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Month: March 2020

10 positive actions Amazon sellers can take during quarantine

March 25, 2020 Leave a Comment

Whether your 3P account is large or small, take action today

By: Lesley Hensell

It’s a tough time for Amazon sellers – or any small business. With the situation changing every day, it’s easy to become paralyzed. Instead, how about choosing one of these 10 small ways to move your account forward – either by driving cash flow or improving listings for the future.
  1. Sling your own boxes. Amazon’s FBA operations will remain unreliable for at least a couple of months, as supply chain issues are smoothed out. This is your chance to gain a competitive advantage by merchant-fulfilling your products (MFN). The process is simpler than most FBA sellers assume it will be. Also, if you’ve got a spouse or kids home from work and school, it’s their time to contribute to the family income!
  2. Find a fulfillment house. If it’s not possible – or attractive – for you to pack and ship boxes, hire a fulfillment house. This is a great long- term strategy as well, since there are times during holidays and crises when MFN listings can out-perform FBA. If you need a referral to a high-quality fulfillment house, contact Riverbend Consulting. We can give you options.
  3. File for reimbursements. If you’re an FBA seller, Amazon likely owes you money. Inventory gets lost, damaged, not received and not returned. When these things happen, Amazon sometimes automatically reimburses your account. But more often, you must file a case to ask for the funds or inventory back. Reimbursement cases can go back 18 months, so starting now can provide a much-needed cash boost for your account. Want help? Call Riverbend Consulting. We will file your cases and only take a fee if we get you money.
  4. Source products for the future. Quarantine creates its own possible revenue streams for the future. For example, is it reasonable to expect a baby boom in 9 months? If you think it may, now is the time to find sources for baby clothing and gifts.
  5. List your death pile. There’s an old eBay reference called the “death pile.” It’s the stuff lurking in closets and spare bedrooms that was sourced – but then never listed. eBay sellers aren’t the only ones with death piles. Amazon sellers have items lurking in warehouses and closets, too. If it’s not listed, it won’t sell! Get those items listed and merchant-fulfill them.
  6.  Clean up your catalog. Most sellers have dozens to thousands of inactive listings in their inventory. If you won’t sell these items again – delete them! If not, they become an enforcement magnet for Amazon, which sees any listing as an item you intend to sell again. This makes you susceptible to listing suspensions for restricted products, price gouging and more.
  7. Work your PPC ads. When sales are slow, the strong advertise. Refine your pay-per-click Amazon ad campaigns. Improve your targeting and keywords. If you need help, contact Riverbend Consulting! We can refer you to affordable, high-quality resources for PPC.
  8. Built out A+ content. If you own a brand, now is the ideal time to improve your listings quality. Add video and compelling text to your listings. Explain why your product is superior to the competition. Get creative and build pages that draw in customers.
  9. Re-shoot lousy listing photos. It’s a good time to revisit the images on your listing detail pages. If the primary image doesn’t follow Amazon’s standards (product only, no text, pure white background), shoot a new one. If you don’t have secondary images and “lifestyle” photos, add some. These help pop your listing higher in search results – and improve conversions.
  10. Learn to love another platform. Times are tough on all online platforms right now. But this crisis proves – yet again – that diversification is key. Some sellers are seeing impressive success on eBay. Others are pushing on Poshmark, Mercari, and other “secondary” platforms. Do the research and find another place to roll out your products.

Amazon sellers, we are here for you and your business! Let’s talk 877-289-1017 or visit our website.

Filed Under: 3P, Account Health, Amazon, FBA, Fulfillment, General, Seller Fulfilled, SFP Tagged With: 3P, 3P seller, Amazon, Amazon FBA, Amazon seller, Copyright, Coronavirus, Deactivation, Essential, FBA, Fulfillment center, Inbound, Inventory, Merchant fulfilled, MFN, New York, Shipment, Supplements, Warehouse

Get your Seller Fulfilled Prime up and running – now!

