Becoming an Amazon Vendor, any advice?

Becoming an Amazon Vendor, any advice?

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Du1point8

Original Poster:

21,604 posts

191 months

Thursday 26th March 2015
quotequote all
Has anyone moved from being a seller to a vendor with Amazon?

We have only been on the market for 12 months and we got an invite last weekend to become a vendor, the more I look through the documents, the more Im not sure it would be beneficial or not.

I now have bricks and mortar stores, but I think Amazon may kill off the good work by undercutting everyone to make £5 profit an item on purpose.

Has anyone been a vendor and survived?

foliedouce

3,067 posts

230 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
I'd be interested in the answer to this question as well as I'm new to Amazon

On a side note, how have you found Amazon as a contribution to your overall sales (and profit)? Do you sell on other eMarketplaces?

Dejay1788

1,311 posts

128 months

Friday 27th March 2015
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Are they offering you 6 months fee free?

Du1point8

Original Poster:

21,604 posts

191 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
To answer your questions.

Nope I don't sell anywhere else that is an e-market place (other than our website), etsy have an issue that we don't manufacture the stock and are a representative of the main company.

Amazon Seller Central, Im currently in the process of being verified and have been for 3 weeks now, amazon are a bit slow on this one.

Amazon Vendor, we got a personal invite buy one of their head buyers when he noticed us at a trade show last week, straight up no questions asked, he wants them for Amazon asap.

Ean218

1,959 posts

249 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Du1point8 said:
I now have bricks and mortar stores, but I think Amazon may kill off the good work by undercutting everyone to make £5 profit an item on purpose.
I would be bloody careful. Amazon don't need to make any profit at all on your product. Their business model has nothing to do with profit, just market share and stock market valuation, you might end up destroying your product.

Dejay1788

1,311 posts

128 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Du1point8 said:
To answer your questions.

Nope I don't sell anywhere else that is an e-market place (other than our website), etsy have an issue that we don't manufacture the stock and are a representative of the main company.

Amazon Seller Central, Im currently in the process of being verified and have been for 3 weeks now, amazon are a bit slow on this one.

Amazon Vendor, we got a personal invite buy one of their head buyers when he noticed us at a trade show last week, straight up no questions asked, he wants them for Amazon asap.
So you will be listing your own products and shipping them out yourself? If you don't manufacture what you sell, and Amazon wants it eventually they will undercut you and sell it themselves.

Anyway, we've been selling on Amazon since January, we get most of our sales from our website because we're fashion related so want to build a brand, but we do sell certain things on Amazon and do well with something I totally didn't expect to sell in volume.

It's okay for us as a sideline and a bit of extra revenue, but I wouldn't run by business relying on Amazon or Ebay, too many factors can get you banned and send your business down the toilet.

Du1point8

Original Poster:

21,604 posts

191 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Ean218 said:
Du1point8 said:
I now have bricks and mortar stores, but I think Amazon may kill off the good work by undercutting everyone to make £5 profit an item on purpose.
I would be bloody careful. Amazon don't need to make any profit at all on your product. Their business model has nothing to do with profit, just market share and stock market valuation, you might end up destroying your product.
This is my fear if I go with amazon as a vendor, also the company has been running properly for only a year so the cashflow is limited and Im a bit wary of the 90 day payment along with their terrible SOR agreement.


Du1point8

Original Poster:

21,604 posts

191 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Dejay1788 said:
Du1point8 said:
To answer your questions.

Nope I don't sell anywhere else that is an e-market place (other than our website), etsy have an issue that we don't manufacture the stock and are a representative of the main company.

Amazon Seller Central, Im currently in the process of being verified and have been for 3 weeks now, amazon are a bit slow on this one.

Amazon Vendor, we got a personal invite buy one of their head buyers when he noticed us at a trade show last week, straight up no questions asked, he wants them for Amazon asap.
So you will be listing your own products and shipping them out yourself? If you don't manufacture what you sell, and Amazon wants it eventually they will undercut you and sell it themselves.

Anyway, we've been selling on Amazon since January, we get most of our sales from our website because we're fashion related so want to build a brand, but we do sell certain things on Amazon and do well with something I totally didn't expect to sell in volume.

It's okay for us as a sideline and a bit of extra revenue, but I wouldn't run by business relying on Amazon or Ebay, too many factors can get you banned and send your business down the toilet.
I dont manufacture it, but am sole distributor and importer into the UK with a signed contract stating so.

we currently have 3 income streams.

1) Social media, blogs, physical magazine articles, TV shows and trade shows to push people to our ecommerce website.
2) Corporate one off buys to hotels/spas/corporate bonus/etc.
3) Resellers and retailers that I accumulate that are either bricks and mortar or web stores.

Bonus income streams will be using Amazon as a seller.

The Vendor invite was a complete surprise to be honest, but I do have my reservations with it, in these early stages income 3 is the bread and butter of the company with many fingers in all the pies, we don't and are not relying on one single company currently to generate profit for the company.

Ean218

1,959 posts

249 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Du1point8 said:
I dont manufacture it, but am sole distributor and importer into the UK with a signed contract stating so.

The Vendor invite was a complete surprise to be honest, but I do have my reservations with it, in these early stages income 3 is the bread and butter of the company with many fingers in all the pies, we don't and are not relying on one single company currently to generate profit for the company.
In that case do not do it. I would also make sure that anything you sell yourselves on Amazon is priced on the expensive side. The last thing you want is Amazon pissing off your 'proper' customer base and then pinching your supplier.

Du1point8

Original Poster:

21,604 posts

191 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Ean218 said:
Du1point8 said:
I dont manufacture it, but am sole distributor and importer into the UK with a signed contract stating so.

