What are the common problems of new Amazon sellers? Selling on Amazon successfully requires an understanding of basic concepts starting with seller reputation, customer satisfaction, and consistency in listing.
Common Problems of New Amazon Sellers
The number one most common problem of new Amazon sellers? Nobody knows who you are! When you have a new shop with zero sales, no followers, and most importantly, no customer feedback, your first sale may or may not be a tough one to make. But your SUBSEQUENT sales will depend greatly on the customer feedback you get from the earliest sales so you will want to do three very important things to ensure you get the positive feedback you want.
- Ship your first year’s orders as QUICKLY as humanly possible.
- Create and rigorously maintain a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.
- Pay special attention to the packaging and shipping of your orders–don’t go halfway on bubble wrap and other protective measures.
When you are a new seller, you will be scrutinized in a lot of ways including how well or poorly you pack and ship your items. True story: the author of this article once ordered from an online seller who shipped the items loosely wrapped in a box that was falling apart upon receipt. Extreme negative feedback was left for the 100% careless way the expensive and fragile items (collector-edition vinyl records) were shipped.
New Sellers On Amazon Take Note
VERY ACCURATE product descriptions are vital. For example, when selling vinyl records on Amazon, if you fail to disclose a scratch on the record itself, or a bend or crease on the album cover, you WILL get negative feedback since these are issues collectors obsess over. Think like a buyer, not a seller, for best results. Especially in this area. The common problem to solve as a new Amazon vendor here is a lack of detail–you want your customers to have as little mystery as possible when buying your item sight unseen over the internet.
Another problem you will need to solve–before it even comes up–is the issue of returns. At some point, all Amazon sellers will have to deal with a return. Even if you suspect a fraudulent return of some kind, the key is to remember that you NEED and THRIVE on 100% positive customer feedback.
Feedback Reigns Supreme
You may have to eat the costs of doing a return and that, as a business person, is hard to take, But the LONG-TERM consequences of negative feedback outweigh the short-term expense and that is why it is FAR BETTER to eat the cost of the return in exchange for not getting nasty feedback.
Remember, the goal is to get in business and stay in business on Amazon, and you cannot do that with negative feedback. Know how you will deal with issues associated with returns and make sure you give as much good customer service as you can. Anything less could put you out of business.
Joe Wallace specializes in personal finance, military affairs, and consumer protection topics. Since 1995, his work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and collects unusual vinyl records, which gives him an excuse to write the vinyl blog Turntabling.net.
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