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(53 results)DO NOT USE Amazon Lending and Parafin Cash Advance - Amazon Support unable to resolve banking issues and WITHHOLDING PAYMENTS INDEFINITELY
I have fallen into another massively unsettling situation with Amazon as a Seller. Bear with me while I try to explain this coherently.
This all begins with a good problem - our company is scaling rapidly, and we took advantage of the Parafin Cash Advance and the Amazon Lending Term loan.
All was working well until we had a restriction placed on our business checking account for unrelated reasons, which ultimately caused an Amazon disbursement / regular deposit to be returned. At this point, everything went sideways;
- Amazon unlinked our bank account from Amazon.com and Amazon Pay, but kept our bank account linked to Amazon.ca and Amazon.mx
- In an attempt to reassign the same/only bank account we've ever had associated with the Seller Account, while logged in as the primary and only Seller Central account user, anytime I clicked "manage" or "add a deposit method" I recieved the warning "Forbidden. You do not have the rights to perform this action."
- Amazon Support attempted to blame this issue on 1. not being the primary user and thus not having admin permissions, which I proved to be untrue. 2. needing to simply click "add a new deposit method", which is in theory is a nice option, but it rendered the same error message, but is also not solution because are not seeking to add a new bank but simply assign the bank already associated with the account 3. needing to click the giant "assign" button next to "unassigned marketplaces", like I hadn't already done that daily for weeks.
- After establishing this is not a user error, and escalating through all of my Amazon POCs, numerous Seller Support cases and phone calls, Amazon tells me it's due to a Marcus line of credit. WE NEVER EVEN APPLIED FOR A MARCUS LINE OF CREDIT.
- Then, it was a matter of the Parafin cash advance restricting my abilities to manage banking accounts because Parafin requires verification of our bank account before AMAZON can reestablish my permissions. I proceeded to get all approvals from Parafin in writing (might I add Parafin never struggled to withdraw payments from our bank account, which leads me to assume they never restricted my banking management permissions/abilities). I provide all email communications with Parafin to Amazon stating we're in good standings, that Parafin is using the same account, that Amazon can lift restrictions and then CRICKETS. I have heard nothing for weeks, and only recieve automated responses from Amazon Developer Support team?!?!
- The Amazon Lending term loan ultimately went into default because there was no bank account attached to our Seller Central Amazon.com or Amazon Pay marketplace, which prompted Amazon to pay itself off with our growing Seller Central account balance. It's unclear if Amazon Lending would have placed a restriction on our ability to manage our banking assignments, but now that the loan is paid in full, we'd like to assume we're out from under their thumb!?!
NONETHELESS, we are still getting nowhere. No one can help identify WHY we're not able to reassign the only business bank account we've EVER had associated with Amazon.com and Amazon Pay marketplaces. The bank account that is currently FULLY FUNCTIONING for Amazon.mx and Amazon.ca
All the while, we're watching our Seller Central account balance increase, inventory dwindle, and remain confused as to whether we should even ship more inventory to Amazon because will they ever pay us?
This is impacting our ability to pay suppliers and keep doors open. This entire process is starving our business.
I have spoken to absolutely everyone I can think of - POCs within Amazon, friends and referrals that work at Amazon, numerous tickets, and phone calls. Tagging every possible Amazon Support person that works on Forums here in the hopes they can help.
Again, we're at a loss for what to do and might lose our business.
@Seller_hme3Wbydd1ihr@Seller_q5VULSdzfEHW0@Seller_nS0jcFQNDLG3e @Seller_pAPBCLhysbW5T@Seller_1KYLYkgAlu4xX
Case IDs 15305979301, 15192596741
8-figure account is suddenly under temporary review
We received a message from Amazon today, stating that our account was placed under temporary review, funds are frozen. It says "This review period will provide us time to confirm delivery of your recent seller-fulfilled orders. The review period should not exceed 30 days, but we will inform you if additional time is required for your temporary review". A link to a general information of why this is happening does not help at all - none of the situations listed there can be applied to us.
