The Art of Writing Testable Code

Magento can present unique challenges to conventional unit testing. The reason for this is that most of the Magento code base has a dependency on Mage, a global class that provides service location, event dispatching and many helper methods. These hard dependencies are readily recognizable:

class My_Module_Model_SomeClass
{
    public function getSomeService()
    {
        return Mage::getModel('some/service');
    }
}

The method getSomeService is coupled to Mage. This method is challenging, because we are unable to isolate the class for testing. But the hard dependency on Mage is not a requisite when developing Magento extensions. We can make this class unit test friendly by making two minor changes:

1) Use Properties with Getters

Add a some service property to the class and only request some service from Mage if it does not already exist in the class:

class My_Module_Model_SomeClass
{
    protected $_someService;

    public function getSomeService()
    {
        if(null === $this->_someService){
            $this->_someService = Mage::getModel('some/service');
        }
        return $this->_someService;
    }
}

While this change may seem minor, it can make a huge difference when it comes to testing. Using PHP’s Reflection API, we can inject some service into the some service property, removing the hard dependency to Mage.

$prop = new ReflectionProperty('My_Module_Model_SomeClass','_someService');
$prop->setAccessible(true);
$someClass = new My_Module_Model_SomeClass();
$prop->setValue($someClass,new Some_Module_Model_SomeService());

The code above accesses the protected, normally inaccessible $_someService property and injects a My_Module_Model_SomeService instance into it. This instance will be returned by the getSomeService method, allowing us to effectively mock out the My_Module_Model_SomeService class.

2) Use Setter Methods:

class My_Module_Model_SomeClass
{
    //...

    public function setSomeService(My_Module_Model_SomeService $someService)
    {
        $this->_someService = $someService;
    }

    //...
}

With the setter, we now don’t need Reflection:

$someClass = new My_Module_Model_SomeClass();
$someClass->setSomeService(new My_Module_Model_SomeService());

When to Use Reflection, When to Use Setters

Before deciding to simply throw setters on your objects, consider the purpose of your object. What should the public API do? For most purposes, I recommend using setters, as this adheres to the inversion of control principle. The power of reflection is best left to the testing of protected methods.

Installing PHPUnit

PHPUnit is available as a PEAR package and on github. If you want to use PHP’s Reflection to access protected properties or methods you will need PHP v 5.3 or greater.

Testing Your Extension

Testing your Magento module is easy when best practices are followed with regard to your codebase structure. I like to organize my tests in a ‘tests’ directory. To use PHPUnit’s autoloader, you need to be sure to follow PEAR/PSR-0 conventions (same as Magento and Zend). This means if you have the test class My_Module_Model_SomeClassTest, the directory structure must be organized as the one below:

My/
  Module/
  .  Block/
  .  Helper/
  .  Model/
  .  . SomeClass.php
  .  controllers/
  .  etc/
  .  sql/
  .  tests/
  .  . My/
  .  .  Module/
  .  .  .  Model/
  .  .  .  . SomeClassTest.php
  .  .  bootstrap.php
  .  .  phpunit.xml

To configure your test suite, you will first need a phpunit.xml config file. the PHPUnit test runner will use these settings to configure the test environment:

< phpunit backupGlobals="false"
        backupStaticAttributes="false"
        bootstrap="bootstrap.php"
        colors="false"
        convertErrorsToExceptions="true"
        convertNoticesToExceptions="true"
        convertWarningsToExceptions="true"
        processIsolation="false"
        stopOnFailure="true"
        syntaxCheck="false"
>
    < testsuites>
        < testsuite name="My_Module">
            < directory>./My< /directory>
        < /testsuite>
    < /testsuites>
< /phpunit>

Running tests normally requires more than just an XML config file. If you look carefully, the phpunit.xml phpunit node contains a ‘bootstrap’ attribute. We direct PHPUnit to load bootstrap.php. We use this file to bootstrap the Magento environment, giving us access Magento services:

<?php
//Start Magento Environment
require_once '../../../../../Mage.php';
Mage::app();

Now we can create our test class:

<?php
class My_Module_Model_SomeClassTest extends PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
{
    protected $someclass;

    public function setUp()
    {
       $this->someclass = Mage::getModel('my_module/someClass');
    }

    public function testSomeClass()
    {
        $this->assertInstanceOf('My_Module_Model_SomeClass',$this->someclass);
    }

    public function testProtectedMethod()
    {
       $r = new ReflectionClass('My_Module_Model_SomeClass');
       $m = $r->getMethod('_protectedMethod');
       $m->setAccessible(true);
       $result = $m->invoke($this->someclass,'some input');

