Selling through Amazon FBA

[asharerin]

4 minutes ago, landphieran said:

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?

Estimate the time you will spend taking photos and contacting amazon. Figure your hourly rate (labor cost) vs taking the tax deduction with no labor spent. If it is big bucks it will be worth it. If not take the tax deduction and spend that time on other money making activities.

[Bold-Arrow]

11 minutes ago, landphieran said:

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?

Unless it is a limited edition HTF board game , I would move on . 

[asharerin]

Well it has finally happened. I have been telling folks to get started selling on Amazon for a long time now and told them to diversify as much as possible. I knew Amazon would not be taking on 3P sellers like they have been forever.

Over the past 10 days we have seen a rash of suspensions of new sellers (accounts created in the last 6 months) for IP and inauthentic violations. They are suspending these newer sellers and asking for manufacturer/authorized distributor invoices for items they have listed as "new". Last year Amazon gated a bunch of the bigger brands so these sellers could not list them but now they are suspending for ungated brands that they can list in as well (books, toys, electronics etc). As is stands those with older accounts have not been caught up in the dragnet and are likely to be grandfathered in if you have a good track record. From now on new sellers will only be those buying from manufacturers or authorized distributors with documentation for ANY brand. New sellers can still make accounts but after they send a shipment in to FBA or list FBM for "new" items they are being suspended pending documentation. This has the benefit of making sure chinese scammers who create hundreds of accounts per week never get a chance to make a listing in the ungated brands without first proving their sources of inventory (which of course they cannot do).

If you have an established account my advice is follow the rules and take care of it. As usual every 6 months there are big changes at Amazon for sellers and I hear there is more coming for 2017. It appears Amazon has hit their max target for 3P sellers and will now only be allowing vetted new sellers and they will be culling as many recent 3P sellers as they can.

[Jackson]

16 minutes ago, asharerin said:

 manufacturers or authorized distributors with documentation for ANY brand.

I've been selling on Amazon for years, and I don't think I've ever sourced from a manufacturer or authorized distributor (does Entertainment Earth count?). How does one even contact a manufacturer in a way that won't get immediately ignored? 

[chrisynd]

Whenever you guys feel Amazon is being a pain in the rear, know that I received this as a return today (this is an FBA return processed through Amazon).

Cost of doing business they say...

[Bold-Arrow]

8 minutes ago, chrisynd said:

Whenever you guys feel Amazon is being a pain in the rear, know that I received this as a return today (this is an FBA return processed through Amazon).

Cost of doing business they say...

U should be able to recoup some of your money if not all of it . Open a case ** in case u didn't know **

[chrisynd]

Just now, Bold-Arrow said:

U should be able to recoup some of your money if not all of it . Open a case ** in case u didn't know **

Yea, just hate to do it. Amazon really instills the fear of being booted off due to some shadowy metrics.

[Bold-Arrow]

26 minutes ago, chrisynd said:

Yea, just hate to do it. Amazon really instills the fear of being booted off due to some shadowy metrics.

Never had an issue .. sellers have rights too . 

[Miami Bomb Squad]

Does anyone know the deal with "Discontinue from Manufacture"  that is applied after the Products name.
I notice not all of the discontinue sets are getting this notation. 
Is Amazon working on this or we need to contact them with the updates?

 

[zak001]

1 minute ago, Miami Bomb Squad said:

Does anyone know the deal with "Discontinue from Manufacture"  that is applied after the Products name.
I notice not all of the discontinue sets are getting this notation. 
Is Amazon working on this or we need to contact them with the updates?

 

In the Advanced View deep in every listing (I forget which tab) there's a "Discontinued by Manufacturer" toggle. May not be accessible to all sellers and turning it on may not produce an immediate response. But if you're offering on a listing and it doesn't have the discontinued notification it couldn't hurt to try.

[Miami Bomb Squad]

4 minutes ago, zak001 said:

In the Advanced View deep in every listing (I forget which tab) there's a "Discontinued by Manufacturer" toggle. May not be accessible to all sellers and turning it on may not produce an immediate response. But if you're offering on a listing and it doesn't have the discontinued notification it couldn't hurt to try.

