Selling through Amazon FBA

[Darth_Raichu]

3 minutes ago, landphieran said:

I don't understand how Amazon's buy box is working anymore. It seems like Toy Planet (due to volume?) can somehow hold the Buy Box regardless of being a higher price. 

It is also smart enough to figure out buyer's location vs closest FC with stock.  So somebody on the west coast may not see the same BB as on east coast

[skinsfan0521]

23 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

It is also smart enough to figure out buyer's location vs closest FC with stock.  So somebody on the west coast may not see the same BB as on east coast

Correct. Plus, it does have to do with availability. Generally, the more stock you have, the better chance of getting the buy box. It also has something to do with feedback score and also the CX health score of each seller for the product. If a seller has a history of having a certain product returned due to being "defective" or something like that I believe that impacts their chances at winning the buy box.

[landphieran]

1 hour ago, Darth_Raichu said:

It is also smart enough to figure out buyer's location vs closest FC with stock.  So somebody on the west coast may not see the same BB as on east coast

Hmm that explains why Amazon's automatic pricing tools aren't working very well.

Essentially because of my location it views some set at 19.99 as the item in the buy box, even though there is an item listed lower (19.95). Thus my automatic pricing is setting my price to 19.99 and it may only be serving a small region close to my location.

[Mark Twain]

I rolled the dice and sent in a box on 11/29 and it was delivered on 12/1 and was checked in today 12/3. No FC transfers! Far away FC for me, DET2. 

[PlasticDude]

Can anyone tell me if I could start a seller account with Amazon and sell Lego?

I ask as I’m selling through someone who apparently was grandfathered (not sure if this is true) in to sell Lego through his store.  He is taking 25% and handles all the listing, shipping, price tag removals, all logistics.  I get 75% after Amazon takes their 20% and he gets his 25%.

Looking to cut him out also interested if this is a reasonable agreement we have in place.

I literally bring him the sets and he does the rest, sends me payment via PayPal and we manage a shared spreadsheet with all the transaction details.

Appreciate the feedback in advance.

[Bricklectic]

31 minutes ago, PlasticDude said:

Can anyone tell me if I could start a seller account with Amazon and sell Lego?

I ask as I’m selling through someone who apparently was grandfathered (not sure if this is true) in to sell Lego through his store.  He is taking 25% and handles all the listing, shipping, price tag removals, all logistics.  I get 75% after Amazon takes their 20% and he gets his 25%.

Looking to cut him out also interested if this is a reasonable agreement we have in place.

I literally bring him the sets and he does the rest, sends me payment via PayPal and we manage a shared spreadsheet with all the transaction details.

Appreciate the feedback in advance.

seems reasonable to me

[Thanos75]

All depends on how much your time is worth.  Doesn't seem like a bad arrangement. How do you handle the taxes? 

[PlasticDude]

1 hour ago, Thanos75 said:

All depends on how much your time is worth.  Doesn't seem like a bad arrangement. How do you handle the taxes? 

He handles the taxes on his end… I receive family friends money transfer which surprises me.

[redcell]

3 hours ago, PlasticDude said:

He handles the taxes on his end… I receive family friends money transfer which surprises me.

He can't handle all of the taxes on his end.  You still owe tax on whatever income you receive from selling on Amazon.  Maybe you're selling at a low enough level where that income can fly under the radar, but if there is money flowing into your accounts whether through Paypal F&F, Paypal goods & services, ACH, wire transfer, deposit, etc., the IRS considers that income and expects you to report it and pay tax on it.

As to your original question, in addition to the question above about the value of your time, whether or not to get your own account depends on what your plans for the future are.  If you're only wanting to sell a little bit of inventory here and there, your current arrangement may make sense.  However, if you plan on growing your sales and trying to generate real money from selling on Amazon, I would definitely recommend getting your own account and handling things yourself.  If you are selling through someone else, you have given up control over pretty important aspects of your business and placed your fate, to one degree or another, in the hands of someone else.  If that person doesn't follow your directions and prices things too low, you lose money.  If that person screws something important up, you lose money.  If that person decides that something is more important than selling your inventory, you lose money.  If that person decides not to pay you, what recourse would you have to get your money?  Etc. Etc.  If you are going to sell through someone else, I would make absolutely certain that you can trust that person to follow through on whatever arrangement you have with them.  

 

[PlasticDude]

20 hours ago, redcell said:

He can't handle all of the taxes on his end.  You still owe tax on whatever income you receive from selling on Amazon.  Maybe you're selling at a low enough level where that income can fly under the radar, but if there is money flowing into your accounts whether through Paypal F&F, Paypal goods & services, ACH, wire transfer, deposit, etc., the IRS considers that income and expects you to report it and pay tax on it.

