Online marketplace eBay has helped create hundreds of thousands of small businesses

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

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Online marketplace eBay has helped create hundreds of thousands of small businesses by offering huge audiences, a trusted interface, easy payment options, and even benefits like health insurance. But those eBay Store sites? None too sexy. Most have a stock cartoon of a typical eBay collectible in the top left corner, with a welcome message next to it, and a list of items underneath. San Francisco-based Macromedia, whose technology has helped make much of the Web prettier, is set to offer a cheap, user-friendly makeover. The company is expected to unveil a new deal with eBay on Nov. 1 that will see the online auctioneer market modified copies of Macromedia's basic Web publishing program, Contribute, to eBay Stores for $99, about $50 less than the usual price, Business Week reported. Designed with the non-technical user in mind, the software includes easy-to-follow, step-by-step wizards, so any eBay user can quickly design and publish a professional store featuring logos, images, descriptions, product categories, product showcases, and product search. Existing Contribute 3 users can keep up on the improvements by downloading a free extension from Macromedia's partner WebAssist Web site. The two companies have been in on the ground floor of getting the program launched. For example, Macromedia is a member of the eBay Developers Program. As a member, its application is enabled by the eBay application programming interface (API) and certified by the eBay Developers Program. "The integration accomplished by our partner WebAssist demonstrates the power of the eBay API and the flexibility of the Contribute product platform," Erik Larson, director of product management of Macromedia, said in a statement, Internet News informed.

Bookmark Online marketplace eBay has helped create hundreds of thousands of small businesses