The tab is "More Details"  under advanced view.
But I don't think it changes the Listing for all to see. 
 

[donbee]

Well it has finally happened. I have been telling folks to get started selling on Amazon for a long time now and told them to diversify as much as possible. I knew Amazon would not be taking on 3P sellers like they have been forever.
Over the past 10 days we have seen a rash of suspensions of new sellers (accounts created in the last 6 months) for IP and inauthentic violations. They are suspending these newer sellers and asking for manufacturer/authorized distributor invoices for items they have listed as "new". Last year Amazon gated a bunch of the bigger brands so these sellers could not list them but now they are suspending for ungated brands that they can list in as well (books, toys, electronics etc). As is stands those with older accounts have not been caught up in the dragnet and are likely to be grandfathered in if you have a good track record. From now on new sellers will only be those buying from manufacturers or authorized distributors with documentation for ANY brand. New sellers can still make accounts but after they send a shipment in to FBA or list FBM for "new" items they are being suspended pending documentation. This has the benefit of making sure chinese scammers who create hundreds of accounts per week never get a chance to make a listing in the ungated brands without first proving their sources of inventory (which of course they cannot do).
If you have an established account my advice is follow the rules and take care of it. As usual every 6 months there are big changes at Amazon for sellers and I hear there is more coming for 2017. It appears Amazon has hit their max target for 3P sellers and will now only be allowing vetted new sellers and they will be culling as many recent 3P sellers as they can.

Will 3P accounts become a commodity then? Are accounts transferable? I could see an old, grandfather account becoming valuable. Worth at least $999. Could be like selling any other business.

[asharerin]

10 hours ago, donbee said:

Will 3P accounts become a commodity then? Are accounts transferable? I could see an old, grandfather account becoming valuable. Worth at least $999. Could be like selling any other business.

If the owner of the account is setup as a business then when the business is sold the amazon account goes with it. I'd say most accounts are worth alot more than $999. Just getting ungated for one brand is $1k+.

Once Amazon captures 80% of online sales (double what they are now) and 3 hour delivery is standard for most Prime customers (thru Flex workers and Amazon crushing UPS and Fedex with its own delivery network) then an established account is going to be worth alot of money. Of course Amazon could always just let everybody sell everything again but I'd say they are moving in the opposite direction and even more restrictions will be put in place over time to keep the quality of the platform up to Bezos's standards. 3 hour delivery nationwide is only going to be possible through FBA and commingled so Amazon is vetting for that eventuality.

One thing to remember when selling on Amazon is that that the level of customer service that Amazon itself provides to it's customers should be your minimum as a 3P seller. Personally we make Amazon look like TRU when it comes to customer service. Make yourself valuable to Amazon and they will let keep giving you access to their well heeled customers and innovative platform. This company and ecommerce is in its infancy. At the end if you are onboard even the sky is not the limit. 

[exciter1]

1 minute ago, asharerin said:

If the owner of the account is setup as a business then when the business is sold the amazon account goes with it. I'd say most accounts are worth alot more than $999. Just getting ungated for one brand is $1k+.

Once Amazon captures 80% of online sales (double what they are now) and 3 hour delivery is standard for most Prime customers (thru Flex workers and Amazon crushing UPS and Fedex with its own delivery network) then an established account is going to be worth alot of money. Of course Amazon could always just let everybody sell everything again but I'd say they are moving in the opposite direction and even more restrictions will be put in place over time to keep the quality of the platform up to Bezos's standards. 3 hour delivery nationwide is only going to be possible through FBA and commingled so Amazon is vetting for that eventuality.

One thing to remember when selling on Amazon is that that the level of customer service that Amazon itself provides to it's customers should be your minimum as a 3P seller. Personally we make Amazon look like TRU when it comes to customer service. Make yourself valuable to Amazon and they will let keep giving you access to their well heeled customers and innovative platform. This company and ecommerce is in its infancy. At the end if you are onboard even the sky is not the limit. 

...and when someone else comes along and Amazon becomes the next Sears, hope that you're dead or ready for the next wave.

[Darth_Raichu]

7 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

...and when someone else comes along and Amazon becomes the next Sears, hope that you're dead or ready for the next wave.