The Vendor invite was a complete surprise to be honest, but I do have my reservations with it, in these early stages income 3 is the bread and butter of the company with many fingers in all the pies, we don't and are not relying on one single company currently to generate profit for the company.
In that case do not do it. I would also make sure that anything you sell yourselves on Amazon is priced on the expensive side. The last thing you want is Amazon pissing off your 'proper' customer base and then pinching your supplier.
I doubt anyone would pinch my supplier, he's the kind that wants paying up front, doesnt speak english and will not touch large companies.

Sometimes I think he is a lot of hassle, but then over the years he's become a trusted friend and the feeling is mutual.

loafer123

15,404 posts

214 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
I wouldn't personally, and I would definitely increase pricing for Amazon to account for the fees at the very least.

95Aero

603 posts

193 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Du1point8 said:
Has anyone moved from being a seller to a vendor with Amazon?

We have only been on the market for 12 months and we got an invite last weekend to become a vendor, the more I look through the documents, the more Im not sure it would be beneficial or not.

I now have bricks and mortar stores, but I think Amazon may kill off the good work by undercutting everyone to make £5 profit an item on purpose.

Has anyone been a vendor and survived?
By moving from seller to vendor do you mean signing up for Amazon FBA?

Du1point8

Original Poster:

21,604 posts

191 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
95Aero said:
Du1point8 said:
Has anyone moved from being a seller to a vendor with Amazon?

We have only been on the market for 12 months and we got an invite last weekend to become a vendor, the more I look through the documents, the more Im not sure it would be beneficial or not.

I now have bricks and mortar stores, but I think Amazon may kill off the good work by undercutting everyone to make £5 profit an item on purpose.

Has anyone been a vendor and survived?
By moving from seller to vendor do you mean signing up for Amazon FBA?
Nope... I move from selling on Amazon to clients to selling to Amazon as they are my client.

Ean218

1,959 posts

249 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Du1point8 said:
I doubt anyone would pinch my supplier, he's the kind that wants paying up front, doesnt speak english and will not touch large companies.

Sometimes I think he is a lot of hassle, but then over the years he's become a trusted friend and the feeling is mutual.
I wouldn't bet on that. Amazon speak every language in the world fluently and would dangle a very attractive carrot before him which would negate any feelings of friendship.

Amazon are desperately trying to get into the knickers of one of our suppliers. We've been dealing with them 40 years and they only speak Japanese. They started selling through Amazon in their domestic market and now Amazon are all over them to sell internationally. Its been really tricky fending them off, only our long standing relationship has kept it going.

Du1point8

Original Poster:

21,604 posts

191 months

Friday 27th March 2015
quotequote all
Noted... I'm already on the no route at the moment, cheers for the warning.

foliedouce

3,067 posts

230 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
quotequote all
Ean218 said:
Du1point8 said:
I doubt anyone would pinch my supplier, he's the kind that wants paying up front, doesnt speak english and will not touch large companies.

Sometimes I think he is a lot of hassle, but then over the years he's become a trusted friend and the feeling is mutual.
I wouldn't bet on that. Amazon speak every language in the world fluently and would dangle a very attractive carrot before him which would negate any feelings of friendship.

Amazon are desperately trying to get into the knickers of one of our suppliers. We've been dealing with them 40 years and they only speak Japanese. They started selling through Amazon in their domestic market and now Amazon are all over them to sell internationally. Its been really tricky fending them off, only our long standing relationship has kept it going.
And let's be honest, a company with the scale and brand of Amazon would be difficult to say no to (for a manufacturer at least as they are at the end of the supply chain)

DSLiverpool

14,671 posts

201 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
quotequote all
I have got out of bed to give this reply - no ipad typos here.
My mate (real mate not a supplier who I call a mate) imports a product made in China and has sole UK rights. It is 7 models of different sizes and it amounts to a lot.

He personally sells it on QVC and now Gems have taken it up, I CREATED it on Amazon and the pictures of the main seller model have my old Glasses and Rolex in the additional pictures on my old office chair (9 years ago).

I FBA the item as sales can be 50+ a day at £40 its easier to FBA and one day Amazon wrote to him asking for product, he said no, later in the month they called, he said no.

After over a year the three top sellers have turned up on Amazon with the caveat of no gift packing and no external packing it comes as the box with a post label.

I questioned this with the supplier to be told they do not supply Amazon and cannot see who else would from sales volume - quandry.

As it cannot be wrapped etc we think its shipping from a air side / dock side fulfilment facility and whilst my mate has UK sales rights I think they are buying it abroad with UK plug the manufacturer of course denies this.

Not a warning, just my tale. For info the main selling I have created a new listing for, its a version of an older listing with 50+ reviews and I have updated it, the reviews give it search gravitas and we are selling volume again as Amazon have not either seen or can be arsed to hit us on it.

In summary treat it as your worst enemy whilst taking its $, expect them to try and shaft you at every opportunity and if you commit to huge stocks for them they have the right to cancel the order any time. If you are late delivering you may be fined / invoiced as a penalty. (all in the small print)

loafer123

15,404 posts

214 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
quotequote all

Very interesting.

Could you explain this bit a litle more:

"For info the main selling I have created a new listing for, its a version of an older listing with 50+ reviews and I have updated it, the reviews give it search gravitas and we are selling volume again as Amazon have not either seen or can be arsed to hit us on it."


DSLiverpool

14,671 posts

201 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
quotequote all
PM sent

Du1point8

Original Poster:

21,604 posts

191 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
quotequote all
DSLiverpool said:
PM sent
can you send me a PM too about that