I get bombarded by Amazon to do a lot of stuff. At the end of the day you have to weigh up whether it suits your business model.

FBA especially on the small and light stuff has become really expensive whereby it has become more cost effective to be FBM over FBA. It doesn't help when they get things wrong and lose stock with you then having to beg them for your money back and prove the mistake they have made.

It is really good for cheap tat that comes in from China but they are becoming increasingly aware of the prblems this brings with consistenccy of stock and have realised they need a good portion of local sellers.

The problem with FBA is that it is not really cost effective especially when smaller items can only make anything when you sell in multiples but as we know selling in multiples only works through FBM as you make savings on postage but don't get the benefit through FBA. In fact Amazon gets the full benefit of this.

Amazon are probablly losing its grip on small FBA sellers since the DD+7 policy has hurt cash flow and the VAT applied to selling fees causing a huge drop in profits for non VAT or flat rated companies whilst agaib affecting the cash flow of the VAT being taken out of your cash and then reclaiming it through the returns.

Amazon can only see the bigger picture from their perspective, they struggle to see it from the perspective of small sellers and they have to appreciate that given all the constant hurdles they are putting up against small sellers, it is little wonder they are struggling to get people to now sign up. therefire must try harder to convince it is worthwhile

It is interesting to know that year on year, my fba sales are down whilst FBM sales are up. I wouldn't say I have purposely changed or concentrated more on one or the other. Not only are my costs now higher for FBA, but the margins given these costs are higher through FBM so obviously this motivates you into increasing the ratio in FBM.

Remember also that with FBA you don't have any advantage on overseas sellers. In fact they have an advantage over you. FBM and using the FBM to your advantage gives you the edge.