Selling through Amazon FBA

[chrisynd]

7 minutes ago, redcell said:

You just have to hope that they don't happen on larger and more expensive items that then get categorized as unfulfillable.

??

[redcell]

2 hours ago, chrisynd said:

Ouch...was it categorized as "Customer Damaged?"  The worst I had was on Dino Defense HQ...that's the only one that I've really gotten stung on and I can mitigate that when I get off my duff and sell the set that I received back.

[chrisynd]

1 minute ago, redcell said:

Ouch...was it categorized as "Customer Damaged?"  The worst I had was on Dino Defense HQ...that's the only one that I've really gotten stung on and I can mitigate that when I get off my duff and sell the set that I received back.

Ha, yup. I probably get about 30/70 customer damaged/sellable returns. Of those customer damaged, I'd say half of them are opened and the other half I question why Amazon marked them as damaged and I end up just re-stickering them (though, frankly, I'd prefer them to be cautious anyway).

Haven't received that monster back just yet, but it should show up within the next week. It was one of the first wave Batman sets.

Those Dino HQs have languished this holiday season, even more so than I expected with IR still being around...

[Loghamel]

5 hours ago, landphieran said:

Until they open the set, build it, keep there favorite mini-figure and send it back in plastic bag saying it was damaged/opened/w.e.

This can happen any time for any set.  The spike in prices in December is due to Christmas or, in other words, gifts for Christmas.  If I sell them a set that will not be found on shelves in January, what you're saying is that they give the kids a set for Christmas and then precede to take it from them to send it back.  Could happen, but I've never encountered it.

[river41]

5 hours ago, redcell said:

1.  The reason for the return really doesn't matter.  There is very little to nothing that you can do about FBA returns.

2.  Yes.  Amazon does not refund the FBA fees so you lose those.

3.  It will be marked as "Customer Damaged" and categorized as unfulfillable.  You'll have to remove it.

4.  No.  The only thing that you can do to avoid some of the hassle with returns is to not use stickerless commingled inventory.  That would cut down on you getting a return because someone else sent in a crappy box or a box that had been opened and resealed, etc.

Returns are an inherent aspect of selling on Amazon, particularly FBA.  You have to treat them as a cost of doing business and not get stressed out about them.  The return rate tends to be fairly low, but they happen.  You just have to hope that they don't happen on larger and more expensive items that then get categorized as unfulfillable.  

And the number of sets that get categorized as customer damaged tends to be fairly low.  I've only had 4 returns this season marked as Customer Damaged.

there is also a refund administration fee as a percentage of the sale price capped at 5 dollars per item.

[IronManDan]

Thanks!  A lot of good info.  Selling the NES on ebay certainly avoids a lot of this uncertainty, but I'm getting $260+ on FBA and $220 on ebay.  I'm ok with one return.  I will keep it for myself.

6 hours ago, redcell said:

2.  Yes.  Amazon does not refund the FBA fees so you lose those.

I was expecting to get a refund on the referral fee.  Are you saying that they do not refund the fulfillment fee or the referral fee?

 

[redcell]

45 minutes ago, IronManDan said:

Thanks!  A lot of good info.  Selling the NES on ebay certainly avoids a lot of this uncertainty, but I'm getting $260+ on FBA and $220 on ebay.  I'm ok with one return.  I will keep it for myself.

I was expecting to get a refund on the referral fee.  Are you saying that they do not refund the fulfillment fee or the referral fee?

 

I can't keep all of the fees straight so there may be a portion of the fee that you get back and portion you don't...I can't remember.

[grackleflint]

I can't keep all of the fees straight so there may be a portion of the fee that you get back and portion you don't...I can't remember.

You only get back the referral fee.

You "lose" the FBA (shipping/packing) fees.

You are also charged a Refund Administration Fee.

In Seller Central, go to Reports -> Payments

Click on Transaction View

You'll see a Refund Transaction Type in the list of entries

Click on the negative Total amount and it will show you a page that lists the details.

