Amazon account holder digest VIII

With preparations underway for the Amazon sales rush in Q4, sellers have their hands full trying to improve their performance metrics and their image. Yet, Amazon keeps coming up with new policies, requirements, programs and services. Keep up with the latest changes to make the most of the sales season.

Are you trying to make sure you’re up-to-date with all the latest and the most important changes that are relevant to you, as an Amazon seller? If you’ve got one eye on the Buy BoxThis refers to the situation where a sel... More in the weeks before the Amazon sales rush, there are a few things you should know.  Here’s this month’s selection of news items:

1. Minimum Purchase on Amazon Product Reviews

Recently, Amazon has applied 4 changes to the Customer Review Creation Guidelines:

• only buyers with an order above $50 are eligible;
• a valid credit or debit card must be used with every purchase;
• prime subscriptions and promotional discounts are excluded;
• customers in the same household can’t review the same product.

This limits the number of biased product reviews, but it can also mean that more expensive products will have far more reviews than cheaper ones. It may also determine sellers to lower their prices so that they never receive a bad product review.

2. Vendor Central Self-Service

Amazon now allows you to submit promotions due to run between November 1 and December 31. Lightning Deals run for 6 hours, and Best Deals can run for 90 days on Amazon’s deal page. Use the Vendor Self-Service (VSS) Promotion feature in Vendor Central, if you can meet these special requirements:

• Submit Lightning Deals and Best Deals 4 weeks before the start date for the deal.
• Submit Price Discounts one calendar day in advance.
• Select the date for your Lightning Deal; Amazon selects the start time.
• Offer the best discounts around sales season, to be sure Amazon prioritizes your listings.
• Aim to offer high discounts in general, so that Amazon can pass on the full per-unit funding amount to customers.
• Provide the minimum number of units for a Lightning Deal on products, to meet that category’s minimum potential revenue threshold.
• Have an average product review rating of at least 3 stars for more than 5 submitted reviews.

3. Handmade at Amazon Launched in Europe

Back in June 2015, we wrote about the Handmade at Amazon program, the store that enables U.S.-based artisans to sell their handcrafted items in the U.S.A. This summer, we announced that Amazon started recruiting European craftspeople, and we provided a cost breakdown. Note that Amazon promised to waive its Professional Selling Plan fee until 2018 for all new recruits.

As of September 22, Handmade at Amazon is available to sellers and customers across Europe. The British, German, French, Italian and Spanish versions of this service allow local artisans to showcase their one-of-a-kind products worldwide. This continues to be an invite-only programme, and approved artisans will be notified via email that they must activate their Handmade account.

4. Box Content Information Compulsory for FBA Shipments

Effective November 1, 2016, box content information will be required for every box sent to Amazon fulfillment centers. This includes unit quantity for each SKU per box, expiration dates (if applicable), and the box weight and dimensions. For a brief walk-through, please watch this official Amazon video.

5. Estimate Upcoming Storage Fees

Back in June, we wrote about an upcoming FBA Fee Change (login required). As of October 1, 2016, Amazon has started applying these changes. Monthly storage fees have been reduced slightly in October, but will be larger over the course of November and December. To offset this increase, weight handling fees will be smaller in November and December.

A Storage Fee Comparison Report has been made available to help sellers estimate their FBA fees in Q4, and to compare them with their fees in the year prior. The report is available for download along with existing Payments reports in Seller Central. Below are the tables we shared with you in our previous post.

6. List with Subscribe & Save on Amazon

As of September 21, 2016, FBA sellers with good overall performance can list eligible FBA offers with the Amazon Subscribe & Save program. When frequent buyers sign up for regular deliveries, they receive various discounts on Amazon. Eligible offers from third-party FBA sellers will now be featured alongside Amazon’s.

To enable Subscribe & Save, find the ‘Subscription Settings’ under ‘Fulfillment by Amazon’ settings in your account. Click Edit, Enable, and then Update. If you are not eligible, the option will not be available to you. Improving your in-stock ratio and performance metrics may help enhance your eligibility over time.

7. Liquidate FBA Inventory for Reimbursements

Amazon sent an email mid-September to remind U.S. sellers of its ongoing FBA liquidation program. So, sellers can continue to liquidate some of their products stored in U.S. fulfillment centers for free. Creating removal orders also entitles sellers to a refund on any Long-Term Storage Fee paid on those items since August 15.

This pilot program is available only for a limited time. If you’d like to see if your products are eligible, use the Inventory Age page in Seller CentralAmazon Seller Central is a portal or a h... More to pinpoint them. Then select “Create removal order” from the list of options in the drop-down menu next to the items.

8. Customer Review Policy Change

The updated Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions policy states that freebies and discounts in exchange for reviews are no longer allowed on Amazon. The only exception applies to the book category, where advance review copies of books can still be sent. All other incentives are forbidden, whether they’re offered directly or through third parties, as of October 3, 2016. Amazon warns that it may suspend or revoke selling privileges for those who disobey.

‘Incentivized reviews’ used to be allowed, as long as the authors mentioned that they were paid for, and by whom. The updated community guidelines now prohibit incentivized reviews that are not placed through the Amazon Vine programme. These reviews are easy to identify thanks to the ‘VINEA reviewer program available exclusively... More VOICE’ mark next to the name of the reviewer.

9. Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions Policy Update

Amazon recently updated its Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions policy to include instances where a seller:

• Diverts Amazon buyers to a website, a payment system, a special offer, an email address, a hyperlink or a URL.
• Has a business name that is misleading, uses a trademark or a suffix (like .com, .net, etc.).
• Carries out unsolicited email and phone conversations with Amazon users that don’t relate to Amazon order fulfillment.
• Operates and maintain multiple Seller Central accounts without Amazon’s approval is prohibited.
• Uploads excessive amounts of data through feeds.
• Posts inappropriate feedbackA performance rating on a scale of 1 to ... More or include personal information about a transaction partner.
• Offers freebies or discounts for a review (point 8 above).
• Asks buyers to modify or remove their reviews.
• Provides compensation to buyers for purchasing your products or claim codes to increase sales ranks.
• Says a product is a bestseller in the product detail page information (including title and description).
• Ships Books, Music, Videos, and DVDs later than 2 business days after the order is confirmed.
• Lists against a detail page with a different ISBN, UPC, EAN, or other external identifier, except audio CD club editions and DVD and Blu-ray disc rental editions.
• Creates a product detail page for a product already in the Amazon catalog is prohibited, except if it’s pre-orderable.
• Engages in upselling.
• Sends a non-approved technician to fulfill an in-house service order.

10. Multiple Account Survey

It has come to our attention that some sellers have been receiving emails from Amazon concerning the existence and use of multiple accounts. Amazon requires sellers to provide the email address associated with each email recipient’s Amazon account, along with those of people in their household, and the reason they need an account. Sellers who’ve never owned more than one selling account per household can disregard the email.

Melanie takes an active interest in all things Amazon. She keeps an eye on the latest developments, and keeps Amazon sellers up to speed.