Selling through Amazon FBA

[zak001]

On December 18, 2016 at 0:30 PM, zak001 said:

I can relate, having sent in ONE of these:

...now it says I have 213. You can bet they'll be charging me storage on them and sooner or later they'll start selling.

[asharerin]

11 minutes ago, joch29 said:

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....

What brand were you gated out of recently that you were previously approved to sell? From what I have read/seen if your metrics are good and you sold previously then you get grandfathered in. Volume/size has nothing to do with it. We certainly benefited this year. Alot less competition  and excellent profits.

[newbie77]

7 minutes ago, asharerin said:

What brand were you gated out of recently that you were previously approved to sell? From what I have read/seen if your metrics are good and you sold previously then you get grandfathered in. Volume/size has nothing to do with it. We certainly benefited this year. Alot less competition  and excellent profits.

i don't think we benefitted much this year. going forward might be a different story depending on which side one is.

again, there is/was a lot of competition this year vs. last year. lot of sets from 2012-2013 have actually gone down in prices vs. last year (due to various reasons, more sellers for that item this year vs. last year. ) 31007; 60064; 75012; would be few examples.

i feel sorry for the dude in eBay who held onto over 80 of 75012 from last year hoping to get more prices. sure he will get more price per unit ($39,99 vs $85,00) but sold unit 1/year its going to be a while before he sees return on his investment.

Edited December 21, 2016 by newbie77

[asharerin]

Lego will take a few years to really benefit from the gating on Amazon due to the large numbers of resellers that got grandfathered in. Alot of other gated toy brands were already money this year. Once the usual bigger lego names on Amazon sell thru their stock for cheap (toy planet, ddf, tech harvard, holiday express, happy ranger, tpm and co, school student toys etc) prices gain very quickly on Amazon. Those guys usually sell within 2 years. Once you see a listing with none of them it is all gravy. But boy did they tank sets like 10240, 10228, 76023 this season lol.

[newbie77]

5 minutes ago, asharerin said:

Lego will take a few years to really benefit from the gating on Amazon due to the large numbers of resellers that got grandfathered in. Alot of other gated toy brands were already money this year. Once the usual bigger lego names on Amazon sell thru their stock for cheap (toy planet, ddf, tech harvard, holiday express, happy ranger, tpm and co, school student toys etc) prices gain very quickly on Amazon. Those guys usually sell within 2 years. Once you see a listing with none of them it is all gravy. But boy did they tank sets like 10240, 10228, 76023 this season lol.

i think toy planet crapped lot of them including mixels-s-3, 31007, to name few; mayberrytoys sinked S2-mixels, stagecoach express, ...  few others kicked trick or treat

Edited December 21, 2016 by newbie77

[asharerin]

1 minute ago, newbie77 said:

i think toy planet crapped lot of them including mixels-s-3, 31007, to name few; mayberrytoys sinked S2-mixels, stagecoach express...

For whatever reason we have never sold on a listing with toy plant or mayberry. Those other sets I mentioned we wont be selling until the big boys are done making their nickels and dimes. The harder they tank it now the faster they sell out and the quicker prices gap back up.

[newbie77]

Just now, asharerin said:

For whatever reason we have never sold on a listing with toy plant or mayberry. Those other sets I mentioned we wont be selling until the big boys are done making their nickels and dimes. The harder they tank it now the faster they sell out and the quicker prices gap back up.

if you go on that cycle.. you are in 4-5 years after retirement window. literally you would need like 10k sq ft warehouse to store or you risk for re(makes) and/or re(hashes).

only one you can play is QFLL or SQFLL

[grackleflint]

14 minutes ago, newbie77 said:

i think toy planet crapped lot of them including mixels-s-3, 31007, to name few; mayberrytoys sinked S2-mixels, stagecoach express, ...  few others kicked trick or treat

I personally enjoyed f-ing with TP on a couple of listings (like UN). I only had a couple of copies that I intentionally dropped a $0.01 penny lower than TP so he would start the chase down and he followed through (repeatedly) and even kept his prices lower after I sold out. I'm sure some of those big boys are on BP reading all of this.