At the bottom, under Associated transactions, you'll see the original sale and that total will show you the net amount you received from Amazon after fees.

Above, the Change to your seller account balance will show you how much Amazon is deducting/charging you for the return.

The difference is how much you are "losing" for the return.

If the item comes back and Amazon says it's unsellable, then you need to also pay for a removal order (cheap) to get it back and see if it's really damaged or missing items and then deal with it.

If you don't remove it after a pretty long time, Amazon will warn you. If you ignore the warning, Amazon will dispose of it.

For LEGO, no reason to not get it back.

[Brickbuilder.g]

So I thought I wasn't gated on all Lego but was testing a listing for Cinderella's Castle 41055 and it looks like I am on that one and Elsa anyone else?

[asharerin]

Just now, Brickbuilder.g said:

So I thought I wasn't gated on all Lego but was testing a listing for Cinderella's Castle 41055 and it looks like I am on that one and Elsa anyone else?

These and a few others are still incorrectly branded as Disney. Just open a case with seller support, paste the link to the set at LEGO Shop at Home, and they will update the brand to LEGO.

[Brickbuilder.g]

These and a few others are still incorrectly branded as Disney. Just open a case with seller support, paste the link to the set at LEGO Shop at Home, and they will update the brand to LEGO.

Ok thanks. So if done as you say they will change it for me? I was just paranoid about stuff like this don't want to draw too much attention to my account or anything.

[Darth_Raichu]

Amzn damaged 1 of my item at FC.  Are they going to reimburse me for it?  How long does it take?  

I do not want to put too much effort in chasing after a $10 item.  It is more a matter of principle  

[biking_tiger]

2 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Amzn damaged 1 of my item at FC.  Are they going to reimburse me for it?  How long does it take?  

I do not want to put too much effort in chasing after a $10 item.  It is more a matter of principle  

They do... eventually. You will be credited based on a secret family formula*

*not really, but something based on current 3rd party prices

[Sfcommando14]

4 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Amzn damaged 1 of my item at FC.  Are they going to reimburse me for it?  How long does it take?  

I do not want to put too much effort in chasing after a $10 item.  It is more a matter of principle  

Yes, but at a price determined by recent sales, not your asking price.  They say to give it 14 days, which has always been enough time in my experiences.

[biking_tiger]

Amazon's "official policy":

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200242960

(I told you it was secret)

[redcell]

38 minutes ago, biking_tiger said:

They do... eventually. You will be credited based on a secret family formula*

*not really, but something based on current 3rd party prices

I think they actually base it on sales data because I just got reimbursed ~ $120 for a 10697 that was damaged even though the set is currently selling somewhere around $70.

[biking_tiger]

2 minutes ago, redcell said:

I think they actually base it on sales data because I just got reimbursed ~ $120 for a 10697 that was damaged even though the set is currently selling somewhere around $70.

From Amazon:

"We consider several factors when determining an item's value, including your sales history and the average FBA selling price on Amazon."

I'd say you are praying to the right Amazon gods.  

[Darth_Raichu]

4 minutes ago, biking_tiger said:

From Amazon:

"We consider several factors when determining an item's value, including your sales history and the average FBA selling price on Amazon."

I'd say you are praying to the right Amazon gods.  

So many hidden calculations & processes on Amazon.  And people said selling on eBay was complicated.

[grackleflint]

1 hour ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Amzn damaged 1 of my item at FC.  Are they going to reimburse me for it?  How long does it take?  

I do not want to put too much effort in chasing after a $10 item.  It is more a matter of principle  

What is more "fun" is making sure your inventory doesn't just disappear/get lost.

In the old days, you literally had to look at the daily inventory levels of all your products and see what changes, taking into account sales. At least now they have an "Inventory Adjustments" report that highlights non-sales changes. It's amazing how much stuff they damage or lose doing FC transfers (lose something in OAK, find it days later in PHX)

Amazon supposedly keeps track and will reimburse you after 45 days if they can't find it. However, if they do find it, they will obviously take back the reimbursement so you end up seeing random credits and debits on your account. It's not fun to have to pay Amazon in the middle of February when you've already spent all the profits.