What is going on? We've been a seller for 15+ years, 8-figure/year revenue, SFP program, using Buy Shipping for just about all orders, all orders have tracking numbers, and just about all delivered within a day or two. Amazon sees that we deliver everything.
We utilize Amazon Lending and Parafin (pitched to us by Amazon), have a ton of bills to pay for inventory, etc. That's not the way to treat your partners, Amazon.
@Seller_RSwABJNHpHnEZ, can you assist with this?
Thanks!
Is Amazon Lending Only Done Through Outside Vendors Now?
Good morning!
Is Amazon still offering loans directly or is everything now through outside sources such as Goldman Sachs or Parafin?
I ask because I normally get refinance invites and I have not received any. I have paid off 65% of this loan on time with growth in sales and inventory size.
Doesn't make sense why we haven't received a refinance invite from Amazon Lending but we still get monthly emails from Parafin and Goldman Sachs.
Please advise.
Loans underwritten by Amazon being discontinued, only using 3rd parties now
As many or most have figured out now, Amazon has made the decision to discontinue direct loans or loans underwritten by them. Here is part of their email to us:
"Our mission at Amazon Lending is to enable you to access working capital to achieve your business goals. Today, we do that by offering loans from both Amazon and from third-party finance providers."
"We regularly review our programs and services and with a growing number of third-party finance providers, we have made the decision to focus on third-party lending products and discontinue term loans underwritten by Amazon. This decision does not affect your current loan ***********. Once your loan matures **/**/****, new loans underwritten by Amazon will no longer be offered."
As a small business we relied on these loans to continue to expand our small business. I found a few post about Amazon lending, but sadly admins have locked some of them down and will not allow responses.
So I had a few questions for the community or anyone who has utilized lending through Amazon:
1) Does the fact that no more loans will be underwritten by Amazon affect you?
2) If you have/had a loan underwritten by Amazon, what was your experience? Would you have recommended their lending to other sellers?
3) Have you tried any 3rd party lenders recommended by Amazon and what was your experience?
Our thoughts:
For us, Amazon gave us a loan based on our sales on their platform. Something local lenders would not give us. For that we are very thankful and it has helped us expand and grow our business. The loans underwritten by Amazon were super easy to understand, we knew how much we were paying and we would recommend to small businesses.
We did try one of their recommended 3rd party lenders, Parafin, but that was a horrible and misleading experience as it was riddled with errors on Parafin's part and a lack of communication after we received the loan. I would strongly not recommend Parafin. Has anyone else used Parafin that would like to share their experience, good or bad?
Amazon Lending and experiance with new offers
Historically we have used a variety of financial tools for growth and managing accounts payable gap with accounts receivable. Amazon lending was my personal favorite as the terms were good and payment systems were quick and accurate. Now with Amazon Lending out of the picture we have offers from Parrafin which has a terrible reputation, terms and payment systems. The other option is SellerFi which is what I am discussing today.
I am not aware of SellerFi's reputation but our offer has competitive terms so I am exploring it. They are not offering an APR but a "fixed fee" which we have done before at 4% and they are offering 3-11% with a 1 year term.
Unlike Amazon Lending when attempting to use Sellerfi I was redirected to there website and had to apply. Several days after submitting the application I was prompted to upload documents like proof of residence, ID, and business incorperation/ownership documents. This is a big departure from previous lending through Amazon. Marcus by Goldman Sachs nor Amazon Lending required an application or documentation as Amazon provided the sellers data. This is much more like a car or home loan with a bank than fin-tech for ecommerce.
So that was 2 weeks ago.....nothing since...
I doubt I will accept any offer they have at this point. This service is not for ecommerce in my opinion. The "fixed rate" can be a problem, but managable if kept low enough. APR is a better system that lowers costs through amoritization. The term is good at 1 year but no other options is limiting. The amount was competitive but limited to the equivelent of 1 months Amazon revenue. The system for applying and payment is very slow.
All things concidered I would not recommend SellerFi.
