Selling On Amazon Grrrrrrrr Rant Grrrrr

[Ucase Ltd]

So I decided to test the waters on Amazon.

Got a free account - Then found out I had to purchase EAN codes for each product - DONE.

Listed my first item (which is no simple task compared to anywhere else I've listed before) - DONE.

Then I get to see the Fees etc...

I listed my item at £3.99

They will take £2.04 as a selling fee! - Not good but I could swallow it for the time being.

The REAL Kicker is THEY set the postage cost at £4.59! - This item weighs less than 50grms when packed and can fit into an A5 envelope. They call it "administration costs" - (I'm shipping by the way not using their fulfillment program).

I would receive some of that £4.59 back but that's not the point - Who in their right mind would pay £4.59 postage on a small £3.99 item?

The only way I can edit postage is to get a 'PRO' account at £25+vat p/m. I'm not prepared to do that until I've tested the market, which I can't do at those prices.

I'm not new to selling online on all kinds of platforms with all kinds of different products but I've never seen a platform where the seller has no say in shipping costs.

O.K - Rant Over.

[viccar]

You can usually get a free 3 month trial for the pro account, i did, but unless you are prepared to be the lowest price its not worth it.

[Ucase Ltd]

You can usually get a free 3 month trial for the pro account, i did, but unless you are prepared to be the lowest price its not worth it.

I wasn't aware of that so I might look into it - Thanks!

I'm not too worried about being lowest price as nobody else is selling my product

[bigj2552]

So I decided to test the waters on Amazon.

Got a free account - Then found out I had to purchase EAN codes for each product - DONE.

Listed my first item (which is no simple task compared to anywhere else I've listed before) - DONE.

Then I get to see the Fees etc...

I listed my item at £3.99

They will take £2.04 as a selling fee! - Not good but I could swallow it for the time being.

The REAL Kicker is THEY set the postage cost at £4.59! - This item weighs less than 50grms when packed and can fit into an A5 envelope. They call it "administration costs" - (I'm shipping by the way not using their fulfillment program).

I would receive some of that £4.59 back but that's not the point - Who in their right mind would pay £4.59 postage on a small £3.99 item?

The only way I can edit postage is to get a 'PRO' account at £25+vat p/m. I'm not prepared to do that until I've tested the market, which I can't do at those prices.

I'm not new to selling online on all kinds of platforms with all kinds of different products but I've never seen a platform where the seller has no say in shipping costs.

O.K - Rant Over.

you need to set your item price to counter act amazon shipping price if you not seller pro - rough example :

shipping cost from amazon - £4.39 - your product price £0.99 - so the total the buyer sees/pays is - £5.38
your shipping cost for one phone case if franked is 2nd class @ 0.61p + jiffy bag / ink / phone case ect

and its not £2 selling fee ( prob is for a £8+ case )....we only payed from 0.75p - 0.95p ( depending on case price ) fee when we were not pro seller...
you selling your case at - £4.59 + £3.99 = £8.58 !!!

just the way amazon works my friend..if you not pro seller
those were only sample figures above...but £8+ for a phone case...good luck !

[Ucase Ltd]

you need to set your item price to counter act amazon shipping price if you not seller pro - rough example :

Thanks for that! I might have another go with the info you've given above.

It's not phone cases I'm selling on Amazon - I realised pretty quickly I needed to diversify so I've totally rebuilt the website and re-branded as "Photo Gifts".

Ideally I want to charge around 4.99 total.

I'll report back and let you know how I got on.

[michaelc]

I'm a pro seller and reckon I do as much on Amazon as eBay, like for like. Apart from Amazon, eBay and Etsy, what other decent marketplaces are there for UK users? Mostly selling sub mugs, many with a military theme.

[GoonerGary]

Maybe folksy?

[ManicMonday]

I'm shipping by the way not using their fulfillment program.

I don't know about selling as non-Pro or outside of the fulfillment program. This does sound strange though. I have a friend using the fulfillment program and so far she has no complaints. Of course your costs are all based on how much you actually sell.

I think the main advantage of selling on Amazon, aside from getting access to their massive network, is usually for shipping: their express shipping or one day shipping options, plus return policies. They deal with all of that so you don't have to.

I wouldn't put it past them though to squeeze out the independents so that everyone wanting to sell on the platform has to go Pro or go fulfillment. Might be their tactic here.

[ManicMonday]

Oh.....I only now saw how old this thread is

[Sedgewick]

This is an old thread but SUCH a useful thread!!

Question 1: Is anyone selling mugs on Amazon (or other circa £10 products) and using Amazon fulfilment - and is the cost worth it in your view?

Question 2: Is anyone selling mugs on Amazon (or other circa £10 products) and NOT using Amazon fulfilment?

I've heard that if you don't use it it's much harder for people to find your listings... Is that true, or are you managing well without it?