Amazon... Just team discussion

[EpicStitching]

Alright ladies, forgive me I haven't scoured the chat threads to see if this has already been discussed. But today I was made aware of Amazon entering the world of "handmade". And it sounds interesting... but I have a lot of questions about it as well.

So I'm wondering:
- Has anyone actually applied?
- Did anyone get approved or declined?
- Anyone have info to share about it they found out other than what Amazon has posted on their site?

And most importantly... opinions, thoughts, etc.?

[cindylouwho2]

There have been tons of threads in the main forum here for months, & there is also an Amazon forum with tons of info. It is probably best to check there for solid info

-Most of their categories aren't set up yet, so only a limited number of products can be sold there currently.
-It's currently only Amazon.com, so you have to sell in USD, & apparently you have to use tracking to ship, according to other Canadians I have talked to - but I have not read the rules myself.
-They are semi-juried, so a lot of people were turned down even though their categories are open & they sell handmade. It hasn't been clear why some were rejected.
-Amazon has some of the best buyer protection online; they pretty much always rule with the buyer. So if you have ever had trouble with Etsy or Paypal not taking your side in a dispute, expect that even more with Amazon.
-Virtually everyone I have talked to says it is really complicated & confusing to set up, far more difficult than eBay (on the plus side, they have better support than Etsy)
-They are more expensive than here by far - 12% of each sale, PLUS a $40 a month charge starting in August 2016. In contrast, it costs me about 9% to sell here, counting both Etsy & Paypal fees.

One other thing to be aware of if you care about Google traffic - if you ever close your Amazon shop, they will keep the storefront open & it will almost always outrank any other site you use that name on, due to their great SEO. They use that to show searchers similar items to yours, so it will siphon significant traffic from your open sites. They refuse to delete your shop page there once you open a shop

Hope that helps!

[peacockandlime]

I have been approved, and have started to set up a little bit, but am hesitant to go full out with it.
This article is an interesting read ... http://www.creationsfromthehart.com/amazon-review/

[cindylouwho2]

Etsy has a very similar clause to the one discussed in that piece. I know a few big sellers had their lawyers vet it, & they say is NOT taking the right to reproduce your actual work, just to use your photos etc. in promotional materials & other such things. We all give Etsy that same right.

There are some rumours about Amazon squeezing out small sellers by finding a manufacturer of certain items that were selling well for a seller, & then selling them from Amazon directly. That would still be subject to any intellectual property rights you may have, or course; otherwise it is something anyone can do to you - they wouldn't need Amazon's sales stats to figure these things out.

[j2studiosphotography]

I did get accepted and I set up an Amazon shop, and for various reasons decided to take it down.

The retained shop front is kind of annoying but the Amazon Seller Support has assured me my URL and Store Front banner will be removed with 3-5 business days.

One thing I really liked about being on Amazon was their customer support/seller support is amazing. Punctual and they call you right away to address your concerns and problems.
______________

Cindy - your question from the previous forum regarding shipping:

Yes they were confusing to set up but their Seller Support promptly called me to fix my confusion...For me it was like Etsy I had to factor part of the shipping cost into the price of my prints because it would charge per item and choosing the per weight option wasn't really feasible for my prints.

[j2studiosphotography]

In case anyone was wondering here are a couple of my reasons for closing up my Amazon Shop...
1) I didn't like the search function...if you type in eg: "bike photograph" you get my listing and a whole bunch of other non-handmade stuff on amazon. So there is no way for the customer to really appreciate that your item is handmade or distinguish between handmade and non-handmade.
2) Love their return policy as a consumer. But I didn't like it from the point of view as a handmade seller
3) When I first applied their fee was NOT monthly it was yearly, therefore I was a little turned off by the sudden change! And that is REALLY expensive!!

[cindylouwho2]

Larry, thanks for the info on the shipping!

the fee was always yearly, from the day they sent out the first detailed info on the fee structure. That was one thing that immediately jumped out at me.

But yes, if a shopper does not know to filter by the "Handmade" section, they will only see your stuff mixed in with the masses of Amazon and NOT with other handmade items. I know quite a few people who have multiple sales already, but that could be because of the media coverage for the Handmade launch, & the low number of items currently listed in Handmade. Neither of those things are going to last, so it will be interesting to see how things develop.

[EpicStitching]

Thx for all your feedback ladies!!!
I really don't like how you can't vow their seller terms up front. There was nowhere when applying that linked me to a place that said the monthly fee started in August 2016.
Interestingly one of the things I like about Etsy (not including promoted ads cost) is that I only really pay for what I sell. A monthly fee cost plus 13% is a big turn-off. Also if shipping is mandatory tracked I'd never sell anything as my items are worth so little in comparison (unless all my orders had a 3 bracelet minimum)

I appreciate the responses to this thread a lot!!! I have trouble getting through the main chat thread most weeks to try and be a part of conversations I'm days behind on.

[cindylouwho2]

Here is a list of resources for search optimization an Amazon:

summaries of how Amazon's search engine works (tips: sales & feedback are important)
https://moz.com/blog/amazon-seo-organic-search-ranking-factors
http://www.wordtracker.com/blog/amazon-vs-google-understanding-the-buyers-search-engine
http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/75696-SEO-Optimizing-Product-Content-on-Amazon
http://www.semrush.com/blog/amazon-seo-tactics-because-amazon-is-a-search-engine-too/

These tools give you real Amazon searches for free (most have collected the auto complete suggestions, so sometimes not super useful):
http://soovle.com/
http://app.scientificseller.com/keywordtool
http://www.keywordtooldominator.com/k/amazon-keyword-tool
http://tools.seochat.com/tools/suggest-tool/

of course, there are many paid tools; I've not seen one recommended above others consistently, so I can't make a recommendation. And many other keyword tools may also provide you with basic keyword research.

[BlueWorldTreasures]

I too was accepted, but I only have about a dozen items up and have had zero sales there so far. I will see how it works out and decide after the new year if I will continue with it.