On other listings, since I have already made enough so I don't care, I've refused to follow TP down and am just waiting him out. Look at 70503 Golden Dragon, It's dropped a lot since Nov and TP has brought the price down at least $15. UN is now below $60.

It just amazes me that some of these big sellers appear to be in "must sell mode". Must be some big bills coming due for them. I thought it would just be the tiny sellers like me getting whacked.

Edited December 21, 2016 by grackleflint

[Phil B]

3 minutes ago, grackleflint said:

I personally enjoyed f-ing with TP on a couple of listings (like UN). I only had a couple of copies that I intentionally dropped a $0.01 penny lower than TP so he would start the chase down and he followed through (repeatedly) and even kept his prices lower after I sold out.

On other listings, since I have already made enough so I don't care, I've refused to follow TP down and am just waiting him out. Look at 70503 Golden Dragon, It's dropped a lot since Nov and TP has brought the price down at least $15. UN is now below $60.

It just amazes me that some of these big sellers appear to be in "must sell mode". Must be some big bills coming due for them. I thought it would just be the tiny sellers like me getting whacked.

Or they have inside info from TLG/Amazon that something is going to happen (complete 3rd party ban?) and are cashing out quickly? Pure speculation on my behalf of course....

[zak001]

Those huge sellers operate on much lower margins than most of us would find appealing. For the most part it's all widgets and cash flow to them; make 5-15% and move on, as many times as possible. They're not manually altering their prices to keep up with you - there's a bot doing it for them, as long as the new price is within the range they've decided is acceptable.

[joch29]

We were selling my friend Pikachu and sent FBA 25 of them.. 16 sold but we noticed an error on our FBA inventory page today that there was no listing for our item.  When we went to go relist it, it said we had to get approval and pay $1K.  To us this seem like it was extortion or switch/ bait...since we were previously allowed to sell and ship to FBA.  Our remaining inventory is in limbo..CSR via chat tried to be helpful but was beyond them.. They said it would be elevated after I gave them my concerns going forward.  The nine item is not as important as whats to come next year, there is this uncertainty and huge risk going forward to invest on inventory only to find out at any given time amazon may decide to change the rules. 

[zskid00]

So I got a fun return in the mail today.  I sent in some Republic Gunships (75021) in November and they sold in December.  Just before Christmas I received a refund notice for a return stating that the item was defective.  I recalled the set and what shows up on my door today?  How about a Super Heroes Batcave (6860) with the shipping label and various other Amazon inventory stickers plastered on it.  I sold all of my Batcaves last year in January so I know this didn't come from my stock.  I also don't do comingled inventory.  Somewhere along the way this got switched by either the customer or Amazon.

When I checked the Amazon report the reason for the return is listed as "ASSOCIATE-RETURN-NO_REASON_GIVEN".  Does this mean anything?  I took some pictures and sent a request to Amazon Seller Support.  Hopefully they can sort this out, but I'm afraid it's going to be a case of he said, she said and they will just side with the customer.

Edited January 5, 2017 by zskid00

[Bold-Arrow]

3 minutes ago, zskid00 said:

So I got a fun return in the mail today.  I sent in some Republic Gunships (75021) in November and they sold in December.  Just before Christmas I received a refund notice for a return stating that the item was defective.  I recalled the set and what shows up on my door today?  How about a Super Heroes Batcave (6860) with the shipping label and various other Amazon inventory stickers plastered on it.  I sold all of my Batcaves last year in January so I know this didn't come from my stock.  I also don't do comingled inventory.  Somewhere along the way this got switched by either the customer or Amazon.

When I checked the Amazon report the reason for the return is listed as "ASSOCIATE-RETURN-NO_REASON_GIVEN".  Does this mean anything?  I took some pictures and sent a request to Amazon Seller Support.  Hopefully they can sort this out, but I'm afraid it's going to be a case of he said, she said and they will just side with the customer.