       $this->assertEquals('expected output',$result);
    }
}

This test can now be run using PHPUnit’s command line test runner. Open up a console and navigate to your module’s tests directory and type the following:

#phpunit My_Module_Model_SomeClassTest

Final Comments

PHPUnit is an incredible tool, and makes testing rather easy, but when should you use it? I suggest testing difficult-to-write and mission-critical code. Case in point, suppose your module integrates Magento with a third party service, an ERP system perhaps. You should definitely write tests for your integration points, including testing failure conditions.

Generally speaking, testing 100% of your code is not feasible and only worth while if 100% of your code is mission critical. Testing block classes for example are usually not necessary as visual content is tested thoroughly while testing the user interface, both during development and in QA.

The design of a web site can work wonders to redefine a brand and increase conversions, but don’t forget about the photography. Properly executed photography can bring emotion (on some level) to nearly anything, whether it’s shoes, apparel, peanuts or a drill press. This concept may sound a bit crazy, but think about it. If you’re selling food; wouldn’t you want your product to look as delicious as possible? Wouldn’t you want your potential customer’s stomachs to growl just seeing your goods online? If you’re selling clothing, the customer is going to want to see themselves (or someone else) in it. The customer wants to know how it will look on their body, what it looks like from various angles, and if there are any interesting design details.

Use your photography to connect with your customers and build an emotional response. The photos should be commanding enough that whoever is viewing them can imagine using or enjoying the products being showcased. This emotional connection can be used in all occasions, whether it’s showing an image of a pretty girl in a skirt, or a dad building a cradle for his child. Using emotional imagery can influence a customer’s decision to buy a product.

Build visual reputation with your brand by presenting your products in a unique way. Look at your competition and see what they’re doing with their imagery. Look at other well-known brands outside of your industry. Are they using techniques that could help you separate your brand from your competition?

If you are in a highly competitive field such as footwear, the more angles of your product that you can offer, the better. Your website cannot put the shoe in their hands, or on their feet, but you can do your best to emulate that experience by providing images that present the shoe from every angle.

Other imagery options that can be beneficial are video or 360 degree spin. Both have been shown to increase conversion rates by as much as 50%. Including short video interviews or product reviews can increase customer’s overall perception of your brand, as well as create better customer service experiences. Zappos, for example, has been using videos very effectively on their website for some time. It’s another feature of their site that really separates them from the competition. The videos are interesting, informative and quick. 360 spin maybe a great way to go if you are selling consumer electronics or fashion accessories. In general, 360 works better for smaller products, so that would be something to keep in mind when exploring these possibilities. Both video and 360 spin come with potential considerations—video production, lighting, audio, time to complete, and associated cost—that can determine if either of these options will work for you.

Creating polished and analogous content can work toward increasing you brand equity. When your products look good (photography) and your site looks good (design and UX), your brand has a better opportunity to increase your ROI.

In the end, it is important to set the correct expectations for your photography. This is an investment in your brand and your bottom line. Whether you’re photographing purses or peanuts, professional photography takes some time and proper editing to make it standout. You will NOT be able to go from snapping a shot to putting it on your site and have it look amazing, without some extra work. But in the end, that extra work will be well worth the effort.

Here is some more food for thought to give you some more insight into the benefits of adding 360 views and video into your website.

One company who has quickly learned the value of our service is Very Pashmina. After launching their site in Summer 2011, owner Matthew Oldham quickly discovered that the site needed changes. He stated, “I wanted to improve my SEO, change the site’s navigation options, and make a bunch of other changes to improve the experience.” Unsure on how to make those changes internally, Matthew looked to other sources to make his ideas come to life.
After compiling a list of requirements for his site, he sent the list out to developers. In return he received a bunch of offers from off shore developers that were willing to do the job at a cheap price, and local developers that were charging exorbitant fees .

In the end Matthew chose Gorilla’s GEMS service as the best solution for Very Pashmina’s needs. When asked about his reasoning behind choosing GEMS, Matthew mentioned that, “As Magento 2010 Partner of the year I knew the Gorilla team had a reputation for quality, and the price point for the service was still competitive.” Thus began the wonderful partnership between Very Pashmina and GEMS.