As to your original question, in addition to the question above about the value of your time, whether or not to get your own account depends on what your plans for the future are.  If you're only wanting to sell a little bit of inventory here and there, your current arrangement may make sense.  However, if you plan on growing your sales and trying to generate real money from selling on Amazon, I would definitely recommend getting your own account and handling things yourself.  If you are selling through someone else, you have given up control over pretty important aspects of your business and placed your fate, to one degree or another, in the hands of someone else….

Great questions, I’m not doing anywhere near the scale of many on here.  I initially was selling him sets through FB Marketplace when he finally asked what else I have when I invited him over and showed him my stock (approx 700 sets) he offered two deals cash or consignment (obviously consignment paid better for both of us and I’m in no dire need for the money)

He has a legit brick and mortar store where I visited and we created an agreement we both signed and took pics and copies of.

We reviewed and agreed upon minimum prices each sets would sell at.

We listed an initial 115 sets late November, 67 have sold.

I understand you tax comments and will leave that to my accountant to determine what makes sense.

Thanks for the feedback and to the others who believe this deal is fair.  All considering it probably doesn’t make sense for me to go on my own and I’ll continue to work through him/ 3rd party.

Like many I hunt for bargains, typical price paid is under 30% MSRP, hold on to sets till retirement and then some till I feel the need to make room in combination of prices reaching 250% MSRP or greater in many cases.  This ensures there is meat on the bone where I’m still making a decent profit without the hassle.

Edited December 6, 2021 by PlasticDude

[FM]

Is it too late to ship to FBA? I heard it takes forever to have them listed on Amazon, like if I were to ship it today it won't get listed until January - February. Is it true?

Watch where they're being sent. For Nov (or early Dec) FBA shipments I reverse my normal split shipment strategy. For most of the year I'll steer my shipments to the FC 10 miles away and let AZ pay to transfer them all over the country and I don't mind waiting. Later in the year I want several split shipments because the product is more likely not to be transferred and is active sooner... So to answer your question, if you get a shipment split to 3 FCs in your region, maybe:). Also weigh in if they go live in Jan/Feb you might pay 10 months of storage fees.

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk

[tyclin]

I am not FBA, but is currently being treated like FBA. Amazon initiated the refund without me receiving the item. And the price of the item was 1/10 the sale price for some reason. I opened a case addressing the issue. And got an answer back saying it is FBA issue. Has anyone encountered this issue?

[Bold-Arrow]

1 hour ago, tyclin said:

I am not FBA, but is currently being treated like FBA. Amazon initiated the refund without me receiving the item. And the price of the item was 1/10 the sale price for some reason. I opened a case addressing the issue. And got an answer back saying it is FBA issue. Has anyone encountered this issue?

I don’t 100% follow what’s happening here. You sold an item fbm ( not SFP I’m presuming ) , and amazon issued a refund for the buyer ? Amazon will issue a refund at first scan and you should be able to track the return  package from the return tab if I have that part right . I’m not sure what you mean by price of the item was 1/10 of the sale price .

if this was SFP, those are handled the same as FBA 

[tyclin]

2 hours ago, Bold-Arrow said:

I don’t 100% follow what’s happening here. You sold an item fbm ( not SFP I’m presuming ) , and amazon issued a refund for the buyer ? Amazon will issue a refund at first scan and you should be able to track the return  package from the return tab if I have that part right . I’m not sure what you mean by price of the item was 1/10 of the sale price .

if this was SFP, those are handled the same as FBA 

I am not FBA, neither SFP. I, first, got an email as to return request. Then I realized that Amazon had auto-authorized (not sure since when Amazon started doing that for FBM, did Amazon change the rule recently?). Two days later, another email told me that Amazon initiated the refund spontaneously which is shown in the attachment. And it showed this item cost $3.66 but actually old for $38.72. I was totally lost. So far I have not received the item but I think it is on the way back to me. 

[Darth_Raichu]

8 minutes ago, tyclin said:

I am not FBA, neither SFP. I, first, got an email as to return request. Then I realized that Amazon had auto-authorized (not sure since when Amazon started doing that for FBM, did Amazon change the rule recently?). Two days later, another email told me that Amazon initiated the refund spontaneously which is shown in the attachment. And it showed this item cost $3.66 but actually old for $38.72. I was totally lost. So far I have not received the item but I think it is on the way back to me. 

They changed the return policy to automatic refund when the return postage is scanned by PO.

That page is slightly misleading but basically it says the payment+shipping were refunded to buyer MINUS the $3.66 to cover the return postage. ie. buyer pays return shipping for that Return Reason.  

