Seller Challenges.
Hello all Sellers,
We would love to know what challenges you have faced or are still facing as a seller. Additionally, is there anything you'd like to improve, but don't know how to?
-Winston
Seller Challenges.
Hello all Sellers,
We would love to know what challenges you have faced or are still facing as a seller. Additionally, is there anything you'd like to improve, but don't know how to?
-Winston
59 replies
Seller_mS10UjVYuuGor
The catalogue is a nightmare. EANs are locked to old listings often with inaccurate information and/or out of date images as packaging has been updated. Why not allow sellers to update inactive ASIN's even if they didn't originally create them, if someone is active on it then fine it can't be changed by someone else. One reason there are so many inactive ASIN's is because people simply can't list genuine stock.
Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh
The only challenges are those that Amazon seem to add.
I mean, you've just added this.
Can't seem to see any reference in image requirements to needing an enivironment and dimensions image. You don't explain what hardline and softline products are and no idea when this is needed by or if it will apply to existing listings.
Winston - amazon isn't the only selling platform - there are jobs that we need to do for our own website, for ebay etc. You will at some point start forcing sellers off amazon as the costs will and in some cases already do outweigh the benefits.
Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh
Oh - and one day I'm sure you'll sort out the mess that is claiming for Lost Returns sent via the Prepaid Return Label system yes?
Seller_zwoYg1nbgxxeu
Amazon just needs to be reachable and CS need to have proper training.
Also would help if Amazon would be acknowledging when they messed up and apologising and LEARNING from the mistakes they make.
For example, beginning of the year - huge PITA with confirmation of establishment for VAT purposes. Hundreds of sellers got affected, it was a total mess with correct documents being constantly rejected with nonsense messages from CS, money withheld overnight indefinitely etc. Amazon never ever apologised or even acknowledged that things were not handled in the best way.
You mods just disappeared from the forum at that time.
I personally went on Talk TV to highlight this issue, and it feels like only efforts of other outspoken sellers who were writing to newspapers, media, MPs etc finally made you move a little quicker.
We, the sellers, shall not go on TV or write to newspapers and MPs to get issues (which were caused by Amazon, not even caused by us) resolved.
Seller_Y9fFZ8oEs17ES
Amazon to abide by their own policies would be a start.
Seller_mxez2L8QjE6WW
If the train-wreck that is Seller Support becomes fit for purpose, many of the minor problems/challenges would be solved. But as it stands - bot-driven, no human involved, driven by badly programmed algorithms - it is totally useless, & a waste of our time to even bother to raise a case. You can't get even a spelling error corrected - in no way can that be considered 'Seller Support'
Seller_ZVAz3d5lZuGid
With you 100% @Cibba . As a fellow bookseller, the inability to make a simple correction is ridiculous - as you say, a spelling mistake, or the old 'unknown binding' and ridiculous publication dates (before they even printed paperback books !), just to get round being able to create duplicate listings, and so on..........
Seller_5VsVlvdiDnITx
Amazon challenges we face as a seller;
- Amazon enabling customer fraud (the most commonly discussed topic on the forums every month for the last 12 months)
- Non existent seller support (repeat template responses, cases open for months, non-sensical replies)
- Amazon price fixing and forcing price limitations on private label products
- Insane storage fees
- Insane MCF fees
- Insane removal fees
- Rug-pulling deal prices last minute or even after deals have started
- The 'report abuse' feature isn't fit for purpose
- FBA returns, the related charges and Amazon's negligence (search for diaper returns)
- The FBA product measurement tool isn't fit for purpose
- The brand registry features are not fit for purpose
- The verification process is not fit for purpose (especially in the UK)
- Bot-scraped product bans (pesticides, incorrect hazmat labels, etc)
To name a few off the top of my head.
Seller_UN9ILzxADiCK3
1. Randomly having to deal with constant deactivation (and the threat of) of perfectly fine branded quality UK and European ASINs due to invented "policy violations" or "Product Compliance Requests", when there are so much chinese junk on sale with no certifications whatsoever.
2. Seller "support" is absolutely not fit for purpose. Any help you might need to solve any issue (big or small) takes about 8-10 contacts, complaints and escalations to get even someone to acknowledge the issue.
3. Adding and managing new or existing products. So many products have wrong or old images, wrong Brand names, wrong EANs and we can't amend them.
4. Amazon refunding customers without any valid reason and it is the seller that have to take the hit. Some customers know this and take advantage of it.
5. Extremely high fees.
Seller_KlbXZHzQGSDZv
Winston-Amazon
@Winston_Amazon
Improve the catalogue and your search function which for a massive company is not fit for purpose.
Example - trying to list an item the other day - item not found - went to make a new listing (my bad should have known better) - got to you need authorisation to list this brand - filled in all the relevant info (the fact that we allready sell 200+ of this manufacturer) - message back from authorisation team saying article was allready on amazon gave url and asin - told to use asin in search for item and "sorry this item is not in our catalouge (even though you can use the url and look at it) - page then says to list as a new item and so the circle begins again.
these are items that we nake £2-3 on and just not worth the aggro to list we have the upc and it should come out when putting that in but the system is just fubard.
Unfortunately I think that the behemoth that is Amazons catalouge has grown beyond needing attention. Just looking at adjusting our 1600 listings and thats an horiific thought.
Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn
The only real challenge I have is Seller Support.
Getting them to understand and act on cases is now almost impossible. Nearly every case I raise now bounces backwards and forwards between me and Seller Support several times.
I get asked for the same information multiple times, I get replies which are not even connected to the query I raised. Often the case gets closed by Amazon as they just give a reason why they can't help me even when they should be able to.
Getting any issue resolved on Amazon is now nearly impossible. I get better support from the Mods on here but it is pot luck as to whether they pick up your case and escalate it.
As someone who has sold on here since 2016 I can tell you that support has got noticeably worse in those 8 years. It has really nose dived though in the last few months, I have more chance of winning the lottery than Amazon resolving a support issue.
Seller_ZVAz3d5lZuGid
@Winston_Amazon - I bet you are wishing you had never asked this question !!!!