Do u cominngle or sticker ? If you sticker , then ur label shouldn't be there . That's your defense . If it is , u labeled the wrong set . 

Just noticed u said u don't commingle 

[asharerin]

Amazon dominated online sales again in 2016, and online shopping was up 20% year on year for all online platforms. We love selling on Amazon and there is a ton of money to be made. If you have not started selling on Amazon then I advise creating a selling account and getting started ASAP as they won't be accepting new sellers forever and more and more brands are getting gated by the week. Start diversifying and sell as many brands as possible and get ungated in as many categories as possible while you still can. E-commerce is still in its infancy and Amazon is going to be crushing every other platform for a very long time to come.

[legopocalypse]

Cool so your advising more competition, got it.

[Loghamel]

2 hours ago, legopocalypse said:

Cool so your advising more competition, got it.

Since LEGO is gated and he said "start selling", I'd say the only increased competition would be in non-LEGO categories.  As this is a LEGO investing site, I don't see a problem with his advice.  I've thought about it myself, but LEGO keeps me busy enough.

[legopocalypse]

Correct, for selling in other categories as a lot of us don't just only sell Lego. It's good advise. Just creates more competitors.

[Darth_Raichu]

Despite what @asharerin wrote above, it is not always roses and rainbows when selling FBA

1. I have inventory that has been "in reserved" for the entire December (so much for catching the holiday traffics ). Open a case, boom, inventory is now 0 while the case is under investigation

2. A listing page for an ASIN just disappeared. I mean there is 0 result now when I searched for the item on Amazon.  My FBA inventory is "active" but there is no way anyone can ever find the page to buy the item 

Are these normal or am I just that unlucky??? 

[exciter1]

Despite what @asharerin wrote above, it is not always roses and rainbows when selling FBA

1. I have inventory that has been "in reserved" for the entire December (so much for catching the holiday traffics ). Open a case, boom, inventory is now 0 while the case is under investigation

2. A listing page for an ASIN just disappeared. I mean there is 0 result now when I searched for the item on Amazon.  My FBA inventory is "active" but there is no way anyone can ever find the page to buy the item 

Are these normal or am I just that unlucky??? 

Somewhat normal, it can be a fight. ISD now has the incorrect primary listing too.

I had dozens of items lost after they were received and then reserved in transit to other distribution centers this year.

[asharerin]

2 hours ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Despite what @asharerin wrote above, it is not always roses and rainbows when selling FBA

1. I have inventory that has been "in reserved" for the entire December (so much for catching the holiday traffics ). Open a case, boom, inventory is now 0 while the case is under investigation

2. A listing page for an ASIN just disappeared. I mean there is 0 result now when I searched for the item on Amazon.  My FBA inventory is "active" but there is no way anyone can ever find the page to buy the item 

Are these normal or am I just that unlucky??? 

Definitely not normal but not uncommon. After sending in many shipments we have figured out amazon's fulfillment system and have never lost a single shipment or had a package sitting in receiving for more than a day even in the busy holiday season. Take note of what center you are shipping to, whether or not it is a fulfillment center or a distribution hub, and how you send it there (usps, fedex or ups). The carrier you choose makes a huge difference.  At some centers UPS will drop off right at the dock and your items will get checked in and available to sell within hours while for the same location FEDEX will drop off in the yard and your items can sit for a 7-10 days before being checked in (and vice versa at other centers). FEDEX is normally cheaper but if you need that box checked in ASAP and you know the UPS guy is going to land it at the right spot then it is worth the extra few dollars during Q4. Play around with times and numbers to get the shipments you want and lock them in months in advance. As for the ASIN issue I have never had any problems like that but we don't seem to sell alot of the same sets as other folks on this board that have problems. The majority of stuff we do sell are new products, bundles or multipacks that we create and control the listings for. Obviously that strategy won't work for most lego items but my entire point was to diversify as much as possible on the platform (and I don't mean megabloks or SW toys).