Since the beginning of the partnership in late 2011, Matthew has already begun to see his website change for the better. “Working with the GEMS team I’ve broken the project down into chunks and have already made significant adjustments to the design of my homepage and the site’s navigational structure.” When interacting with the GEMS Customer Service Portal, Matthew was pleased with its ease of use. “What surprised me most is how ‘low maintenance’ the whole experience was. Typically I send an email with instructions and details of the design changes to the GEMS staff and in a couple of days the changes are made on the test server.”

GEMS ability to provide an easy maintenance solution for Very Pashmina has helped them have peace of mind when submitting a ticket request for any alterations for their site. As a result of having adequate turnaround times for submitted tickets, Very Pashmina is able to see their changes pushed to a live server in a matter of days instead of weeks, or (shudder) months. Nowadays, a website’s functionality can be the difference between a customer making a purchase on your site or abandoning their shopping cart. With this in mind, it has become increasingly important to make sure your ecommerce site functions properly, and is still user friendly and relevant for your customers.

Every GEMS technician has the client’s best interest in mind at all time because the success of our client’s website is the ultimate goal for GEMS. By providing top tier customer service to every GEMS subscriber, we believe that Very Pashmina will be the first of many GEMS success stories that you’ll read about on our blog.

To learn more about our GEMS services please visit our Managed Services page, and to learn more about Very Pashmina please visit their homepage.

The key word there is lifecycle. Sure, many important members of the team are critical in the success of the project, but no other team member besides the PM is in the trenches with the project every single day, from pre-kickoff to post-launch:

A designer more or less moves away from the project after the design phase. The Architect shifts gears once the Front End and Back End Developers are happily coding away. The Developers miss the beginning of the project, when all of the business requirements are defined with the Architect. The QA team gets the brunt of the action right before launch. The PM, however, is with the project every step of the way. They manage not only the internal team, but also the client contacts, and the demand for resources competing with their project.

Oh, and multiply all this times 5, which is the average number of projects a PM at Gorilla juggles at the same time.

A big part of my job is communicating to the client and keeping their business goals clearly in sight. The client doesn’t need to know (and rarely asks for) every detail of the project, every road bump we’ve hit, and every time we had a success. But they do need to know that the PM is advocating for them, communicating critical milestones, and giving feedback on the status of the project. I reassure them that we are all working towards the same goal, and I gain their trust. The client’s success, after all, is a Gorilla success.

A PM also facilitates collaboration and communication between all involved. Whether that’s with a stand up daily meeting, weekly client calls, status reports to clients, resource allocation meetings, budget check-ins, and of course the myriad of ways I lovingly nag my fellow Gorillas (email, IM, phone, and the good old fashioned desk visit).

Another part of my job I really enjoy is making sure my Gorillas are set up to do what they do best, and speaking their language. Some fancy-pants business people call this style flexing. For example, I make sure my Designers have clear direction from the client, proper assets, and requirements laid out in front of them. I challenge them to solve for business objectives and I speak their language, if only for a few hours a week. I do the same for all team members, I make sure my Developers have the tools and the information they need so they can have an uninterrupted stream of “headphones on, head down, and code” time. I am not a Developer by any stretch of the imagination, but I have to turn on my “developer” switch and speak their language. I work with my Account Managers and the executive team on giving them insight into high level opportunities and challenges the client may be facing – and you guessed it, I have to switch gears speak their language too.

I fight for my team when there is a resource pinch, which involves communicating to the other PM’s on the Gorilla team facing the exact same challenges. I alternate between a cheerleader and a task-master, sometimes all in the span of a 30-minute meeting. I give my team members high-fives when they are on track and on budget, and I work with them and help them find solutions when things get off track or when they fall into a “black hole of code”.

Call me crazy, but I absolutely love shifting gears every hour, every day, every week, to talk to my different internal teams and clients. For a Project Manager, it’s just part of the daily routine to be juggling a thousand things at once. Whereas a Designer or Developer can work on something for 3-hour chunk of uninterrupted time, I find it luxurious to find the opportunity to spend a 20-minute interval on one task. And in reality, that is why I like my job. It’s constantly moving, changing, and propelling forward.

