Selling through Amazon FBA

[donbee]

altho I agree that retailers should share in the responsibility
the more likely scenario is opportunistic resellers probably bought 5 to 10 unit but hit every Target, Costco, Walmart in their area or rented a U-Haul...Hmmm sounds like familiar behavior

In order to hoard 17,700 bottles, need to grab more than 10 each store. Granted, that’s only one case, but two guys. Someone could’ve enforced some buy limits. I haven’t seen it done much down in Florida.

My main point is that their (Amazon’s) logic was probably ‘if you remove the market, you remove the incentive to hoard and scalp’. If they did it sooner, there’d been less people trying. Some people will try, but fewer.

And the argument that rural areas have too much, and cities need it more. Rural people now are OoS too. So they got screwed. And the retailer had means, granted slower, to assess their store inventory and redistribute their goods. They’ll get it done, and not charge $20 for a $1 bottle.

[asharerin]

We are in unprecedented times. Best to be prepared. The Fed Govt may require Amazon to use its distribution infrastructure to supply items of necessity. Postal services may get shutdown to the general public and only used to distribute items of necessity. One week ago what is happening today would have been unthinkable. Prepare as best you can, stay safe, and please prepare for the fact that the way business was conducted a week ago may not be the way going forward.

[Foreman Porgy]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/608341/

[asharerin]

Just a heads up in France and Italy Amazon is now only taking FBA orders for essential items (baby, health, beauty, groceries, industrial, pet). Buyers can still purchase items in other categories from 3P not using FBA. 

It may be wise to plan ahead if this is also rolled out for the USA over the next few weeks and you have alot of Lego or other items not in essential categories in FBA. We are selling 99% FBA in the essential categories in the USA and open orders are through the roof so the USA fulfillment network is obviously already under quite a bit of strain.

[Darth_Raichu]

1 hour ago, asharerin said:

It may be wise to plan ahead if this is also rolled out for the USA over the next few weeks and you have alot of Lego or other items not in essential categories in FBA. We are selling 99% FBA in the essential categories in the USA and open orders are through the roof so the USA fulfillment network is obviously already under quite a bit of strain.

I figured as much.  Toys FBA orders take 4-5 days to ship.  So they are pretty backed up

[asharerin]

41 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

I figured as much.  Toys FBA orders take 4-5 days to ship.  So they are pretty backed up

Lots of prime items in the USA now have a FBA delivery time of 1 month. Looks like they are giving priority to the absolute essentials and sidelining everything else.

[Sauromosis]

2 hours ago, asharerin said:

Just a heads up in France and Italy Amazon is now only taking FBA orders for essential items (baby, health, beauty, groceries, industrial, pet). Buyers can still purchase items in other categories from 3P not using FBA. 

It may be wise to plan ahead if this is also rolled out for the USA over the next few weeks and you have alot of Lego or other items not in essential categories in FBA. We are selling 99% FBA in the essential categories in the USA and open orders are through the roof so the USA fulfillment network is obviously already under quite a bit of strain.

I appreciate that you shared this with us, if I had to guess this will definitely roll out in the USA because we ended up doing the same restriction on sending products to FBA and so I've priced some items to sell.

[Jackson]

If Amazon is way behind on fulfilling toy orders, why are they still matching Walmart's sale prices?

[Darth_Raichu]

4 minutes ago, Jackson said:

If Amazon is way behind on fulfilling toy orders, why are they still matching Walmart's sale prices?

Most likely because those are from Amazon's own stock, not FBA.  I would think they prioritize shipping their own stuffs over 3PS

[JOEBRICK376]

1 hour ago, Jackson said:

If Amazon is way behind on fulfilling toy orders, why are they still matching Walmart's sale prices?

There is also an argument to be said that Amazon is really starting to move some products it doesn't deem essential to clear space for more essential items coming in. 

Sadly I do believe we might seem some of same restrictions as Europe is facing with regards to Amazon's warehouses. I also think some of those warehouses may not remain operational through this. 

[Rich B]

Hey guys, if you need an alternative to Amazon FBA we can probably help you out during these months. Feel free to DM privately. 

Edited March 22, 2020 by Rich B

[joch29]

20 hours ago, asharerin said:

Just a heads up in France and Italy Amazon is now only taking FBA orders for essential items (baby, health, beauty, groceries, industrial, pet). Buyers can still purchase items in other categories from 3P not using FBA. 

It may be wise to plan ahead if this is also rolled out for the USA over the next few weeks and you have alot of Lego or other items not in essential categories in FBA. We are selling 99% FBA in the essential categories in the USA and open orders are through the roof so the USA fulfillment network is obviously already under quite a bit of strain.

are they waiving storage fees?

[Phil B]

I have switched back to Personal plan for the time being, given that I am not able to replenish my FBA stock. My typical volume is anyone just around the break-even point, except for the holidays. No need to pay Amazon $40 per month for nothing.

[odysea11]

It's hard watching my IPI start to dip without being able to replenish inventory....

[Bold-Arrow]

Hello from Fulfillment by Amazon,

To ensure the capacity to receive, restock, and ship high-priority products like household staples and medical supplies, we have temporarily paused removal operations in some of our fulfillment centers. You can continue to create removal orders, but there will be delays in completing the requests. Similarly, auto-removals will be delayed.  As a result, we are waiving the April 15 long-term storage fees for inventory stored in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Czech Republic. You can review the status of your removal orders here and find more information on this Help page. Please note Selling Partner Support does not have further guidance. We know this is a change to your business and we did not make this decision lightly. We are working around the clock to increase capacity and appreciate your understanding as we temporarily prioritize household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products for customers.

