💡 Seller Poll: What Were Your Growth Challenges in 2025?
Hello sellers,
We've been monitoring thousands of seller discussions in the Grow Your Business category, and have observed clear patterns in 2025. Understanding these trends helps us prioritise the resources and support you need most—but we want to hear directly from you about what's impacting your business.
What We're Hearing From Sellers
Based on analysis of over 4,000 forum discussions in Grow Your Business in 2025, here are the top challenges sellers are facing:
Advertising & Campaign Management
- Adverts stopping unexpectedly or failing to run
- Campaign manager access issues
- Budget restrictions and profitability concerns
Payment & Financial Issues
- Disbursement delays and fund holds
- Lending programme challenges
- Invoice and financial tracking problems
Pricing & Promotions
- Strike-through price display issues
- Promotion cancellations
- Voucher configuration errors
Sales Performance
- Traffic and order volume declines
- Seasonal performance variations
Promotional Events
- Deal eligibility and suppression
- Event performance below expectations
Share Your Experience
We're opening this discussion to understand what's genuinely happening in your business right now. Your insights help us advocate for better tools, clearer policies, and more effective support.
Please Tell us:
- Which of these challenges is affecting your business most significantly?
- What specific obstacle is preventing you from growing right now?
- What solution or resource would make the biggest difference for you?
- Have you found any strategies that helped you overcome these issues?
Your detailed responses help us identify where to focus our efforts. If you find a comment that resonates with your experience, upvote it to help us see which issues are most widespread.
Let's work together to identify the priorities that matter most to your success.
💡 Seller Poll: What Were Your Growth Challenges in 2025?
Hello sellers,
We've been monitoring thousands of seller discussions in the Grow Your Business category, and have observed clear patterns in 2025. Understanding these trends helps us prioritise the resources and support you need most—but we want to hear directly from you about what's impacting your business.
What We're Hearing From Sellers
Based on analysis of over 4,000 forum discussions in Grow Your Business in 2025, here are the top challenges sellers are facing:
Advertising & Campaign Management
- Adverts stopping unexpectedly or failing to run
- Campaign manager access issues
- Budget restrictions and profitability concerns
Payment & Financial Issues
- Disbursement delays and fund holds
- Lending programme challenges
- Invoice and financial tracking problems
Pricing & Promotions
- Strike-through price display issues
- Promotion cancellations
- Voucher configuration errors
Sales Performance
- Traffic and order volume declines
- Seasonal performance variations
Promotional Events
- Deal eligibility and suppression
- Event performance below expectations
Share Your Experience
We're opening this discussion to understand what's genuinely happening in your business right now. Your insights help us advocate for better tools, clearer policies, and more effective support.
Please Tell us:
- Which of these challenges is affecting your business most significantly?
- What specific obstacle is preventing you from growing right now?
- What solution or resource would make the biggest difference for you?
- Have you found any strategies that helped you overcome these issues?
Your detailed responses help us identify where to focus our efforts. If you find a comment that resonates with your experience, upvote it to help us see which issues are most widespread.
Let's work together to identify the priorities that matter most to your success.
142 replies
Seller_2MDS66zdjPMUU
@Indy_Amazon
"Please note that the examples provided are focused specifically within our Grow Your Business category as noted in the post." Quote
FIxing Amazon's endemic problems would support growth, Sadly Amazon should concentrate on issues that the sellers find frustrating rather than less relevant questionnaires.
"We're opening this discussion to understand what's genuinely happening in your business right now" Quote
We have told you time and again what is genujnely happening in our businesses . Why does Amazon not consider the problems that are increasingly evident as factors in limiting sales growth,
Please do not ask us again to discuss issues around a carefully curated list of issues that sellers find less relevant.
Seller_QFivb25YBNqBc
There is no bigger challenge than this one.
Seller_mxez2L8QjE6WW
@Indy_Amazon
As a follow-on to my previous reply.
Used book selling is basically a numbers game: the more you can list the more you can sell.
My inventory is currently 86611 books; my inventory on Amazon is 80827 books, a shortfall of around 5700+ books. Books I can't list because of the 'potential pricing errors'; the unnecessary need to get a publisher's approval to sell a second-hand book; the sudden change whereby Amazon stopped creating a listing for an unlisted book. When we were invited by Amazon to list our books on the nascent UK site all those years ago, we would send them our listing updates & they would create a listing if necessary. That was the set-up & we had to adapt our procedures to fit their requirements. We can still list them on Abe, but it is another way Amazon restrict ability to sell. Make those 5700+ books available & the business will automatically grow.
