Selling through Amazon FBA

[asharerin]

36 minutes ago, Forsaker said:

 

You still need that Lego authorisation letter though?

 

No it was an auto approval.

 

23 minutes ago, legolegolego2014 said:

Do you apply from a product listing or via another method? I'm ungated for LEGO but curious as to what your particular process is to applying to new brands. Thx!

It was listing a product (lego pens). Stated needed approval in the brand (already approved in sub-categories building blocks and learning toys). Clicked on request approval and auto approved with no invoice, letter or fee required. I know alot of aged accounts are flagged for auto-approval in most brands and sub-categories now so give it a try.

[landphieran]

20 minutes ago, asharerin said:

No it was an auto approval.

 

It was listing a product (lego pens). Stated needed approval in the brand (already approved in sub-categories building blocks and learning toys). Clicked on request approval and auto approved with no invoice, letter or fee required. I know alot of aged accounts are flagged for auto-approval in most brands and sub-categories now so give it a try.

I would recommend attempting other Brands and Subcategories as well. I was let into nearly every Sub-Category and Brand - Food & Grocery being a big one without requiring documentation.

[asharerin]

1 minute ago, landphieran said:

I would recommend attempting other Brands and Subcategories as well. I was let into nearly every Sub-Category and Brand - Food & Grocery being a big one without requiring documentation.

Get that pumpkin flavored everything into grocery stat!

[exciter1]

My nephew gave me a bunch of these to offload.

[Bold-Arrow]

10 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

My nephew gave me a bunch of these to offload.

I just tried to get approval to these . Got denied , reason : request too short ?

[carini26]

2 hours ago, asharerin said:

No it was an auto approval.

 

It was listing a product (lego pens). Stated needed approval in the brand (already approved in sub-categories building blocks and learning toys). Clicked on request approval and auto approved with no invoice, letter or fee required. I know alot of aged accounts are flagged for auto-approval in most brands and sub-categories now so give it a try.

Just tried and, yeah, Amazon still does not want what would be my few thousand dollars in fees this holiday season.  

Still very much appreciate your advice and tone on this forum @asharerin. Great member here.

[redcell]

3 hours ago, landphieran said:

I would recommend attempting other Brands and Subcategories as well. I was let into nearly every Sub-Category and Brand - Food & Grocery being a big one without requiring documentation.

Thanks for the heads up...I have been approved for almost everything that I've tried.  

[Kenxxx]

Just another anecdote...sold a 70321 General Magmar's Siege Machine of Doom about a month ago via FBA. A couple weeks later got a notification of return, and debit to my account.  Last week got notification that the returned item was in "unsellable" condition, with the reminder that this inventory must be removed from Amazon immediately (recalled by me, or disposed of). Like most small time sellers, I am shocked to find that if a buyer orders a Lego set from me via FBA, opens it, loses half the pieces, then calls Amazon and says, "I just don't want this anymore... changed my mind", that they will get a full refund as soon as they drop it in the mail.  And even once received back at Amazon, after inspection they confirm that it is, in fact, "unsellable", the customer still gets to keep the full refund, and the loss comes out of my pocket.  Ah well... you wanna play on the big stage... that's the way it goes... ok... fair enough.

So anyway, I learn it will cost me $.50 to recall this item (in spite of the fact that Amazon is offering FREE recalls of all inventory right now... guess it does not apply to unsellable inventory). So I recall it. It arrived today and guess what - it is an absolutely perfect sealed box 70321. Nothing wrong with it.  Curiously tho, it is NOT "one of mine". It does not have my SKU barcode on it, but in fact some other kind of barcode from some other seller.  My guess is, they ordered from me FBA + Amazon Prime to get it in time for little Timmy's birthday.  And then ordered another from an FBM seller... maybe for $10 less?  When the second arrived, they returned it as "mine" and pocketed the difference?  Still can't understand how Amz decided that it was "unsellable" tho.  Maybe not having my barcode on it makes it unsellable?  I'd like to raise a little fuss about it, but I guess I should just count my blessings, ...and send it back in.

