Is Amazon really worth it?
Nearly 5 months on Amazon and I have mixed feelings, possibly I have not found the winning product yet, I am selling on Amazon but either I have to spend money on advertising or I have a popular product that sells but to compete for the Buy Box I hardly make a profit. I also sell on eBay, Etsy and my own site but I put more effort on Amazon as I was selling more but then thinking about it…
On Amazon I had all kind of things happening that never happened anywhere else:
- account deactivated because I was selling a product for a pound less the buy box, I got it back once I sent receipts etc.
- products deactivated because too expensive but other sellers are selling them too cheap. For instance, one genuine article costs 20 pounds wholesale with VAT, one seller sells it on Amazon for 4.99, my offer for 29.99 has therefore been deactivated, and so on.
- a customer after over three weeks complained that they never received one large item, courier had photo of someone collecting the parcel, customer said didn’t know that person, Amazon decided to refund the customer. The icing on the cake was that I got the alert that my account was at risk of being deactivated.
- nasty copyright breach email from a company that claims 100% trademark in the UK for a product that many wholesellers sell and the box doesn’t even have this company brand name.
- two reviews, one positive and one negative (courier didn’t ring the bell apparently not something I have much control over). and now my ratings stink. On eBay I have a lot more reviews and 100% positive.
I am thinking then on putting more effort on eBay and my own site and abandon the Amazon’s ship. Are there any reasons to stay here that I miss?
102 replies
Seller_8Wsckn3UoR095
Sounds like you’re already convinced Amazon isn’t worth it, it’s a call you have to make yourself realistically.
There are plenty of us who do perfectly well on here so for us, yes it is worth it.
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
one thing that seems to be stated a lot on here is that as soon as people sign up for amazon, its like eBay etc can be left to one side to take care of itself
Granted, eBay etc don’t have half the problems that amazon can throw up however, you need to ensure you are not neglecting the other sites that you may become reliant on if and when things do go pear shaped on here
Seller_4MlYJvoHfdkDh
I always look at Amazon as a sideline, Ebay and Website sales dwarf what is on here.
Treat it as if you can afford to lose it.
Remember with sites like this you are paying a fee, that is proportional to the value of the item, not a fee for simply getting a lead. With your own website, you could pay £100 a day for 100 sales, but those sales could be of any value, £5 to £1000…with sites like these the spend is a direct reflection of the total value of sales, so its always better to build up your online presence elsewhere.
Basically, do all of it.
Seller_ae51e0CJoHqCX
You’ve mentioned a lot of the pitfalls and hurdles of trading on Amazon so the decision is yours. It’s not a get rich quick scheme that many youtube videos try to tell you.
I would say a major flaw in your plan is that you come from an online background and know how to market a product.
Those that do well on Amazon tend to understand the products and the market segment they are selling the products to, the tech behind this is secondary and Amazon will assist people with weak tech knowledge on the tech side of things.
As a techie, you understand search engine optimisation with google, advertising ROI for sponsored search etc. Amazon is all about and heading towards selling brands, they don’t want a huge amount of sellers selling the same product, they want the best sellers, with the best qualities and brands. You may that in the product you are selling and I have no idea how much product knowledge you have but it is a slow builder.
The whole thing is a different animal to most marketplaces and if you don’t have a passion or a market sector to concentrate on with no wish to build on brands and qualities then this is not really the best place to sell.
When I first started out on Ebay, I gained traction a lot quicker than Amazon but a few policy changes and the advertising strategies basically destroyed my sales in one swoop and Amazon became a much better option. Ebay is coming back a bit but for all of Amazon’s faults I would say they are consistent and adding more challenges to overcome but rewarding when you do.
It’s not for everyone that’s for sure
Seller_uZmYgk2Q734Ed
Your listing is supposed to gain traction on Amazon, and once ranking goes up, the sales start coming in. 5 months in Amazon time is negligible. So far I find Amazon is the only platform that take concrete steps to recognize brands that takes the time to build up traction, and reward loyal sellers who work hard.
There is no such thing as “winning product”, unless you design and manufacture your own product, and have the correct IP tools to protect your creation. Without the right IP protections, your “winning product” will simply be a race to the bottom of price war once other sellers pick up the selling trends.
This suggests that you might have listed on another seller’s “trademarked” listing. If this is the case, you have not understood how IP works, specifically how IP works on Amazon.
Compared to eBay, Amazon has much more active buyers, but lesser sellers. So in theory each seller gets a bigger share of the pie 
On a more serious note, Amazon brings in almost 10 times the revenue of what eBay can give me. I know, I know, not all eggs in 1 basket, spread the risk, blah blah blah… But hey, not complaining 
Seller_KZhPnqSRrvTv0
We have been selling on Amazon for over ten years…it feels more like one hundred. I could add about one thousand other issues to your list, and have been asking the same, is it worth it, for about the last 3 years - probably not, in all honesty. It’s not going to get any easier, so I’d make your decision sooner rather than later.
Seller_AeSYBToQ271lM
Do you sell via FBA or seller fulfilled? If your products are selling but only get small margins, FBA might be worth a look, espeically with “time being money” and all that. There are plenty of people who make small margins but turnover huge volumes. Using FBA can help with that.
Seller_pD4k5nUkDbIgP
It’s a cheap imported Chinese product, I don’t even want to sell it to be honest, it was only a test, I just bought two of them. The EAN is for exactly the same product.
Seller_pD4k5nUkDbIgP
Here we go again, just received
" We have deactivated the listings noted in this email due to detected pricing errors or in accordance with Amazon’s [Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy]. You can view more information and take steps to reinstate these listings by visiting the [Pricing Health] page in Seller Central."
The suggested RRP price from the source is £ 32.00 I was selling it at 29.99 in line with other sellers, but even in this case the seller who won the buy box is selling for way less, about a third of its actual wholesale cost. I don’t object to the seller selling for so little,it’s their decision, I am objecting to Amazon banning me and the other sellers from selling it at the right price. After all, my account was deactivated when I sold a product for about a pound less than other sellers and had to prove I wasn’t selling counterfeit goods 
Seller_dZh909hTn0jdd
Hi,
Try to create your own Brand, trademark it, and control it tightly. You have much more control over Amazon this way, as you will have your own product lines that no one else can interfere with. Set your own prices. How to do this? Discover a product and simply add your brand logo. Create a store, A+ Content etc. Good luck.
