Top Tips for Retailing on Amazon

Hello and welcome to another edition of Network Intellect’s Top Tips. Today, the focus is on retailers utilising Amazon as a crucial aspect of their e-commerce strategy. It’s important that retailers understand fully what they can, and can’t expect from their relationship with Amazon:

- Don’t rip off or mislead the customers!

This should go without saying, but the need for Amazon’s A-to-Z guarantee proves that customers don’t always get what they pay for. Customers file A-to-Z Guarantee claims when their orders never arrive or when the product they receive is different to what they expected. If you have too many A-to-Z Guarantee claims against your name, Amazon is likely to disable you.

- Don’t forge customer ratings and reviews!

You may lose selling privileges if you falsify product reviews, or even if you force your buyers into submit feedback.

- Don’t forget that Amazon manages the shoppers!

It’s important you remember that Amazon effectively owns the shoppers and the entire shopping process on their site. Attempts to link the users away from Amazon to your own website will not go un-noticed, as Amazon expects all their merchants to conduct themselves in the same way as Amazon themselves.

- Don’t operate multiple seller accounts!

Unless your company offers two very different product lines, Amazon will not allow retailers to use more than one account. If they notice that this restriction has been overlooked, they will most likely terminate BOTH accounts.

- Don’t add extra fees AFTER a purchase!

Some retailers have been known to add extra fees such as unrealistic postage/shipping rates after the purchase has been completed. This is a sure-fire way for retailers to get removed from Amazon.

- Don’t overlook Amazon’s e-mail guidelines!

Ensure you don’t use your email communications with customers over Amazon as a means to market your products further. The only communication Amazon allows is that which is related to orders, such as enquiries into the state of the product or the costs of P&P (shipping).

- Don’t use a misleading business name!

Amazon expects retailers’ business names to be a clear reflection of the actual business. Any URL extensions such as .co.uk, .com etc can’t be used in the business name and obviously, other company’s trademarks can’t be breached.

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