Selling Lego on Amazon.com

[isocleas]

I understand your frustration but I don't think it'll work. Brower games, DC deals, toyplanet, dboytoys, douse, etc there's a bunch of sellers who have so many listings they likely won't even notice a couple listings tanking in price. 

[brickology101]

Amazon is by far the most formidable competitor here. All these other big third party sellers eventually make way and I can sell. However, it is much  more difficult to sell when amazon has stock on a Listing. Also, I noticed that when they have the buy box price and I use their automated price adjustment tool targeting the buy box price it keeps me $0.01 above their price. Now, that is great isn’t it ?

[river41]

5 hours ago, cmartin33 said:

Because if I match his pricing, he drops it my $.01 again soon after which means I never sell any LEGO sets.

My strategy is definitely a terrible business strategy but it inflicts as much pain on him as it does me and its the only way I know how to counter it other than maybe finding software to do the same just on items he's selling too.

I'm hoping he'll eventually see that all his listings keep lowering in price and eventually he'll stop doing it. It's the I "play nice" with others mentality until someone decides not to play nice. Then I "play really mean".

i think the point is that there are some sellers that you cannot sell your item until they sold through as they will constantly lower their price to be 1 cent under yours 

there are other sellers that will match your price but not go below it so that you both have a opportunity to sell your item

the question seems to be what business strategy should be used against a seller that insists on being lower then you do you wait him out or lower the price (sometimes even substantially  so he will sell out quicker but then you may get a lower price from your sale.

[asharerin]

10 hours ago, cmartin33 said:

Alternatively, if anyone has a good automatic pricing algorithm for Amazon let me know. I haven't tried their built in one yet, but I might have to.

If your competition undercuts 1 penny regardless if you raise or lower your price then the correct strategy is to use a third party repricer to undercut them 1 penny  and then set your repricer to move back up once you meet a certain threshold. This way you will win the buy box very close to 50% of the time (assuming there are no other competitors also matching).

If they are really basic and undercut 1 penny but do not reprice backup them find their lowest price and sit 1 penny above them until they sell out. If they are basic and stupid and do not have a bottom set then send them down to 1 penny and buy all of their stock.

Things can get a bit more complicated if other sellers also join in the price cutting/matching but there are also repricing strategies to beat this scenario as well (try a few different strategies and see what works well for that ASIN and sales rank).

[JOEBRICK376]

Large sellers don't even need to undercut to win buybox

[asharerin]

15 hours ago, JOEBRICK376 said:

Large sellers don't even need to undercut to win buybox

There are two different buy boxes: national and regional. National buy box goes to the lowest price seller. If two sellers are tied for lowest price buy box goes to the seller with the lowest amount of NCX orders (absolute, not rate which is ludicrous - but hey this is Amazon). The national buy box is shown to buyers who are not prime members, or prime member buyers who are not logged into their accounts.

Regional buy box goes to sellers with stock within same day / 1 day range of a prime buyer who is logged into their account. Regional buy box is won using the formula above. 

If you have stock in FBA in areas with no competition then no you do not need to be the lowest on a national level to win that regional buy box. But if you have any competition in that region, or want the national buy box then you must be the lowest or have the lowest amount of NCX orders if you are price matching. Make sure to test using different IP addresses across the country and also logging into and out of various buyer accounts to see the bigger picture.

This is all assuming FBA vs FBA. FBA will win against FBM with higher prices (margin depends on the category). 

[cmartin33]

10 hours ago, asharerin said:

There are two different buy boxes: national and regional. National buy box goes to the lowest price seller. If two sellers are tied for lowest price buy box goes to the seller with the lowest amount of NCX orders (absolute, not rate which is ludicrous - but hey this is Amazon). The national buy box is shown to buyers who are not prime members, or prime member buyers who are not logged into their accounts.

Regional buy box goes to sellers with stock within same day / 1 day range of a prime buyer who is logged into their account. Regional buy box is won using the formula above. 

If you have stock in FBA in areas with no competition then no you do not need to be the lowest on a national level to win that regional buy box. But if you have any competition in that region, or want the national buy box then you must be the lowest or have the lowest amount of NCX orders if you are price matching. Make sure to test using different IP addresses across the country and also logging into and out of various buyer accounts to see the bigger picture.

This is all assuming FBA vs FBA. FBA will win against FBM with higher prices (margin depends on the category). 

What does NCX stand for?

[Cathy G]

17 minutes ago, cmartin33 said:

What does NCX stand for?

Negative Customer Experience

[Foreman Porgy]

2 hours ago, cmartin33 said:

What does NCX stand for?

