DadsAFOL Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Amazon will now count FBM purchases towards free shipping thresholds. Will be interesting to see if this drives any increase in sales. Hello from Amazon. Offering free shipping just got better. Starting January 27, 2015, all seller-fulfilled items with free shipping are now eligible to contribute to Amazon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie77 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 In 2014 I sold 43 sets on Amazon. I had one return after the buyer assembled it, and threw it back in the box and claimed it was damaged. I had a second sale where the buyer tried to use feedback to extort a partial refund. Reported to Amazon and feedback was not counted against me but still displays with a line through it. I sold 180 items not Lego related and not one return. Selling Legos on Amazon scares me, but until I lose money I will keep doing it. Total sales $2620.06 Amazon Fees $661.73 Merchandise cost $1184.30 Profit $831.38 I do this more as a hobby and to be able to offset the cost of purchasing Legos for my kids so there are all sort of misc expenses I didn't figure in. great margin !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie77 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Welcome me to the Amazon club. Opened my seller account yesterday and posted a few items - so now I can say I've been selling on Amzn since 2014 I set my prices at the low end, just 'cause I'm eager to get my first sales... I understand the fee structure, payments, etc, in theory, but want to see how it really works in practice. Got my first 2 sales today, and yowzah ... I am learning about fees (and shipping)! Anyway, wish me luck... and if anyone wants to share their experience with a noob, send me a PM... I'd be glad to hear anything you have to say. watch out playing that lowest price game. make sure that you are accounting for shipping costs which tends to be more, actually lot more than what you may realize. only way to learn is by getting your feet so good luck. it actually hits your hard if you have a small margin on a set that's over 1lb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agsimpson13 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 What I like about Amazon is that, from my experience, I can tend to sell an item for a higher price than on Ebay. My thought has been that Amazon buyers are a different demographic than many Ebay buyers...have more money, and do not use Ebay. Of course this is not absolute. People who buy on Amazon are used to those nice Amazon boxes so I am extra deligent about packaging. Great opportunity to reuse Amazon boxes!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenxxx Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Update: this month I sold 9 items (most of what I put up for sale) and - playing the low price game - averaged about 12% net profit. Certainly not what I'm hoping for out of Amazon, but I'm just trying to get started... see how things work, you know. One disappointment: I got 1 (5 star) feedback from those 9 sales. All were delivered within 5 business days (despite Amazon's estimated delivery of "9 to 28 days"), all were well packaged, most were sent with a personal, handwritten note asking to please report any concerns, and please "help out a new seller with your honest feedback". Most got follow-up emails with a similar message. ... but still just 1 feedback. Now I look a 3Ps with 200 or 2000 feedback in a whole new light. They've obviously sold tons of stuff to get that feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirate Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Per Amazon policy, you are required to use brand new shipping boxes and packing materials. No used or recycled boxes. This ain't ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redghostx Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 (edited) Update: this month I sold 9 items (most of what I put up for sale) and - playing the low price game - averaged about 12% net profit. Certainly not what I'm hoping for out of Amazon, but I'm just trying to get started... see how things work, you know. One disappointment: I got 1 (5 star) feedback from those 9 sales. All were delivered within 5 business days (despite Amazon's estimated delivery of "9 to 28 days"), all were well packaged, most were sent with a personal, handwritten note asking to please report any concerns, and please "help out a new seller with your honest feedback". Most got follow-up emails with a similar message. ... but still just 1 feedback. Now I look a 3Ps with 200 or 2000 feedback in a whole new light. They've obviously sold tons of stuff to get that feedback. Count me as a buyer who doesn't usually leave feedback on Amazon. I only leave feedback for self fulfilling 3PS but that is rare as almost everything I buy is from Amazon or FBA and, from my perspective, that is the same as buying from Macy's (example store) and I wouldn't leave feedback there either. EBay is a different discussion. Ex Astris, Scientia. Edited January 27, 2015 by