Seller Challenges
Hello Forums Community,
We would like to understand what challenges you have faced or continue to experience as a Seller.
Is there anything that you consider should be a priority to improve your experience.
Looking forward to hearing from everyone who wants to contribute.
Roberto
146 replies
Seller_LTGJyCqEDySii
1) As a seller of used books for many years, Amazon simply doesn't care about our business. They have lost (or inventory stolen) and I have been told that they won't look for it without an invoice. Used items don't have invoices. If Amazon doesn't want used items, why not just allow new listings only on all products?
2) Support is a joke. I get form responses and rarely do I get an actual answer to the questions that I ask. The other day I started a chat in hopes of having an interaction. The person entered the chat and didn't say anything, even after I sent a couple of messages. After 10 minutes, I gave up.
3) "General Adjustment" is an unfair practice. I asked what it was, and I couldn't get an answer. Why not make it more descriptive? The lack of transparency is disturbing.
4) When using FBA, if the shipment is late, Amazon refunds the buyer and then the seller (me in this case) has to wait a foolish amount of time to actually get paid, when it wasn't our fault.
5) Buyers take advantage of Amazon's more-than-liberal return policy to use our bookstore as a library/movie rental store. They use the items, hold them for as long as they can, and then return them claiming that they were defective when they weren't.
I think the most recent lack of willingness to even look for a used item, even though it was actually received and sat in a warehouse for 10 days (see point one) is probably the last straw for me. I just celebrated 25 years of business, almost all of which have been with Amazon. It is clear that Amazon doesn't want sellers like us anymore, so we will find other places that might care for us more. And I think that's the overall problem - Amazon has gotten so big, it just doesn't care.
Seller_IhPj9y9nSkKJV
Too late. Amazon managed to screw US based sellers with cheap junk from China, and the entire seller platform as well as seller "support" is complete garbage at this point. I could write a book, but I already waste too much time over the years.
The biggest problem? That this request for feedback is as useless as the feedback buttons on the website. NOTHING gets improved, only complicated.
We are about to dump this platform, and as a brand, we will order our dealers to remove any of our products on Amazon as well. Meanwhile we will invest all resources into our own online shop and new platforms.
Its time to send a message. Here it is.
Seller_TTc5Vo48AaOHg
It has been over a year now since I have listed any new products on Amazon, begun any ad campaigns, created any new EBC, added video, ran any experiments, tried any of the suggestions from Brands, or done anything to move my business on Amazon forward. Here are the basic reasons for that:
1. My time is consumed with the daily navigation of the maze, i.e., returns, bogus INR claims, and the current need to micro-manage every shipment to protect metrics instead of providing the best service. I constantly check messages, metrics, and announcements with dread.
2. The constant anxiety and fear of harsh consequences for things we cannot control, such as buyers' subjective and often factually inaccurate opinions, the lack of protection from outright scammers and thieves, the devious and destructive actions of unethical competitors, and the failures of carriers, drains away energy, motivation, ambition, and creativity.
3. The errors and problems created by the bots and the lack of an easy and efficient path to resolve even the most simple issues. This is especially true with misidentifying products as 'restricted' when they are not and the potential associated damage to one's Account Health that can result.
4. I am a rule follower with a low tolerance for risk. So, when I began selling on Amazon 15 years ago, I learned and followed the rules. I run my business ethically, provide prompt, friendly, and professional customer service, and stay squarely in line with policy.
I never feared being suddenly suspended or encountering any problem or inadvertent mistake that would be catastrophic. It's not that way now. Amazon has become an extremely hostile work environment. We now have to view every interaction with Amazon buyers, the carriers, and the venue itself with suspicion, unease, fear, and distrust, and that kind of climate is not conducive to making plans, setting goals, and devoting time and resources, which have become scarce, to try and expand and move onwards and upwards. Everything has become about just surviving.
Em
Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX
BUYER RETURN FRAUD!
To which Amazon has yet publicly address with buyers.
Possibly @Roberto_Amazoncan get Amazon to attach a message to all buyers warning them of the consequences stated at the Amazon Accelerate Conference.
Seller_3qllv6SY8mdjV
2 Month receive times at your warehouses are totally unacceptable. Sellers cannot be expected to keep reasonable inventory levels when shipments might be received a week later or over 2 months later. ABQ2 and PSC2 are the main offenders right now, and something needs to be immediately done to re-route shipments to other warehouses if these ones are full.
Seller_IMsC7YIe1vuDn
Please make it one click to compare prices with other sellers on the manage inventory page.
As a used book seller, repricing for is necessary on a regular basis. And with thousands of listings, the new format makes it nearly impossible. Please bring back the one click format. PLEASE, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE!!!!!
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY
FBA expense per unit, not per order which eliminates any advantage to offering multi unit discounts for FBA offerings.
This also is a clear conflict of interest with serious ethical implications as it is known that the expense for fulfilling a unit goes down exponentially when there are multiple units in an order.
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY
Amazon sellers cannot set there own price independant of there competition due to Amazon Fair Price Policies.
This is known as "price fixing" and is illegal.
Seller_znqw4n02gkaBY
It's extremely frustrating when buyers send over addresses that are not correct. When you message them about it, the majority never get back to you. Because Amazon requires to ship in a certain time, we end up sending packages out that we know we will be getting back.
Seller_6JI9Tvk6B4iD4
I have been a used and rare dealer of books on Amazon since 2001. I think that I know best what the value, and the prices, should be on my books. You tell me my prices are too high? Prove it. I have one rare book - now moved to another site - that I first had priced at $35. First you told me it was priced too low, so I raised it to $60 to match the other copy. Then you told me that it was priced too high - but when I lowered it, I find that the only other seller with a copy of this book has removed their copy as well. So now nobody has this rare book for sale on Amazon, when I know that I have previously sold at least one copy here in the last 18 months. Your loss - I have already sold another copy of the title on that other site.
