Amazon FBA

nortong

soolin wrote: »

I have been swayed by poor reviews, but I do read them carefully to see what it is that people don't like- sometimes people have misunderstood what an item is or how it works- so the poor reviews are a result of that.

However, I am no longer buying on Marketplace, the stuff I buy is almost impossible to find from UK sellers- even though they are definitely there. All I get are buy box Far east sellers with horrendous feedback and who aren't even the cheapest. Half the time when I try and search other sellers it just doesn't seem to want me to move away from the buy box page. I'm also irritated at the false location details0 showing estimated delivery in a week from the UK and then only after a couple of days finding it has switched to a 40 day estimate from the Far east.

I'm sorry for being so thick but can you explain what you mean in paragraph 2 about 'Market Place' what is that? Also I don't understand what your sentence 'The stuff I buy is almost impossible to find from UK sellers - even though they are definitely there........All I get are buy box Far East sellers....etc'

soolin

nortong wrote: »

I'm sorry for being so thick but can you explain what you mean in paragraph 2 about 'Market Place' what is that? Also I don't understand what your sentence 'The stuff I buy is almost impossible to find from UK sellers - even though they are definitely there........All I get are buy box Far East sellers....etc'

My explanations are notoriously convoluted !

marketplace is basically everything that is not Amazon themselves. I have Amazon prime and use Amazon a lot but prefer to pay a few pence extra to buy using Prime from Amazon direct rather than go to a private seller.

The buy box is the seller that gets the headline advert, so for,instance I was trying to buy a particular sort of packing bag, brand wasn't important but the actual style was. On an Amazon search there were several pages and when I see a photo that looks like the ones I want and click on it I get offered the bags from a single seller- that is the seller that has the buy box. To the side of the page on the right it offers me other sellers- some of which are cheaper and some of which have better feedback- but I have to actively look for them.

RFW can probably explain this better.

RFW

soolin wrote: »

RFW can probably explain this better.

Go on then

soolin wrote: »

marketplace is basically everything that is not Amazon themselves. I have Amazon prime and use Amazon a lot but prefer to pay a few pence extra to buy using Prime from Amazon direct rather than go to a private seller.

Agreed. Marketplace sellers also qualify as Prime sellers if they use FBA. There's also a higher chance of getting the buy box if you use FBA.

soolin wrote: »

The buy box is the seller that gets the headline advert, so for,instance I was trying to buy a particular sort of packing bag, brand wasn't important but the actual style was.

The buy box is what you see when you click on an Amazon page. It can be the lowest price item. There is a box on the right hand side that will lead to the "other sellers". Amazon use a series of criteria that determines who gets the buy box. Amazon and FBA trump most others, then there are seller metrics, item location and price.
It would seem from Soolin that the item location seems to not be a great concern for Amazon of late. It sounds as though some items in some categories are being unfairly skewed to far east sellers.

Unless your items are sold by sellers in the Far East and hard to find as a result of a swamped market then you shouldn't have a problem.
Using FBA also lets your items be found more easily, although it still takes work.

nortong

Ah! right I understand, thanks both.

So a fair summary of this thread is to sell items on Amazon using FBA, neutral, useful items that are not subject to be influenced by user reviews i.e. wooden fruit bowls etc. and probably best sourced in the UK?

It's coming slowly.......erm, I hope!

soolin

nortong wrote: »

Ah! right I understand, thanks both.

So a fair summary of this thread is to sell items on Amazon using FBA, neutral, useful items that are not subject to be influenced by user reviews i.e. wooden fruit bowls etc. and probably best sourced in the UK?

It's coming slowly.......erm, I hope!

As a buyer I am not too fussed about where my stuff is sourced, my only requirement is that sellers are honest about where they ship from. My latest ebay purchase (which would in the past have been bought from Amazon) was from a German seller, clearly stated as being shipped from Germany so I was fine about that. They are actually made in the Czech Republic, which doesn't bother me.

nortong

RFW wrote: »

...Sponsored advertising can work really well and can be from £1 per day. If you add a discount to start with that will boost your item and get that crucial first sale...

I've had a disastrous start on Amazon, the products I am trying to sell are not moving at all, I now just want to get rid of them and start again. Being toys I need to sell the lot in the next two weeks or so.