The breakdown on the Order Detail page makes a little more sense (to me anyway).

[Bold-Arrow]

20 minutes ago, tyclin said:

I am not FBA, neither SFP. I, first, got an email as to return request. Then I realized that Amazon had auto-authorized (not sure since when Amazon started doing that for FBM, did Amazon change the rule recently?). Two days later, another email told me that Amazon initiated the refund spontaneously which is shown in the attachment. And it showed this item cost $3.66 but actually old for $38.72. I was totally lost. So far I have not received the item but I think it is on the way back to me. 

So :

1- yes, Amazon now auto authorizes returns that are within policy automatically 

2- anything below $100 will be auto refunded at first scan and eligible for safe-t claim 

3-you will need to manually refund returns over $100 once you receive 

4- the cost issue is new to me but appears related to return label .

 

[Brick625]

How to charge the customer for initial shipping? (since the reason for return is bought by mistake or changed my mind)

[Darth_Raichu]

5 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

2- anything below $100 will be auto refunded at first scan and eligible for safe-t claim 

Buyer returned a $700 set to me and their payment was auto-refunded by Amazon on PO scan.  There might be different return plans based on sales(?)

[Bold-Arrow]

1 minute ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Buyer returned a $700 set to me and their payment was auto-refunded by Amazon on PO scan.  There might be different return plans based on sales(?)

Hmmm , weird . All my expensive stuff I need to manually refund 🤷🏽‍♂️. Had a sopwith ( don’t judge me ) and OFS returned and I had to refund both 

[Darth_Raichu]

5 minutes ago, nick625 said:

How to charge the customer for initial shipping? (since the reason for return is bought by mistake or changed my mind)

The only way to get any money back is by opening SAFE-T claim to get Amzn reimbursement.  I never tried to claim initial shipping but let us know if that works

[tyclin]

13 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

They changed the return policy to automatic refund when the return postage is scanned by PO.

That page is slightly misleading but basically it says the payment+shipping were refunded to buyer MINUS the $3.66 to cover the return postage. ie. buyer pays return shipping for that Return Reason.  

The breakdown on the Order Detail page makes a little more sense (to me anyway).

So I should just let it go and not refund further.

13 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

So :

1- yes, Amazon now auto authorizes returns that are within policy automatically 

2- anything below $100 will be auto refunded at first scan and eligible for safe-t claim 

3-you will need to manually refund returns over $100 once you receive 

4- the cost issue is new to me but appears related to return label .

 

Since it is less than $100, when I receive the item, if there is any issue, then I can provide pictures and do the safe-t claim. So now, the third party sellers are more like target, walmart..., once the package is dropped off for return at carriers, UPS, USPS, Amazon automatically refunds the customers.

[Darth_Raichu]

3 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

Hmmm , weird . All my expensive stuff I need to manually refund 🤷🏽‍♂️. Had a sopwith ( don’t judge me ) and OFS returned and I had to refund both 

Did those expensive return happen after you were rolled in to the new return plan?  Amzn most likely staggered the roll out since mine did not start until a few months after the announcement

[Darth_Raichu]

2 minutes ago, tyclin said:

So I should just let it go and not refund further.

Since it is less than $100, when I receive the item, if there is any issue, then I can provide pictures and do the safe-t claim. So now, the third party sellers are more like target, walmart..., once the package is dropped off for return at carriers, UPS, USPS, Amazon automatically refunds the customers.

To be more precise, FBM orders are treated like FBA orders in case of returns.  Amzn said as much in the announcement

[Bold-Arrow]

2 minutes ago, tyclin said:

So I should just let it go and not refund further.

Since it is less than $100, when I receive the item, if there is any issue, then I can provide pictures and do the safe-t claim. So now, the third party sellers are more like target, walmart..., once the package is dropped off for return at carriers, UPS, USPS, Amazon automatically refunds the customers.

You don’t have to do anything unless there is foul play involved or the unit is damaged. Amazon will deduct the cost of the return label from the buyer automatically based on the return reason ( no longer wanted , found better price , etc.) 

3 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Did those expensive return happen after you were rolled in to the new return plan?  Amzn most likely staggered the roll out since mine did not start until a few months after the announcement

All those are recent. I’ve never had an expensive return automatically refunded but now I’m jinxing myself .  

[carini26]

Not sure if I am having inventory issues impacted by AWS outage?  Example - Sent in 18 and all were confirmed during receiving.  Inventory reads 14 available with none in reserve or FC transfer.  No pending sales.  But I can see original 18 in my 'Inventory age by days' column.  

Noticed these discrepancies yesterday.  I have 40-45 sets affected.