I believe it means Negative Customer Experience 

[Pseudoty]

 

[iahawks550]

When you sell on Amazon, is "your stock" actually yours when you send it in? Or is all stock of the same product from different 3rd party sellers grouped into one large inventory where they are picked out as needed? 

Poorly phrased. But, if you send in 10 pristine lego sets and another guy sends in 10 poor boxes, are you guaranteed yours gets shipped out when you sell it? 

Edited October 21, 2019 by iahawks550

[Bold-Arrow]

Just now, iahawks550 said:

When you sell on Amazon, is "your stock" actually yours when you send it in? Or is all stock of the same product from different 3rd party sellers grouped into one large inventory where they are picked out as needed? 

Poorly phrased. But, if you send in 10 pristine lego sets and another guy sends in 10 poor boxes, are you guaranteed yours gets shipped out when you sell it? 

as long as it is your own sticker and not commingled 

[iahawks550]

Another question out of curiosity.

If a seller calls Amazon to complain about their 3rd party purchase (from you), and wants a replacement, is it dependent on whether you have one to replace? Or does Amazon try to make them happy by giving them a replacement from someone else and eating the difference in price, if there was one?

What happens with the set that is sent back to Amazon? Is it sent back to your home, or does it end up in the Amazon trash?

[Achilles]

14 minutes ago, iahawks550 said:

Another question out of curiosity.

If a seller calls Amazon to complain about their 3rd party purchase (from you), and wants a replacement, is it dependent on whether you have one to replace? Or does Amazon try to make them happy by giving them a replacement from someone else and eating the difference in price, if there was one?

What happens with the set that is sent back to Amazon? Is it sent back to your home, or does it end up in the Amazon trash?

I don't know if it matters if your stock has one or not, but I believe Amazon will simply "purchase" another seller's item and they will adjust/eat the difference for a replacement unit.

As far as returns, once it goes back to Amazon - It will show up in your inventory as "Unfulfillable Inventory" - and from there you have the option to have it returned to you or destroyed. Unless they've changed something, items out of Unfulfillable inventory may not be your original item. I have definitely gotten other people's items sent back to me, based on stickers on boxes and other subtle markings/differences. It's possible that whoever returned it returned a different item as a scam or whatnot, but I suspect they don't really separate different sellers damaged inventory - They lump them all into Item X - Unfulfillable - and send you one of those. I've even gotten more or less mint items sent back to me. 

That's my slightly educated guess, one of the bigger sellers could have a more accurate answer. 

[skinsfan0521]

6 hours ago, Achilles said:

I don't know if it matters if your stock has one or not, but I believe Amazon will simply "purchase" another seller's item and they will adjust/eat the difference for a replacement unit.

As far as returns, once it goes back to Amazon - It will show up in your inventory as "Unfulfillable Inventory" - and from there you have the option to have it returned to you or destroyed. Unless they've changed something, items out of Unfulfillable inventory may not be your original item. I have definitely gotten other people's items sent back to me, based on stickers on boxes and other subtle markings/differences. It's possible that whoever returned it returned a different item as a scam or whatnot, but I suspect they don't really separate different sellers damaged inventory - They lump them all into Item X - Unfulfillable - and send you one of those. I've even gotten more or less mint items sent back to me. 

That's my slightly educated guess, one of the bigger sellers could have a more accurate answer. 

What you're saying about returns and getting back someone else's items may be true for co-mingled inventory, but definitely shouldn't be the case when not using co-mingled. You should only receive your exact items back. The only thing that I could think of is that if a buyer returned an item that wasn't actually yours and returned it for the purchase that they made from you, then that may be possible because when it gets back to Amazon, they tag it as yours and then return it to you.

[asharerin]

21 hours ago, skinsfan0521 said:

What you're saying about returns and getting back someone else's items may be true for co-mingled inventory, but definitely shouldn't be the case when not using co-mingled. You should only receive your exact items back. The only thing that I could think of is that if a buyer returned an item that wasn't actually yours and returned it for the purchase that they made from you, then that may be possible because when it gets back to Amazon, they tag it as yours and then return it to you.

It is in the TOS you give permission for Amazon to resticker your FBA inventory. They will resticker seller's items from time to time to ship the item closest to a buyer to meet a shipping deadline and save on cost. Then there are all the shenanigans that occur by FBA warehouse managers and staffers to meet their required metrics that are not covered under the TOS lol. 

[Bold-Arrow]

Dear seller,

Please read this email carefully. The listing information described below may affect your ability to sell certain products.

As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible customer experience, we are implementing approval requirements for Nintendo products.