And while I'm on a rant - what about a bit of quality control of sellers, to get rid of the book-jackers who clutter up the catalogue with their non-existent books. Dozens operating out of Kayseri in Turkey, our well-know friend from Essex, all those US scrapers. They damage Amazon by disappointing customers when they can't supply the books. So what about suspending sellers whose feedback rating falls below 90%. Getting rid of the cowboys would allow more honest sellers to sell more - and keep Amazon's customers happier
Seller_tQCfsb3zoC4AP
Dear Amazon not that anyone from Amazon will pay any attention to anything any 3rd party says here I will endeavour to answer your question Seller Poll: What Were Your Growth Challenges in 2025?
A support system that believes they are a prevention system even the most simple requests will get the most incoherent response they appear to be terrified of giving actual answers
Amazon sending out fraudulent messages telling people their items may be lost which has led to extreme levels of theft from this site.
An Az claims and feedback system that is not fit for purpose
A catalogue that is now that poor that even if Amazon became interested in fixing would probably take several years to fix its current state.
The inability to fix incorrect information on a catalogue page
The inability to list new products as you need up to a dozen different permissions to list one single product.
Policies that directly contradict each other leading to an inability to function
Amazon holding on to payments for 6 weeks before getting payments.
The extreme drop in sales in particular over the festive period 70% down on last year when last year had a drop of 50% from the previous year.
The extreme fees that are now charged for what has become a very substandard service
According to Amazon over 50% of its profits comes from 3rd party sellers on a normal site these sellers would be treated like gold on Amazon we are treated like 💩 considering that the hostility towards 3rd party spellings is beyond disgusting
The fact that none of these appeared in the 4000 discussions you followed either shows you were very selective in which discussions you followed or shows just how disconnected you are from your 3rd party sellers. And their actual problems they face on Amazon. If I counted 100 business problems I can assure you that 99% of them would be caused by Amazons behavior
I would rather you ignore this vent rather than sending me a condescending cut and paste.
Seller_Fg2fqaWOnEtha
Absolutely, 100%. That would give us a more robust voice and some visibility. I have some experience in digital marketing, campaigning and lobbying and when there were issues with Etsy payments I thought we needed some kind of group to advocate for and represent online sellers. If I had the time I would start it, but if there is a group of people interested in this, I'd be prepared to help.
Seller_RAXEWLxQ2dbmN
This is possibly where the catalogue rot set in.
It provided a loophole for the 'bookjackers'/dodgy dropshippers to create overpriced bogus duplicate ASINs of books alread in the catalogue. Amazon obviously made it too easy to create redundant duplicates.
If we - without any inside knowledge of Amazon's systems - can spot the obvious rogues, it should be plain sailing for Amazon itself to stop the creation of all these redundant ASINs and to bar the sellers who create them. They are almost all based overseas and their subterfuge is as plain as day...but Amazon apparently still cannot see it, many years after it began!
All of this is why I cannot take Amazon seriously when it comes to policing its own catalogue. The high price thing has been shown up to be a complete joke when millions of overprices bogus ASINs are left standing while legit listings are taken down for being a penny over the 1970 RRP...
Seller_ZVAz3d5lZuGid
@Indy_Amazon- thanks for responding to a few of the posts on this thread, but ALL the points that have been raised ARE significant and relevant to the challenges faced on the site.
Quote: "Your insights help us advocate for better tools, clearer policies, and more effective support. "
Another issue with the forum we have complained endlessly about and frequent threads about the nested replies, which are seeing in this thread too - no-one takes any notice of this either :-((
Yes, G. As you say, if we, as mere sellers (!) can spot the rogues who create all the bogus duplicates, how come Amazon cannot stop this. Fair enough for books published prior to the advent of ISBNs, but all those created for books that have ISBNs should not even get through the system.
Also, the high priced listings that remain, often just because they have been listed as collectible, and others, because they are on the bogus/duplicate ASINs.
Seller_RAXEWLxQ2dbmN
Yes, it is obvious to us, even though we have very limited access to Amazon's data. If their AI is as good as it is cracked up to be it should be able to flag up all these duplicates and clear them away with ease.
But it actually does the opposite - closes down legit listings while promoting wildy overpriced bogus duplicates to the top spots in search results! While apparently ignoring the source of all this book catalogue corruption.
As numerous posters have speculated in the past: is it gross incompetence or something more sinister, like internal corruption?
Seller_No516SrfKk7pE
Amazon make more money when a high-priced sale goes through - it doesn't seem to matter to them if it's a bogus seller.
Amazon dropshippers quite often source their 'stock' from Amazon - which means that Amazon gets two commissions from one item.
Seller_Fg2fqaWOnEtha
Their bots are far too busy to flag my incense as an illegal drug that mimics the effects of cannabis to worry about really dodgy listings.
