including aggressive 2026 capital spending and investor skepticism about AI initiatives...
SHEIN’s Big Bet on American Retail: What Eddie Bauer’s Bankruptcy Reveals
SHEIN bought a one‑third stake in SPARC Group in August 2023, aiming to blend its fast‑fashion e‑commerce engine with legacy American retailers. The partnership promised digital distribution, on‑demand production and shop‑in‑shop concepts for brands like Forever 21 and Eddie Bauer. In 2026...
Amazon Shifts Key Leadership in Selling Partner Services
The episode discusses Amazon’s recent leadership reshuffle in its Worldwide Selling Partner Services (SPS) division, with VP Dharmesh Mehta moving to a Technical Advisor role for CEO Andy Jassy and Amit Agarwal taking over SPS while also overseeing Customer Trust....
Shopify Tightens AI Data Rules and Elevates Acquired Founders: A Signal to the Ecosystem
The episode examines Shopify's recent overhaul of its partner program and API terms, which now require explicit permission for any use of merchant or customer data to train AI models, and its parallel initiative to give founders of acquired startups...
The Beginning of the End for Amazon’s USPS Advantage?
The episode examines USPS’s new bidding platform that opens its 18,000+ delivery units to all shippers, ending Amazon’s long‑standing exclusive access to last‑mile delivery. It explains how flexible, zip‑code‑level pricing and customized service agreements could lower costs and give mid‑size...
Amazon’s New Section-Level Insights Change How Brands Optimize Stores
Amazon is launching a beta feature that adds section-level performance metrics to Brand Store insights, letting advertisers see renders, viewable impressions, clicks, and CTR for each hero image, video, or banner. The data can be filtered by traffic source, revealing...
TikTok Shop’s Logistics Shake-Up Sparks Seller Backlash
TikTok Shop announced that, by March 31, it will require all U.S. sellers to use its own fulfillment network or approved third‑party integrations, ending independent seller shipping. Small and mid‑size brands like August’s founder Nadya Okamoto are exiting the platform...
EBay’s New Ad Attribution Rules Look a Lot Like a Seller Tax
The episode breaks down eBay’s new Promoted Listings General attribution model that takes effect on January 13, 2026, explaining that any click on a promoted listing within the past 30 days will attribute all subsequent sales of that SKU to...
U.S. eCommerce Reaches $10 Trillion in Total Sales
In Q3 2025 U.S. e‑commerce surpassed $10 trillion in cumulative sales, highlighting the sector’s massive scale despite a slowdown to 5‑10% quarterly growth. The episode explains how growth spikes during the pandemic and the 2008 crisis were temporary, and notes a...
Amazon and Flipkart Step Up Discounts to Compete with Quick Commerce Leaders
The episode examines how Amazon and Flipkart are intensifying discounting in India's quick commerce market to challenge leaders like Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart. Data from Bizom shows average discounts jumping to 55% in January, driven by Amazon matching Zepto's...
Texas Declares War on Chinese Tech — And It’s Getting Weird
Governor Greg Abbott announced an expanded ban on Chinese‑linked technology for Texas state employees, prohibiting hardware, software, and AI tools from firms such as Alibaba, Shein, Temu, TP‑Link and CATL. The measure, framed as a privacy safeguard against foreign surveillance,...
PDD Subsidiary Fined by Shanghai Tax Authorities
Shanghai tax authorities fined PDD Holdings' subsidiary Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology 100,000 yuan for failing to submit required tax information for Q3 2025 under China’s new platform reporting rules. The penalty, roughly US$14,000, is modest relative to PDD’s scale but...
Amazon’s New Supplement Rules Could Take Down Thousands of Listings
Amazon will enforce stricter supplement listing rules starting March 31, 2026, requiring product pages to exactly match label information, include full label images, and provide third‑party lab test results. The change reflects growing consumer demand for label transparency and aligns...
Alphabet’s Wing to Expand Walmart Drone Deliveries to 150 Locations
Alphabet’s drone delivery arm Wing is set to scale its Walmart partnership from 27 to 150 additional stores by the end of 2026, targeting new markets such as Los Angeles, St. Louis, Miami and Cincinnati. The service uses BVLOS‑approved drones...
Amazon’s New Review Rules Could Strip Listings of Their Social Proof
Amazon will tighten its review‑sharing policy on February 12, 2026, allowing reviews to flow only between variations that are functionally identical, such as color or size changes, while stopping sharing for variations that alter performance, flavor, or model. This shift...
Amazon Insert Cards: How Sellers Get Banned and How to Avoid It
The episode explains that Amazon permits insert cards but treats them as seller‑to‑buyer communication, meaning any language that nudges buyer behavior—especially review solicitation—can trigger enforcement. It outlines safe practices (simple thank‑you notes, clear instructions, neutral support info) and prohibited tactics...
Amazon’s “Buy for Me” Feature Draws Scrutiny From Independent Sellers
Amazon’s new ‘Buy for Me’ and ‘Shop Direct’ beta tools let shoppers purchase items from brand websites via the Amazon app, but many independent sellers report being listed without opting in, facing incorrect product details, out‑of‑stock items, and proxy order...
AMAZON’S TOP 10 THIRD-PARTY SELLERS DECEMBER 2025
The episode reviews SellerSnooper's December 2025 ranking of Amazon's top third‑party sellers, highlighting Renpho Wellness's surge to a $1 billion monthly revenue and a 219.5% growth rate, driven by its connected health products. It notes strong performances from AnkerDirect and Govee...
China VAT Law 2026 Now in Effect—Cross-Border Sellers Face a 13% Tax Reality
The episode explains the new China VAT Law 2026, which took effect on Jan 1 and tightens definitions of VAT exposure for U.S. e‑commerce sellers using China‑based manufacturing, inventory, or fulfillment. A key change is the 5 million RMB sales threshold that instantly...
Amazon Updates FBM Refund Rules Effective January 26, 2026
The episode explains Amazon's new FBM refund policy effective January 26, 2026, which extends the refund issuance window from 2 business days to 4 calendar days to give sellers more time for inspection. It highlights that missed deadlines trigger automatic...