Amazon.com. Your thoughts as a seller.

[Cidien]

I've heard and experienced great customer service from amazon.com from a buyers perspective. I've been selling on ebay since around the time they started but i'm getting really tired of them. Seems every time I list things on ebay they've either raised the fee's they get or they've found some new way to screw over sellers. It really does seem like they sit around all day trying to think of new ways to piss off sellers without completely dooming their business.

That said, how is everyone's experience selling on amazon? I hear some people say it's pretty straightforward. Others claim amazon was a horrid experience and that their customer service was a nightmare to work with. Hoping to get some of your guys' experiences with them.

[katharsis]

Originally Posted by Cidien

I've heard and experienced great customer service from amazon.com from a buyers perspective. I've been selling on ebay since around the time they started but i'm getting really tired of them. Seems every time I list things on ebay they've either raised the fee's they get or they've found some new way to screw over sellers. It really does seem like they sit around all day trying to think of new ways to piss off sellers without completely dooming their business.

That said, how is everyone's experience selling on amazon? I hear some people say it's pretty straightforward. Others claim amazon was a horrid experience and that their customer service was a nightmare to work with. Hoping to get some of your guys' experiences with them.

I've been using eBay and Amazon to sell for a few years now.
ebay has really gone downhill these last 2 years.
Selling on Amazon is pretty straight forward, as for most items you just need to enter UPC or ISBN # and then add if its used or new, plus a few notes. So makes it a lot faster than setting up auctions on eBay.
The downside is that Amazon takes a bigger share from your profit.
Other than that I've only had trouble twice with buyer's and Amazon somewhat helped me to resolve it.
The only thing that ticks me off right now is that they do not offer gift certificates as a payment option any longer (meaning that you can only get the money transferred into your bank account).
Oh well... every platform like these will have pros and cons.

[Wingman1977]

Personally, I've used craigslist when I want to sell something since there's no seller fees and you deal with the person face to face and I've never had a issue at all.

[Cidien]

How do you figure amazon has higher fees? I just sold fable 2 on amazon. Amazon I have one (I think 7%) fee. Ebay I have the listing fees, final value fee plus the paypal fees. Tired now but I did the math last night. Ebay fees are quite a bit higher. Maybe not if you use money orders, but people who use those are incredibly rare. Not only are you required to list paypal as an option for payment, but ebay isn't going to let you list money order as an option soon. You can still technically have people pay using money order but you're going to have to put it in your description to contact you about it.

[quexos]

You can sell stuff on Amazon ? hehe one learns new things everyday it seems !
I'm only a buyer on Amazon and just an occasional one at that. But with the Euro crashing down vs the Dollar these days, I am not so eager anymore.

[jw]

I have sold on Amazon for 5+ years. People are the major drawback because they think because you aren't Amazon you are stupid. Always use delivery confirmation unless you dont mind losing money. Always use a signature confirmation on anything over 250.00, thats required by Amazon and major credit card companies as proof of delivery. I always do 100.00 and up.
Unlike ebay when a customer files a claim, they usually get a refund regardless whether it was delivered but 95% of the time they dont debit you fot it.
You must accept returns, 30 days from delivery date, no exceptions or your account will get debited and you will lose the merchandise as well in the event of a claim. Amazon is very customer friendly as we all know and thats what they expect as well from its sellers.

[jw]

calculate the fees on
http://ppcalc.com/

on amazon a 20.00 movie runs
Your price: $20.00
Quantity: 1
Amazon commission (if sold): ($3.80) for standard shipping
Shipping credit (if sold): $2.98 for standard shipping
Total you will receive (if sold): $19.18 for standard shipping (U.S. buyers)

alot cheaper than ebay

ebay has really gone downhill these last 2 years.

ebays stock is around 14.00...... they are failing at all the new changes

[Cidien]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

You must accept returns, 30 days from delivery date, no exceptions or your account will get debited and you will lose the merchandise as well in the event of a claim.

That's... really bad. People could buy a video game, play it and return it 20 days later claiming it doesn't work. From your wording it sounds like they might not even keep track of whether or not the customer actually sends it back? I know with ebay they either require the buyer to send it back to the seller or they have to send it to paypal.

[katharsis]

The thing with Amazon fees is like this-

If you sell 1 DVD / CD you pretty much get even with their share plus the shipping credit they give you. Which is usually $2.98

Now I have sold Band of Brothers DVD boxset for $30.00 and only got $2.98 shipping credit but it cost me $7.95 to send, because it was too heavy for Airmail. The Amazon fees were $6.84

$25.00 - $7.95 -$6.84 + $2.98 = $13.19

If I would have sold this on ebay I can put in my own shipping price, which I would have made $8 - $9 for an item like this, and charge extra for delivery or signature confirmation, if requested. Amazon won't let you do that.

[jw]

Originally Posted by Cidien

That's... really bad. People could buy a video game, play it and return it 20 days later claiming it doesn't work. From your wording it sounds like they might not even keep track of whether or not the customer actually sends it back? I know with ebay they either require the buyer to send it back to the seller or they have to send it to paypal.

True as long as its used but you can charge as much as 20% restock fee. I have never had an issue like that. And if a return is initiated the buyer has to pay the return shipping charges and must be shipped using a trackable method.
Little do people know, Ebay works the same way. If you pay with Paypal and get something thats not as described it can be sent back at the buyers cost but paypal will award full value back as long as you provide proof you mailed it back.