Anecdotally, this has been a tough summer for online merchants. Getting consumers to part with their money in this economy is a challenge, and many merchants are looking for ways to fulfill shoppers' desires to get a bargain when making purchases. One way to do that is to allow shoppers to haggle, and this approach is not limited to car dealerships and brick-and-mortar stores. Online merchants have a number of ways to let shoppers make an offer, as you'll see in today's article, "Haggling Online - Everyone Is Doing It."

I discovered that merchants who use these Make an Offer options may be under-utilizing their automation features. No one has time to haggle with every shopper that comes along, but you can set up these features to automatically accept or decline offers based on prices you enter for each item, or an across-the-board percentage.

As a shopper, I'll be on the lookout for these features to see if I can save a few bucks.

eBay launched its "SM Apps" open platform last week, and today we take a look at what this means for eBay sellers. Some of these tools are free and promise to increase your efficiency or boost sales, and some are available off of eBay, so it's an article worth perusing no matter where you sell online.

Today's issue also includes the "This & That Roundup" featuring news from alternative marketplaces; the "First Item Sold Online" feature; a Collector's Corner column on Woodstock memorabilia; and Letters to the Editor.

I've already seen stores selling Halloween decorations, a sign that online sellers don't have much time to gear up for the fall and holiday shopping seasons. Enjoy the summer days while you can!

Thanks for reading.