Would you guys sell to the US government through Amazon?

Selling on Amazon
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I just received this email from Amazon.

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Is it worth it to apply? Anyone care to share your thoughts/experiences? Thanks.

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I wouldn’t see any problem with it.

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We sell all kinds of stuff to various government agencies without issue on the platform.

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I would second our friend VTR’s reply, with this caveat:

As long as ALL of your ducks are neatly lined up into rows for EACH of your corporate entities as recognized in These United States at ALL-possible levels of examination, accepting such orders will NOT generally pose a problem.

That being said, there’s a reason why I’ve been know to caution against taking ABAM-promulgated marketing at face value.

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I have and recommend it, with a couple of notes:

  • Keep in mind that many government orgs will use “pay by invoice”. If that isn’t tolerable for your business, then avoid it.
  • Often the end user isn’t the authorized purchaser, and/or their internal rules prohibit any appearance of “endorsement,” so those orders usually won’t lead to Seller Feedback or Product Reviews, even with exceptional customer satisfaction.
  • Some orgs are required to only purchase the lowest offer, no matter what, so you can’t count on repeat Buyers (or be offended if they don’t reorder from you).
  • Most government-based communications and records can be considered “public” and more accessible than those with other Buyers, so assume that your interactions will be reviewed by many others at any time: colleagues, supervisors, internal and external auditors, lawyers, the public, etc.
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But … what if we sell Tik Toc code?
Would they still be able to buy it?

Uhhh ...

Asking for our pretend friend

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I got this email to both of my accounts recently. It’s a form letter, not an actual request to purchase that the Govt has contacted Amazon about specifically for your products. I’m sure you knew that but just in case.

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Thank you for this info. Does “pay by invoice” mean that we have to deliver them the goods first, then send the invoice? Hence there will be a delay between the time we ship out goods and the time that we get paid? As long as they always pay 100% of the time and don’t pay later than 180 days, I could wait :slight_smile:

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Yes I knew that. Thanks :slight_smile:

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Basically, that’s the gist of the program; you can learn more about this subject from the SHC’s Pay by Invoice FAQ (link, Seller Central).

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