Hopefully I know what's the next best thing so I can buy their stocks and do not have to stay in LEGO retail business

[asharerin]

6 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

...and when someone else comes along and Amazon becomes the next Sears, hope that you're dead or ready for the next wave.

The only thing that can stop Amazon is going to be laws against monopolies. Nobody else is going to come close to being able to build a 3 hour nationwide fulfillment network with hundreds of millions of products in the catalog. Some things are here to stay - Google, Amazon, and Tom Brady.

[Darth_Raichu]

1 minute ago, asharerin said:

The only thing that can stop Amazon is going to be laws against monopolies. Nobody else is going to come close to being able to build a 3 hour nationwide fulfillment network with hundreds of millions of products in the catalog. Some things are here to stay - Google, Amazon, and Tom Brady.

Hmm maybe they would merge to create Goomazon with Tom Brady doing commercial for them

[Miami Bomb Squad]

36 minutes ago, asharerin said:

The only thing that can stop Amazon is going to be laws against monopolies. Nobody else is going to come close to being able to build a 3 hour nationwide fulfillment network with hundreds of millions of products in the catalog. Some things are here to stay - Google, Amazon, and Tom Brady.

I couldn't agree with you more, I'm still kicking myself for not buying AMZN 2-3 years ago when it was only $350 $375ish.
The Telltale signs are all those major retailers closing stores across USA.  
Who wants to drive, park, and shop?  
I see malls turning into Quasi-amusement parks.  Only entertainment, restaurants and specialty stores.
I see Amazon warehouses every 5-10 miles like MickeyDs.  

[donbee]

55 minutes ago, asharerin said:

The only thing that can stop Amazon is going to be laws against monopolies. Nobody else is going to come close to being able to build a 3 hour nationwide fulfillment network with hundreds of millions of products in the catalog. Some things are here to stay - Google, Amazon, and Tom Brady.

Well, when the internet goes black we can burn those over-sized boxes they send to keep warm. 

[Robb]

Amazon's main concerns are now only governments and itself.

[biking_tiger]

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! 

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare 

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

 

 

[Darth_Raichu]

3 minutes ago, biking_tiger said:

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! 

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare 

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

 

 

Was that a quote from Watchmen ??? 

[biking_tiger]

Just now, Darth_Raichu said:

Was that a quote from Watchmen ??? 

...

*sigh*

[newbie77]

2 hours ago, asharerin said:

If the owner of the account is setup as a business then when the business is sold the amazon account goes with it. I'd say most accounts are worth alot more than $999. Just getting ungated for one brand is $1k+.

Once Amazon captures 80% of online sales (double what they are now) and 3 hour delivery is standard for most Prime customers (thru Flex workers and Amazon crushing UPS and Fedex with its own delivery network) then an established account is going to be worth alot of money. Of course Amazon could always just let everybody sell everything again but I'd say they are moving in the opposite direction and even more restrictions will be put in place over time to keep the quality of the platform up to Bezos's standards. 3 hour delivery nationwide is only going to be possible through FBA and commingled so Amazon is vetting for that eventuality.

One thing to remember when selling on Amazon is that that the level of customer service that Amazon itself provides to it's customers should be your minimum as a 3P seller. Personally we make Amazon look like TRU when it comes to customer service. Make yourself valuable to Amazon and they will let keep giving you access to their well heeled customers and innovative platform. This company and ecommerce is in its infancy. At the end if you are onboard even the sky is not the limit. 

AMAZON is never going to be 80% of online sale as long as there are 3rd party seller.

even if you agree that there is 10% of total amazon sales comes from 3rd party seller then close to 15% of online sales will be from other retailers supplying those.

Edited January 26, 2017 by newbie77

[Kenxxx]

Despite my troubles with Amazon FBM (... in fact... because of my troubles with FBM...) I'm now preparing a shipment to FBA. One concern: due to recent A-to-z claims, my Order Defect Rate (ODR) is almost 2%. I have not received any warning from Amazon... but of course, I am concerned.  Question: what if I send a couple thousand dollars worth of merch into FBA, and then my account gets suspended 2 days later? Are my FBA offers deleted & inventory stranded...? or does this type of suspension only affect FBM sales?