Which order fulfillment method is better for your business? FBA or FBM?
Hello Community 👋
I've seen divided opinions about which order management and shipping method is most suitable for your business. The two main methods are:
- FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon): Amazon handles the storage, packaging, and shipping of your products, as well as customer service and returns.
- FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant): Sellers manage their entire logistics process, from storage to shipping to the end customer, as well as customer service and returns.
I understand that choosing between these methods depends on many factors, and ultimately, each seller must evaluate the decision for themselves.
Therefore, I wanted to open this debate and hear your different opinions:
- Which method works better for you and why?
- What aspects should a new seller consider when choosing the most appropriate management method?
- Should one change methods after some time?
Open debate, I would love to hear your different points of view on this topic. Share them in the comments!
Nano
0 replies
Seller_D7ZANADWByUwL
Currently FBA does not work. Period. The delays and lost/damaged products are almost hard to comprehend if any kind of due diligence, oversight or follow up was in place. Any other shipping company would not be in business if they operated like FBA does. It has failed and both the sellers, customers and Amazon lose because of it.
Can Prime status be achieved through FBM? There is absolutely no way being more actively involved in the shipping and overall client experience can be more time consuming and stressful than staying on FBA.
Seller_JDpd9Dk8gi5qG
Lost inventory and lack of accountability for it is insane. The reimbursement policy changes mean that FBA for many products is just impossible to justify. If I have two locations and I ship inventory between them, I don't expect to lose ~15% of my units, but over the last 3 years, we lose about that much in inbound. Reimbursement made the headache into just a hassle, but without the "you break it, you buy it" reimbursement policy, and now, with the cost based reimbursement, it just can't make sense for most products.
Seller_YFdOc1RQ8qe0d
100.00 and less in sale price = FBA
Above that FBM . However hard to compete with FBM against prime sellers especially Amazon is on the listing as they never share the buybox unless you completely destroy the price. You end up holding a lot of inventory waiting to sell . Upside returns are much better as well avoiding more customer scams and also charging restocking fees . The being said a mix of both depending on the skus you have
Seller_mj2QPx5iDaBTF
FBM all the way.Let me share one of my worst experiences a coupe years ago…When I was fulfilling orders through FBM, my return rate was less than 5%, even when I was shipping to Amazon customers as a third-party seller.After a year or two, I decided to try FBA—thinking it would save time and boost sales. But to my surprise, the return rate skyrocketed to over 50-70% and stayed that high for a few months. It made no sense at all.Eventually, I requested Amazon to return the items customers had sent back, and I was completely shocked—none of the returned products were actually from my shop. They were all used or completely different items.It turns out, some buyers were swapping out the new product with an old one, sealing the box, and then filing a return with claims like "wrong item sent" or "not as described."Honestly... I was speechless.
FBM seller for years. Nowadays, the situation even worst. Buyers thought Amazon sent the products to them.
1. Upon singed the package, buyers claimed NOT RECEIVED. This is the most often happening cases.
2. Not to pick up the item at the shipping carrier location. Wait until over the delivery schedule. Then go pick up, signed the package. Then claimed A-to-Z , saying package not arrived. A-to-Z granted because it shows "Late" ?? delivery.
3. Wait till Amazon cleared all the shipping info, then request the chargeback.
..........