 

[newbie77]

59 minutes ago, Kenxxx said:

Just another anecdote...sold a 70321 General Magmar's Siege Machine of Doom about a month ago via FBA. A couple weeks later got a notification of return, and debit to my account.  Last week got notification that the returned item was in "unsellable" condition, with the reminder that this inventory must be removed from Amazon immediately (recalled by me, or disposed of). Like most small time sellers, I am shocked to find that if a buyer orders a Lego set from me via FBA, opens it, loses half the pieces, then calls Amazon and says, "I just don't want this anymore... changed my mind", that they will get a full refund as soon as they drop it in the mail.  And even once received back at Amazon, after inspection they confirm that it is, in fact, "unsellable", the customer still gets to keep the full refund, and the loss comes out of my pocket.  Ah well... you wanna play on the big stage... that's the way it goes... ok... fair enough.

So anyway, I learn it will cost me $.50 to recall this item (in spite of the fact that Amazon is offering FREE recalls of all inventory right now... guess it does not apply to unsellable inventory). So I recall it. It arrived today and guess what - it is an absolutely perfect sealed box 70321. Nothing wrong with it.  Curiously tho, it is NOT "one of mine". It does not have my SKU barcode on it, but in fact some other kind of barcode from some other seller.  My guess is, they ordered from me FBA + Amazon Prime to get it in time for little Timmy's birthday.  And then ordered another from an FBM seller... maybe for $10 less?  When the second arrived, they returned it as "mine" and pocketed the difference?  Still can't understand how Amz decided that it was "unsellable" tho.  Maybe not having my barcode on it makes it unsellable?  I'd like to raise a little fuss about it, but I guess I should just count my blessings, ...and send it back in.

 

think of it like a poker game that only cost you $2 for shipping and $0,50 to recall. i.e. overall $2,50 .. it was money well spent.

joke aside happy to hear that at least its not dark story for every return but more expensive set goes its harder to get them in the same condition you sent. 

[biking_tiger]

When I have "customer damaged" returns, it is rarely my original label. 

[minicoopers11]

Don't forget to check the seals before you send in, too...had an Amazon seller convinced I was scamming them when I returned their LEGO set with obviously re-taped seals back (I didn't care that the set wasn't sealed in that case, but the contents were something else). Seller was livid, I left negative feedback, Amazonbots removed the feedback because FBA.

[Bold-Arrow]

I wonder if this applies to lego and other toys , since I never sold any magazines :

Dear FBA seller,

Please read this email carefully. The listing information described below may affect your ability to sell certain products.

As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible customer experience, we are implementing approval requirements for DC Comics products.

What does this mean for me?
Effective on 2017-10-06, you will need approval to list the affected products. If you do not obtain approval to sell these products prior to 2017-10-06, your listings for these products will be removed. 

Why am I receiving this message? 
You are receiving this message because you have sold affected products in the past. There is no penalty associated with this action. 

How do I seek approval to sell the affected products?
If you would like to seek approval to sell the affected products, complete the following steps to start the application process:

1. In Seller Central, click the Inventorymenu, and then select Add a Product.
2. Search for the ASIN you want to sell.
3. In the search results, click the Listing limitations apply link next to the ASIN.
4. Click the Request Approval button to start the application process.

Can I still use FBA?
Effective on 2017-10-05, only sellers approved to sell the affected products may send shipments of those products to fulfillment centers.

[Bold-Arrow]

So a quick follow up to the new D.C. Comic gate , it does apply to toys but I was able to get auto approved 

[Achilles]

56 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

So a quick follow up to the new D.C. Comic gate , it does apply to toys but I was able to get auto approved 

Hey, what ASIN did you use to request approval? Maybe I am already approved, but I randomly tried a few DC Items (LEGO and otherwise) and I seemed already cleared to sell them.

I sure wish Amazon would like, give examples or something, when sending out emails like that.

 

[Bold-Arrow]

28 minutes ago, Achilles said:

Hey, what ASIN did you use to request approval? Maybe I am already approved, but I randomly tried a few DC Items (LEGO and otherwise) and I seemed already cleared to sell them.

I sure wish Amazon would like, give examples or something, when sending out emails like that.

 

B017AGTK84

[zskid00]

13 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

B017AGTK84

I must already be approved for that category.  I have sold Mattel DC figures in the past.

[Achilles]

15 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

B017AGTK84

Thanks much.

[Robb]

B017AGTK84

It’s requiring me to provide documents! Is this going to effect my ability to list LEGO?