I have dropped the price and I want to do some sponsored advertising. I have searched Amazon help and scoured their forums but I can't find any guidance as to the daily cost of clicks I need to apply. You mention a £1 per day but how much advertising does this equate to? Amazon are offering an opening incentive of £20 free advertising so I assume this would give me three weeks of free promotion at this rate.

Again, any advice would be really appreciated. :(Gloom:(

soolin

nortong wrote: »

I've had a disastrous start on Amazon, the products I am trying to sell are not moving at all, I now just want to get rid of them and start again. Being toys I need to sell the lot in the next two weeks or so.

I have dropped the price and I want to do some sponsored advertising. I have searched Amazon help and scoured their forums but I can't find any guidance as to the daily cost of clicks I need to apply. You mention a £1 per day but how much advertising does this equate to? Amazon are offering an opening incentive of £20 free advertising so I assume this would give me three weeks of free promotion at this rate.

Again, any advice would be really appreciated. :(Gloom:(

Depending on how much stock you have in hand is it worth listing on ebay as well at a competitive price as an advert. It is just a thought but if someone sees an item on eBay they may well then go to Amazon to check prices- and that might make a demand for the item.

If you get too close to Christmas and are still holding stock then try discounting it on the local Facebook groups, locally popular toys seem to do well.

RFW

nortong wrote: »

I have dropped the price and I want to do some sponsored advertising. I have searched Amazon help and scoured their forums but I can't find any guidance as to the daily cost of clicks I need to apply. You mention a £1 per day but how much advertising does this equate to? Amazon are offering an opening incentive of £20 free advertising so I assume this would give me three weeks of free promotion at this rate.

That's a "how long is a piece of string" question unfortunately. You have to play with advertising quite a bit depending on the items you are selling. I have some that are 5p per click that show an overall cost of about 2% of sales, others can be 50p per click and not really worth it.
If you set your click rate at 5p (which is the lowest) and then check how many views you are getting on the stats, if it's low after a few days you'll need to increase the click rate.
It also shows you when you're out of budget, so if that's happening earlier in the day you can increase daily cost.
If I remember right you can set a campaign limit, so you can set it to just spend £20 then it won't cost you anything.

As far as natural search goes, have you checked the keywords in the inventory listing? It's not very useful if you haven't had sales but a tweak here and there can help a but.

There are other ways to promote, a link on Facebook or Twitter can help. The more page views your item gets the better its chances. Amazon have a "buyer also viewed" link.

Also messing about with prices helps, a penny up and down every so often can shake sales.
Selling anywhere, always make sure you have a clear title with good keywords and clear pictures (main title picture and others to show all aspects of items) plus concise informative descriptions.

soolin

Another thought is- and I don't know how to phrase this- but are the toys ' popular'?

I once had a brilliant idea about Lego, Tesco had a number of sets for BOGOF plus there was an offer to double up vouchers- so I doubled up my vouchers and bought some- and I still have some left to this day. I researched Lego- I didn't research the exact set- so basically (as an example) I bought pirate sets just after they were popular and when everyone actually wanted Underwater Kingdom sets.

Toys are funny things, it has to be the exact set or item that 'their friend' has, or is what is being advertised. Something similar just won't do.

nortong

soolin wrote: »

Another thought is- and I don't know how to phrase this- but are the toys ' popular'?

I once had a brilliant idea about Lego, Tesco had a number of sets for BOGOF plus there was an offer to double up vouchers- so I doubled up my vouchers and bought some- and I still have some left to this day. I researched Lego- I didn't research the exact set- so basically (as an example) I bought pirate sets just after they were popular and when everyone actually wanted Underwater Kingdom sets.
Toys are funny things, it has to be the exact set or item that 'their friend' has, or is what is being advertised. Something similar just won't do.

Well, yes when I bought them I was a bit naive about these things, I know a tiny bit more about sourcing now, but I still really don't know what to stock - probably never will!

Coincidently I also bought these from Tesco! They are toddlers educational toys also sold by the Early Learning Centre. I just want to get shot of them and write this chastening experience off, then have a good think as to whether I am honestly cut out for internet sales on Amazon.

Thanks to you and RFW for today's advice!!