Am I Crazy orDoes Amazon Not want 3rd Party Sellers Anymore??
How many times have I read this over the years? Yeah, that many. I finally broke down and posted that if Amazon wants 3rd party sellers gone, all they have to do is push the button. Anyone who has read the seller terms of service would know that.
Okay, rant over.
They may want them gone, but not overnight.
They want FBM sellers to bend the knee and switch to FBA so they can control the fees, shipping and your inventory.
Every year they make it harder and harder for FBM sellers from controlling returns, controlling refunds (RFS), removing support, controlling handling & transit times, increasing the difficulty of adding items and editing/updating listings, using AI to change product types, fighting false feedbacks, Buy shipping only shows what they think is the right options, etc.
We’ve been here for 15yrs or more and every year the lists get longer.
I am under the impression that the Amazon corporation understands that buyers do not realize they are purchasing from a 3rd party. And, it is easier to change how 3rd party Sellers operate then to educate Buyers on the differences.
Instead of the Amazon corporation trying to educate buyers between the differences in FBA and FBM, they are moving FBM sellers to operate more in line of how FBA operates.
This is just a feeling I have had for years and one of the reasons I try to adopt new features or policy changes when they occur.
This is a concise explanation of where Amazon is headed.
They are willing to tolerate all kinds of scams and declines in quality of product and listing as long as it increases market share. The more we FBM sellers emulate Amazon, the more market share they think they will have. They may be right.
Their ultimate goal is to have ALL buying done through Amazon, much like the satirical ‘Demolition Man’ film reference to all restaurants being Taco Bells.
We FBM sellers must remember that we are not owners, and that their increase in market share does not necessarily benefit us.
EDIT: It follows, therefore, that we would benefit more from educated buyers. The more that the quality of products on Amazon declines, the more it will be worth to us to distinguish ourselves from Amazon.
I am seriously considering including flyers to this effect. While it might technically be a violation of Amazon’s rules, it might be worth the risk when it directs an unhappy customer to me rather than to Amazon’s customer service.
(Sound) Knock-knock
“Psst. Do you happen to have an extra seashell”, asked the guy in the next stall.
IMO FBM is doomed and that need not be a deliberate Amazon intention.
For many items, FBA is cheaper than the current costs of shipping for FBM sellers. Amazon’s cost structure for its shipping and fulfillment is more efficient than either USPS or UPS. Try as hard as DeJoy might he has to overcome resistance by postal workers to his changes. And UPS latest contract with the Teamsters is good for the workers and going to increase the cost of shipping every year.
FEDEX is largely irrelevant, a sad situation for Fred Smith and the Express portion of FEDEX.
I spent some time thinking about this and find myself agreeing with this assessment. From RFS to changing the return rules to SAFE-T claims not providing full refunds, I find that Amazon is increasingly automating things and taking responsibility out of sellers hands and into automated processes.
This has been going on for some time. More automation s*cks for sellers but is more profitable for Amazon.
As AI develops things will only get worse as Amazon implements it everywhere they can.
This. I have been saying this for years.
Things will get worse for sellers at every Internet marketplace not just Amazon because Amazon usually points the way for all of its competition.
If we are lucky, and I mean really lucky, a good solution, perhaps using AI, will be created for niche or boutique online merchants which can buy pass the google search/ad monopoly and reach motivated buyers.
Cutting out the middleman is a potential application for AI, and would be the purest revenge for past behaviors by Amazon and its competition.
We both have, as have many others. It’s inevitable …