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Month: March 2021

Navigating through confusing expiration violations

March 26, 2021 Leave a Comment

Tips and tricks to avoid a Expiration Violation

By: Angela Fleming

Amazon takes expiration violation concerns very seriously. Violations can be confusing to navigate through. The policies are hard to understand. Avoiding these violations is doable when following these tips and tricks.

A lot of products have a ‘Best Buy’ date, ‘Expiration Date” or “Manufacturing Date”. Expiration dates can easily confuse a customer by the way they are written. In result, create an expiration violation in your account for these issues.Expiration date staining Amazon account

For example, a customer might receive a unit with a manufacturing date stating 3/3/20 but the product does not expire until 3/3/21. When a customer reads this date, it causes confusion.

Even though it is only a manufacturing date, it can appear to look like the expiration date and result in a expiration violation.

This can also be confusing navigating through which date it is and how to track them in general, for everyone.

Included are tips and tricks that help immensely while dealing with expiration violations.

What are Amazon’s policies for expiration dates?

Amazon goes off a general shelf date policy that depends on the product and product category.

For example, chips and snacks can have a shelf life of 90-180 days. Beauty products can have a shelf life of 900 – 1,825 days. It is extremely important to follow the expiration date policies because even if that product does not have a date on it.

If it can expire- it needs a date.

Amazon does require extra time on top of these dates to ensure each customer has plenty of time to use the product before it expires.

Please refer to the help pages below for reference:

Expiration dates on FBA products

Expiration dates on seller-fulfilled products

Labeling expiration dates on products – this extra step will help in the long run!Expiration Violation

Expiration dates are easily confusing. Labeling the expiration date on your products for not only your reference but your customer can be a lifesaver.

This is an Amazon requirement for any products that has an expiration date. The requirement is either unknown by a lot of us or simply missed.

Please note, the dates should not obstruct any other date on the product.

Labeling products in MM/DD/YYYY format is the easiest for customers to understand.

Information on expiration violations are included in the help pages above for reference.

How do we track these dates?

Being detail oriented is the best way to avoid expiration violations. Organize regarding tracking every expiration date for products. This will avoid a headache in the future.

An easy way to do this would be to create a spreadsheet. Utilize something such as excel to track these dates using a first-in-first out method. This will ensure that expired or close to being expired products are not being sent to customers and resulting in a violation on your account.

Another great tip is to take a picture of the product. Invoice together showing the dates on the product and the invoice.

This will be a tool for reference and can be submitted to Amazon if a violation does occur.

In Conclusion

When selling products that do have expiration dates, it is extremely important to be detail oriented as well as organized.

No one is perfect. Mistakes will be made, taking precautions will help avoid expiration violations.

Hopefully these tips and tricks help to better understand these policies and make expiration concerns easily navigated in the future.

Have questions about expiration violations? Contact Riverbend Consulting or give us a call, (877) 289-1017. Our team will be more than happy to help!


Angela Fleming with RiverbendAngela was with Amazon for 4 yeas as part of Seller Support with the Specialty team working with Amazon Fresh, Amazon Handmade and Amazon Home Services. She helped sellers through the application process and account management once they were up and running. Angela was also a vetting specialist to ensure that only the best and most qualified sellers were approved to move forward and sell in the specialty categories. They were high touch candidates who frequently reached out and she provided excellent customer service all the way up to handling Jeff Bezos escalations. In her free time, she enjoys books. playing with her dog Tellar and crafting.

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, Amazon seller, Arbitrage, ASIN, General, Inventory Sourcing, Seller Central, Seller Performance, Supply Chain, Vendor Tagged With: Amazon, Amazon seller

Having the key factor such as capital can grow your business daily.

