Amazon and mental health
An open letter to Amazon.
Dear Amazon I have always been mentally very strong and have been a successful seller on your site from 2008 til present.
from 2008 to the start of 2017 this site was superb in every way easy to use great customer service and was very fair to sellers. During this time I helped over 200 companies set up on Amazon.
Now it is a very mentally challenging site where sellers are 100% to blame for every problem no fairness no seller support almost impossible to keep your sites in compliance with never ending red tape products suppressed no tools to be able to fix the suppression no seller support that can read or speak English, one dept telling you to do “ABC” you try and do that and another dept says you cannot do “ABC” as it conflicts with “XYZ”
I am not afraid to admit that you have mentally broken me down I am filled with anxiety when I see an e-mail from Amazon my first thoughts is what I have I done wrong now? what items have they said are now against their policy? and have been removed or suppressed (usually caused by Amazon locking in incorrect info) when I log into your site all I can do is print out orders if I try to list or fix one of the many thousand of products that now need fixed my mind goes blank and I fill with anxiety and try to get the printing done quickly so I can log out again if I stay on the page I am left wondering what it is that I am doing on the site what did I come on to do? and end up doing nothing. I am that broken that even simple tasks like putting in restock numbers has become so difficult for me to do due to the mental block I face when I log into your site.
I am so thankful that this block does not effect me on any other sales channels or private life where I have been working and playing as normal.
I do not expect Amazon to address anything I have said above but if another seller reads this and they are going through a similar train of thought and if this helps them in any way the above will not have been a waste of time.
Keep safe and well folks.
135 replies
Seller_ejwc84JNL5Uk6
Don’t let the bu…ers get you down too much- we can all empathise with you. Wine helps…sometimes!
Best wishes to you.
Seller_QVpjrN1BsybDT
It would be nice if Jessica could bring messages like this to the notice of Amazon -( rather than spend her time closing duplicate threads.)
There are so many points in this message that have been brought up time after time by different sellers you would have thought that Amazon sooner or later would have to do something.
An excellent post
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
I am sure you are not alone, in fact I know you are not, and there will be many sellers feeling as though they are on the brink, and well done for speaking out.
This was a great site, but over the past few years the constant changes, new policies, new metrics to monitor us, and overly complex things have just worn many down to rock-bottom.
Seller_lgtLWkBHXkTlR
superb post - what we are all thinking
you know amazon will do nothing about it though and that is very sad
@jessica are you proud of your companys’ attitude ?
Seller_AZX1paZWSlmiH
Amazon in 2008 was great, you wanted customer service you got it usually someone from the USA , who could really help, unfair feedback you could get removed , A-Z you had a common sense approach unlike now its definatly Russian roulette .
There are too many metrics on Amazon set to the top bar to try and achieve, they do encourage scammers in their quest to be so customer friendly, yet seller oppressive.
I don’t enjoy trading on Amazon now, the calls you get at weekends regarding policy violations or something always ending regardless in an action plan, the inability of customer service to understand any point of view apart from their script, the ridiculous replies you get from them after requesting help.
You could be selling something and its blocked suddenly, have a quick look on the site and Amazon prime will be selling it, except now their listing will have no option to add your offer , they may block a listing ask for invoices etc you supply them with the information , in a few weeks Amazon now having got your source start selling your best seller .
Amazon has changed over the years and not for the better, there must be thousands of sellers that dread the Amazon mornings emails after their bots have been scanning all night looking for problems that are not there
Seller_6lIlJpePehe65
Yes agree 100%. Amazon is now a very depressing place.
Seller_MKi6wqe68YZuu
Other selling platforms are available.
Seller_16EevDf4Axaui
Whilst I can sympathise and empathise with the OP’s postings, as many of us sellers have been in the same boat, it’s a bit like putting all your money in a slot machine and expecting a pay out because you had one before, the reality is things change, times move, and if we don’t move with them it can become an issue.
Blaming Amazon for your troubles is partly justified because they have changed many things and made it virtually impossible for many of us sellers to keep a finger on the pulse, and us personally, we’ve literally gone to zero sales. I too, blame Amazon in part, and I too began to dread the emails coming through, but I decided some time ago that it just wasn’t worth it, so my solution was simply to concentrate on other selling avenues that were still bringing in revenue and weren’t as problematic as Amazon, one of which was our own site. Many sellers here are selling generic items, of which there are hundreds or thousands of other sellers doing the same, and selling the same, so it’s really no surprise that competition will at some point overtake you.
For us, we’re all handmade, yet we’re still seeing a massive decline in sales on this platform but instead of stressing about it we sought other avenues, that’s what business is all about, keeping the momentum going, seeking other opportunities, making decisions based on what we expect to happen rather than waiting for the hammer to fall and then blaming Amazon for our misfortunes. I understand they have made it difficult, but just like everything else in life, it’s your destiny, your choice, your business, and your move, don’t stick with something that is making you ill, change it, and if you don’t feel you have it in you to do that, it’s an unfortunate realisation that you might just not be cut out for business.
Many many many businesses go out of business in the first few years because of challenges like this, many businesses loose everything because of challenges like this, and many people regret having started and invested in a business because of challenges like this, but at the end of the day it’s your call, it’s your responsibility and your problem, harsh as that may sound, it’s the truth, nobody else will care about you or your business, it’s your call at the end of the day and if it’s not working out, or particularly in your case if your health is suffering, it’s time to either call it a day and seek other avenues like we did, or come to the realisation that self employment or running a business just isn’t for you, it might be more cost effective and healthy to seek employment.
End of the day, your health is irreplaceable, NEVER let anyone or anything affect that negatively, and when it is you need to make the necessary changes to fix it, only YOU are able to do that.
Seller_Xo4Z606J15V4I
It’s a very negative platform. I do the minimum I need to on here, print off orders and mark as dispatched etc. Thankfully, I never had Amazon as my main source of revenue for my business and I don’t think it ever could be as its soo expensive and depressing. I also fear every email I receive from Amazon. I fear logging on to my dashboard to see yet another return which I am automatically having to pay the return label for, even though the return is just because the customer changed their mind, or picked the wrong size, or they claim the description wasn’t accurate!!. I hate how I have to pay to be seen on this platform and at the end I am left jumping through hoops and playing a game of “The Floor is Lava”
It’s extremely important to protect your mental health. NOTHING should impact that and I mean NOTHING! Put holiday mode on and take a break for a few days, a week or longer. Work on more happy and positive things.
