Selling Lego on Amazon.com

[waxwing]

48 minutes ago, ggstoyvault said:

I have been a seller of Legos on Amazon for years. I think there has been a drastic change in game play recently due to a few factors such as the "algo" amazon price bots. Along with that roi is getting lower and lower. Do we think selling vintage collectible legos on amazon is coming to an end?

I had almost 400 listings tagged last night out of 700 something.  They are saying I have 30 days to sell off inventory.  To me that's a pretty good sign that it's over.  I'm definitely not buying any more stock and am not excited about trying to move to ebay.  This has become more than half my income.  Time to refind my hustle and come up with a plan B,C, and D-M.  I'm not going to panic.  People will still want retired legos.  It just won't be as easy now.  As much as amazon blows the platform is very easy to list and sell on.

[smittypop2]

3 minutes ago, waxwing said:

I had almost 400 listings tagged last night out of 700 something.  They are saying I have 30 days to sell off inventory.  To me that's a pretty good sign that it's over.  I'm definitely not buying any more stock and am not excited about trying to move to ebay.  This has become more than half my income.  Time to refind my hustle and come up with a plan B,C, and D-M.  I'm not going to panic.  People will still want retired legos.  It just won't be as easy now.  As much as amazon blows the platform is very easy to list and sell on.

If amazon selling goes away for legos or other collectibles it WILL crash the market. They have removed so many older toys over the last few years and those markets are dead or soft. Too many are on ebay and the volume isn't there. This trickles down to collectibles shows, shops, private and online sellers, etc. I have seen this take place first hand and can promise you it isn't good. All we can ever hope is that something else rises up one day with volume or ease similar to Amazon and without all the restrictions. Does it seem likely at this time? No, but you have to root for it.

[Bricklectic]

This first wave is far from comprehensive. 

Ostensibly, any set listing not created by amazon should have been targeted. That includes every single GWP, exclusives, and secondary listings.

That is far from the case. Most of these listing have not been impacted as of now.

Hopefully, the bots are done for now. If every listing of the above is nerfed, it'll be really bad.

Silver lining is they are allowing 30 days and not impacting account health despite the "violations"

Walmart is about to become really busy...

Edited Thursday at 03:45 PM by Bricklectic

[Darth_Raichu]

Ironically, the Seller Poll from a few days ago was something to the effect of: "My listings can disappear without warning"  (agree, disagree, etc)

[chaozz]

Twitter reply

Thanks for sharing the information. As per the notification, it might be the brand isn't offering them anymore and hence to ensure there is no room for fake listing being created the team is taking such action! Can you let us know if you've reached out to the Account Health Support to clarify on the reason and steps further?

I bitched and got another reply

 

 

We get you, however we're unable to alter the policy as it is not specifically for this brand but keeping in mind of those listings which the brand discontinues. Please follow the guidance received from the team and for further assistance you can work with Account Health Support team.

 

Going to appeal one of them today..

Edited Thursday at 04:49 PM by chaozz

[vasp]

2 hours ago, chaozz said:

Twitter reply

Thanks for sharing the information. As per the notification, it might be the brand isn't offering them anymore and hence to ensure there is no room for fake listing being created the team is taking such action! Can you let us know if you've reached out to the Account Health Support to clarify on the reason and steps further?

I bitched and got another reply

 

 

We get you, however we're unable to alter the policy as it is not specifically for this brand but keeping in mind of those listings which the brand discontinues. Please follow the guidance received from the team and for further assistance you can work with Account Health Support team.

 

Going to appeal one of them today..

What evidence are you planning on providing to appeal?

[Mark Twain]

I feel for you guys. I lost access to listing Lego in December because my volume was low. No appeal has worked—there’s not even a way to reapply for the Brand even though I was ungated in 2021. I’d have to grind my way back selling other crap just to be where y’all are now.

Can’t wait for prices to plunge even further on Bricklink and EBay.

I’d list my remaining sets here to see if there was interest in buying them but I doubt that’s going to be a realistic pathway for any of us now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pharmjod]

21 minutes ago, Mark Twain said:

I feel for you guys. I lost access to listing Lego in December because my volume was low. No appeal has worked—there’s not even a way to reapply for the Brand even though I was ungated in 2021. I’d have to grind my way back selling other crap just to be where y’all are now.

Can’t wait for prices to plunge even further on Bricklink and EBay.

I’d list my remaining sets here to see if there was interest in buying them but I doubt that’s going to be a realistic pathway for any of us now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Out of curiosity,  what was your volume? You can dm me if you dont want to post here. 

[Mark Twain]

Out of curiosity,  what was your volume? You can dm me if you dont want to post here. 