Parafin - good option for cash advance
Just our two cents re: Parafin, as I've seen some horror stories on here and wanted to offer our own personal rebuttal. We are currently on our 3rd cash advance with Parafin, and so far everything has been smooth sailing. Nothing is really hidden, and if you read what you are getting into, it's all right there. As an example, let's say you get an offer for a 10K cash advance. These usually come with the caveat that you pay an additional $1K (ballpark figure, could be $1.5K) as a service fee, so once you accept, you will get $10K deposited into your bank account quickly (but will have to pay back $11.5K eventually). So, this additional $1.5K seems like a lot, but how else is Parafin supposed to just advance you so much money without some kind of fee/interest? It's all spelled out in the contract you agree to.
How fast you pay back the $11.5K is entirely predicated on your sales. Parafin takes 15% of gross sales each disbursement, until you have paid back the $11.5K in full. If you sell a ton one cycle, you could pay it back quickly and then get offered a new cash advance...if you have several cycles of little to no sales, it will obviously take a longer time. But Parafin isn't taking anything in addition to the $1.5K fee, from my example. They do take 15% of gross sales, not net, so if you're gross sales are $2K one cycle, but your net sales are just $1300, Parafin would take $300 from your bank account that disbursement (15% of 2K)...so, your actual take home that cycle would be $1300-$300= $1K. That may seem like a big chunk, but it's why you got the cash advance to begin with, and the faster you pay it off, the faster you are done owing Parafin anything. Besides, the $700 difference between gross and net sales can be written off when it comes to taxes.
Again, everything is spelled out, so I get it when I see sellers upset with Parafin, but they really aren't taking anything more than what they say they are going to take. I have noticed they will take 15% of gross sales each week (even though my Amazon disbursement schedule is every 2 weeks), but this really doesn't change what they are taking...it just means you need to be aware of what you have in your checking account to make sure you can cover the charge from Parafin each week.
All in all, if you receive a Parafin offer and really need some upfront cash to buy more inventory, etc., I truly believe Parafin is a good way to do it. Some people would argue that the APR is high when considering you are still paying the $1.5K fee even if you pay off the loan in a few months...I get that, but if you are paying off the loan that quickly, that also means your business is going good in my opinion (so we are willing to deal with the higher APR). The APR would be 15% if I took a year to pay off my loan, but then that would mean my sales were likely very low, so that wouldn't be great either. I would rather have a higher APR and pay back the loan fast, because that means my business is thriving.
All funds held in Account level reserve
Can you please help me with an issue I have with the account reserve level? All the funds are held as "Account reserve level", I opened Multiple cases and talked to multiple representatives and still nothing but
Cases#: 16615628241, 16613453671, 16613014291
Beside the funds being held under account level reserve, my debit card was removed from "deposit methods" and I am receiving an error every time I try to add it again, that all appeared after accepting a loan from Parafin. So I am not sure if they are all related.
@Seller_4GjtS9k0cnHHv @Seller_F4AbbFj6ovBk3 @Seller_1KYLYkgAlu4xX @Seller_aEROSwwdnzGiU
Unable to update Parafin bank account
Unable to update Parafin bank account - I connected Parafin and they refusing change the bank account so i can unlock the amazon bank account and change the bank account, anyone here could change the bank account on Parafin ?
Parafin APR after we used chat gpt to give us the real numbers
Here's a reality check for those considering Parafin (the only lending option)
This is our 3rd loan with them. All paid way before the expected pay-off date.
Here’s the breakdown:
Principal (Loan Amount): $5300
Total Paid Back: $6148
Interest Paid: $6148 - $5300 = $848
Loan Term: April 29 to August 29 is 123 days
So, your APR is approximately 47.52%.
Is SellersFi a good option? Tell us you experience, please...
Can anyone who has used SellersFi "Term Loan" tell me about their experience?
I know that Parafin has destroyed the usual dynamics of many businesses because many sellers have shared their experience, so I would like to know in advance how it has gone for you with Sellers Fi...
Thanks!
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