Here’s a simplistic view of a PM’s role, above. It’s a wheel in which the team members are all the spokes, and the hub is (you guessed it) the PM. That’s precisely what a PM is, a hub of information and communication. Somehow we PM’s keep it all straight in our heads. Somehow we can remember most of the details of ALL of the spokes along the entire lifecycle of the project. And remember, we have 4-5 wheels (projects) going on at once! Somehow we greet our clients with a smile even if something, or some things, have completely blown up. Somehow we Gorilla PM’s remember what every team member is working on, when it’s due, what the hour allocation is, and what their favorite coffee is from the cafe down the street. Somehow we remember every personality quirk, business objective, and team member on the client side. Somehow we remember to take a breath, a step back, and find humor in our crazy little office.

A Project without a PM is like building a house without a Foreman. It’s like playing a symphony without a Conductor. It’s like putting on a show without a Director. Hopefully you get the point now, a PM is an incredibly valuable and absolutely essential role, and the Gorilla process would fall apart without that hub of information and communication that is the Project Manager.

After selecting your plan and officially becoming a GEMS client, the next step is setting up your company’s Customer Service Portal (CSP) user accounts and escalation contacts. Because every user is allowed to submit tickets to our support team, GEMS limits the number of users to 6. Escalation contacts are used when a GEMS support member is trying to get in touch with the client because a CSP ticket hasn’t been responded to. This is important, because a GEMS technician cannot begin work on a ticket until it is approved by the client.

Now that your company’s account has been setup and your users have been assigned, we can figure out how the process of creating a ticket works. When you are experiencing problems or want to make changes to your website the way to submit these issues/requests is by submitting a ticket through the GEMS CSP. The CSP offers five fields to help categorize tickets; change, incident, problem, question, and other. These fields are defined as:

• Change – Request to change a feature or functionality specific to the site
• Incident – One-time error issue related to the site
• Problem – On-going site issue that affects functionality or performance
• Question – Any general question related to your site from either an IT or Business User Perspective
• Other – If you are unsure how to categorize a ticket, or the ticket was submitted via email

In addition to categorizing and describing the ticket, GEMS also has an issue severity scale that helps GEMS manage follow-ups and turnaround time for submitted tickets. This scale ranges from level one, which consists of cosmetic issues, to level five which pertains to full site outages and checkout/shopping cart problems that prevent customers from purchasing products. Issues that have a severity of level 4 or 5 are the only time where a GEMS technician will begin work on your site without authorization. This exception is put in place to limit your website’s downtime and to quickly get your site back up and running.

After submitting your ticket, it is then assigned to a GEMS technician. This technician will be in contact with you throughout the resolution of the ticket, and will periodically send you updates on the status of your ticket. Once the technician believes that the ticket has been sufficiently fulfilled, they will send a confirmation to the CSP user for their approval. When the changes get the final seal of approval, they are launched on the client’s live server and the ticket is closed.

The overall goal of the services that GEMS offers is to make receiving technical support for your company as easy and pain free as possible. The CSP portal provides clients with a quick way to communicate their technical needs with the members of the GEMS support team. The 24/7 technical support that GEMS offers is more than an economical ecommerce support option for websites, it is also a service that implements best in-class protocols for site management based on the ITIL framework. Furthermore, GEMS is the easiest way to ensure that your website is being managed even when you can’t, giving you peace of mind that your site’s in good hands.

Visit the GEMS website to learn more about the plans and features that GEMS has to offer.

One of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, with a history dating back to 482 (not a typo), Kiev is a cosmopolitan city of 3 million, roughly the size of Chicago. From the beautiful Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) to the baroque majesty of St. Andrews church, Kiev is a blend of the ancient and the modern. And in recent years, the city has emerged as a high tech hub, home to a highly educated and skilled workforce that has spawned a number of innovative technologies and companies.

At the end of 2011, Gorilla announced the acquisition R3Si, a former Magento Silver partner located in Kiev. This so happens to be just a stone’s throw from Magento’s local offices where the ecommerce platform was first developed. Following the announcement, Gorilla Principal Brian Grady and COO Justin Finnegan traveled to Kiev to meet the team, learn more about their work culture and environment and instill their vision for the future of the company.

Enthusiasm for the visit was immediately apparent when a half dozen members of the Kiev team greeted Brian and Justin at the airport. From there, Brian and Justin spent their first day touring the city. It so happened that this fell on Orthodox Christmas, one of the most important days on the Ukrainian calendar, which provided a unique insight into the city’s rich heritage, and equally rich cuisine.

