Netflix opens online shop
Streaming market leader Netflix sets the stage for a more prominent entry into the merchandising business with an online shop for fan merchandise. While its big rival Walt Disney has been earning a lot of money for decades by selling and marketing products for fans of its comics, films and series, Netflix has largely done without this source of revenue until now. On Thursday, it now launched its internet shop.
So far, only a manageable selection of items is available there. For the premiere, Netflix offers shirts, hoodies and other designer products related to the anime series “Eden” and “Yasuke”. It is a “boutique” concept, Netflix manager Josh Simon told The New York Times. Simon joined Netflix in March 2020 from Nike to set up the fan merchandise business. More items will be added to the shop in the next few days, including pillows and boxer shorts with Netflix’s logo and motifs from the “Lupin” series.
Given the popularity of series like “Tiger King” or “Stranger Things”, merchandising has long been seen by many analysts as the logical next step for the company. The internet is already teeming with homemade fan articles. Netflix boss Reed Hastings had already expressed interest in this business area in recent years and also in more far-reaching projects such as theme parks – but rather for long-term planning.
The Netflix share, listed on the NASDAQ, gained 0.30 per cent to 487.27 US dollars at the end of trading.
eBay parts ways with PayPal after long cooperation
According to a statement published on the seller portal of the online marketplace eBay, the US company recently introduced a new – and mandatory – payment method that no longer supports the usual use of a PayPal account. Instead, selling through the online marketplace now goes hand-in-hand with direct access to user’s bank accounts, eliminating the option of maintaining a separate PayPal account.
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According to CHIP, the payment process will in future be supported by the Dutch company Adyen, known in Germany as “Sofort”. Adyen is the biggest competitor of the controversial Wirecard group.
As eBay states, the adaptation of the payment process should lead to an increase in the clarity of the website. It is emphasised that centralised payment processing will make the shifting of money obsolete. Sellers will no longer have to move funds between bank and PayPal accounts to make transactions. According to CHIP 356, the end-to-end payment process will also be adapted to that of the competitor Amazon to make the sales process more attractive.
CHIP points out that the online auction house will charge a processing fee in future. Sellers will soon pay 0.35 euros for the service of the sales platform, to which 11 per cent of the total sales price will be added. Before the change, a transaction via eBay was accompanied by a ten per cent fee of the total sales price, which had to be paid to eBay, as well as 2.49 per cent of the total sales price, which went to PayPal.
CHIP further reports that sellers have probably already come forward to point out problems caused by the new payment method. Among other things, this includes a delay in incoming payments. eBay assures users of a period of two days but often needs a whole week for implementation.
According to WinFuture, nothing has changed for buyers yet. PayPal, among other payment methods, can still be used for eBay purchases.
Deutsche Bank expects triple-digit million penalty
Following the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court on fee changes, Deutsche Bank expects charges in the three-digit million range already this year. Because clients can claim back fees already paid, the bank will probably set aside 100 million euros in the second quarter, CFO James von Moltke said on Thursday at a conference of the US investment bank Goldman Sachs. In addition, the group’s earnings are likely to be lower by about 100 million euros in both the second and third quarters as a result of the ruling.
By autumn, however, Deutsche Bank wants to have found solutions to enforce the fee increases with most of its clients. According to von Moltke, the bank’s earnings in the fourth quarter should again be as high as management had previously planned. However, the institute is also preparing to lose customers.
The Federal Supreme Court had recently ruled in a case involving the Deutsche Bank subsidiary Postbank that banks must obtain the consent of their customers when making changes to general terms and conditions (AGB). The presumed tacit consent was unreasonably disadvantageous to customers. Many customers are now able to claim back part of the overpaid fees from the past – according to Stiftung Warentest, retroactively until 1 January 2018.
According to the German financial supervisory authority Bafin, the ruling could cost banks in Germany dearly. In the worst case, the decision could cost the institutions an estimated half of their annual surplus, the top banking supervisor and acting Bafin president Raimund Röseler had said in May.
The Deutsche Bank share ultimately moved 1.02 per cent lower at 11.90 euros on XETRA on Thursday.
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