March 19, 2021 Leave a Comment

Financing the growth of your Amazon business with one key factor-capital

Guest blog written by: Yardline Capital

As an Amazon seller, you probably think about ways you can grow your business every day. And as endless as those opportunities might be, they typically come back to one key factor – capital.
For early stage businesses, capital can be just what you need to turn your side hustle business into a full-time opportunity. For more established businesses, extra capital can unlock opportunities to invest in taking on additional inventory, increasing your marketing budget, or taking on additional staff to handle issues like customer service or fulfillment.
Regardless of which opportunity (or opportunities) you pursue, you likely have equal number of options in terms of financing that growth. One of the biggest decisions you may need to make, particularly as it relates to an early-stage company, is whether you’re willing to give up equity, or ownership. Equity financing involves taking on additional investors who will own a portion of your business, in exchange
for financing you need to pursue new opportunities.

Here are some things to consider when weighing equity financing:

– For early-stage companies, equity financing might be a good option to get to scale quicker, not only through the financing that the investor(s) can offer, but also through the expertise and experience they may offer from operating a business already at scale.

– Equity financing also can help align your company’s interests with your shareholder’s interests. Your shareholders will only see a return on their investment should your business scale and become profitable.

Gaining the proper capital will save your business– On the other hand, a potential downside to this type of financing is the fact that you’ll need to give up ownership in return. For some business owners, this may be a viable option as the future of the company – and its ability to become profitable – is not certain. For many others, however, shared ownership of the company means shared decision making across many key functions of your business. And depending on how much equity is given up, this shared decision making model could prove challenging as the company matures.

An alternative to equity financing is often called “revenue-share” or “revenue-based” financing. Companies like Yardline Capital offer this as an alternative to equity financing and refer to it as “growth capital”.

The simple way this often works is as follows: in exchange for an upfront infusion of capital to the business, the borrower will make automatic repayments based on a fixed portion of their sales.

When sales are up, the company will pay back a larger amount on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

When sales are down, repayment amounts will be lower.

Here is a typical scenario of how this type of financing can help your business:

If you’re a profitable Amazon business and have a comfortable margin after COGS, marketing, platform fees, and other expenses like payroll, look at taking on some growth capital, without giving up a stake in your business.

With some additional funding in hand, now you’re in a position to invest incrementally in areas like inventory and marketing. And, if you assume demand for your product is virtually unlimited, you’ll now be able to order in larger quantities, becoming more efficient on a unit cost basis. Bigger investments in inventory and marketing can result in higher monthly incremental revenues –exponentially.

The faster you grow, the more velocity you have on platforms like Amazon or your website, the higher your listings become. Remember, there is no cap on how big your business can be!

There are lots of available financing options for sellers today – from the more traditional like credit cards, lines of credit or even loans from friends or family members, to the ones we’ve discussed today.

Whatever option you choose, be sure and do research on all your available options, the costs associated with each and the expected returns you wish to see from the incremental investment.

This post was provided by Yardline Capital, a Riverbend Consulting partner and provider of growth capital to sellers across any marketplace or platform. For more information about Yardline, click here!

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, Amazon seller, Arbitrage, ASIN, General, Inventory Sourcing, Seller Central, Seller Performance, Supply Chain, Vendor Tagged With: Amazon, Amazon seller, budget, Business, capital, COGS, financing, growth capital, profit, revenue-based, revenue-share, small business

Brand Reviews- what gives?

March 12, 2021 Leave a Comment

Brand reviews got you asking questions? We have the answers.

By: Caitlyn Way

Many brands or categories may require some sort of brand review through Seller Central to list your inventory on Amazon.

Recently, Riverbend has seen many questions regarding category or brand review.

This happens when you have already been approved for a brand (ex: Nike, Kitchen Aid, etc.) and have been selling for 6 or more months.

Occasionally, Amazon will request that you submit new documentation. You do this to show your supply chain for these products after you have already passed the initial approval process.

Amazon is not typically asking for information regarding a specific ASIN.

Typically Amazon is not asking for information regarding a specific ASIN. They want to verify your supply chain for the brand or category in general. Amazon may also sometimes state that since you were approved to sell within that specific brand/category that the compliance requirements were updated.Brand Review

They usually will ask that you send an email to csm-brand-review@amazon.com with the following information:

— Store name

— Seller Account Email Address

— Invoice(s)

These invoices do not need to cover 365 days’ worth of inventory but should be a good example of your supply chain for the brand or category. This is best proven with a copy of an invoice from within the last year that shows a bulk buy.

