Top FBA seller and FeedbackExpress contributor Stephen Smotherman (Full-Time FBA) recently flew to Seattle to attend the 2019 Amazon Selling Partner Summit. The event was “invitation only” and attended by both private label sellers and resellers (like Stephen). Below he shares his ten biggest insights from the summit.
1. Amazon’s customer obsession is huge
Amazon’s first slide was eight points on “how to live customer obsessed”. Amazon is where it is today because of trust. Jeff Bezos said recently the most important thing that Amazon has done in the last 20 years is earning customers’ trust.
2. Amazon’s customer returns policy actually gets you more sales
Amazon’s customer-centric returns policy can be a source of frustration for sellers especially if you suspect a customer is abusing it. But the generous return policy gains the customer trust and encourages them to buy more. It’s actually a win-win situation.
3. The #1 filter Amazon customer’s use when shopping is Prime
The #1 filter Amazon customers use is to only look at Prime offers. That means customers mostly want to buy items that are FBA. With over 100 million Prime members, this is good news for third-party FBA sellers.
4. Amazon’s four keys to success: listings, Prime, discoverability & engagement
- Sell your items on quality listings that attract customers and buyers.
- Selling your items via Prime shipping will help drive sales (more time in the Buy Box), secure customer loyalty and improve discoverability and conversion.
- Sponsored ads help more people see your inventory.
- Log into Seller Central daily. Check your reports and improve your feedback score.
5. Why some shipments take forever to get checked in to FBA warehouses
There are many reasons that a shipment might seem to take forever to get checked in to a warehouse. Most of the reasons are actually the seller’s fault but other times it’s Amazon’s warehouse workers who are slowing down the check-in process. Remember, Amazon is run by humans who (like all of us) make mistakes from time to time.
6. A little clarity on understanding your IPI (Inventory Performance Index)
Your IPI score is important to understand because if your score goes below 350, then you’ll have FBA stock level limits placed on your account. The best way to improve your IPI score is to sell your inventory faster than you do now.
7. The best practices to win the Buy Box
The Buy Box (or as Amazon call it “the featured offer”) is super important as over 82% of all sales go through it. Learn more about how to win the Buy Box.
8. Account or ASIN suspended?
If you get suspended from selling on Amazon then you’ll need to provide them with a plan of action that they will use to decide if your seller account will be reinstated. Include these three things in your plan of action:
- What is the root cause?
- How did you address it?
- How will you prevent it in the future?
9. How a negative product review can actually be a good thing
Amazon employees confirmed that a negative product review actually helps sales. An item with one review and it’s a one-star review will sell 76% more times than an item with zero reviews. If you saw a product page that had only 5-star reviews, you might stop and wonder if all these – star reviews are even real. Seeing some negative reviews makes it more authentic but you don’t want too many. Learn how to remove negative product reviews.
10. Amazon is not out to ruin third-party sellers
50% of Amazon sales come from third-party sellers. When you win, they win! Amazon’s #1 priority right now is fake reviews and fraudulent products. Amazon is listening and responding by taking action, even if sellers don’t see it. Amazon is not out to ruin third-party sellers but to help us find success in selling on Amazon.
Source: Full-Time FBA