Right now, I have Amazon saying they received 2 of an item where I definitely sent in only one. I tell them, please just reduce the inventory to one because I don't want someone to order the second which doesn't exist and no one else has so Amazon can't make it up to the buyer and can only cancel the order. They give me the generic reply about waiting 2 weeks for inventory reconciliation. So they eventually reduce it to 1 but it now shows up as "inventory misplaced" in the reports. Now I have to wonder if they will reimburse me for something I never sent and, if so, how much of a pain will it be to give it back to them (not much, like $25)

Edited December 15, 2016 by grackleflint

[redcell]

4 hours ago, biking_tiger said:

From Amazon:

"We consider several factors when determining an item's value, including your sales history and the average FBA selling price on Amazon."

I'd say you are praying to the right Amazon gods.  

I hadn't sold any of that set so the "FBA selling price" must be calculated over a longer time horizon than 3-4 weeks.

4 hours ago, grackleflint said:

What is more "fun" is making sure your inventory doesn't just disappear/get lost.

In the old days, you literally had to look at the daily inventory levels of all your products and see what changes, taking into account sales. At least now they have an "Inventory Adjustments" report that highlights non-sales changes. It's amazing how much stuff they damage or lose doing FC transfers (lose something in OAK, find it days later in PHX)

Amazon supposedly keeps track and will reimburse you after 45 days if they can't find it. However, if they do find it, they will obviously take back the reimbursement so you end up seeing random credits and debits on your account. It's not fun to have to pay Amazon in the middle of February when you've already spent all the profits.

Right now, I have Amazon saying they received 2 of an item where I definitely sent in only one. I tell them, please just reduce the inventory to one because I don't want someone to order the second which doesn't exist and no one else has so Amazon can't make it up to the buyer and can only cancel the order. They give me the generic reply about waiting 2 weeks for inventory reconciliation. So they eventually reduce it to 1 but it now shows up as "inventory misplaced" in the reports. Now I have to wonder if they will reimburse me for something I never sent and, if so, how much of a pain will it be to give it back to them (not much, like $25)

I sent in 2 copies of one item and have 55 in my inventory now.  I opened a case on it weeks ago and no resolution.

[zak001]

I sent in 2 copies of one item and have 55 in my inventory now.  I opened a case on it weeks ago and no resolution.

I can relate, having sent in ONE of these:

[Darth_Raichu]

I got neutral feedback for late shipping on FBA order.  Is there a way to remove this feedback since it is not my fault (despite what it says on Amazon help page) ?  Should I contact buyer (And say what?)?  

[exciter1]

7 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

I got neutral feedback for FBA order for late shipping.  Is there a way to remove this feedback (despite what it says on Amazon help page) ?  Should I contact buyer (And say what?)?  

If it's FBA, just open a case and say the item was FBA and the buyer wasn't satisfied with the shipping experience.  They'll remove it.  If it was FBM, the rules I'm sure are a little different.  If it arrived within the allotted time, you should be able to get it removed.

[chrisynd]

9 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

I got neutral feedback for FBA order for late shipping.  Is there a way to remove this feedback (despite what it says on Amazon help page) ?  Should I contact buyer (And say what?)?  

From Seller Central -> Contact Us -> Customers and orders -> (enter the order ID from whomever posted the negative) -> "What can we help you with?" -> select "Customer Feedback Removal Request".

Any feedback that is solely about fulfillment (shipping quality, speed, packing, etc) is solely Amazon's responsibility. They'll review the case and 99% of the time quickly strikethrough the feedback which won't impact your metrics.

[joch29]

I see this growing trend of gating certain toys unsettling.  Especially this late in the season and when the toy was previously sent to FBA already when it was open to sellers.  I guess it's either go big or don't bother next season....

Edited December 21, 2016 by joch29