[Bold-Arrow]

2 minutes ago, Robb said:

It’s requiring me to provide documents! Is this going to effect my ability to list LEGO?

All my Lego listings were fine prior to applying , so I will go with no as long as your current listings are active . 

[cobrakai]

41 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

B017AGTK84

That one doesn't show restricted for me and I didn't get the letter.  I have probably sold 50 of that ASIN in the past couple years though.  I can't find any restricted DC stuff when I search.

[redcell]

All my Lego listings were fine prior to applying , so I will go with no as long as your current listings are active . 

I have DC Lego sets listed and haven't had any problems. I checked the ASIN above and it was gated, but I was auto-approved when I requested approval. This new auto-ungating is consistent with what I've heard from my contact at Amazon...they are very focused on growing FBA. Loosening the gates on some sellers will help them do that. I'm a lot more likely to stock a wider variety of products than I was before.

[Robb]

I have DC Lego sets listed and haven't had any problems. I checked the ASIN above and it was gated, but I was auto-approved when I requested approval. This new auto-ungating is consistent with what I've heard from my contact at Amazon...they are very focused on growing FBA. Loosening the gates on some sellers will help them do that. I'm a lot more likely to stock a wider variety of products than I was before.

Did you have to submit any docs or does it skip that for you?

[redcell]

10 minutes ago, Robb said:

Did you have to submit any docs or does it skip that for you?

It's skips it for me now.  It used to ask for docs.  Something has definitely changed behind the scenes at Amazon.  I suspect that Amazon has tied the brand gating more closely to performance metrics than they had previously.

[chrisynd]

On 10/5/2017 at 7:50 PM, Bold-Arrow said:

I wonder if this applies to lego and other toys , since I never sold any magazines :

Dear FBA seller,

Please read this email carefully. The listing information described below may affect your ability to sell certain products.

As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible customer experience, we are implementing approval requirements for DC Comics products.

What does this mean for me?
Effective on 2017-10-06, you will need approval to list the affected products. If you do not obtain approval to sell these products prior to 2017-10-06, your listings for these products will be removed. 

Why am I receiving this message? 
You are receiving this message because you have sold affected products in the past. There is no penalty associated with this action. 

How do I seek approval to sell the affected products?
If you would like to seek approval to sell the affected products, complete the following steps to start the application process:

1. In Seller Central, click the Inventorymenu, and then select Add a Product.
2. Search for the ASIN you want to sell.
3. In the search results, click the Listing limitations apply link next to the ASIN.
4. Click the Request Approval button to start the application process.

Can I still use FBA?
Effective on 2017-10-05, only sellers approved to sell the affected products may send shipments of those products to fulfillment centers.

Got the same note. This caused me to have a few listings kicked to "inactive". This was for action figure listings that I had active inventory for and have sold in the past. The listings brand is "DC Comics" (in reality, they are Mattel products).

Despite having sold the ASINs for at least a year, and despite having active FBA inventory, I was not approved to sell "DC Comics" brand when clicking through for Request Approval (document submission requested).

Looks like this one will sting; have to do a removal and hawk it on eBay I suppose.

[chrisynd]

On 9/28/2017 at 1:22 AM, asharerin said:

They no longer scan all of your items at receiving. Instead they eyeball everything and if it looks right mark it as completed in full. Then your items go to be stored or transferred then stored where they are scanned. If they get lost on the way or don't get scanned then they go back and edit the shipment received number and state you did not ship all of the items in the box content info even tho u did. This caused thousands on losses for a lot of sellers so now they will be able to verify by matching box weight to box content when they weigh at check in.

This has been a major problem the last few months. I've documented at least a grand worth of lost inventory (literally, lost) in receiving now with this problem. It's not tied to any specific receiving warehouse, type of product, etc - just seems to be maybe 2-3% of items sent in just don't get scanned.

I won't bore you with the details, but I've been back and forth across half a dozen cases (manually opened) with Seller Support about it providing everything from box weights to inventory receipts. I've also started documenting, by photo, the contents of inbound boxes. So far, Amazon has rejected all of this evidence and refused to reimburse.

As part of the new receiving process, every inbound shipment that has a "problem" as "automatically investigated" and so that means there's no room to even request a reimbursement. So far, I've only been stonewalled. Lots of other sellers dealing with this receiving change: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/forums/thread.jspa?messageID=4113250&tstart=0#4113250