Amazon Gives American Express Merchants Free 3-Month Trial
Through a recent agreement, businesses in the U.S. that accept the American Express Card can join the Amazon Services Pro Merchant program to sell on Amazon.com with no subscription charges for the first three months. Amazon's Pro Merchant program offers retailers volume-listing tools, Amazon.com storefront capabilities, and unlimited free listings for a monthly subscription cost of $39.99 plus a commission when products sell. Some of the many Pro Merchant product categories which qualify for the Amazon Services-American Express offer are Apparel & Accessories, Gourmet Foods, and Sports & Outdoors. American Express merchants can find more information and take advantage of the offer by visiting American Express Business Savings Web site.
http://www.americanexpress.com/bizsavings

Amazon Participates in Email Security Survey
Amazon.com announced to sellers it is assisting in an academic research study on "the usability aspects of computer security" with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Part of this research study involves email security. Participation is completely voluntary, and Amazon said no personally-identifiable information will be collected by MIT, and no information will be shared with Amazon.com in non-aggregated form.
http://digbig.com/4bmjw

Amazon Apologizes to Sellers over Feedback Policy Changes
Amazon recently apologized to its sellers for poorly communicating policy changes on how it shares "feedback" across international marketplaces. Amazon's Feedback System allows buyers to leave feedback for sellers. The announcement read in part, "Up to this point, we've had a fragmented policy governing whether feedback left for you in one marketplace will impact your feedback rating in another marketplace. We understand that this fragmented policy makes it difficult for you to understand your feedback rating and build your business. We are working to build a clear, fair policy."

Amazon said the policy going forward would be that feedback will only be displayed in the marketplace where the feedback was left. "For example, if you primarily sell in the UK, you will not be able to use your UK feedback as part of your seller reputation in the US or in Germany. Likewise, a negative feedback score in Germany will not harm your reputation as a seller in the US." See the full announcement on the Amazon seller announcement board.
http://digbig.com/4bmft