As we move into the new year, I am considering signing up for Selling on Amazon. Does anyone do that? Anyone have an input into the process? Thoughts or feelings on whether this is a good idea?

They've contacted us. There was 2 problems that were the deciding factors not to use them. One they wanted something like 7% of each sale. (insane) Second they required UPC codes or SKU's for each product. Which the majority of the products we sell don't have them. For some this might be ok. For us we just can't do it.

We tried it for 2 months.

We had the same problem with SKUs - we have very few. I spent countless hours trying to match my products with ones already on Amaz*n. Tried to correct weights (it would say it ways 3lbs when it weighs 3 oz., etc.) Maybe 5% of the corrections went through. All the others were rejected.

Also the fees are very high. I think we just barely broke even if you don't count all the wasted hours I put in.

Same here - we explored this option and it was cost prohibitive.


Not only is it cost prohibitive but all the cross promotion and ad serving that happens on Amazon detracts from our presence, if we would even be able to establish one there.

We decided to put the $ toward better promotion of our existing site rather than give a % to an Amazon, Ebay, or what have you. At least this way we're not duplicating our efforts as far as recreating products, skus, etc.

We have been selling on Amazon for years as a Seller Central. Their fees are rediculous but we view it as a means of advertising. We enter all orders on our NetSol store so the Amazon buyers get all the invoices, offers to join the mailing list etc directly from our website. We probably break even on our sales through Amazon but we get great exposure.

Actually for us, Amazon saved our Holiday Season. We have been with Amazon since November 08 after looking for different avenues to increase sales. We took the plunge but did not opt for the "Amazon storefront". For $30+ per month, we listed a few products that we stock in house and needed to move off the shelf, just to see what would happen.

Amazon built its business model after years of trial & error and has found what works for them. They have a huge (!) dedicated following who trust that when they purchase on Amazon, they know that the item is in stock, items ship when stated and the transaction is secure. Shoppers feel comfortable spending hard earned dollars on Amazon.

Now some downside. They have a strict code for you to follow and they expect you to abide by it, such as your shipping policy, items in stock etc. Yes it is somewhat expensive. For us in a highly competitive market for what we sell, we have to make sure that we can put items on Amazon that have a profit margin of better than the 8% that they take for each sale. We found that we have to be selective of the items we sell on Amazon as some unscrupulous sellers sell far below the manufacturers MAP pricing that we honor and adhere to. (If we had a storefront on Amazon, I believe we could "Place in cart to view price" which would satisfy MAP requirements)

Another drawback is that whoever listed the product on Amazon and gave the original description may have been wrong and it is difficult to correct. It's almost as if the description was Gospel and would take an act of God to change. In that case just make sure that your description that you provide is accurate and true for the customer who clicks on your product listing.

Another consideration is that they pay out every two weeks or so and this is the time period that your money will be tied up until it is sent out.

I do know of someone who has custom made products with no UPC codes and has the blessings of Amazon to sell those products although it did take some convincing on the sellers part to Amazon. One of Amazons greatest accomplishments for the customer is that when someone purchases a product, Amazon has made sure that it is the exact make, model, manufacturer, size, color etc that the customer wanted in the first place, hence the UPC and product numbers.

When I look at the feedback from some of the sellers on Amazon in my niche, the numbers are STAGGERING! I'm talking thousands, and even tens of thousands of products sold by individual sellers and that is why I started selling on Amazon. I believe we made the right decision.

At less than 40 bucks a month, we like what we see so far, and you can walk away with a click of a button.

We did bite the bullet and sign on. We've had four sales so far. I'm going to give it some time before I make a judgement call. It's all so new. Thanks for your input!

Thanks for the update. We'd do it if it made sense for us margin wise. Keep me posted though, you know e-business, things are always changing.

Just curious how it all worked out? Still using Amazon?

Great discussion so far!

I also wanted to add--be very, very careful if you are listing a niche product not yet exposed to big box. Part of what Amazon does (the reason its "marketplace" exists) is for product data. They have that ever-churning algorithm machine calculating on all the products you list. So, if you list something that becomes popular (enough to trip their algorithm), they will go out and buy that product, and then undercut you on price and ship it to customers for free.

