Pay by Invoice - how do I stop this?
I have received an order for which payment is pay by invoice, what is this? It says payment is due on the 17th February but I should ship now.
I don’t recall signing up for this and I am simply not willing to do business on these terms.
What are my options?
31 replies
Seller_89fLakcUuS4UV
I think this is something Amazon introduced at the end of last year and we couldn’t opt out. I think Amazon now give credit to customers and give them a certain amount of time to pay. If they do not pay, amazon then release fund to you but it could take a bit of time. If i remember rightly it could be up to 45 days after the dispatch date.
Seller_hC0hNVDuILaKO
Leave Amazon?
It is not an optional policy.
It is underwritten by Amazon though so whilst you won’t be paid immediately you should receive payment within, at the worst, 59 days.
Invoice terms 30 days,
Amazon pay you 15 days AFTER that if the buyer has defaulted
Fortnightly disbursement just missed would mean 14 days to wait so a 59 day total wait should be the worst scenario.
Seller_2BrPSydGy6oyq
Lengthy post on this B2B pay by invoice back in November;
Below poster suggests sellers are opted in if they sign up for the VAT calculating tool?
>I have opted out of this by no longer subscribing to VAT calculating tool<
>https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/tax/settings/summary<
>Edited by: Bradgate Supplies on Nov 1, 2017 2:13 PM<
I have no confirmation this works and is a way out?
Seller_OP9m3fDefldQz
You won’t get screwed over because Amazon will pay if your buyer doesn’t, as explained above the worst that can happen is you will have to wait up to 59 days.
Seller_AennIxNXjiBGd
15% is good.Mine is 0%.
In all seriousness though, if this metric is brought in without there being any exceptions to the rule, then you wont be the only one leaving for good. There will probably be a stampede and you may well be caught up in the rush.
Seller_NtainYGNJzxWJ
Sorry, but I actually think this is a good idea from Amazon.
Many businesses only pay on Invoice, and are incredibly difficult to sell to on any other terms. This is a way of creating additional business orders on Amazon.
As mentioned by Adrian, there is practically no risk at your end as Amazon guarantee the payment even if the customer does not pay. I’m certain your cash-flow isn’t so bad that you need payment from every order in ASAP or risk not being able to pay for things?
The chances are that the order may not have existed were it not for the credit terms given to the buyer.
With regards to your other post, I wouldn’t assume that the business is in trouble just because it can’t buy at the right price. This is more than common, especially in large companies where staff with procurement responsibilities often don’t care about the pricing as long as they get an easy life.
Seller_vGp1Bq98CghJw
If a customer has paid previously with a company credit card then they are automatically offered pay by invoice, I understand.
A company credit card is not like a standard credit card in the the balance in full must be settled after every statement.
Seller_72Sy9T6sEfmjl
+This is more than common, especially in large companies where staff with procurement responsibilities often don’t care about the pricing as long as they get an easy life.+
It’s not just large companies, many councils are now moving their purchasing over to Amazon because of the ease for end users being able to buy and get it shipped directly to them.
The finance department then gets a complete itemised bill without having to chase up local users for receipts etc.
Convenience and lower market price rates for the council - many council suppliers in the past have loaded their bills and quotes because it is a public body. Particularly with educational supplies to schools.
Seller_aR6OQT8rQGIVK
Hi All,
We had this added to our account the end of last year, as a business seller it has worked for us, bit annoying that we didn’t get told this was going to happen though. Interestingly we have also been sent a couple of emails asking us if we want credit terms with amazon. Payments appear in our disbursement after 30 days. None appear to have failed yet.
Hopefully this should be good for sellers on here but some advertising on Amazons part wouldn’t go a miss.
Seller_7iQfuOKAtSb6a
Don’t understand how waiting for weeks for payment is ever a “good idea”. Maybe it’s a good idea for amazon, maybe it generate sales for them. I’m really happy for them! However not every small business can afford the delay in cash flow. After all small businesses are sometimes running on small margins, plus they don’t have the luxury of telling their staff suppliers/ et al to wait weeks. Personally I rather no sale, than a sale that takes weeks to get paid.