March 24, 2020 Leave a Comment

Amazon has loosened its metrics for Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) shippers

By: Lesley Hensell

With Amazon’s FBA shipments falling further behind each day, Seller Fulfilled Prime has become more valuable than ever. Unfortunately, many sellers who once had SFP privileges lost them for a performance misstep. Today, likely in reaction to the Covid-19 panic, Amazon has loosened up the metrics for SFP sellers. 

Unlike before, the new metric doesn’t punish sellers for carrier missteps. Now is the time to create a differentiator and win the Buy Box by getting your listings a Prime badge. Start listing your products for SFP shipping, or get your SFP privileges back with a great appeal!

Seller Fulfilled Prime
Amazon’s new SFP metrics

Amazon’s basic standards for maintaining SFP eligibility are:

  • On-time shipment rate of at least 99%
  • Use of Buy Shipping for at least 99% of orders
  • A cancellation rate of no more than 0.5%

But recently – probably in reaction to Covid-19 fulfillment issues – their fourth metric was updated to read:

  • An on-time delivery rate of at least 97% on Prime orders when shipping is purchased outside of Buy Shipping services

In the past, sellers had to maintain a 97% on-time delivery rate no matter what. If their carrier made a mistake and delivered late, Amazon held the seller responsible. It appears that this is no longer the case – at least for now.

Appeal your SFP privileges

If you lost your SFP privileges in the past, now is a great time to appeal. Amazon wants to see a three-part plan of action:

  1. Explain the root cause of your SFP suspension. Put simply, which metrics did you violate and why? Amazon wants to know that you understand the mistakes you made.
  2. Explain what you did to remediate the problem. How did you deal with customers whose deliveries fell outside of their delivery window, for example. This section is focused on immediate actions to address past problems.
  3. Detail your plan for maintaining acceptable metrics in the future. Provide a specific plan that directly addresses the mistakes listed in your “root cause” section. This section of the plan should be proactive – not reactive (like part 2 was).

Be sincere and apologetic, but don’t grovel. Be detailed enough to show you’ve solved the problem, but keep it as brief as possible.

If you need help with your SFP appeal, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Call 877-289-1017 or visit our website.

Filed Under: 3P, Account Health, Amazon, FBA, Fulfillment, General, Seller Fulfilled, SFP Tagged With: 3P, 3P seller, Amazon, Amazon FBA, Amazon seller, ASIN, Copyright, Coronavirus, Deactivation, Essential, FBA, Fulfillment center, Inbound, Inventory, Merchant fulfilled, MFN, New York, Product recall, Refunds, Repackage, Shipment, Supplements, Warehouse

Four rules to support Amazon merchant-fulfilled (MFN) sales in tough times

March 24, 2020 Leave a Comment

With current Amazon FBA limitations, take shipping into your own hands

By: Cathy Ceely

Sellers are suddenly embracing Amazon merchant-fulfilled (MFN) orders to keep their businesses afloat. Sellers need to handle the details – the right way.

Thanks to Covid-19, and a massive influx of orders for basic household goods, Amazon has taken two major actions:

  1. Limited inbound FBA shipments of non-essential items through April 5 – It’s possible that date may be extended
  2. De-prioritized fulfillment of orders of non-essential items, with some promise dates for delivery now extending into May

Merchant Fulfilled We suggest that Amazon sellers who are growing their MFN capabilities, or are new to MFN, follow these strategies to best manage their ability to fulfill orders:

  1. Limit purchase quantities. Customers are buying massive quantities of some items.
  2. Extend handling time. Instead of “usually ships now” or “ships in 24 hours,” change your handle time to 2-3 or 3-5 days. 
  3. Cancel orders sooner rather than later, if you must. When stock moves quickly, you may find it necessary to cancel orders. Rather than waiting days or a week to see if you get more stock on hand, we suggest that you cancel the order right away. Buyers may be less angry and less apt to complain or leave negative feedback.
  4. Hit pause, early and often. If you see your metrics are in danger of missing targets, put your store on vacation – immediately. Get your existing orders filled and cleaned up before you change back to an active status. If you ship Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP), remember you have the ability to set a maximum number of SFP orders per day. Use it.