redghostx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowmanOlaf Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Update: this month I sold 9 items (most of what I put up for sale) and - playing the low price game - averaged about 12% net profit. Certainly not what I'm hoping for out of Amazon, but I'm just trying to get started... see how things work, you know. One disappointment: I got 1 (5 star) feedback from those 9 sales. All were delivered within 5 business days (despite Amazon's estimated delivery of "9 to 28 days"), all were well packaged, most were sent with a personal, handwritten note asking to please report any concerns, and please "help out a new seller with your honest feedback". Most got follow-up emails with a similar message. ... but still just 1 feedback. Now I look a 3Ps with 200 or 2000 feedback in a whole new light. They've obviously sold tons of stuff to get that feedback. Haha if you are disappointed with 1 feedback in 9 orders, prepare yourself for further disappointment. I have 892 feedbacks in 33,780 orders. In other words, 2.6% of my orders result in feedback. Or 1 in every 38 orders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcandre Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Same for me. 125 orders over the holiday (my first on amz), 6 total feedback. All five star thankfully. 3 of them had contacted me before the sale requesting fast shipping. I did not know about the new box only policy. I used almost all recycled boxes. Not been an issue yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbacunn Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Same for me. 125 orders over the holiday (my first on amz), 6 total feedback. All five star thankfully. 3 of them had contacted me before the sale requesting fast shipping. I did not know about the new box only policy. I used almost all recycled boxes. Not been an issue yet. I had no clue about the box policy. I don't sell a lot on Amazon right now but I use all reused boxes. I just shipped a item today that had Walmart tape all over it. Oops! Seriously though, how would Amazon ever know what kind of boxes we were using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redcell Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 In 2014 I sold 43 sets on Amazon. I had one return after the buyer assembled it, and threw it back in the box and claimed it was damaged. I had a second sale where the buyer tried to use feedback to extort a partial refund. Reported to Amazon and feedback was not counted against me but still displays with a line through it. I sold 180 items not Lego related and not one return. Selling Legos on Amazon scares me, but until I lose money I will keep doing it. Total sales $2620.06 Amazon Fees $661.73 Merchandise cost $1184.30 Profit $831.38 I do this more as a hobby and to be able to offset the cost of purchasing Legos for my kids so there are all sort of misc expenses I didn't figure in. Selling on Amazon is not for the fainthearted...in order to sell on Amazon, you have to be able to swallow a fair amount of adversity that you don't have to deal with on other sites. The thing that I hate the most is when Amazon determines that a set you sent in for FBA is not in good enough condition to sell. When you ask for it back, they don't send you back the exact set that you sent them, but, rather, simply send back A set that they couldn't fulfill. I had one set that I sent it this year brand new in the box and that Amazon determined to be not fulfillable. When I got the product back, it had no box and was missing pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrickU Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 In 2014 I sold 43 sets on Amazon. I had one return after the buyer assembled it, and threw it back in the box and claimed it was damaged. I had a second sale where the buyer tried to use feedback to extort a partial refund. Reported to Amazon and feedback was not counted against me but still displays with a line through it. I sold 180 items not Lego related and not one return. Selling Legos on Amazon scares me, but until I lose money I will keep doing it. Total sales $2620.06 Amazon Fees $661.73 Merchandise cost $1184.30 Profit $831.38 I do this more as a hobby and to be able to offset the cost of purchasing Legos for my kids so there are all sort of misc expenses I didn't figure in. Is this FBA or selling everything yourself? Looks like a similar price to Ebay if selling yourself with all fees/shipping/paypal/etc included(25%). Is FBA around 35%? