shopping

Socialvest, a company that says it's raised tens of thousands of dollars for nonprofits through its shopping site, has launched an iPhone app to make it easier for people to help others while shopping.

The site lets shoppers give to the charities of their choice by working with online retailers like Target, Home Depot, Macy's and Amazon. When a user buys something from a partnered shop, between 1 to 15 percent of the purchase will be donated to a nonprofit.

It seems like a great way to be a do-gooder while satisfying your commercial needs.

According to a … Read more

eBay has historically been a place for adults to buy and sell goods. But in the coming months, kids might make their way to the service.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in an interview published today, eBay's president of global marketplaces, Devin Wenig, said his company is currently working on plans to allow kids under 18 years old to establish accounts and start participating in auctions.

Aware of the obvious privacy and parental implications, Wenig told the Journal that the accounts would be opened only with parental authorization. Wenig said eBay would not allow "a 15-year-old unfettered … Read more

For me, there are no worse time-sucks than social media and online shopping. Online games, however, have never been a problem. Until now.

Tip or Skip, which launched today with $2 million in funding from 500 Startups, John Ason, Corinthian Group, and angel investors, combines a Fancy or Pinterest-like online shopping experience with a game element.

Started by two childhood friends -- Michael Weiksner, a persuasive-technology specialist who has studied under B.J. Fogg, and Nathaniel McNamara, a mobile-commerce specialist -- the site aims to keep shoppers engaged by appealing to their trend-spotting sensibilities. The idea is that if you … Read more

I've written many times before of my love for cashback services, which pay you back a percentage of your purchase just for going through their shopping portals.

For example, FatWallet recently started offering 3 percent back on Amazon Instant Video and MP3 purchases. And Ebates is currently paying 4 percent to 5 percent back on purchases from Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

Of course, there are lots of cashback sites out there, and some offer bigger bonuses than others. How can you make sure you're getting the maximum rebate for each store you visit?

Simple: click the Cashback Comparison bookmarklet. … Read more

Scott Thompson, who left Yahoo under a cloud, has landed a CEO post once again.

Two-year-old e-commerce company ShopRunner this morning announced that Thompson is coming aboard as its chief executive. ShopRunner describes itself as a network of merchants that have banded together to deliver "multichannel shopping services" to consumers.

In May, an embattled Thompson abruptly departed Yahoo after hedge fund and Yahoo investor group Third Point discovered that his resume listed a computer science degree that he doesn't actually hold. Thompson had been CEO of Yahoo only since January.

The appointment at ShopRunner brings Thompson back … Read more

Open up Quick and you'll see two paths you can take: Sell or Search & Buy. Selling an item using Quick is totally straightforward. Just hit List an Item and input all of the vital info, like Title, Price, Category, Description, Payment Options, Delivery Options, and Photos. You can snap a few new pics or import existing ones from your Gallery. If you're selling a fairly common item, there's a nice feature that lets you use Quick to search for it (either by keyword or scanned bar code), in order to autopopulate the item fields. Lastly, at … Read more

Design-focused shopping site Fab hopes to expand its global footprint and increase its warehouses and inventory with the $105 million its secured in a third round of funding, Fab CEO Jason Goldberg said in the company's blog post today.

The new round of financing was led by investment firm Atomico, which is also helping Fab expand its site globally, starting with London, Tokyo, Beijing, Sao Paulo, and Istanbul. Atomico's other investments include Skype and Rovio, the maker of Angry Birds.

"We believe that we have a special opportunity to create one of the world's next great … Read more

Foursquare offers a new interface in version 5 that has been completely reworked to a much cleaner design so you can get to what you want quickly using only three tabs across the bottom of the screen (the former design had five buttons across the bottom). The Friends tab (which used to be only about checking in) now offers big photos you can swipe to browse along with tips, lists, and places your friends have saved. From here you can "Like" or comment on activity by touching a button for each. The new layout seems much better organized … Read more

Google is opening up its Google Trusted Stores program -- which comes with the company's backing and an optional satisfaction guarantee for customers -- to any U.S merchant, the search giant turned marketplace announced today.

Then program, which gives out badges and customer service scorecards to merchants, lets Google assure customers that when they shop online, Google's got their back.

"We help customers feel confident, knowing that they're going to be having a great experience and knowing that Google stands behind them if anything goes wrong," said Tom Fallows, Google Shopping's group product … Read more