What does this mean for me?
Effective on 2019-10-31, you will need approval to list the affected products. If you do not obtain approval to sell these products prior to 2019-10-31, your listings for these products will be removed.

Why am I receiving this message?
You are receiving this message because you have sold affected products in the past. There is no penalty associated with this action.

How do I seek approval to sell the affected products?
If you would like to seek approval to sell the affected products, complete the following steps to start the application process:

1. In Seller Central, click the Inventory menu, and then select Add a Product .
2. Search for the ASIN you want to sell.
3. In the search results, click the Listing limitations apply link next to the ASIN.
4. Click the Request Approval button to start the application process.

We appreciate your cooperation in this important matter, and thank you for selling on Amazon.

 

[redcell]

16 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

Dear seller,

Please read this email carefully. The listing information described below may affect your ability to sell certain products.

As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible customer experience, we are implementing approval requirements for Nintendo products.

What does this mean for me?
Effective on 2019-10-31, you will need approval to list the affected products. If you do not obtain approval to sell these products prior to 2019-10-31, your listings for these products will be removed.

Why am I receiving this message?
You are receiving this message because you have sold affected products in the past. There is no penalty associated with this action.

How do I seek approval to sell the affected products?
If you would like to seek approval to sell the affected products, complete the following steps to start the application process:

1. In Seller Central, click the Inventory menu, and then select Add a Product .
2. Search for the ASIN you want to sell.
3. In the search results, click the Listing limitations apply link next to the ASIN.
4. Click the Request Approval button to start the application process.

We appreciate your cooperation in this important matter, and thank you for selling on Amazon.

 

Did you apply?  I tested it out and was auto-ungated.

[Bold-Arrow]

6 minutes ago, redcell said:

Did you apply?  I tested it out and was auto-ungated.

Yup, good to go 

 

[river41]

3 hours ago, Bold-Arrow said:

Dear seller,

Please read this email carefully. The listing information described below may affect your ability to sell certain products.

As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible customer experience, we are implementing approval requirements for Nintendo products.

What does this mean for me?
Effective on 2019-10-31, you will need approval to list the affected products. If you do not obtain approval to sell these products prior to 2019-10-31, your listings for these products will be removed.

Why am I receiving this message?
You are receiving this message because you have sold affected products in the past. There is no penalty associated with this action.

How do I seek approval to sell the affected products?
If you would like to seek approval to sell the affected products, complete the following steps to start the application process:

1. In Seller Central, click the Inventory menu, and then select Add a Product .
2. Search for the ASIN you want to sell.
3. In the search results, click the Listing limitations apply link next to the ASIN.
4. Click the Request Approval button to start the application process.

We appreciate your cooperation in this important matter, and thank you for selling on Amazon.

 

what product was that for?

[Darth_Raichu]

Not as much as what you sell, but WHO you sell it to

 

[FM]

Did you apply?  I tested it out and was auto-ungated.

I hadn't planned on getting auto ungated in Nintendo today, but I'll take it. Thanks!

[Bold-Arrow]

You better watch out.. You better not cry ... You might need to hire an attorney .. And I am telling you why :

https://www.inquirer.com/business/california-sales-tax-amazon-seller-philadelphia-business-20191105.html

 

[JOEBRICK376]

10 hours ago, Bold-Arrow said:

You better watch out.. You better not cry ... You might need to hire an attorney .. And I am telling you why :

https://www.inquirer.com/business/california-sales-tax-amazon-seller-philadelphia-business-20191105.html

 

Just don't use FBA

[brickology101]

15 hours ago, Bold-Arrow said:

You better watch out.. You better not cry ... You might need to hire an attorney .. And I am telling you why :

https://www.inquirer.com/business/california-sales-tax-amazon-seller-philadelphia-business-20191105.html

 

I like how the business owner tries to justify that the 1.6 million bill is bonkers based on his company past revenues and how it would have taken annual sales of 150 to 200 millions to justify 1.6 million in taxes. The 1.6 million is mainly penalties and fines that have accumulated for not paying sales taxes since 2012 or 2013. He will probably succeed in settling for a lot lot less but the initial amount the state is asking is so high on purpose that even dropping it by one order of magnitude would still be a hefty bill of 160 k$. Good luck. I am small peanuts with my AMZ resale business but I knew from the start in 2016 that California isn’t a state to mess with. Was this guy living under a stone or what ? With such a brilliant business model and growth, how could he let himself get trapped in this contention with the state of CA. Sales tax should not be a hit on profits and even if it was to be paid out of his pocket because of other sellers not charging tax prior to the new laws enacted end of 2018, it is still manageable and certainly not worth the stress of being in such a situation now.