Ok… so I received an email and here is what it was…
I’ve never done the AWD thingy before, but I do have two places that I rent storage from all year. Don’t need the second storage all year but I keep the second one as a cushion for the months (July through December) that I do.
From those who either have utilized AWD or those who weighed the cost-benefit analysis and chose not to, what specific things should I be looking at when making the decision to utilize AWD or not?
You have to remember that when you use AWD, you are handing over more control over your business and inventory to Amazon and their busted systems.
Maybe things have changed in the last 6-12 months but the nightmares on the OSFE / NSFE about AWD were pretty astounding, even by Amazon’s crappy standards.
We can’t use AWD so never tested it because they won’t take anything with a shelf life, even if that’s measured in years.
Personally, I would never do it but if you are interested, maybe test 1 ASIN for 6 months to see how it goes.
If you have the kind of volume that you can use AWD, then you have the kind of volume to navigate and avoid the new placement fees and actually save money when coupled with the reduced FBA fees which is exactly what we are doing now.
That extra money (which amounts to about $20K a year for us right now), might be more than enough than you need to keep your current system / storage facilities going, while avoiding this nightmare or that one when something doesn’t get transferred in time, or lost, or damaged with the triple handling.
Amazon often launches things and they do a terrible job in the beginning. Like I said upthread, maybe things have changed. Do your due diligence / research / test, if you’re thinking about moving forward with AWD.
Some years back, one of the seasoned and savvy forum veterans (our well-missed friend, the often-irascible @Skeeter), began mentioning that there was clear evidence that the launch of the AGL (‘Amazonese’ for “Amazon Global Logistics”) Program had resulted in the creation of “shadow warehouses” for domestic storage of imported goods by Beijing’s minions.
When certain widely-respected members of the MSM’s cohort of Amazon Observers confirmed this to indeed be the case, Amazon took a hit in one of the few areas that it gives much more than a tinker’s damn about beyond its bottom line - Brand Integrity - as a result of the ensuing negative publicity.
The creation of the AWD Program was the response passed down from on high.
As our friend @ASV_Vites astutely points out upthread, there are typically better alternatives than using an intermediate step in the lean logistics chain which, especially-so when Amazon is administering it, are not ENTIRELY under your control.
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/db4dd0a6-3294-46a6-938c-a824cabda209
by JustinInTheHouse24 hours ago
I just want to save anyone who is considering AWD the trouble and tell them its not worth the trouble or issues you will have. We have half of our inventory stuck in “receiving” for several weeks without any indication of when it may be located. There are no lines of communication with AWD…think Seller Support but even worse because they don’t even have a nominal amount of knowledge on the subject. We’re being told it will take 90 before they can “investigate” after the shipment is closed. After that it could take another 90 days before anything is resolved. Effectively 180 days before they might be able to find our inventory. Go to another 3PL service if you are running into FBA limits. Do not use AWD, don’t risk it. You could lose your entire business just to save a couple bucks. We also had issues with our carrier being able to set an appointment time to deliver goods, this cost us more money to have the inventory sit at a warehouse until they could set the appointment. Now the inventory is in AWD, but the auto replenishment is not working. It’s honestly the worst experience ever. Worse than trying to get help from Seller Support.
There are many more of these on the NSFE.
-Ana
This is a decision which should be capable of deciding by analyzing the costs vs alternatives.
It would be if Amazon was competent. which it has never been.
Ceding control requires being able to rely upon Amazon’s employees and their management.
Just an update that got pinned today by Amazon on the NSFE.
Any NIKE sellers that want to take your life in your hands? I don’t know if doing AWD would be a good/bad/ugly idea for shoes, but it is now available!
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/1d7a05c6-18eb-4420-9556-00618431acbb
