Amazon Seller Support

For Pro sellers: Customer returns processing just got easier

Amazon has just released a new feature to assist sellers with processing customer returns. Previously, sellers were limited to the default number generated by Amazon when authorizing a return request. Now sellers can use a custom return number.

This new feature is in response to custom return numbers being one of the most requested features among high volume sellers.

Custom return numbers enable sellers to integrate their existing Customer Relation Management (CRM) systems with Amazon's returns system, creating a more seamless return process. During the return authorization process, sellers can now use either the Amazon return number or a custom number.

The custom number now appears on both the buyer's return authorization and the return mailing label.

Use Amazon Selling Coach to help increase your selling success

You may be wondering how to increase your sales on Amazon.com. If you are on the Professional selling plan, you can use the Amazon Selling Coach to see valuable information about your products and listings:

• Inventory that is low or out-of-stock
• Products that our customers are searching for that you may also want to offer
• Products that may benefit from Fulfillment by Amazon
• Products that match yours, but are being listed by other sellers at a lower price
• Listings that are missing important information

Amazon Selling Coach is updated periodically, so check frequently for new alerts about potential opportunities.

After you have tried the Amazon Selling Coach, please send us feedback by clicking the “Tell us what you think of this new feature” link.

We appreciate the feedback and suggestions we have received so far. Sellers have told us:

“Fantastic!!! Now I never have to worry about my best sellers running out of stock without me knowing!! THANK YOU!!”

“[The Coach] is easy to comprehend. I like seeing what customers look at before deciding to purchase my products.”

To learn more, search for “Amazon Selling Coach” in seller Help.

If you are on the Individual selling plan and would like to learn more about the Professional selling plan, search for “selling plan” in seller Help.

Use your Google Shopping file to sell on Amazon.com

If you have a tab delimited file in the format you use for Google Shopping, you can upload this file to your seller account to list products for sale on Amazon.com. Amazon's listing requirements (e.g., data and image quality) apply to the products that you list.

We currently support the following categories, as specified in the google_product_type field in the file you use for Google Shopping:

• Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phone Accessories
• Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phone Accessories > Mobile Phone Cases
• Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phone Accessories > Mobile Phone SIM Cards
• Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phone Accessories > Mobile Phone Stands
• Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones
• Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones > Feature Phones
• Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones > Smartphones
• Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones > Watch Phones
• Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Satellite Phones

For more information, search for “Google Shopping” in Seller Central Help.

Feeds, right? Amazon Marketplace Web Service might be just the thing for you

Amazon Marketplace Web Service (MWS) provides data exchange support for listings, orders, payments, reports, and more. For listings, as an example, you can add, delete, and modify, and you can update price and quantity with a simplified feed. Listing, order, and payment data can be integrated into your existing workflows and business practices.

There is no additional fee for using Amazon MWS but you do need at least one of these Amazon MWS-enabled account types, which do have fees:

Selling on Amazon (Select the Professional selling plan.)
Amazon Webstore
Checkout by Amazon
Amazon Product Ads

The Amazon MWS portals contain client libraries and comprehensive documentation. Take a look around:

Canada http://developer.amazonservices.ca
France http://developer.amazonservices.fr
Germany http://developer.amazonservices.de
Italy http://developer.amazonservices.it
Japan http://developer.amazonservices.jp
Spain http://developer.amazonservices.es
U.K. http://developer.amazonservices.co.uk
U.S. http://developer.amazonservices.com

(Don't miss the forum.)

Check your seller account home page daily for useful information

Your seller account home page puts a lot of useful information right at your fingertips:

• Technical Notifications: We post Technical Notifications when Amazon has a planned outage or a technical issue. If you see a notification about a particular issue, you'll know that we are already looking into it. You can also check back periodically for posted updates. These notifications appear in the top middle section of the home page.
• Headlines: Headlines are announcements about feature launches, tool updates, new products, and changes that may affect your seller account. These announcements appear in the middle of the home page.
• Widgets: Widgets provide information at a glance of key aspects of selling activity, such as Your Orders and Payments Summary. The Selling Coach provides advice targeted specifically to your business. Click the link in a widget to go directly to the corresponding tool or page in your seller account. Widgets appear in the left and right columns of the home page.
• Selling Tools: Selling Tools provides information about tools that help you sell on Amazon, such as Fulfillment by Amazon and Checkout by Amazon. Posts about the Selling Tools appear in the middle of the home page below the Headlines.

Seven super tips for successful selling on Amazon

1. Check for orders daily: To ship quickly you need to find out about orders promptly. We will e-mail you when you have a sale, but e-mails are unreliable and can be caught by spam filters. We recommend checking for orders daily in your seller account. Under the Orders tab you can view a list of orders you’ve received and set up automatic order reports. We also offer an order notification application that makes it easy to keep on top of orders.
2. Ship orders and confirm shipments promptly: Once an order is placed, you are responsible for confirming shipment of the order after you’ve sent it. Amazon charges the buyer's credit card only after you have confirmed shipment of the order. Use the Manage Orders tool in your seller account to confirm shipments.
3. Check your inventory regularly to avoid stock-outs: Buyers who order products that end up being out of stock often leave negative feedback. Keep an eye on the quantity of inventory you have in stock and update your listings in your seller account accordingly. Use the Manage Inventory tool in your seller account to update listing quantities.
4. Keep pricing accurate: The Offer Listing Page displays the lowest priced items first. Amazon shoppers are always looking for the best deals and are more inclined to purchase items that appear at the top of the Offer Listing Page. Use the Manage Inventory tool in your seller account to enter your listings’ prices.
5. Be accessible to buyers: Not knowing the status of an order can be very frustrating to a buyer. Respond quickly to buyer contacts. Make it easy for them to know how to reach you. Good communication helps build buyer trust and fosters repeat business.
6. Build a good feedback rating: Customers pay close attention to sellers' feedback when making purchasing decisions. Some keys to building a good feedback rating are: accurately describing your products, shipping orders quickly, and providing prompt, polite responses to buyer questions.
7. Know where to look for answers: Our seller Help pages contain a wealth of information about the listing tools available to you, performance measurement, selling policies, and much more. And best of all, it’s available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Just log in to your seller account and click “Help” in the upper right corner of the home page.

Getting Away from the Gray? Plan Ahead

During these long, gray days in the dead of winter, we find many of our colleagues escaping the sunnier, warmer climates. Whether you're planning a vacation or need to get away from your business for another reason, you need to know some important facts about managing your Amazon seller account while you're away.

• Listing Status: Be sure to set this to "Inactive." This will prevent buyers from placing orders that you can't fulfill right away.
• Buyer-Seller Messaging: Your Listing Status is inactive, but messages will continue to arrive. You will receive less e-mail because you won't have pre-order inquiries. However, you may receive other communications, and you need to respond to these within 24 hours -- even when on vacation -- to maintain a healthy contact response time metric.

For more information, log into your seller account and search on "Listing Status" and "Contact Response Time."