If you have challenges with your Amazon merchant-fulfilled orders or Account Health metrics, Riverbend Consulting can help! Give us a call at 877-289-1017 for more information. Or follow us on social media for constant updates.

Filed Under: 3P, Account Health, Amazon, FBA, Fulfillment, General, Seller Fulfilled Tagged With: 3P, 3P seller, Amazon, Amazon FBA, Amazon seller, ASIN, Copyright, Coronavirus, Essential, FBA, Fulfillment center, Inbound, Inventory, Merchant fulfilled, MFN, New York, Repackage, Shipment, Warehouse

NY Lockdown – What it means for your Self-fulfilled Amazon Business

March 24, 2020 Leave a Comment

NYC lockdown, what it means for amazon sellersBy: Lauren Barbera

What should Self-fulfilled Amazon Business owners think with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing the mandate that all employees of non-essential businesses must stay home? It’s natural to have fears that this will directly impact your merchant-fulfilled Amazon business, especially if you already took a hit with Amazon’s temporary FBA moratorium of inbound items that they deem “Non-Essential Household Goods.”

We here at Riverbend had the same concerns, so the moment we were made aware of the announcement we started researching what this means for you and your employees.

We have good news!

Per New York State’s designation of “Essential Services”, warehouse/distribution and fulfillment make the cut as “Essential!” Mail and delivery services also fall under this designation. 

A full list of New York Essential Services can be found here: 

https://esd.ny.gov/guidance-executive-order-2026

Of course, the health and wellbeing of you and your employees is the highest priority and sheltering in place at home may be the right choice for some or all of you. However, if you are able to take orders, know that this New York Executive Order does not prevent your warehouse operations and order fulfillment to continue at whatever capacity you can currently execute.

If your Amazon business needs additional support through this trying time, know that Riverbend Consulting is here to help. We can assist in monitoring your account to ensure that your shipping metrics or Seller Fulfilled Prime status stays healthy among a host of other services that may help you keep your account up and running.

We are open for business and would be happy to discuss your concerns regarding your Self-fulfilled Amazon Business or whatever is keeping you from sleeping at night. No issue is too big or too small. Follow us on social media for constant updates. Call us for peace of mind. 877-289-1017

Filed Under: 3P, Account Health, Amazon, FBA, Fulfillment, General, Seller Fulfilled Tagged With: 3P, 3P seller, Amazon, Amazon FBA, Amazon seller, ASIN, Copyright, Essential, FBA, Fulfillment center, Inbound, Inventory, New York, Repackage, Shipment, Warehouse

Amazon Now Requires Separate Funds Appeal after 90 Days?

March 11, 2020 Leave a Comment

By: Lesley Hensell

In the past, Amazon automatically released the funds for most suspended sellers about 90 days after their account was blocked. That seems to be changing. Now, Amazon is telling suspended 3P sellers they can appeal separately to get their money after 90 days, and a fresh investigation will be launched. This makes it more important than ever for sellers to get their appeals right the first time.

If you’re left with more questions than answers, Riverbend can help. You can contact us here.

Filed Under: 3P, Account Health, Amazon, FBA, Fulfillment, General Tagged With: 3P, 3P seller, Amazon, Amazon FBA, Amazon seller, ASIN, Box, Copyright, Counterfeit, Deactivation, FBA, Fulfillment center, Inbound, Intellectual property violation, Inventory, IP, IP violation, Lost inventory, Patent, PL, Private Label, Product recall, Refunds, Refurbish, Refurbishment, Reimburse, Repackage, Repackaging, Shipment, Trademark, Warehouse

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