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Per Amazon policy, you are required to use brand new shipping boxes and packing materials. No used or recycled boxes. This ain't ebay. Wow! I did not know that. That's a bit ridicules. I would understand some standards for presentation, but all new that's excessive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grackleflint Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Selling on Amazon is not for the fainthearted...in order to sell on Amazon, you have to be able to swallow a fair amount of adversity that you don't have to deal with on other sites. The thing that I hate the most is when Amazon determines that a set you sent in for FBA is not in good enough condition to sell. When you ask for it back, they don't send you back the exact set that you sent them, but, rather, simply send back A set that they couldn't fulfill. I had one set that I sent it this year brand new in the box and that Amazon determined to be not fulfillable. When I got the product back, it had no box and was missing pieces. Did you do commingled inventory? It would seem that this should not happen if you don't do commingled inventory because everything you send in has its own unique bar code. I have a set that was returned and Amazon declared it "defective" for some reason. I have seen "customer damaged" so I'm curious what is their definition of "defective" for a LEGO set. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenxxx Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Lots of sellers use both Amazon and ebay (as well as Brick Classifieds - woot woot! - craigslist and whatever else). How do you determine which marketplace would be best for an item? ... or do you simply list it everywhere? In particular, I'm wondering what products / types of products do you prefer to sell on Amazon? I'm guessing hot Christmas items like Advent Calendars sell faster and at a higher profit on Amazon, and maybe other current major sellers (and retiring) like Sopwith Camel, R2D2, Friends Sunshine Harvest, Batcave, Tower of Orthanc, etc? I'm assuming items like these in higher demand might have more customers that "buy only on Amazon" and are less price sensitive? Is that fair to say? I'm guessing more exotic items like a Cafe Corner, or a Sith Nightspeeder, or a series 5 Minifig might do better on ebay - or Brick Classifieds - because buyers for those items might be more used to "searching" to find what they want. Correct? Dead wrong? Please tell me. Do you Amazon sellers make choices like these? Or do you put everything you've got on Amazon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DadsAFOL Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 There are no listing fees on Amazon, so the more eyes on your products, the better. I'm always amazed by what will sell on Amazon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theplasticmanor Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I have a question from some of you experienced Amazon sellers So here is what happened and I would like some help to know if this is correct 1. buyer ordered an Kings Castle 70404 on 1/8/2015 2. item shipped with tracking on 1/9/2015 3. USPS lugged the item around the country for 3 straight weeks without delivering (for no reason) 4. buyer msged me and told me they wanted a refund or the package delivered 5. I called USPS and filed investigation and they said they would get back to me in a couple days 6. buyer demanded refund and I asked them to wait until USPS got back to me 7. Buyer initiated A-Z Claim on 2/3/2015 8. I responded to claim and explained the situation to AMZN and then they immediately granted a full refund 9. package was delivered in good order on 2/4/2015 10. woman asked to return the set to me since she had already repurchased the set elsewhere 11. AMZN told her they could not issue a return on the item since she got a refund. they told her she was not obligated to return the set even after receiving a refund. Is there anything I can do with this or am I just screwed cause USPS sent this item all over the country before they delivered it. Here's the tracking # for your viewing pleasure. 9361220111400690712067 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lendrix Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 You need to make arrangements directly with the customer to have her return the set. This might require you to 'go deeper', so to speak, by providing her with return shipping reimbursement and hope she actually returns the item. Go with your gut here - but definitely open a dialogue with her and as if she would please return the set. Per Amazon's help page: My buyer won't return the item they filed a claim for -- what do I do? Buyers are expected to work with you to make return arrangements for merchandise before filing a claim. If the buyer has received an item that is materially different and have not received a response from you with return instructions, he or she may file an A-to-z Guarantee claim for the purchase. Once a customer is reimbursed for an order via the A-to-z Guarantee, Amazon.com does not obligate that customer to return the item they received. However, you are welcome to contact your customer directly to arrange for a return of the item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie77 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I have a question from some of you experienced Amazon sellers So here is what happened and I would like some help to know if this is correct 1. buyer ordered an Kings Castle 70404 on 1/8/2015 2. item shipped with tracking on 1/9/2015 3. USPS lugged the item around the country for 3 straight weeks without delivering (for no reason) 4. buyer msged me and told me they wanted a refund or the package delivered 5. I called USPS and filed investigation and they said they would get back to me in a couple days 6. buyer demanded refund and I asked them to wait until USPS got back to me 7. Buyer initiated A-Z Claim on 2/3/2015 8. I responded to claim and explained the situation to AMZN and then they immediately granted a full refund 9. package was delivered in good order on 2/4/2015 10. woman asked to return the set to me since she had already repurchased the set elsewhere 11. AMZN told her they could not issue a return on the item since she got a refund. they told her she was not obligated to return the set even after receiving a refund. Is there anything I can do with this or am I just screwed cause USPS sent this item all over the country before they delivered it. Here's the tracking # for your viewing pleasure. 