Some ninny listed one of our hot holiday items last october, and by christmas amazon was selling it 50% below the strict MSRP (and of course the manufacturer didn't care--because they were getting HUGE orders from Amazon!).

so be careful--if you don't want the big guys to start selling one of the items you have, don't list it on amazon!

And THAT...my friends are why everyone shops on Amazon. Reputable reseller’s abide by the manufacturers MAP pricing so we don't get busted and Amazon sells below that price to generate gobs of sales for itself. You will probably never find a cheaper price than on this platform. Good for buyers, bad for margins if you want to make sales.

Excellent point about niche markets. The way to beat them is to be the distributor that they purchase from. Hold true to your price & they won't buy from you, then small resellers gain sales.

Overall, I've done pretty well with Amazon and believe I made the right decision. Pick the right product, make sure the margins are there and let Amazon bring the buyers to you.

I have also kept my Amazon account open. It has performed slowly but I blame myself. I haven't had the time to devote to adding products, etc. I don't feel I've given it a fair shake yet.

I manufacture and produce my own custom products I would love to know who the seller is on amazon you mention above as I have asked them to allow me the no UPC rule and they tell me no. any info would be great.

thanks
Janey
www.atlassignsandplaques.com

I'll try to get a hold of the seller who told me the were an exception to Amazon's rule for UPC coding with Lighting Products. Who knows by now, they may have decided to reject the No UPC Products, but I will check.

I would guess that Amazon's sales are partially driven by returning exact matches (hence the UPC codes) for products that customers search for. Without a way to return a match for product searches, Amazon must figure it's not worth the hassle to display products that a customer might return because the product description was inadequate or incomplete and did not live up to expectations and subsequently will be returned or will complain to amazon. "A" does not like unhappy customers.

If you have a niche product I would think that your stand alone website should do well as long as you can identify what terms customers are using to search for your product and target them to gain top search engine position.

Could you PM me and let me know your product and I will ask her if she knows of any other sellers on "A" that may be not have UPC's?

thanks and I sent you a pm

For those of you that do sell on Amazon.com and have to collect sales tax, how do you get around the law of most states which says that you must show the sales tax on the receipt?

Since amazon.com doesn't allow sales tax to be a separate item added to the total I'd think this would be an issue. Personally I started using their service and as I started to add products I noticed no way to add sales tax so I had to terminate my account, considering what they are doing is illegal in most states.

First, I have never heard of a law like that (doesn't mean it doesn't exist). To my knowledge, you don't have to charge sales tax on anything you sell, you only have to remit sales tax to the state for items in which you sell and ship to in the state you are doing business. I know that in Ohio, you have to report sales tax collected, but you have to pay to the state the amount you should have collected whether you collected it or not. The opposite holds true also, if you collect more sales tax than you owe (which can be caused by rounding), you also have to remit any extra sales tax you might have collected above and beyond what you actually owe.

I got the facts from California, while each state is different, CA is one of those states I must collect sales tax on. Yes I can just pay the tax without collecting it but why on earth would I lose profit over that.

You collect it, you just have to build it into the price. I have seen many places do this. Think about going to an arts and craft show where you buy something. They usually just charge you a flat price. The sales tax is already included in the price.

Thanks but I can see you have no clue.

If you are speaking of California law, you are correct, but as for the general principle, I know exactly what I am talking about.

God Bless and good luck

I have to agree with dsunker on this one. Most states would like to have you collect sales tax on products sold to its residents however only 3 or 4 states make it mandatory and even those are subject to if you have a presence in that state as to a retail outlet store or goods manufactured or distributed from within that state.
As far as Amazon goes; most sellers don't adhere to the rules anyway as to Sales Tax, MAP Pricing and MSRP. If you want to sell on Amazon, and want to give each State their sales tax, you will need to set up a re-sellers Tax account with each state and file quarterly for each of them. Internet sales are not that rigidly enforced by the individual States as it is a logistical nightmare and they don't have the resources or manpower OR LEGISLATION to enforce collecting sales tax from Internet sales.
We only list products on Amazon that have a margin greater that the 8% that they charge us plus the highest sales tax in CA. If you can compete using that formula you should be selling on Amazon. If the numbers don't work, a standalone website that can compute sales tax to each state is the way to go. If the legislators can't arrive at an equitable solution for Internet sales and the collection of sales tax don't beat yourself up over it.