Here is your midweek jetpack of Amazon seller news, updates, and other useful clicks for your e-commerce business…
Thanks for the Mini Heart Attack, Amazon
An Amazon INFORM act glitch, warning sellers of account deactivation, created a wave of panic in the seller community last week.
Sellers after receiving account deactivation warnings:
To make matters worse, a number of sellers noticed that it was not even possible to comply with the request because…
Wait for it…
The United States wasn’t even an option in Amazon’s dropdown menu for countries.
Amazon Seller Help has already posted an update stating the request for the new tax questionnaire was an error, and sellers with verified tax information do not need to fill it out again.
Shenanigans, Amazon.
Band-Aid, Amazon, Visa Are Among the Most Trusted Brands in the US
According to Morning Consult’s Most Trusted Brands report for 2023, Amazon is America’s third most trusted brand. It was the first time the tech and retail giant made it to Morning Consult’s top ten list.
Other brands in the top 10 are:
Image from Insider
Hard not to wonder if these companies are paying big money to make this list, eh?
Read the full story here.
Amazon Regating: Is It the End of the Reseller?
Amazon recently re-gated a number of hugely popular brands including L.O.L, Lego, Glossier, and Native.
This prompted our good friend Chris Grant (@cleartheshelf) to conduct a poll asking resellers if they thought the re-gating was just a glitch or Amazon’s way of tightening the noose around smaller resellers.
While glitches are no-doubt a part of the system, Amazon is probably just stepping up its drive to weed out bad actors who sell counterfeit goods on the platform.
The good news is that it seems to be rather easy to get ungated again in these categories. We one-click requested approval on a few and got accepted immediately.
So, if you were ungated in them before, it’s worth trying again—especially if you have proper documentation.
No need to sound the death bugle for the reseller just yet.
TikTok vs The State of Montana
Image from the Atlantic
TikTok isn’t going to take Montana’s statewide ban on the social media app lightly.
The social media powerhouse filed a lawsuit on May 22 against the state, arguing that the ban, which takes effect on January 1 next year, violates the First Amendment rights of the company and its users, the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution, as well as intrudes upon matters of exclusive federal concern which makes it preempted by federal law. TikTok’s legal action follows the lawsuit filed by five TikTok creators against Montana which also cited First Amendment protections.
With TikTok being one of the major cogs of social commerce, the fallout of this case will bring serious implications to a billion-dollar industry. Stay tuned.
Read the full story here.
AI Caramba! This Week in AI + Ecomm
- Meta recently introduced its AI Sandbox for advertisers and Meta Advantage Suite expansions.
- TikTok is currently testing “Tako”, an in-app AI chatbot.
- Adobe is adding “Firefly”, an AI image generator, to Photoshop.
- Anthropic raises $450M to accelerate generative AI assistant development.
- eBay ChatGPT AI powered listing creation feature fails to impress, pulled days after launch.
Important Amazon Updates for Yo’ Bad Seller Self
Amazon Prime Day 2023: Inventory Deadline Date
To ensure there will be enough time for Amazon to process your inventory and have them available in Seller Central for Prime Day 2023, make sure that your inventory arrives at Amazon’s fulfillment centers by June 15, 2023. Read this blog post from Jungle Scout for more tips on how to prepare for Amazon Prime Day 2023.
August 31 Migration from Marketplace Web Service (MWS) to SP-API
Starting from August 31, 2023, the Marketplace Web Service (MWS) will discontinue the Merchant Fulfillment, Orders, and Reports API sections. Users will no longer be able to access data from these sections after this date. To avoid disruptions to business automation, if you rely on these APIs you need to either migrate from MWS to SP-API or find a third-party app to replace your private app by August 31.
Migrating to SP-API offers benefits such as improved efficiency, reduced labor requirements, and faster customer response times. On April 1, 2024, all other remaining MWS API sections will also be discontinued. The Amazon Selling Partner Appstore is recommended for finding reliable third-party apps as replacements for existing MWS integrations. For further details, visit the SP-API Migration Hub.
Read the full announcement here.
Faster A/B Tests with ‘Manage Your Experiments’
Amazon has introduced a simplified experience called Manage Your Experiments (MYE) to streamline the process of conducting A/B tests for your listings. Now, the optimal settings for starting your tests are preselected for you to help save time.
