Selling through Amazon FBA

[appleseed1967]

I glanced through the prior topics, but didn't see anything specific to Amazon FBA (Fullfillment By Amazon).  If there was and I missed it, I apologize.

 

I'm looking to sell some Lego sets using the Amazon FBA service and was wondering if anybody has had any experience good or bad selling through FBA.  My concerns are that I have to put an FBA label over the barcode on the box.  Not sure how a collector would feel about having to remove it and potentially damage the box. 

 

Also, a little concerned that the boxes that I send which are in mint condition, may not be received by the customer in mint condition, if you know what I mean.  Just checking to see what others have experienced.  

 

If anybody has any experience buying through an FBA seller, I would appreciate any comments on the buying side too.

 

Thanks!

[justafrog]

I have not used FBA, but I have done a bit of research on the program back when we were considering it.

 

Packaging was the biggest issue I had with it - the fees are high, too, but I could have lived with those.

 

What I couldn't live with was the thought of the merry manglers at Amazon fulfillment centers tossing things loose in a box for them to rattle their damaged way to customers.

 

(If you couldn't tell, my recommendation is against it.   However, Amazon doesn't seem to treat their FBA shipments any WORSE than their regular shipments, so if you can live with it, nothing inherently wrong with it.)

[appleseed1967]

Thanks for your post justafrog.  I too could live with the high fees, in exchange for the convenience, but it would be a moot point if the customer receives a damaged box and ends up returning it.... at my expense.  Seems like FBA might make sense for people selling dollar items, but not for people selling collectibles.

[river41]

You have no control over the return process. Amazon controls the return process and even bills you for every return they process. For high value items like lego it can be a big problem. I twice had a return where the customer removed something (mini figures and a train car) and then returned it. After I contacted amazon they just said that they do not verify a return by counting all the pieces and I was out of luck. I lost over 300 in value between the 2 things because from a brand new mint expensive set it became a opened set missing pieces.

I was unable to get the phone number of either customer as amazon refused to share it and my e-mails went unanswered. It made me very wary of their program as you cede control over the process.

 You also pay to ship it to them,pay for storage and then pay for them to ship it out. 

[appleseed1967]

Thanks for sharing river41.  I thought maybe I was being overly paranoid, but it sounds like I do have reason to worry.  What is your preferred venue for selling?

[Diabolos80]

Amazon's FBA shipping arrangement never made much sense to me. I pay to ship it the warehouse, then I pay when it sells, then I pay again when they ship to the customer? No, thank you.

[KG204]

I've used FBA before, and while I haven't had any bad experiences with it yet, that can easily change. I haven't had a customer return an item yet, so river41 has good advice to give.

 

While I haven't used it for lego (used it for complete series dvd sets) I liked it. I got a few products featured without having a business seller account, I felt that the products sold for a higher value than if I was shipping it myself, and the sets sold immediately (within 24 hours). The final cost to me was only a few bucks more than had I shipped it myself, as cause both shipping it to amazon and amazon shipping it for you are greatly reduced depending on carrier. Ex. shipping it myself would've cost $14, ship->amazon->ship I think $17. Its been a while since I did.

 

I'm sure if I had to deal with returns I would be singing a different tone, but fortunately I haven't had to. Just like everything else, there are risks.

[mahler24]

I cannot sell my sets anymore on amazon.de unless they are fufilled by Amazon??

I have no idea what this is, but it seems to me that i have to send certain sets to a amazon storage facility??

Does anyone understand this and if so is it any good......someone help explain.

thanks

[jaisonline]

take a look at the thread below.  some good info there.  good luck with your sales

 

http://community.brickpicker.com/topic/6464-amazon-vs-ebay-where-to-sell/

[redcell]

I cannot sell my sets anymore on amazon.de unless they are fufilled by Amazon??

I have no idea what this is, but it seems to me that i have to send certain sets to a amazon storage facility??

Does anyone understand this and if so is it any good......someone help explain.

thanks

 

If Amazon's German site is anything like the US site, then you probably weren't approved for holiday selling in the toy category.  You have to meet certain metrics in order to sell between early November and early January and self fulfill the orders.  The only exception to that is if you use FBA.  I am guessing this is what happened to you.

[jaredseiders]

If you are new to the site, then that is how they require that you do it to keep fraud out of the online toy marketplace for the holidays. You basically had to have so many transactions, and have a certain threshold of positive feedback before September/October. The requirements are lifted after January and things go back to normal. I was in the same boat last year.

[Lendrix]

The 25 order requirement is waved if you use FBA.  In other words, you can create a new account and start selling immediately this holiday season as long as you relinquish control of your supply to Amazon.

[No More Monkeys]

I was looking at some of the customer reviews for the RI and there seems to be a lot of backlash in the comments about the price. Not sure if this is bringing more attention to sales. Hope this works out for you.