[Kenxxx]

With all the trouble in FBM right now... I'm think of doing a little more FBA.  I have a number of items bought from Books-a-Million (stores) lately... many have a separate price tag, and/or an anti-theft (with foil inside) price tag / barcode.  When I attempt to remove these, I almost always find a very sticky residue left behind. It takes a great deal of solvent to get this off, and then the box is often "over-shiny" or even slippery. Skipping the solvent, sometimes I'll carefully apply a cut-to-size piece of transparent packing tape over the goo.  It looks OK, but there is an extra piece of tape on the box. Or sometimes I'll not remove the security sticker, and apply a neatly cut piece of black electrical tape over the barcode. Doesn't look as good, but definitely faster and easier.  So far, I've not had trouble with this stock being rejected at receiving at Amazon.  But it always makes me nervous.  Have I been lucky?  Am I asking for trouble?  What do you do in this case?

[asharerin]

1 minute ago, Kenxxx said:

With all the trouble in FBM right now... I'm think of doing a little more FBA.  I have a number of items bought from Books-a-Million (stores) lately... many have a separate price tag, and/or an anti-theft (with foil inside) price tag / barcode.  When I attempt to remove these, I almost always find a very sticky residue left behind. It takes a great deal of solvent to get this off, and then the box is often "over-shiny" or even slippery. Skipping the solvent, sometimes I'll carefully apply a cut-to-size piece of transparent packing tape over the goo.  It looks OK, but there is an extra piece of tape on the box. Or sometimes I'll not remove the security sticker, and apply a neatly cut piece of black electrical tape over the barcode. Doesn't look as good, but definitely faster and easier.  So far, I've not had trouble with this stock being rejected at receiving at Amazon.  But it always makes me nervous.  Have I been lucky?  Am I asking for trouble?  What do you do in this case?

If it is not new then don't list it as new (new to Amazon means bought from the manufacturer or an authorized distributor with invoices to back it up if they ask). New means no tape, residue or electrical tape. When doing retail arbitrage on restricted items my advice would be to follow amazon's policy. You may get away with small things here and there for a time but what happens when you get a complaint of "fake" or inauthentic and a few weeks later you get that special message from a bot stating your account is suspended until you provide manufacturer invoices and permission from TLG to sell on Amazon?

The other choice is to sell as "collectible". Problem is your items are used and not collectible and again you are skirting Amazon policy. It is against policy to sell used toys on Amazon. You may get away with it for a time until you piss off the wrong buyer and then you are suspended until you can come up with invoices.

My advice with Amazon is to play the long game. Think of all the revenue and profits it can generate for you over the next 10-20 years (many millions) vs a few hundred bucks in profit selling a used item as new or collectible. Is it worth risking millions long term for a quick buck now? Facebook, ebay, brick classifieds are perfect to sell items that you are not allowed to list on Amazon. You may not get top dollar but the odds of those transactions banning your amazon selling account are zero. Now it comes down to risking millions for twenty to thirty dollars left on the table. My advice play it smart, play it long term, and profit. FBA is an insanely good value to a seller and an excellent choice for Lego if you have long term plans as an Amazon seller. Getting grandfathered into Lego was a huge gift from Bezos so I'd follow policy and do everything possible to make it last.

[zskid00]

If there is a price sticker I would definitely remove it or cover it.  You don't want your customers to assume what you may have paid for the item if they are buying it at a significant markup.  I have sent in sets with Barnes and Noble security/UPC stickers before as well as a handful of lower priced sets with Target security stickers on them.  I've never had a complaint.  I do make sure the boxes are in good condition though.

[Bold-Arrow]

Ash had laid it down very nicely . Anything outside that depends on your risk level tolerance . 

[landphieran]

I recently had an item returned to Amazon and marked as customer destroyer, so i paid to have it returned. The item was a board game which they proceeded to tape shut (no box) then attach 4 stickers too. The components on the inside were unused so i suspect they returned the item for being damaged. Then Amazon further damaged it by shipping it to me that way. 

Is it worth opening a case to get refunded for Amazons laziness?