Amazon Seller Support

Sell more this holiday season with a Pro Merchant subscription

If you're an Amazon Marketplace Seller with a lot of inventory to sell during the holidays, you might want to consider upgrading to a Pro Merchant subscription. Here are just a few of the benefits you'll receive:

• Discounted selling
• Access to our volume listing and order management tools
• Ability to create product detail pages in Amazon's catalog
• Eligibility for Featured Merchant status
• Add an unlimited number of listings that never expire

Learn more about the benefits of selling on Amazon with a Pro Merchant subscription.

If you're wondering whether a Pro Merchant subscription is right for you, our tutorial can help. Watch as our fictional hero, Mike Seller, evaluates the features of a Pro Merchant subscription and walks through the process of deciding if he should upgrade his account.

Proceed to video  

If you ever forget your seller account password…

It is easy to regain access to Seller Central if you accidentally forget the password for your account. Click the "Forgot your password?" link under the Seller Central "Sign in" button:

Simply enter the e-mail address associated with your seller account and click "Continue." You will then see a message that says we've sent an e-mail to the address you entered. The e-mail message will have a link to a page where you can easily create a new password.

Note: We encourage you to use our self-service password reset functionality. It will allow you to restore your account access immediately.

If you still have access to your account, but just want to change your password, you can change it quickly by logging into your account and following these steps:

1. Click the "Login Settings" link under the Settings tab.

2. In the Password Settings section, click the Change button.

3. Enter your *old* password.

4. Enter your new password in both the "New password" and "Re-enter password" boxes.

5. Click the Submit button.

Best Practices For Contacting Seller Support

If you are new to selling on Amazon, you might be wondering what kind of information you should have when you need to contact Seller Support.

When you e-mail or call Support, please be ready to provide us with as much information as possible:

• If your question is about your listings: Provide the ASIN or SKU
• If your question is about a specific order: Provide the complete order number(s)
• If your question is about a text file upload: Provide the Reference ID or Batch ID and the exact Error Message Received
• If your question is about a Settlement Report: Provide the date of the settlement report
• If your question is about an error or incorrect image on a product detail page: Provide a link to the page

Providing complete information when you contact Support helps us provide you with the highest quality assistance!

Starting Off on the Right Foot

The most common question we receive is: “Where do I begin?” Here are some good steps to help you get started:

• Provide the business name that will be displayed on Amazon.com so that they remember your company.
• Make sure your business contact information is current (e-mail & phone number if available) so that we may contact you, if necessary.
• Keep credit card and bank account information current for payments and settlements.
• Provide shipping and returns policies to help build buyer trust.
• Only enter company info specific to how you manage your business on Amazon.com.
• Choose shipping rate settings so buyers know what your shipping costs.

- Aleece

POP QUIZ: Can you list similar items?

Get out your pencils and put on your thinking caps, y'all. It's time for a POP QUIZ!!  

Scenario: You're a Pro Merchant Subscriber, and you have a sealed copy of the Disney DVD, "A Bug's Life." You got it when you bought your last computer, and it came bundled with your software package.  It's in a cardboard sleeve with the same cover art as the clam shell (hard-case) DVD listed on Amazon.com. To list this DVD for sale, you should:

1.  
   • List it on the same page as the retail release in "New" condition - it's factory-sealed, after all! Call out in your condition note that the packaging is different so no one will be confused when they receive the DVD in a cardboard sleeve.
   • List it on the same page as the retail release in "Used - Like New" condition because it doesn't have the same packaging. Call out in your condition note that the packaging is different so no one will be confused when they receive the DVD in a cardboard sleeve.
   • Create a new page for the DVD since it's a different package.
   • None of the above.

If you answered "d," then move to the head of the class!  Even if you describe the difference in the packaging, it is a promotional item bundled with your computer's software package. Promotional copies of media items cannot be sold on Amazon - they're not for resale. Listing a promotional item is a violation of policies that protect Amazon from being sued by the manufacturer or producer of the item. It's one of those issues that, no matter how well the item is described, we just can't let it be sold. 

This brings up another issue: even if it wasn't a violation of policy, listing an item on the detail page of a materially different version of the item can result in a really bad buyer experience, regardless of whether you describe the difference in your condition note or not. 

Amazon expects that sellers will list their items on pages that exactly match the items they're holding. If there is no exact match, and you're a Pro Merchant, Amazon expects you to create a new page for your item (unless it's prohibited, like the promotional DVD example above, of course). 

Many buyers use 1-Click shopping.  Some use smartphones. Some use search engines to locate items to buy. Even when shopping from a home computer, many buyers simply add several items to their cart during a shopping session.  In other words, not everyone reads condition notes.

Buyers expect that what they're ordering is the same item they see on the detail page while they're shopping. Buyers who receive items that are materially different than the items offered on detail pages (even if the differences are described in condition notes) are eligible to seek remedy via Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee.

What have we learned? Protect yourself and protect the buyers' experience. Don't expect buyers to read your condition notes - only list items on detail pages that exactly match what you're offering for sale. 

Happy Selling!

Matt Nastasi

A recap on this year's 2010 SCOE (Seller Conference for Online Entrepreneurs)

The annual Seller Conference for Online Entrepreneurs (SCOE) was held July 9th to July 12th at the Seattle Airport Marriott.  Participants at this seller-run conference are Amazon Sellers who gather to share ideas about selling on Amazon and talk with Amazon staff. 

Each year Amazon hosts an “Amazon Day” on Sunday, which includes numerous break-out sessions and office hours.  The theme this year for Amazon Day was “Build your Business with Amazon,” and included workshops on Amazon selling programs designed to help Sellers improve their online selling business. 

The day began with a keynote address by Scott Pulsipher, Director of Amazon WebStore.  Then 300+ participants attended workshops on Amazon WebStore, Fulfillment by Amazon, Checkout by Amazon and Products Ads.  Other sessions included presentations and discussion on Selling Coach, Protecting Buyers and Sellers in the Amazon Marketplace and Marketplace Web Services.  Amazon also had several Category Managers available from Books, Movies, Consumer Electronics, Home and Toys. 

Like last year, there was great demand for Seller Support and Seller Performance office hours where at least 70 Sellers talked with Amazon staff about issues and questions specific to their selling accounts.  The conference ended on Monday, July 12th, with a breakfast and feedback session hosted by conference organizer, Rhonda Schneider.  It was a full weekend of events and one attendee described his experience aptly: “Great conference – well worth attending.” 

Find out more about this annual event at http://www.scoe.biz/ and check back for information about next year’s conference. 

Also, to learn more about selling on Amazon and other services check out http://www.amazonservices.com/.

-Lisa

We’ve pulled back the curtains to unveil what Amazon.com customers are shopping for...

Have you ever wondered what you could be selling on Amazon.com? Recently we’ve launched our Amazon Suggested Products page to make it easier for you to see top customer searches on Amazon.com that had few or no offers available.

This is a great opportunity for you to make more money by selling what customers are shopping for. Weekly, we will unveil top products by category so check back often to see what’s behind the curtains.

Bookmark the Amazon Suggested Products page today as it's updated weekly!