Walmart Launches Weekly Live Shopping Series 🛍️

Weekly livestreams for collectors? We’re in! Walmart’s new Collector’s Night brings giveaways to your Thursday nights.

Hi there, and welcome to another issue of The Ecom Press 🗞️!

This week: eBay turns 30 with a ’95-themed shop curated by Sarah Michelle Gellar 🎉, Congress shakes up taxes with changes that matter for small sellers 💼, and we’ve got a crisp BFCM playbook to help you lock in Q4 📈.

Ready to skim, save, and ship more? Let’s dive in. 👇

In a rush? Here's the juice🤭:

🛍️ Walmart launches weekly live shopping series.

🥳 eBay marks 30th birthday with ’95-themed shop.

💸 New tax laws favor online sellers.

🚀 Ecom strategies: Your BFCM playbook in 5 moves.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

🛍️ Walmart launches weekly live shopping series.

Walmart is launching Collector’s Night, a weekly livestream series dedicated to sports cards and collectibles, streaming exclusively on Walmart Live every Thursday at 6 p.m. ET (started Sept. 4). 

The series is powered by TalkShopLive and produced with WeTheHobby, combining entertainment with real-time commerce through box breaks, exclusive drops, and giveaways.

Here’s the lowdown ⬇️:

🗓️ Schedule and launch: The show airs weekly on Thursdays at 6 p.m. ET, with the first episode on Sept. 4, and streams only on Walmart Live.

🤝 Partnership structure: TalkShopLive provides the live-commerce tech while WeTheHobby co-hosts and curates, extending their earlier collaboration with Walmart at The National Sports Collectors Convention.

🎁 Format and content: Episodes feature live box breaks, time-bound drops, and surprise giveaways designed to capture the urgency and thrill of collecting.

📺 Platform capabilities: Walmart Live (launched 2021) and TalkShopLive’s tooling enable shoppable video with real-time chat; TalkShopLive’s mobile app supports multiple on-air participants, pinned products, and live checkout.

🧩 Ecosystem context: Walmart has worked with TalkShopLive since 2021 and previously tested TikTok livestreams; WeTheHobby also streams on Whatnot and Fanatics Live, positioning this series within a broader multi-platform hobby community.

📈 Category push: Walmart has expanded marketplace listings for collectibles (e.g., memorabilia, comics), reinforcing corporate statements that the category is a priority for investment and growth.

Why it matters 🤔

Collectibles rise or fall on trust, and “Collector’s Night” puts trust on camera with box breaks, live chat, and real hosts showing condition and scarcity in real time. When shoppers see the product tested, questioned, and verified before purchase, prices hold and returns drop. Essentially, going live, showing the proof, and answering questions, fosters transparency to boost sales.

🥳 eBay marks 30th birthday with ’95-themed shop. 

eBay has launched the ’95 Shop, a curated celebration of ’90s icons across fashion, collectibles, and motors, led by Sarah Michelle Gellar. The campaign spans a NYC pop-up on Sept. 4 and a seven-day online auction where each lot starts at $0.95, with proceeds benefiting Make-A-Wish.

Here are the deets ⬇️:

🗓️ Timing and venues: The pop-up runs Sept. 4 (11 a.m.–7 p.m. ET) at 45 Grand St., while the online auction runs through Sept. 9 at 9 a.m. ET, complemented by eBay Live shows on Sept. 3–4.

🎯 Curation and scope: The “greatest hits” collection spotlights 30 emblematic ’90s items, from Jordan XI and Pokémon to vintage Gucci and a 1997 Land Rover Defender 90, plus select Buffy signed pieces.

📊 Data-backed demand: eBay search data guided the picks: Chanel topped 2,600+ searches/hour, Omega Seamaster led the watches category, Pokémon was the most-searched collectibles term each month in 2025, Michael Jordan led athlete searches, and Land Rover exceeded 2,200 searches/hour.

💻 Shoppable media: A marathon of eBay Live streams features the eBay debut of What Goes Around Comes Around and an exclusive drop from Jeff Staple, enabling real-time bidding and discovery.

🛍️ On-site assortment: Top eBay fashion and collectibles sellers stock additional ’90s pieces for immediate purchase at the pop-up, reinforcing eBay’s breadth in fashion, collectibles, and motors.

🏛️ Anniversary context: eBay marked 30 years by ringing Nasdaq’s opening bell and signaling continued investment in selection, trust for secondhand, and AI-driven experiences.

Why it matters 🤨

Nostalgia converts because it rides verified demand signals, not guesswork. For sellers, ’90s inventory with authentication, grading, and provenance can command premium bids when paired with live streams. If you have the resources, go live, show the proof, answer questions, and let transparency do the selling.