My question is how do all these incense boxes make it through customs through India if they are illegal drugs? They have been cleared by HM Revenue & Customs. But the bots know better and Seller Support never contradict bots.
Seller_KlbXZHzQGSDZv
@Indy_Amazon
Two main items prevent us from growing on Amazon.
1. Incorrect asin that were created some time back by people no longer on here.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TS8WQVP
an example shown above the correct title should of course be By Annie Pattern Out and About amazon title annie pattern zip closure.
In the past we have tried to have these corrected but after wasting 2 hrs you get to oh your not the brand owner you cant correct this.
And yet the chinese sellers regularly hack good listing gut them and then repost as there stuff with all the good feedback moved to their dodgy stuff.
2. We sell fabric mainly and a lot cannot be listed as there are no upc on the bolts not an issue so much as we just sell elsewhere. However when some of the items which are precuts they can be listed on here. Now you may get four variations of the precuts which we buy from our wholesaler covering from 1 to 4 of the variations. You put the UPCs in here to list the items and your lucky if 1 out of three come up these days were as 5 years ago you usually had all four listed. Why is this its because if you try to list without it allready being on your poured down a tunnel of requirements which youo fufil but usuallt get to the point where the listing breaks down. Now from previous experience if it does not come up under the UPC we just walk away and sell elsewhere.
Those are the two main ones for us for number 2 its a lost cause for number 1 I believe that its an easilly fixed issue with humans who can clear up obvious errors without asking the world if the title is wrong and you can see what it is in the photo then why require all the song and dance to get it changed.
Time is not on a small businesses favour we dont have it to mess abouth with seller central going round in circles to be fobbed off at the end. an hour or two spent trying to resolve an issue on here is much better spent listing elsewhere
Seller_w0NuiqSLJxWvi
Having to wait 14 days to get funds released then a further 5 days for it to hit our bank. If we got paid quicker cash flow would be far superior. Waiting an extra 10 days after delivery for funds to be released is just wrong
Seller_RguKGMHvWFmo3
Posted again as usual the replies post get hidden (another gem of an idea by HQ, has been asked to be changed ever since it came into place and nothing changes. I think HQ thinks Sellers no nothing)
Indy that is very short sighted of Amazon IMO.
To grow the business means buyers finding your listings, that means making sure they are good listings.
If there is an error or spelling mistake or outdated photos does Amazon not get that to be able to amend would help sales. Colours may change, composition may change and often we cannot amend. What happens loss of sales, NO GROWTH.
Does Amazon not understand ?? such as here is one example, you have a new variation say, you go to add this variation and all of a sudden there are error messages, you cannot sort these, you go to Seller Support and there the problem goes to die more often than not.
As far as I know you do not work in the front line like a seller does to witness the day to day issues that stop GROWTH and the above is just one issue but it comes back to SELLER SUPPORT not being fit for purpose.
I have listing that has been frozen, it is with the "specialist team" after going to MD office- and here we are 5 months on with NO RESOLUTION. Indy that is very short sighted. To grow the business means buyers finding your listings, that means making sure they are good listings.
If there is an error or spelling mistake or outdated photos does Amazon not get that to be able to amend would help sales.
Does Amazon not understand such as a new variation say, you go to add and all of a sudden there are error messages, you cannot sort these, you go to Seller Support and there the problem goes to die more often than not.
As far as I know you do not work in the front line like a seller does to witness the day to day issues that stop GROWTH and the above is just one issue but it comes back to SELLER SUPPORT not being fit for purpose.
I have listing that has been frozen, it is with the "specialist team" adter going to MD office- and here we are 5 months on with NO RESOLUTION.
NOW REPLICATE THAT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. WHAT HAPPENS STUNTED GROWTH.
What is the definition of insanity??? To keep doing the same thing in the same way over and over and expect different results. Change the way you view growth and we literally are giving you a large chunk of the roadmap. (I bet it all falls on deaf ears)
Seller_RAXEWLxQ2dbmN
Just to add what to what has already been said, this thread is now too long to find all the nested replies.
The forum display filters are of little if any help in making sense of long threads with lots of nested replies (ie, replies to replies within various post).
Seller_Fg2fqaWOnEtha
This forum is home to many people with years of experience, and the depth of knowledge and insight here is exceptional. Companies routinely pay a premium for this calibre of information. Amazon, however, appears not to listen at all.
That concerns me. One signs of a healthy organisation is the ability to listen to employees, customers and people who are involved like us sellers, then adjust course quickly when needed. If it can’t, or won’t, it risks steering straight into that iceberg.