To wrap it up:

They are not removing your approval or stating they have received any complaints, but simply would like to re-verify your supply chain.

We have seen quick responses to this request, and you should have approval again within 2-5 business days.

If after 5 business days you have not received a response and you are still unable to list your inventory, we suggest you reach out to Seller Support to request an update.

 

If you have questions about category/ brand reviews contact Riverbend Consulting or give us a call, 877-289-1017. Our team will be happy to help!


Caitlyn WayCait provides support to our clients and our operations team. She creates meaningful monthly reports that help us identify trends in client accounts. In addition, she helps manage workflow and ensure everything runs smoothly. Cait spent two years in Amazon Seller Support, where she specialized in feeds, variations, escalations, product compliance and gating. In her off time enjoys baking and exploring with her two daughters.

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, Amazon seller, Arbitrage, ASIN, General, Inventory Sourcing, Seller Central, Seller Performance, Supply Chain, Vendor Tagged With: Amazon, Amazon seller, ASIN, Brand, brand review, categories, category, Inventory, Invoice, Supply Chain

When do you need to create a POA for Amazon?

March 11, 2021 Leave a Comment

Reactive vs. Proactive

By: Lauren Barbera

Humans, are fallible, and the systems we build are also fallible. It is inevitable that a blip in our operations or policy adherence will happen because we are human.

When this blip happens, it can feel like Amazon engages in a parental-style finger-wag of shame as they ask sellers to create a POA for Amazon. This stings, especially when it feels like the error was caused by something out of our control. Writing these POA’s can also be stressful and time consuming, which can be an added frustration when you feel this time could be better spent running other aspects of your business.

I can hear you thinking “But we fixed the blip as fast as the blip could be fixed! How could I have known there was an imminent blip?!”

Is Amazon asking for us to divine the future before it happens?

The answer is both yes and no.

Amazon fully understands that problems will occasionally arise that impact operations. The recent AWS outage is a great example.

However, if it is any consolation, Amazon forces its own internal teams to provide Plans of Action when they’re responsible for a problem impacting operations.  They call them “Post-Mortem COE” (Correction of Errors). They hold their own feet to the fire as much as they do so with sellers.POA requests

The long and short of it is

Amazon knows, down to an approximate dollar amount, how much service and policy failures cost them in terms of current and future buyer behavior. Buyers don’t know you’ve fixed the blip, and they don’t care. All they are concerned with is that the widget they ordered did not arrive, was late, different than expected, in a lesser condition than expected, or they suspect the widget is inauthentic.

Amazon has been able to quantify all of those experiences in terms of dollars spent after the ‘Widget blip event’.

So, Amazon has decided they do not want buyers to HAVE ‘widget blip events’. Amazon wants the buyer to receive the widget they ordered on time, exactly matching the product detail page, and in the condition advertised.

THIS is why Plans of Action are required. Amazon KNOWS people are fallible. They want to know what, to the best of your abilities, you can do to give yourself the most robust safety nets possible to avoid future WBE altogether. Can people avoid car accidents that are entirely all together not their fault? Unlikely. However, if that accident was the cause of your not being able to get packages out the door on time, Amazon wants to know that you have a backup plan for when things happen that are genuinely outside of your control. Simply crying, “but the widgets were shipped eventually!” doesn’t tell Amazon what you will do to prevent future late orders in the event of emergency.

Resolving the root of the widget blip that caused Amazon’s enforcement is only step 1. To be fully proactive, Amazon also wants to know that you have already done the work to prevent a poor buyer experience caused by future blips even before they ask for a Plan of Action.

In short

An ounce of blip prevention (so as not to repeat the same events in the future) is worth a pound of POA avoidance going forward.