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💸 New tax laws favor online sellers.

Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1) with several wins for online sellers: a permanent 20% QBI deduction for pass-through businesses, 100% bonus depreciation for new equipment, higher 1099-NEC thresholds, a reset of the 1099-K trigger, and immediate R&D expensing (with retroactive relief). 

On the flip side, the $800 de minimis exemption has been effectively suspended starting August 29, 2025.

Here’s the scoop 🍨:

💼 QBI is permanent: Pass-throughs (LLCs, sole props, S corps) keep the 20% deduction; from 2026 there’s a $400 minimum for businesses with > $1,000 qualified income. Example: $80k profit → up to $16k off taxable income.

🛠️ 100% bonus depreciation: You can expense equipment in full for qualifying items placed in service after Jan. 19, 2025 (think photo setups, shelving, packing machines).

🧾 1099-NEC threshold up: Starts 2026, contractors only need a form at $2,000+ (indexed from 2027), reducing paperwork for small gigs.

📨 1099-K relief: The trigger returns to $20,000 and 200 transactions, retroactive to 2022, so smaller sellers avoid surprise forms.

🧪 R&D expensing now: Deduct R&D in the year you spend it; if average revenue is < $31M, you can apply retroactively to 2022–2024 (e.g., custom apps, packaging design).

🚢 Imports get pricier: Goods ≤$800 now face applicable duties (from Aug. 29, 2025). A recent appeals-court ruling leaves tariff rules in flux, but current tariffs hold for now.

Why it matters 🤷‍♂️

This means that more cash can stay in your business, while small parcels from overseas will likely cost more. You can use the 20% QBI and 100% expensing to lower this year’s tax bill, and list any 2022–2024 R&D you can claim retroactively. 

At the same time, recheck pricing and margins on imported SKUs, talk to suppliers about duty-paid options or alternate sourcing, and adjust shipping strategies so higher duties don’t quietly erase your profit. 💵📦

🛎️ The Ecom Press Insider

Ecom Fact: Social commerce is on track to reach $100B by 2026, with live selling on platforms like TikTok Shop and Whatnot driving much of the growth (Source: Forbes).

💡 Takeaway: $100B means there’s quite some market opportunity in the feeds. Get a good host for live shows to build trust and let the chat drive the sales. 

🚀 Ecom strategies: Your BFCM playbook in 5 moves.

BFCM is a systemic test. Pulling from industry experts, here are the five plays that reliably move revenue without melting your ops.

1. 🎯 Offer architecture: Lead with what's proven (sitewide %, flash, BOGO, or bundles) and build a "hero" bundle to lift AOV. Treat subscribers/VIPs differently, such as early access or a bonus gift, so you don't train them to churn for a one-time discount.

2. ⚡ Conversion-ready site: Make the deal impossible to miss and the path to checkout frictionless: fast pages, mobile-first UI, strike-through pricing, timers/low-stock cues, reviews up front, and auto-applied discount links. Update popups to capture “early access” emails into a BFCM segment.

3. 📣 Email + SMS drumbeat: Plan a full cadence (kickoff, AM reminder, non-open resend, lunch SMS, afternoon urgency, founder note, last-chance). Blast the whole list early, then segment by behavior (bought, clicked, ignored). Spin up BFCM-specific post-purchase and win-back flows.

4. 💰 Ads that convert now: Front-load budget to warm audiences (site visitors, engagers, past buyers). Keep evergreen winners live, but route clicks to sale pages. Make the offer obvious in creative/copy, submit assets early, and use URLs that auto-apply codes.

5. 🛎️ CX and ops under control: Prep macros and a one-page BFCM FAQ, set clear terms (combines, returns, ship timing), and staff for ticket spikes. Fulfill continuously, communicate delays proactively, and have a make-good ready for hiccups.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

• TikTok launches new educational resources to help sellers grow on TikTok Shop.

• Etsy introduces optional AI tools to improve seller efficiency.

• Temu faces $2 million over alleged violations of consumer complaints.

• Alibaba merges Taobao, Tmall, and Fliggy into one China ECommerce Group for efficiency.

• Google PMax upgrade with new seasonal optimization features.

Wrapping up…

From Thursday-night live shopping to ’90s grails and money-meaningful tax tweaks, it’s a full cart of updates. 🛒✨ Which move are you testing first—going live, leaning into nostalgia, or modeling the new tax math on margins?

If this was useful, tap subscribe, share with an ecom friend, and we’ll be back next week with the biggest moves you shouldn’t miss. 📬🤝