Deal

Amazon deleted this important seller tool, creating catalog errors and churn

By: Lesley Hensell

Being an Amazon Seller got harder during the fall of 2020, when Amazon took away the Check My File feature. And there is no easy fix in sight.

Feeds were already challenging for even the most experienced of third-party sellers. Removing access to Check My File has created massive listings errors for some sellers. And surely it has created churn for Amazon as well, with hundreds or thousands of Seller Support cases opened to try and fix the bad listings now being uploaded to the Amazon catalog.

Previously, before uploading files, sellers used Check My File to double-check inventory files for warnings or mistakes. Seller Central would show the seller where errors existed, and those errors would be corrected. Wash, rinse and repeat until Check My Filed said that you passed. Then, an error-free feed could be pushed to Amazon.

Now, without the tool:

• Errors are uploaded to the catalog, rather than caught during the Check My File process.
• Often, these errors “stick” and cannot be resolved with another file upload.
• Sometimes, these errors are significant. We saw one client accidentally break all their variations. Months later, these listings still are not all fixed.

If you need assistance, contact us at 877-289-1017 or visit  Riverbend Consulting. Our team can help.

Sellers should avoid flipping heavily discounted items

By: Lesley Hensell

Internet deal sites let users buy heavily discounted products on Amazon. That’s why new third-party sellers embrace these sites. It’s cheap inventory to get started. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, this is a very high-risk strategy it’s best to avoid.

Why these deal sites exist

Deal sites and rebate sites are not for the convenience or happiness of the Amazon customer. These sites exist to help private-label sellers launch their products on Amazon. They are also used to increase Best Seller Rank (BSR) or gain product reviews.

There is an unspoken agreement between these sellers and the deal site customers. Most of the customers on deal sites understand that a product review is expected in return for the steep discount. When sales are made and reviews posted, a product’s Best Seller Rank rises. This, in turn, helps the product pop up higher in organic search results.

In most cases, the sellers using these deal sites are offering significant discounts – so much that they are violating Amazon policies against Platform Manipulation. As a result of these discounts, the sellers are losing money on sales made via the discount sites. In return, they hope to drive more buyers to their products.

What makes deal-buying dangerous

Third-party sellers purchase these deals and then flip them on their own Amazon accounts. But this is a risky strategy:

1. Amazon does not always accept invoices from Amazon-to-Amazon flips that involve third-party sellers.
2. Private-label sellers can easily file intellectual property complaints against other sellers who pop up on their listings – especially if their distribution is Amazon-only.

The private-label sellers are not going to remove their intellectual property complaints, once filed against you. This makes it particularly difficult to get the ASIN or account reinstated – whichever is the case.

What to do instead

There are lots of places to source products. Yes, they are more challenging than deal sites, retail arbitrage and online arbitrage. But they can help you develop a sustainable business:

• Manufacturers
• Distributors
• Wholesalers

If you need assistance working through product lists, contact us at 877-289-1017 or visit  Riverbend Consulting. Our team can help you uncover potentially lucrative sourcing relationships!