Day 2 was spent at the Kiev offices formally introducing the Kiev team to Gorilla and vice versa. First came a tour of the office and the carpal tunnel-inducing realization that the office wi-fi password was 64 characters long—courtesy of our security-conscious Director of Technology, Igor Rafalovsky. The first order of business was to have this changed. Next came a walkthrough of the 2012 business plan and an overview of Gorilla’s overall philosophy. This included an organizational realignment of resources to better support the rapid growth of Gorilla’s dedicated Enhanced Managed Services offering GEMS and our newly launched In Store product development business unit.

Following the company meeting, one on one discussions were held with each staff member to answer questions and solicit their input and suggestions. And to bring a taste of the camaraderie that is a core part of Gorilla culture, the entire group embarked on a team-building exercise that translates to any language: bowling.

Overall, Brian and Justin were tremendously impressed by the professionalism of the entire Kiev team and what they will bring to Gorilla as we continue to grow. Chicago and Kiev may be 5,000 miles apart, but our people are already more closely aligned than any of us could have imagined.

We’re committed to changing the way we do things around here. A lot.

One of the changes on the horizon is to push our design services in a direction closer to a human-centered approach. That’s a tall order when we practice a medium that is roundly criticized for doing more to make people anti-social than anything else. Adopting design methods historically reserved for industrial design and product development won’t be easy in interactive design, but we’re committed to it as a path for Gorilla.

Aren’t you just talking about user-centered design?

I get that question a lot. In some ways yes, but Chad Camara has a post on his blog that encapsulates the differences very well in my opinon. We’re striving to focus on real, human improvement in our offering, not just improving efficiency. I will be challenging all of Gorilla’s clients to consider how their product or service improves the lives of their customers. Focusing on holistic design concerns in addition to efficiency is something we’re seeing as critical to the mutli-channel environment. People are smart enough these days to know when you’re trying to sell to them versus have a relationship with them. For a lot of our clients, user-centered just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

We’ve got a lot of work to do in this respect. The ephemeral nature of digital media is going to be an advantage and a drawback. The technology moves far too quickly to be mired in research for too long, but the relative ease of deployment means when you consider the long view, you can take a cyclic approach that will put human concerns first.

It will be interesting and challenging no doubt to see where this direction takes us in the years to come.

The purpose behind Chartbeat is it provides companies with real-time information on what people are viewing while they visit their website. Unlike traditional analytic services that gives companies insight into what visitors are looking at during a period of time, Chartbeat lays out what people are looking at the second they click on a link. This allows clients to take advantage of trending pages the moment it happens, giving them an edge over their competitors.

Data Express Train

So you have an analytics account linked to your e-commerce web page, and it gets a few views here and traffic may spike occasionally, but have you ever wondered what those viewers are looking at while they’re on your site? Well that’s basically where Chartbeat comes into play. The data that Chartbeat collects isn’t just views, clicks, and amount time spent on the site. It allows clients to see what a visitor is doing while they are on a website. For example, if a viewer is scrolling through an article on your site, Chartbeat will display this information in your dashboard. This is key because a viewer who is actively engaging with your website is going to be a much more valuable asset to your business than someone who left the page open while they left to pick up their kids.

Chartbeat also gives clients the ability to see how their visitors are finding them. The Traffic Source feature diagrams how many visitors are coming from a direct source, a search, or a link from another page. In addition, Chartbeat goes even further to breakdown which sites viewers are linking from as well as the words used in a search, which gives clients the ability to capitalize on SEO opportunities with trending keywords that work.

It’s Not Rocket Science

Analytics can be a complicated and daunting task for an average online retailer or blogger. Occasionally being able to read between the lines to draw insights about your customers’ online viewing tendencies can in fact be a little overwhelming. To combat the feeling that you’re in over your head, Chartbeat has laid out all of your analytic data in a way that is easy to read and navigate. Located near the top of the page are modules for a 24 hour time line, Active Visits, and Top Sites. Located further down the page are modules for viewer locations, Source Traffic, Site Performance, Viewer Engagement, and Conversations.

All of these statistics are broken down in a way that is easy to comprehend, and because all of this data is being updated in real time, it’s clear to see what pages or products are worth promoting. Using the Conversations module puts Twitter conveniently into the Chartbeat dashboard, allowing you to see what people are commenting on when they tweet about a product or article on your webpage, without having to open as second tab or window. By simply clicking on a username you’re able to quickly respond to their tweet making it easier to stay in touch with visitors who are interested in your site.