Do you need help providing a Plan of Action? Contact us at Riverbend, we are happy to help! 877-289-1017


Lauren BarberaLauren helps clients find real-world, scalable solutions to their problems and translates them through the Amazon lens. Lauren worked for Amazon for nearly 12 years, first in Seller Performance Operations, then on the business teams managing Seller Performance programs. She tirelessly worked to address authenticity, fraud, money laundering, and condition, all while providing front-line support to Amazon executives via high-level escalations. If you ask, Lauren WILL sing karaoke duets with you.

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, Amazon seller, Arbitrage, ASIN, General, Inventory Sourcing, Seller Central, Seller Performance, Supply Chain, Vendor Tagged With: Amazon, Amazon seller, AWS, blip, Correction of Errors, Plan of Action, POA, Post-Mortem COE, WBE

Dump Amazon’s overpriced SAS-Core and AVS services for accountable, affordable alternatives

March 8, 2021 Leave a Comment

Sellers and vendors can save thousands – or millions – and get better results than just using SAS-Core

By: Lesley Hensell

Amazon’s premium “support” services for sellers and vendors are an expensive, unmitigated failure. Fortunately, there are better options for your business.

The e-commerce giant recently stepped up its hard-selling techniques for both of its high-priced service packages:

  • Strategic Account Services – Core (SAS-Core) was designed for Amazon’s third-party (3P) sellers. The service costs $1,600 per month plus 0.3% of a seller’s total sales in the prior month. Fees each month are capped at $5,000.
  • Amazon Vendor Services is offered to top-tier members of the Amazon Vendor program. Pricing starts at $250,000 per year, but it can run to $1 million or more.

What do sellers and vendors receive for their hefty payments?

According to the hundreds of clients we’ve discussed this with, not very much!

Spoiler alert: many 3P sellers and vendors can pay much lower fees to outside agencies and get much better results. Most importantly, these agencies – including Riverbend Consulting – can be held accountable by your team. (Amazon and accountability don’t belong in the same sentence.)

Amazon’s rich pitch for SAS-Core

Wouldn’t it be great to have your very own Amazon account manager?

That’s the big draw for SAS-Core.

Amazon claims that these magical unicorns will work directly with 3P sellers in the SAS-Core program. They will “only” manage 12 to 15 accounts at a time!

Work closely with your account manager to “prioritize your next steps that can have an impact on your sales.” You get a monthly call to review your business plan and “come up with tailored action items each month.”

These amazing experts will provide advice in “key areas like fulfillment and inventory, account health, selection and conversion growth, merchandising and advertising, and global expansion.” Plus, they can help with listing creation and detail page recommendations.

How about one-on-one coaching and mentoring, too!
Dump Amazon's overpriced SAS-Core

Wow. Those are some super-skilled account managers who know everything possible about running a successful Amazon account.

Ahem.

In case you missed the sarcasm, there’s a reason that the open market is filled with specialists. Particularly in the Amazon subject matter areas. Entire agencies are dedicated to Seller Performance challenges, PPC advertising, fulfillment and inventory management, etc.

The idea that a single person at Amazon has the in-depth expertise to advise across all of these areas in an in-depth, value-added manner is nothing short of ludicrous.

Broken promises on The River

Most 3P sellers we’ve spoken to who signed up for SAS-Core specifically wished to have Amazon insider help if and when they had a problem with a suspended account or ASIN. Since the SAS-Core team is supposed to help solve critical issues, their reasoning made perfect sense.

Unfortunately, many users of this premium service are sorely disappointed by a combination of Amazon’s internal policies. Lack of training and know-how on the part of SAS-Core reps. A lack of reasonable and fast internal escalation paths inside of Amazon. Lastly just plain old bad customer service similar to that you might see with Seller Support.

