1. 【 US Postal Service or Withdrawal from Postal Union: Cheap Chinese Goods May Lie at Risk 】

Bloomberg said that Trump ordered the U.S. Postal Service to withdraw from the Postal Union, which is composed of 192 countries, which may crack down on American shoppers who are used to finding bargains on eBay, Amazon and other platforms, while cheap goods such as one dollar yoga pants from China will become the latest sacrifice. Due to postal conventions, it is relatively cost-effective to transport goods directly to consumers. When the United States withdraws, thousands of listings may disappear for Chinese companies selling cheap consumer goods. The convention sets the cost for postal services in various countries to deliver mail and small packages from other countries, resulting in lower shipping costs for poor and developing markets compared to developed countries. It essentially provides an annual subsidy of $170 million for Chinese merchants to ship products directly to American households. Gary Huang, Chairman of the Supply Chain Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, said, "Chinese sellers on eBay and other platforms may disappear, or at least they may not be as easy to sell to Americans. This is a huge advantage they have had over local sellers in the United States for many years

2. [Foreign media: Amazon Vine Reviews is unfavorable for third-party sellers]

According to foreign media reports, Amazon is using its Amazon Vine Reviews program to send its own products to consumers for review, which is quite detrimental to third-party sellers on Amazon. This year, Amazon has been criticized for allegations of false comments and merchant purchase reviews. In response, they strictly require consumers to leave comments on Amazon and in some cases block comments, unless they are verified by Amazon to purchase comments indicating that Amazon knows that the reviewer actually made a purchase on Amazon, so they have already confirmed their own product. Undoubtedly, comments seriously affect buyer behavior, and having a large number of comments can also serve as a signal of Amazon's search ranking. Compared to similar products with little or no reviews, products that have undergone extensive reviews are more likely to be promoted to consumers and reach the top of search results.

3. EBay updates seller service metrics

It is reported that a month ago, eBay announced that the punishment for eBay's service standards in the UK was postponed to February 1, 2019. Now that four and a half months of breathing time have passed, sellers need to make adjustments before February to avoid being fined. It is worth noting that the additional 4% unlimited service indicator penalty has been applied in other countries and regions, such as eBay. com in the United States. If the seller has an eBay. com eBay account, they can carefully check the relevant indicators. EBay will also provide guidance and video tutorials to help sellers understand new metrics. EBay stated, "We will not directly apply for additional fees for sellers on eBay. co.uk. Sellers will have time to learn about new service metrics and seize opportunities to improve their ratings if necessary before February 1, 2019. In the coming weeks, we will also provide new guidelines on how service metrics work, as well as video tutorials to explain and support sellers' sales on eBay

4. [Foreign media: Trump is about to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union, and the potential victim may be American exporters]

It is reported that the withdrawal of the United States from the Universal Postal Union may harm American exporters and have other consequences, "the International Mailers Advisory Group (IMAG) recently stated. The organization has issued a statement in response to President Trump's request to make terminal fees more fair to the United States - Trump instructed the US Postal Service to renegotiate international postal fees with the Universal Postal Union. In fact, the Universal Postal Union not only establishes terminal fees, but also sets standards for global postal networks. This includes standards for operational operations, automated payment systems, mailing and containerization, service quality, and hazardous materials in emails. IMAG members are concerned that rising costs, uncertainty in interest rates, and operational changes will harm US exporters. The total value of packages weighing less than 70 pounds exported by the United States each year is billions of dollars. Leaving the Universal Postal Union will definitely increase the costs for exporters

5. Alibaba Expands European Cloud Business by Building Two New Data Centers in the UK

On October 22nd, according to foreign media reports, Alibaba opened two data centers in the UK on Monday to further expand its cloud business in Europe. These two new factories in London are Alibaba's first data centers in the UK, providing 24/7 security and engineering support to commercial customers in the region, as well as real-time monitoring. A spokesperson for Alibaba Cloud stated that this move is part of Alibaba Cloud's expansion into Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The spokesperson also stated that two UK availability zones will be established in Frankfurt and Dubai\

6. Dutch retailers Albert Heijn and Bol.com will allow consumers to shop using the same account

It is reported that Dutch food retail giant Ahold Delhaize is creating new cross selling opportunities. Albert Heijn collaborates with Bol.com, the largest e-commerce company in the Netherlands, to create a seamless online shopping experience for consumers. Consumers from both companies will be allowed to use the same account to log in to these two online platforms for shopping. These two brands have also launched a joint subscription model for their courier services: new subscribers who subscribe to Albert Heijn's door-to-door delivery service will be able to subscribe to Bol.com's S's Select service for free, similar to the Amazon Prime program. Bol will provide Select members with discounted delivery options, courier collection, and free returns. In addition, these two retailers will also allow consumers to shop through the Dutch version of Google Assistant.