Analytics on the Go

Today it can be a considered unfortunate to some that work doesn’t end when you leave the office, but for those of us who have a website to run it can seem like work never ends. Chartlabs has added some mobile features that can be crucial to anyone with a website let alone an e-commerce website. In addition to having real-time updates, Chartbeat also enables you to receive email or SMS messages with important data on your site. This means that if there’s a spike in visitors on a page, or if the site itself slows to a stop, you will be the first to know.

The addition of the Chartbeat application in the iPhone App Store makes it easy for you to make decisions on trending (or not trending) pages right from your phone.  A mobile version of the Chartbeat dashboard is available at your fingertips. This translates into being able to account for and quickly react to unexpected increases and decreases in traffic while you’re away from your desk.

What Does It All Mean?

With the variety of features that Chartbeat has to offer it’s easy to see how and why they went from being a small and relatively unknown name in the business of analytics, to servicing over 2,500 corporate customers. Despite the undeniable usefulness of this real-time analytics service, I feel that it’s important to note that for all the good things Chartbeat does, it still doesn’t completely replace Google Analytics. It’s not exactly like comparing apples to oranges, but the two services are used for different tasks. Chartbeat lays out this concept by saying,

“Traditional analytics services are focused on understanding usual behaviour across persistent content. For example, how well a sign up flow converts a visitor into a user. In contrast, real-time analytics is focused on unusual behaviour, the peaks and troughs of the social web, and it is focused upon transient content: content that might not have existed yesterday, might not be looked at tomorrow but today is driving your site.”

It’s clear to see that while Google Analytics and Chartbeat seemed to be competing in the same race, they’re actually striving towards a common goal, which is to help you make the most out of analytic data. That is until Google’s recently launched Real-Time Analytics feature becomes a full feature of their analytics service instead of just being a beta. Then it’s game on!

There are some website management services that include Chartbeat analytics in their amenities. One management solution that we know very well here at Gorilla is our very own Gorilla Enhanced Managed Support, or for short GEMS. Our GEMS service offers 24/7 web maintenance for Demandware or Magento websites. Every subscription to GEMS includes a Chartbeat account that can be used to monitor your ecommerce website. Click here to learn more about what our GEMS can offer.

In an ecommerce world that is always changing, the most important thing is to stay on top of consumer trends. Having the ability to track your viewers in real-time as they view your site can be a key way to gain a competitive edge against any other retailers within your industry. Online trends are changing every day and it forces websites to respond in a matter of hours instead of days. In an online e-commerce world where timing is everything, Chartbeat could be the analytic edge that gets you the worm.

Click here to visit Chartbeat’s website to find information on all of their real-time analytics solutions.

Dogs Fridays is just one of the many ways our hard working Gorillas beat stress at work and lighten the mood.  Other benefits of dogs in the workplace include increased morale and productivity, happier employees, lower absenteeism rates, and even improved relationships among coworkers and increased camaraderie among employees. And if you don’t believe me…

A study out of Central Michigan University reveals that dogs in the workplace can lead to more trust between coworkers and that leads to more collaboration among team members!  Research also shows that pets in the workplace can lead to a more creative work environment. (We also come up with great ideas between Monday and Thursday as well.)

Take a look at a few of our regular Gorilla visitors:

Xiomara Ortiz’ (Front End Developer) Kirikou, a Bichon-poo, and Chris Englerts’ (Application Engineer) Shitzu Snarf battle it out to see which is Alpha Gorilla.

Liz Duggan’s (Project Manager) beloved Shiba Inu, Keiko poses for our camera.

Ethan Smith’s (Creative Director) Standard Poodle, Ruby(licious) commandeering another dog’s nap pad!

Trisha Bates’ (Account Manager) Chihuahua, Gus is patiently awaiting a treat like the handsome little man he is.  <3

We recently published a post comparing merchant business practices for both Amazon and eBay. In that post, we surmised that Amazon doesn’t always play nice with merchants who use the Amazon platform to sell their wares. To reinforce our assertion, both the Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic Wire have recently reported about a lawsuit filed by an Amazon merchant accusing the ecommerce powerhouse of a host of unfair and anti-competitive business practices.

From The Atlantic Wire article:  An accessories company has sued the Internet giant for alleged sabotage, making it the latest in a series of little guys who are calling the retail giant a bully.

This is far from the first time these types of charges being leveled against Amazon, and will undoubtedly not be the last. As the Internet Giant continues to borrow from the Wal-Mart playbook, small merchants need to be especially wary of how they sell through the Amazon ecosystem.  You can find the full article here: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2011/12/lets-count-all-ways-amazons-big-bully/46736/