While the Amazon marketplace offers many B2B (business-to-business) benefits, many companies are unsure about selling their products on the site. This is because there are some drawbacks to working with Amazon. This article will address some of these issues with using Amazon marketplace to sell your products.
Biggest Concerns
Fees can range between 6 to 20 percent depending on the category of the product. There are some exceptions for certain items that are not usually marketed as business products. These fees are in addition to any Fulfillment by Amazon(FBA) fees.
Primarily viewed as a commodity, there is a limited opportunity to form relationships with customers or stand out from your competitors. In many cases, buyers will simply filter the search for the lowest price and buy from only those vendors. The qualities of your business or product would never get noticed in this scenario.
Product data, it is typically a difficult process to get product information into Amazon. This is partly because each product category has its own rules. It is important for your product to be set up a certain way for maximum visibility. This is similar to search results from major search engines that use search engine optimizers. If your product is listed on page 100, customers will most likely never see it.
FBA Can Be Worth It
FBA gives you the benefit of shipping your products to an Amazon warehouse for shipping and handling when they are sold. This can be very convenient and save businesses plenty of time. FBA also handles certain customer service issues such as refunds and returns. Of course, FBA does have fees, which may make it not worth it for some products. Amazon fees can apply in other instances as well.
Communication
Amazon has strict limitations on how sellers can communicate with buyers. This is because Amazon views them as their customers, not yours. These rules also apply to communication information included in the package. This prevents you from making your brand stand out or from trying to build a relationship for future business.
In closing, Amazon B2B marketplace offers many benefits to businesses. These benefits include increased exposure and simplified fulfillment. While the benefits are excellent, there are some drawbacks to consider, such as building customer relationships and fees. Whether Amazon is right for you will depend on the type of products you are selling.
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