For 24’ maybe 70 sets total. 22’ to 23’ was closer to 400 each year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kinchan]

i was @ $150k sales with over 2000+ sales per year in the past still got kicked out last year. 

[chaozz]

3 hours ago, vasp said:

What evidence are you planning on providing to appeal?

Invoices 

59 minutes ago, kinchan said:

i was @ $150k sales with over 2000+ sales per year in the past still got kicked out last year. 

was that just lego or random items?

[Tonka858]

Some listings are coming back, I think maybe euro sellers who can all buy direct are uploading invoices, 

[tk79]

25 minutes ago, Tonka858 said:

Some listings are coming back, I think maybe euro sellers who can all buy direct are uploading invoices, 

[kinchan]

13 hours ago, chaozz said:

was that just lego or random items?

Yup, all Lego. 

[justgod]

Dumb question (maybe): Is there a way to know if an ASIN was originally created by Amazon? I tried searching but can't find any info. 90% of my overall sales are FBA. I don't want to send inventory only for them to say in a month or two that the listing has been pulled.

Edit: Does it even matter if Amazon created the original ASIN? Based on their ASIN Creation Policy, does this mean any set that has been retired will eventually no longer be available?

Product Availability:

The product should be offered by authorized sellers, available in other retail stores, or sold directly by the brand owner through their DTC (Direct to Consumer) website.

Edited 19 hours ago by justgod

[Bricklectic]

37 minutes ago, justgod said:

Dumb question (maybe): Is there a way to know if an ASIN was originally created by Amazon? I tried searching but can't find any info. 90% of my overall sales are FBA. I don't want to send inventory only for them to say in a month or two that the listing has been pulled.

Edit: Does it even matter if Amazon created the original ASIN? Based on their ASIN Creation Policy, does this mean any set that has been retired will eventually no longer be available?

Product Availability:

The product should be offered by authorized sellers, available in other retail stores, or sold directly by the brand owner through their DTC (Direct to Consumer) website.

not sure if theres an easy way but you can put the URL into camelcamel and see when it first started tracking. IF its from release of set, likely its amazon. IF later probably a scummy reseller created listing. 

gwps are all not from amazon. 

exclusives pretty much are all not from amazon

[Darth_Raichu]

On the lighter (or more concerning) side of Amazon, here are some "helpful tips" to combat buyer frauds from a MOD on Amazon forum:

Quote

Dealing with fraudulent buyer activity is an ongoing challenge that can significantly impact your business. With Prime Day now behind us, it's the perfect time to review strategies for detecting and addressing buyer fraud.

You may have read A Seller’s Guide to Handling ‘Item Not Received’ Claims a few weeks ago. In this post, we'll dive deeper into the steps you can take to protect your inventory and business against abuse. From reporting to protections, we'll cover the key tactics for combating buyer fraud. Let's get started.

First line of defense: When a customer places an order in the Amazon store, Amazon will verify the order and validate the buyer’s payment method and other details. If payment authorization does not succeed or in cases of fraud detection, Amazon will cancel the order.

Amazon is responsible for any payment-related fraud chargebacks, such as stolen credit cards or other payment fraud attempts.

Before initiating a return request, customers are not made aware of which items are offered a Returnless Resolution. Only if all eligibility criteria are met, a customer is offered a Returnless Resolution during the return process.

If you suspect fraud or abuse, report it through Amazon's Report Abuse tool. Include relevant order details, product information, and any supporting documentation. Amazon encourages sellers to report abuse or violations of Amazon's policies and applicable law. All reports are thoroughly investigated. Amazon will take any disciplinary actions appropriate.

 

To safeguard against fraud:

• Track your orders
• Save all communication with buyers via Buyer-Seller Messages.
• Use Amazon Buy Shipping "Claims Protected" services
• Consider signature confirmation for high-value items to reduce reported lost orders
• Wait to refund until you receive the item back for orders that weren’t granted a refund at first scan

Defense tips:

• Use the provided shipping address to avoid liability for disputes
• Keep shipping records for at least 6 months
• Photograph any discrepancies where applicable to use as evidence in your report

So many great responses to this post.  Of course this Mod avoided replying to any post that flashed out the numerous flaws in Amazon return system.

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/08f270b4-0ec2-4f15-8a9b-eeeb579f3ed2

[Tonka858]

got this email today from a customer

 

Never received the item. Was going over my old purchases and noticed it

Bitmain Antminer S9 Bitcoin Miner, 0.098 J/GH Power Efficiency, 1…

 

 

Purchase date

Mar 12, 2018 1:26 AM PST 😂

Qty: 1

Id: B01MCZVPFE