Why Amazon’s Seller Forums are a useful tool…

By Sharon Fussell, October 9, 2014

 

Do you ever wish you could share your selling-on-Amazon experiences with other like-minded sellers?

If so, are you aware that Amazon has a seller’s discussion board forum?

The forum enables you to read posts made by others, and also post ideas or questions.

Most experienced sellers will respond to questions quite willingly.

To access the forum go to your seller account, look to the left-hand side of the page, and situated towards the bottom of the page is the link to the forum: ‘Seller Forums’

One issue that is constant is that of postage charges: Amazon set a postage credit and most sellers are unable to change this rate.

Usually charges are set accordingly to reflect the rate where possible and customers are always informed of the postage charge throughout the transaction.

A user – ‘Hubble010’ – posted the following:

‘Hi all. I am looking for some advice regarding postage charges: I recently sold eight of an item and, as you are aware, Amazon set a postage rate per item of £4.59, so I reduce my selling price to reflect this and still give a price which is the cheapest on Amazon and considerably cheaper than the high street.

The customer has now contacted me and said that as the actual postage was only £3.90, he wants a refund of the rest of the postage. As this is part of my pricing structure I can’t afford to and don’t want to refund him anything. I am willing to let him return the products and stand the postage that I paid and was wondering what is the position regarding his claim.

Obviously he would have seen the charge when ordering. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.’

Seller ‘Pink Panther’ replied:

‘The postage charge was made clear when the buyer made the purchase. In these situations I would normally inform the customer that as Amazon set the postage cost which you have no control over, the selling price is reduced to reflect any difference in postage paid vs actual cost, therefore they have not been overcharged.

You can then offer to accept return if they are not happy with the purchase and you will refund the total amount paid, provided it’s returned in the same condition as sent.

You are not obliged to pay return postage as there is no fault on your part: the cost was made clear upfront.’

This response is exactly right in that the customer was always aware of the charge. If the customer is unhappy and leaves bad feedback in relation the postal credit, Amazon should remove it.

‘Graphskill’ responded with this post:

‘Amazon should remove the feedback.

We had similar situation and I asked for the feedback to be removed and they obliged, saying that as costs are upfront and obvious before the purchase is made, buyers are not allowed to comment.

Your customer knew the price and still decided to purchase. There are no grounds for complaint afterwards.

If ever you ask Amazon to remove feedback, their first response is usually to state they are unable to remove the comment (unless abusive). However, if they do this, I usually contact them and ask to speak to a ‘live’ assistant. In most cases this has resulted in a positive outcome.’

You are able to reply to any thread, but to post a thread and reply to threads, you will be required to log into the forum.

Most use their ID, but you can just put your name if you do not wish to share your ID on the forum.

There is a lot to be learned from other sellers and in tricky situations like this it is good to benefit from their experience and a seller solidarity.

Profitable Amazon book business for sale…

Tony has been in touch with a very interesting business offer for you. If you’re interested, please contact Tony directly: his email is below…

‘My wife and I will be moving abroad in the near future. To raise additional funds to complete the restoration of our home abroad, we’ve decided to sell our profitable book business, which currently enjoys a 100% positive
feedback rating.

As we will continue to manage the business on behalf of the new owner, this is a rare opportunity for you to own a business which will continue to generate ongoing profits for you, without you lifting a finger.

As of 8 October, the business is currently made up of 3,501 listed books on Amazon, and approximately 1,000 unlisted very good quality non-fiction books.

The value of the listed books currently stands at £27,542.49. The value of the unlisted books is approximately £8,500, and will be professionally listed by us on behalf of the new owner.

As Sharon can confirm, the next 3–4 months is the most profitable time of the year to sell books, so now is the perfect time to get involved.

Included within the sale of our business will be something very special, which will only be disclosed to individuals who show a serious interest in our business.

If you’re seriously interested, and would like to discuss this opportunity with me, please send me an email. I will then send you further information.

If you’d like me to telephone you to discuss this further, please include your number within your email.

My email address is [email protected].

Thanks, Tony.‘

Have a great week!