[exciter1]

29 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

Hello from Fulfillment by Amazon,

To ensure the capacity to receive, restock, and ship high-priority products like household staples and medical supplies, we have temporarily paused removal operations in some of our fulfillment centers. You can continue to create removal orders, but there will be delays in completing the requests. Similarly, auto-removals will be delayed.  As a result, we are waiving the April 15 long-term storage fees for inventory stored in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Czech Republic. You can review the status of your removal orders here and find more information on this Help page. Please note Selling Partner Support does not have further guidance. We know this is a change to your business and we did not make this decision lightly. We are working around the clock to increase capacity and appreciate your understanding as we temporarily prioritize household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products for customers.

Now if they'd just freeze IPI metrics until shipments are normal again.

[zskid00]

On 3/23/2020 at 9:59 AM, Phil B said:

I have switched back to Personal plan for the time being, given that I am not able to replenish my FBA stock. My typical volume is anyone just around the break-even point, except for the holidays. No need to pay Amazon $40 per month for nothing.

Is it easy to switch back and forth between a personal and business account?  I mainly sell FBA during 3Q and 4Q and could save some money by switching now, but I don't want to jeopardize getting my business account back for the fall.

[Phil B]

2 minutes ago, zskid00 said:

Is it easy to switch back and forth between a personal and business account?  I mainly sell FBA during 3Q and 4Q and could save some money by switching now, but I don't want to jeopardize getting my business account back for the fall.

a single button click. Someone else here said they do this every year -> Pro during the X-mas period, Personal the rest of the year. I'm not worried it is going to hurt me.

[legorunner]

3 minutes ago, zskid00 said:

Is it easy to switch back and forth between a personal and business account?

 

1 minute ago, Phil B said:

a single button click.

Yes, I believe from previous posts that no one has had any issues historically. I have read a few people advocate against switching by saying that you don't know what could change in the future with Amazon / you never know when it might trigger a dreaded request for invoices in the future. That said, I recently switched mine back to personal. 

[zskid00]

5 minutes ago, Phil B said:

a single button click. Someone else here said they do this every year -> Pro during the X-mas period, Personal the rest of the year. I'm not worried it is going to hurt me.

Do you know if it's a single button click to restore to a pro account or do you have to reapply?

[Bold-Arrow]

UPS® is committed to operating globally, except where constrained by government restrictions. The Novel Coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented complexities, which have required us to constantly reassess our operations. Our highest priority is to help ensure the health and safety of our employees, customers, and suppliers.

Suspension of Small Package Service Guarantee

Effective March 26, 2020 and until further notice, we have suspended the UPS Service Guarantee for all shipments to any destination, at all service levels. As the effects of the Coronavirus impact our infrastructure, we will continue to seek guidance from local and national government entities regarding applicable regulations. Please continue to visit ups.com’s Coronavirus web page 12 for the most up-to-date information regarding the impact of Coronavirus on UPS Small Package services. The UPS Service Guarantee is subject to change. For further details, see the UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions of Service 4.

Prior to shipping Small Package , please check to see if your recipient’s location is open, since business hours may have changed due to local restrictions. If the location is closed, we will hold your Small Package shipment and attempt to complete the delivery at a later date if the receiving location has indicated to UPS that it will reopen within 9 days. However, if the location is closed indefinitely, UPS will return the package to the sender.

For your convenience with Small Package services , The UPS Store® and UPS Access Point® locations can provide access to your vital deliveries. Also, you can sign up for free UPS My Choice® service which enables you to provide more specific delivery instructions such as where to leave deliveries, or redirect deliveries to another location, and also provides you with the ability to receive delivery notifications.

Suspension of UPS Freight® Service Guarantee

In addition, effective March 27, 2020 and until further notice, UPS Freight’s Service Guarantee for all Less Than Truckload services from and to all locations is suspended, with the exception of UPS Freight Urgent Services. Please continue to visit the UPS Freight website 4 for the most up-to-date information regarding the impact of Coronavirus on UPS Freight services. Service guarantees are subject to change. For further details, see the UPS Freight LTL Rules Tariff.

Suspension of North American Air Freight Service Guarantee

Finally, effective March 25, 2020, and until further notice, the UPS Service Guarantee is suspended for all North American Air Freight services. Please continue to visit the UPS Supply Chain Solutions® website for the most up-to-date information regarding the impact of Coronavirus on UPS Air Freight services. Service guarantees are subject to change. For further details, see the UPS Air Freight Terms and Conditions of Contract.

[asharerin]

Yesterday Amazon changed the buy box algorithm to give preference to FBM over FBA items that have a 30 day delivery window. The shorter time frame FBA ASINs still win over FBM. Plan accordingly.

[DadsAFOL]

12 hours ago, asharerin said:

Yesterday Amazon changed the buy box algorithm to give preference to FBM over FBA items that have a 30 day delivery window. The shorter time frame FBA ASINs still win over FBM. Plan accordingly.

I'm SFP/FBM and there has definitely been an increase in sales last couple of days.

[gmpirate]

I've definitely seen a bump in sales although I'm all FBA.  They only thing keeping me from more sales is Amazon constantly moving my inventory to reserved.

[Bold-Arrow]

Hello from Fulfillment by Amazon,

COVID-19 has impacted millions of people and businesses around the world, and we thank you for your patience as we have focused our efforts on delivering the highest priority items to customers.  To support you and your fellow sellers during these difficult times, we will waive two weeks of storage fees in March for products stored in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Canada. This is in addition to the previously announced waiver of the April 15 long-term storage fees. You can learn more on this Help page. We hope you, your family, and your employees are safe and healthy.

Thank you for participating in FBA. The Fulfillment by Amazon team