As back-to-school sales kick off, things are picking up for Amazon sellers but time is running out. We hope you’ll take a moment to catch up with the most important Amazon seller news from this month. Spoiler alert: Amazon marketplace no.14 is nearly here!
1. Drafts for Your Listings
It used to be that Amazon wouldn’t allow you to upload listings with certain missing or incorrect data. If any of your entries didn’t meet Amazon’s requirements (i.e. ‘vital info’ was missing), you’d be given a detailed list of the errors in your file and urged to fix them, or the ‘Save’ button would be inactive.
That’s all changed. You can now save your listings as drafts and return to make edits at any time. To view them, select Catalog > Complete Drafts in Seller Central.
Missing data and corrections can be entered one draft at a time or in bulk (250 listings max.). After editing and updating, drafts can be resubmitted for approval. Alternatively, you can also export a spreadsheet with your listing drafts, edit it, and re-upload.
2. Upcoming Amazon Inventory Clean-up
As always, Amazon will be undertaking a bi-annual inventory clean-up on August 15. It will then assess a Long-Term Storage Fee of $11.25 per cubic foot to items that have been in its fulfillment centers for 6 to 12 months. The fee for items stored for over a year will be $22.50 per cubic foot. Check out our upcoming blog post next week for more details on LTSFs and how to avoid them.
3. Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment U.S. Fee Changes
Effective August 30, 2017, MCF fees in the U.S.A. will be updated to reflect:
- Fulfillment Fees consolidation (Fulfillment Fee/Unit = Order Handling + Pick & Pack + Weight Handling Fees);
- New FBA-style size tiers available to all products, including media;
- Multi-Unit order discounts – certain size products will have their fulfillment fees reduced if bought in multiples;
- FBA-style unit weight and dimensional weight charges (as explained here).
4. Taiwan VAT Collection
Starting September 1, 2017, the Taiwanese government will require non-resident sellers to collect VAT from their Taiwanese customers for “remote services”. The change will be reflected in their Selling on Amazon fees at a standard rate of 5%, which matches what resident sellers currently pay.
To avoid the extra 5% in VAT, all sellers must provide Amazon their 8-digit Taiwanese Unified Business Number (UBN). If you have one, then log into Seller Central and follow this route:
Settings > Account Info > Tax Information > VAT/GST Registration Numbers > Add a VAT/GST registration number > Taiwan.
Then add the UBN and the business address, select Tax Registration, and click Add VAT number.
5. Goodbye Stamps.com Shipping Options
The Buy Shipping Services tool no longer features Stamps.com shipping options. The corresponding USPS shipping options continue to be available for domestic shipments at Commercial Plus prices free of transaction fees.
6. Japan’s FBA Partner Carriers Campaign Has Ended
As of July 13, 2017, Japanese sellers who haven’t used the FBA Partner Carriers service at all since February will no longer be given the option when they create their delivery plans. However, all those who have can continue to use it.
7. New ASINS Get Free FBA Storage
You can now enjoy a refund on your Storage Fees for up to $50 for any new ASINs you list and ship to Amazon fulfillment centers until the end of September 2017, provided they belong to certain product categories. The promotion only applies to monthly storage fees charged until September 30, as explained in more detail here.
8. Display Advertisement Service Suspended
August 14, 2017 is the day that new campaign entry will automatically stop pending the release of new advert display functions. All display advertisement menus and campaign data will be deleted from Seller Central on August 28.
9. New Pet Products Category for Italy and Spain
The Pet Products category was launched on June 20, 2017 on Amazon Italy and Spain. Any existing products sold under different product categories have been automatically reassigned to this category. If there are any products Amazon has missed, please contact Seller Support on your respective marketplace.
10. Amazon Launches Early Reviewer Rewards Program
Sellers can now pay Amazon to reach out to vetted customers to review their products. The Early Reviewer Rewards program asks customers who have already bought qualifying products to leave a review. If the customer leaves a review within a specified time, they receive a small $1 – $3 reward applied to their Gift Card balance. Unlike the Amazon Vine program, reviewers will not receive any free or discounted products.
To be eligible, a product must be priced at over $15, and it must have a maximum of 5 pre-existing reviews. It currently only applies to brand registered Amazon.com sellers, who must pay a fee of $60 per SKU to Amazon, Internet Retailer claims. The program remains active for either a year or until it delivers 5 new reviews, whichever comes sooner.
To enroll, simply access the Early Reviewer Program section of your Seller Central account from the Advertising tab. You can upload up to 100 SKUs at a time, according to DaytoDayeBay.
11. Amazon Releases Social Shopping Feed Called Spark
Prime members can now share photos on the Spark feed and tag the Amazon products that appear in those photos. To use it, members must first set their country to United States in the Amazon App (iPhone version only), go to Programs and Features, launch Spark, choose at least 5 interests from a list, and then browse a feed of photos that relate to those topics.
Then they can tap on the ones that are ‘shoppable’ (i.e. display a shopping cart icon) to reveal the items in that photo that they can buy on Amazon. They can also follow users, comment on the photos and share their opinions using ‘Smile’ emoticons. Sellers currently have no control over who tags and shares what products on Spark.
12. Amazon Singapore Due to Launch
Tamebay reports that South East Asia will soon enjoy the release of Amazon Singapore. Indonesia and Australia are two other much-awaited marketplaces that seem to currently be in the pipeline.
Singaporean online influencers have started marketing the products, claims TechCrunch. Also, the Prime Now service has already been launched in the country via Google Play and iTunes stores, according to Channel News Media.
Melanie takes an active interest in all things Amazon. She keeps an eye on the latest developments and keeps Amazon sellers up to speed.