Try reading elsa dress dysney store version reviews. I promise, after that all RI reviews will look like high praise for resellers for making RI available for those who missed the boat

[Bold-Arrow]

Try reading elsa dress dysney store version reviews. I promise, after that all RI reviews will look like high praise for resellers for making RI available for those who missed the boat

Dark clouds loom over those. shady sellers are selling them for 35$. Upon inquiry, one responded that they are not disney but very close... Seller reported....sheeeesh

[No More Monkeys]

The 25 order requirement is waved if you use FBA.  In other words, you can create a new account and start selling immediately this holiday season as long as you relinquish control of your supply to Amazon.

Not everyone is comfortable with relinquishing that control. Especially with all those occasional horror stories about Amazon "losing" some peoples' inventory...

[Darth_Raichu]

Dark clouds loom over those. shady sellers are selling them for 35$. Upon inquiry, one responded that they are not disney but very close... Seller reported....sheeeesh

I am curious as to how fast Amazon ban that seller after your report.

[Dbroncoboy]

I was low price on nearly everything as I wanted 25 sales plus I need to build a rep. Most of the sales were RI's so I was still killing it anyways. I'm going to send them copies of the receipts for everything including the free polys.

 

I have been buying lego there like crazy the past year. You would think they might consider that but probably not. 

 

This post really explains the whole thing. When a new seller undercuts the current prices and sells a lot of stuff in a short amount of time its incredibly high risk for Amazon. (Counterfeiters usually have no problem undercutting the competition for obvious reasons and want to sell their stuff very quickly before they get caught) Unless someone reported you (think buyer upset about the price they paid for a small set, not just some random idiot) I think you will get your privileges back. 

[Lendrix]

Not everyone is comfortable with relinquishing that control. Especially with all those occasional horror stories about Amazon "losing" some peoples' inventory...

 

 

I agree, in fact a product of mine was lost a little while ago.  This is the letter I received:

 

 

 

Dear Seller,

 

 

You are receiving this e-mail because one or more of your Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) inventory units qualifies for a reimbursement, and we are taking steps to reimburse you for those items. The reason for the reimbursement is set forth below, which may include an issue which you brought to our attention or an issue we identified automatically. No action is required by you at this time. The amount of the reimbursement was determined by the applicable FBA service terms and policies.

 

 

Processing can take up to five business days. You should see a reimbursement for the items listed below on the next Settlement Report after the payment has been processed.

 

 

 

Reason                                                                                                                      Total

 

Lost:Warehouse

                                                                                                                   

     SKU                                      Title                     Condition      Qty   Amt/Unit            Total Amt

[No More Monkeys]

I agree, in fact a product of mine was lost a little while ago.  This is the letter I received:

 

 

 

Dear Seller,

 

 

You are receiving this e-mail because one or more of your Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) inventory units qualifies for a reimbursement, and we are taking steps to reimburse you for those items. The reason for the reimbursement is set forth below, which may include an issue which you brought to our attention or an issue we identified automatically. No action is required by you at this time. The amount of the reimbursement was determined by the applicable FBA service terms and policies.

 

 

Processing can take up to five business days. You should see a reimbursement for the items listed below on the next Settlement Report after the payment has been processed.

 

 

 

Reason                                                                                                                      Total

 

Lost:Warehouse

                                                                                                                   

     SKU                                      Title                     Condition      Qty   Amt/Unit            Total Amt

did they reimburse at your list price?

The horror scenario for me if they lose something that was going to be shipped to customer, killing your metrics...

[No More Monkeys]

How come they don't ban this scum selling these??

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L72AXL6/

Where is the "report seller" button??

[Bold-Arrow]

did they reimburse at your list price?

The horror scenario for me if they lose something that was going to be shipped to customer, killing your metrics...

They repay you at their current price or lowest fba price ( which ever is cheaper) minus fees. So you might actually loose some money. On the flip side if they loose a ssd you make a killing. It is a two way street.

If fba looses an item that a buyer purchased that is on amazon, ur metrics remain intact. Even if they damage it in storage or on its way to buyer that's still on them.

[BrickLegacy]

They repay you at their current price or lowest fba price ( which ever is cheaper) minus fees. So you might actually loose some money. On the flip side if they loose a ssd you make a killing. It is a two way street.

If fba looses an item that a buyer purchased that is on amazon, ur metrics remain intact. Even if they damage it in storage or on its way to buyer that's still on them.

 

That's very helpful information.  Thank you BA.

[TheOrcKing]

How come they don't ban this scum selling these??

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L72AXL6/

Where is the "report seller" button??

Exactly. Listings like that scream "counterfeit" so loud it's deafening. Not to mention all the hundreds of other knockoff brand items floating across Amazon.

[Ed Mack]

Exactly. Listings like that scream "counterfeit" so loud it's deafening. Not to mention all the hundreds of other knockoff brand items floating across Amazon.

You are crazy.  The seller is...

 

Zhang Chunxiong

 

They are very reputable............LOL

[Fcbarcelona101]

How come they don't ban this scum selling these??

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L72AXL6/

Where is the "report seller" button??

Because they use Eco-Friendly plastic. They're saving the planet, don't be ungrateful.