Examples of upsetting failures by SAS-Core that Riverbend has solved for clients include:

  • A 9-figure seller had their account suspended by Seller Performance. Their initial appeal was rejected, and they submitted a new one. They asked SAS-Core to escalate. SAS-Core demurred. Telling them they had to wait a full 72 hours before they could escalate. Before the 72-hour time period expired, we helped the seller escalate and gain reinstatement.
  • A seller’s most important ASIN was suspended, but no reason or appeal path was provided by Seller Performance. The seller reached out to their SAS-Core rep, who after two business days responded that they did not know the suspension reason but would try to find out. Before the rep provided any additional information, we helped the seller determine the suspension reason, appeal, and get their ASIN back up and running.
  • Amazon mistakenly provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds under the guise that products had been recalled – when they were not. SAS-Core said they had no way to help recoup those funds. Using a multi-pronged strategy, Riverbend helped the client get their money back.
  • A 3P seller with multiple best-selling brands in their category was dissatisfied with their assigned account rep. He was not responsive and did not know how to solve the seller’s critical challenges. The seller reached out to their rep’s manager, asking for a change. Amazon refused to assign a new rep – for more than a year. My team helped write escalations that got our client a new SAS-Core rep.

In all of these cases, the seller paid Riverbend far less in fees than they pay for Amazon SAS-Core. We solved their problems when these “Amazon insiders” could not or would not.

Amazon Vendor Services and the pot of gold

Amazon Vendor Services (AVS) is an invitation-only program for top-tier vendors. Only high-volume performers could afford the program’s massive price tag. AVS promises to improve listing content, improve listing searchability, increase customer reach and drive up conversion rates.

Recently, a vendor came to us with a serious problem.

They own several brands, all of which are part of Amazon Brand Registry. Despite this, unwanted and inaccurate changes are continually being made to their listings by third parties. The results have been disastrous. ASINs have been pulled down as restricted products, because inaccurate ingredient information was added to the detail page.

The vendor reached out to Vendor Relations to ask for help. Ultimately, a Vendor Manager said this: “These Brand Registry problems are frustrating. If you would like us to fix them, you can join our AVS program for $1 million per year.”

That’s right, folks. The Vendor team essentially said they would not provide basic, reasonable and critical customer service to ensure this brand’s listings are not being wrongly edited by others. But for a cool million, they might find the time to fix it all.

There are lots of words that might describe this “sales pitch.” However, the term “extortion” comes to mind.

Regardless, others who are part of AVS have expressed many pain points with the program. It features poor customer service, badly trained reps, extreme delays in addressing critical issues, and a refusal to address financial issues such as overcharges and underpayments by Amazon.

Forget spending $1 million with Amazon. A vendor can hire a firm like Riverbend to address many operational issues, plus hire an agency to manage their catalog, inventory and more. And they will have cash left over.
Amazon Sellers Leaving SOS-Core

Pay for real results – and accountability

Agencies and consulting firms like Riverbend offer several critical advantages over these rich Amazon programs:

  1. Accountability. It is literally impossible to hold account reps, account managers and other individuals at Amazon accountable. There are many reasons for this. The end result is all that matters. Even if you are an 8- or 9-figure seller, you do not have the ability to set standards or performance expectations. You are the little guy.  You are at their mercy.
  2. Results. If you submit a request for help, nobody at Amazon is focused on truly ensuring you get results. In contrast, at a consulting firm, we are deeply invested in helping our clients get the end result they need.
  3. Customer service. The Service Level Agreements (SLAs) at SAS-Core and AVS have little meaning. At Riverbend, we adhere to our SLAs. We have employees whose sole job is to ensure that we respond quickly to clients – even if their assigned consultant or sales rep is busy. Another huge differentiator? You can get us on the phone! Amazon just doesn’t want to talk to you. Period.

Therefore, if you’re currently paying through the nose for one of these programs – or considering it – think again. Give us a call at 877-289-1017. Our team can talk to you about more affordable alternatives with better results and superior responsiveness.


Lesley HensellLesley is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, where she oversees the firm’s client services team. She has personally helped hundreds of third-party sellers get their accounts and ASINs back up and running. Lesley leverages two decades as a small business consultant to advise clients on profitability and operational performance. She has been an Amazon seller for almost a decade, thanks to her boys (18 and 12) who do most of the heavy lifting.

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, Amazon seller, General, Seller Central, Seller Performance, Vendor Tagged With: 3P seller, Amazon, Amazon seller, Amazon vendor, Amazon Vendor Services, AVS, SAS-Core, Strategic Account Services, Vendor Manager

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