The Amazon account holder digest VII

Back to school shopping is in full swing, and Amazon retail sales are going up. This is no doubt a very busy time of year, but let’s take a moment to focus on the latest developments in the world of e-commerce.

Continue reading to find out what’s new on Amazon.

New Amazon Fulfillment Centers

Five new fulfillment centers are opening this month to keep up with growing Amazon retail sales in the USA. Amazon urges EDI vendors to ensure that their systems and warehouses are updated to include five new locations, and check that the SAN/FC codes are correct.

Note that the first two are only a 5-minute drive away from each other

• Amazon.com.dedc LLC, 3050 Gateway Commerce Center Dr. S, Edwardsville, IL 62025-2815
  Amazon FC Code: STL4, SAN: 7801971, SAN For Media Carton Qty Receiving: 780198X
• Amazon.com.dedc LLC, 3931 Lakeview Corporate Drive, Edwardsville, IL 62025
  Amazon FC Code: STL6, SAN: 7802250, SAN For Media Carton Qty Receiving: 7802269
• Amazon.com.dedc LLC, 309 Cedar Lane, Florence, NJ 08518
  Amazon FC Code: ABE8, SAN: 7802552
• Amazon.com.dedc LLC, 1610 Van Buren Road, Easton, PA 18045
  Amazon FC Code: ABE4, SAN: 7801912, SAN For Media Carton Qty Receiving: 7801920
• Amazon.com.ksdc LLC, 19645 Waverly Rd, Edgerton, KS 66021-9588
  Amazon FC Code: MKC4, SAN: 7801955, SAN For Media Carton Qty Receiving: 7801963

New Performance Metrics for Japan Accounts

We discussed performance metrics in detail in a previous post, referring strictly to Amazon US sellers. The time has come for them to apply to Japanese sellers. Amazon JP is rolling out three new performance metrics: Customer Dissatisfaction Rate, Valid Tracking Rate and On-Time Delivery Rate. As of August 2016, Japanese sellers are able to view these rates in the Account HealthAccount Health is an Amazon page which c... More section.

FBA Small and Light Speeds Up Deliveries

We mentioned in a previous post that Amazon made it easier and cheaper for sellers to send small and light flat items. Bloomberg claims that the change is set to benefit Chinese sellers who ship USB cables, screen protectors, smartphone sleeves and other small items. Because the items involved are usually worth less than $10, though, local sellers also stand to gain, and Amazon FBA sales are bound to pick up.

Chinese sellers had been using the Post Office’s ePacket program to ship their merchandise to the USA., and that meant that while Amazon sales were up, the retail giant was losing out on all the packing and handling fees for those orders. Luckily, this merchandise can be stored in Amazon’s fulfillment center with a promise of delivery in 4-8 days, rather than the 2-week delivery the ePacket program was able to offer on Alibaba.

Amazon Refunds Orders Shipped Using Its Labels

As of 1st May, 2016, Amazon started taking full responsibility for undelivered orders dispatched using its Shipping Services labels. Sellers will not be notified when Order Not Received claims or refunds are processed, and the claims will have no bearing on their Order Defect Rate.

Approval Requirements for Apple Products

Effective 1st September, 2016, Amazon UK sellers need approval to list Apple products. Otherwise, these listings will be removed. Amazon is retracing its steps as we speak, notifying UK sellers who have sold these items in the past, and reassuring them that their performance metrics won’t be affected.

To apply for your item to be approved, follow these instructions:
Seller CentralAmazon Seller Central is a portal or a h... More > Inventory > Add a Product > Search for ASIN > Click ‘Request Approval’ > Provide 3 invoices for at least 30 units bought in the past 90 days.

Starting 25th August, 2016, only approved sellers can send FBA shipments of these products. Existing FBA inventory can be sold until 1st September, but must be removed or disposed of if you don’t apply for approval by then. Amazon will reimburse removal fees for these items if the Removal Orders are placed between 25th August and 25th October. If no Removal Orders are processed by 22nd December, Amazon may dispose of it.

FBA Manual Processing Fees Information

The Amazon Marketplace Web Services team recently launched updated APIs to allow US sellers to input manual processing fees information. The parameter called ‘InboundShipmentHeader’ will specify how box contents information will be provided from this point on.

To comply with this requirement:

Call createInboundShipmentPlan > Check EstimatedBoxItemContents > Set the IntendedBoxContentsSource under the InboundShipmentHeader to one of these values:

• NONE – Amazon will process box contents manually.
• FEED – Amazon will look up the ‘_POST_FBA_INBOUND_CARTON_CONTENTS_’ feed.
• 2D_BARCODE – Stick your 2D barcode label on the box, rather than in Seller Central.

To check that the change was applied:

Call listInboundShipment > Check BoxContentsSource > Check EstimatedBoxContentsFee if you chose ‘NONE’.

BoxContentsSource in ListInboundShipments will now show where that information is provided, and you may update it anytime. To use this new functionality, simply download the latest version (2016-07-01) of the client library in Java, C+ or PHP. language

Did you know?…
When you sell a major appliance for $300.00 as opposed to $299.99, you can net around $21 more, because Amazon’s referral fees are lower at a selling price of over $300. You only pay 8% instead of 15% of the price. Check referral fees here.

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