When you enter the alternative version (B-version) of your content and click “Schedule Experiment,” the following settings are automatically chosen:
- Duration: The experiment will conclude as soon as there is enough data to determine a statistically significant winner. This eliminates the need to wait for the entire test duration to finish.
- Publication: Your product listing will be automatically updated once the experiment concludes.
- Start: The experiment begins once the validation process is completed.
If you are an advanced user, you have the option to manually update your experiment settings. Simply click the “View Settings” toggle to make any necessary changes.
To initiate A/B testing, visit the Manage Your Experiments section.
Update on Featured Offer Percentage Metric
Amazon has resolved a calculation error that caused inaccurate values for the featured offer percentage metric in business reports.
As a result of this fix, you may observe an increase in the featured offer percentage metric for certain ASINs.
To review your Featured Offer percentage metric, navigate to the Business Reports section. Click on the Detail Page Sales and Traffic report on the left-hand side of the page. You can choose to view the report by date or by ASIN.
Heavy and Bulky Products Are No Longer Eligible for Amazon Vine
Effective immediately, it is no longer possible to create new Amazon Vine enrollments for heavy and bulky items. However, if you have already enrolled such an item, it will remain eligible for reviews until the end of your enrollment period.
For further details, including the most up-to-date Vine eligibility criteria, please refer to the Vine frequently asked questions section.
This Week in Seller School…
Here is a roundup of learning resources for this week:
Blog Posts
- The Amazon Flywheel and What It Means for Sellers by LandingCube
- What Is Amazon’s Manage Your Experiments Tool and How to Use It by Ecom Crew
- The Seasonality of Sales by AMZ Advisers
- How to Increase Sales on Amazon: Expert Seller Tips for 2023 by Jungle Scout
- Mastering Returns and Refunds: A Guide to Amazon’s Latest Guidance by SellerEngine
Podcasts
- An Innovative Approach to Market Research and Launch Strategy by The Smartest Amazon Seller
- The Gray Areas of Opportunity When Selling on Amazon by Silent Sales Machine Radio
- Amazon Financial Mastery: Is Your Amazon Business Profitable by The Next Amazon Top Seller
- How Much Reseller Competition is Too Much by Full-Time FBA
- Understanding Amazon Restricted Products and How to Sell Them by Your Lifestyle Business
Upcoming Seller Events ????
Here are a few upcoming industry events that you might be interested in. Slick that hair back and start mingling, playa!
SellerCon (June 1-3, 2023) – Austin, TX
“The most powerful tool to elevate your business.”
Ambizion (June 3, 2023) – North Europe, Estonia
“A conference that gets your margins back.”
Ask Amazon (June 6, 2023, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm PT) – Virtual
Get your delivery questions answered by FBA experts at Ask Amazon. To be held on US Seller Forums.
Amazon Ads Summit (June 6-7, 2023, Virtual)
Learn how to optimize your advertising strategy to grow your business.
European Seller Conference (June 6 – 10, 2023) – Prague, Czech Republic
“Meet Amazon sellers from across the globe.”
Amazon Strategist (June 6 -11, 2023) – Virtual
“From start to success: Navigate the full Amazon journey with this expert-led event”
Billion Dollar Seller Summit (June 11-15, 2023) – San Juan Puerto Rico
Widely considered as the best event for 6,7,8, and 9-figure Amazon sellers.
Retail Innovation Summit (June 13-15) – Chicago, IL
Get inspired by retail’s most innovative minds and see their ideas in action.
Ecom TLV (June 19, 2023) – Tel Aviv, Israel
A day of learning and networking together with leading international speakers and ecommerce sellers.
Amazon PowWow (July 12-13, 2023) – Palm Beach, FL
“Serious networking. Serious Learning. Serious Fun, A new standard in Amazon events.”
Midwest e-Com Conference 2023 (July 19 -21, 2023) – Minneapolis, MN
“Created by fellow sellers for our fellow sellers.”
Other Quick Clicks
- Rewards for those who reported pandemic price gouging
- Amazon to close China app store
- Amazon razing 11 Northern Virginia offices for new data centers
- Amazon taps Atome for deferred payments in SG
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, comments or violent reactions, let us know below!
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