9361220111400690712067 * i do not know how you are surviving amazon so far by using parcel select as a shipping method. * this is stardard practice with amazon. * only option you have is "using insurance to cover" provided if you have bought one. remember insuring package is for seller's protection not BUYERS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theplasticmanor Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 * i do not know how you are surviving amazon so far by using parcel select as a shipping method. * this is stardard practice with amazon. * only option you have is "using insurance to cover" provided if you have bought one. remember insuring package is for seller's protection not BUYERS. I very rarely use Parcel Select but I agree this would have been avoided had I spent the extra $4.00 or whatever.... :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykingdomforabrick Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I've shot myself in the foot far too many times in the past shipping without insurance (mostly in my ebay days). Screwed myself over last year with a shipment of 4 high end video cards oversees that were all mangled in transit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justapilgrim Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I have a $100+ set floating around out there somewhere usps is looking for Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Brickpicker mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DadsAFOL Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I just got an email from Amazon offering me a fee discount if I sell my 41006 Bakeries. But only if my price is <$25, so RRP. Current buy box is around $38. So they want to give me a dollar to lose $13 dollars. Riiiight. Anyway, this is the first time I've ever seen an email like this. Is this something new, or does it always happen and get ignored? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickson Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 (edited) So I have a problem. I sold one item through FBA. On friday I sold my first non-FBA for $3000 (my 2nd order). That was really quite stupid of me (excuse below). When that sold, my seller privileges were removed so they could do an account review. So, they may end up banning me. I have no ratings and only 1 sale. But I still need to send him this $3000 shipment. I'm not sure what to do because I have no ratings and feel like the person could easily claim I sent him a fake. Even if I do end up not getting scammed, they hold the funds for 90 days. I looked the buyer up on LinkedIn, he's 23, he was in the boy scouts for 7 years, just got out of the Navy, looking to start a business, doesn't seem like he would need to scam but that's not bullet proof. So I'm thinking I either take the risk sending it in order to hopefully preserve my Amazon account, or I cancel the order, apologize, and hope that doesn't provoke Amazon to ban me. The fees on Amazon really suck but I wanted the convenience of FBA since I'm running out of storage. What would you guys do in my shoes? Longer story: So how this happened was I started to prepare a bunch of things to send to FBA for Christmas. But while I was doing that, I thought why not list them and if they sell then I don't need to send to FBA later. So I began listing products, and found some that weren't on Amazon.ca, only Amazon.com. When I created the listing, it created it on Amazon.com. Which I don't want. So I tried to get around it by creating a new listing, and failed. So I contacted support, and while I was talking to them I forgot to remove the Amazon.com listings. I ended up selling something I shouldn't have. Yah, "guy puts things on Amazon to sell, doesn't expect to sell them, does sell them, tragedy" Edited May 17, 2015 by Brickson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bold-Arrow Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 A velocity review has nothing to do with a ban as long as everything is legit, u will be fine . Amazon want to make sure you are for real and not scamming their buyers .Selling a 3000$ order from the get go isn't the best of moves on Amazon - which U already acknowledged - and it put u under their radar . you can always cancel and take the hit on your metrics . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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