Every other week, we share quick bites of Amazon seller news, tips, and other goodies. Here is a quick roundup of seller snacks to munch on:

Amazon Sellers Sue Walmart for $5M

A group of Amazon sellers has filed a class action suit against Walmart, alleging that Walmart enabled an organized retail crime scheme to be perpetrated on its marketplace.

The scheme, according to reports, works like this:

Bad actor creates product listings on Walmart without actually possessing the products.
When a Walmart shopper purchases the item from the dodgy listing, the bad actor places an order for the same item to be delivered to the Walmart shopper’s address from a legit Amazon seller.
After delivery, the bad actor falsely claims non-delivery to Amazon and requests a refund.
Amazon almost always sides with the buyer, leaving the legit Amazon seller without the product or the money.

The group of Amazon sellers is alleging that Walmart is not properly vetting and verifying sellers on its platform, has financial incentives in place to allow this type of illegal activity, and has profited from referral fees on these fraudulent sales.

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Amazon Updates Fund Withholding Policy Page

In what appears to be a move to shed some light on its “mysterious” Fund Withholding policy, Amazon recently made updates on its Funds Withholding Policy page. The following are the major updates:

“Funds Withholding Policy” has been renamed to the “Fund Disbursement Eligibility Policy”.
The following have been added to increase the transparency of Amazon’s policy: the reason why Amazon maintains this policy, the steps sellers need to take to appeal for their disbursements, the steps Amazon takes when evaluating appeals, and examples of activities which may cause Amazon to not disburse funds.
Amazon has reduced the time in which sellers may appeal for their disbursements (from 90 days to 60 days from the date of account deactivation).
Amazon has added a link to the Funds Disbursement Eligibility Policy on the Program Policies page.

While it remains to be seen how this update helps fix Amazon’s broken appeals process, this seems like a positive step…

Read Amazon’s full announcement here.

Important Q4 Reminders

Q4 has officially begun, and we’re all excited thinking about making serious coin during the craziest retail spending quarter of the year.

However, let’s also keep in mind the major changes in operations Amazon has in store for Q4, lest we get caught with our pants down…

Storing Inventory at Amazon Warehouses Will Be More Expensive – the rates for storing inventory at Amazon FBA warehouses typically triple during this time of the year. Make sure to keep a sharp eye on your inventory levels to make sure you’re not overpaying fees.
Fulfillment Fees Will Be Higher – Amazon will be hiking its fulfillment fees from October 15th to January 14th, and for most items, the increases are generally around 5%. Click here to see the full rate card.
Amazon’s Extended Holiday Return Policy – take note that all items purchased from November 1 to December 31 will be eligible for return until the end of January.
Select Windows to Replenish FBA Inventory – starting this year, Amazon will only be allowing sellers to replenish their FBA inventory on select window time periods from November 11 to December 15 due to “high congestion.” In true Amazon fashion, they only left a cryptic message on the FBA shipments page, so no one exactly knows yet how this will work. We’ll keep you updated on this.

Amazon Seller Community Rallies Around Seller

Here’s a feel-good story….

The Amazon seller community recently rallied around a seller who lost 735 units of product due to a lost shipment.

Amazon seller NataliesKitchen posted on the Seller Forums that she shipped a 21.3 lb package containing 735 units to the Amazon warehouse via UPS. Amazon confirmed the package was delivered, with a warehouse employee signing off on the delivery.

The shipment idly sat for 56 days, until its status was changed from “Delivered” to “Closed,” with Amazon later reporting that it had received “0 of 735” units. The OP thought because of the “Closed” status, she couldn’t reconcile or submit relevant documents anymore to make a claim for her missing units.

Empathizing with her situation, the Amazon seller community rallied around her, offering her support and advising her to keep submitting and reopening support tickets until her case was properly addressed. Seller moderators also replied and even helped escalate her case to relevant Amazon teams.

As of today, the case is now being reinvestigated by Amazon, and hopefully, they make it right with the OP.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Join a seller community. There are very little downsides and lots of upsides with support and idea generation.

OA News, Tips, & Tricks

Is It FBM Friendly? – this video breaks down the data points you need to check on a product listing to know if a product is FBM-friendly or not.
Finetune Your Logistics Strategy – this Q4, your logistics strategy is going to be one of the keys to making serious bank. Click here for some great Q4 shipment tips.
Master Dimensional Weight – understanding dimensional weight is a must if you want to have any success fulfilling merchant- fulfilled orders. This sweet thread makes it very easy to understand.
Hold, Hype, or Hoard? – ever wonder how you can invest in inventory that you can buy low now and sell at a huge profit later? This post explains how to spot and buy products before people even realize they want it.
Sourcing Target’s House Brands – Target’s House Brands have been selling like crazy on Amazon. Click here to learn how to source them profitably.

Important Amazon Seller Updates

Amazon Accelerate On-Demand

You can now access Amazon Accelerate 2024 content for FREE. Click here to register and unlock access to all on-demand content.

Gain Better Insights on Your Returns

The new “Returns” tab in the Product Opportunity Explorer enables you to understand your product’s return trends so that you may address customer concerns and product issues for better results.

Subscribe and Save & Reorder Coupons update

Subscribe and Save & Reorder coupons can now be offered on an ASIN at the same time.

Holiday Peak Fulfillment Fees for FBA

Quick reminder from Amazon about the annual holiday peak fulfillment fees will apply from October 15, 2024 to January 14, 2025.

To view US Fulfillment By Amazon rates, click here.

To view US Multi-Channel Fulfillment rates, click here.

To view Buy with Prime Rates, click here.

Social Commerce Orders Fulfillment

Orders placed on social commerce channels like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest can now be fulfilled automatically by Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) using your FBA inventory. Find the right MCF integration via Amazon’s featured Social Commerce integrations or the MCF Integration tool

Showcase Your Fast Fulfillment Speeds on Google

Sellers who use Multi-Channel fulfillment and have Google Merchant Center IDs can now showcase fast delivery speeds and free shipping on Google via MCF fast badges. MCF Fast badges show potential shoppers estimated delivery dates, and can be displayed along with a shopper perk like “Free Shipping”.

Learn more about MCF badges for Google here, and you can avail one by opting in here.

This Week in Seller School

Blog Posts

On-Time Delivery Policy for Seller-Fulfilled Amazon Orders by eComEngine
The Ultimate Guide to Amazon FBA Prep and Packaging Requirements by amz prep
Amazon Halloween – Tricks and Treats to Boost Sales by AMZ Advisers
Understanding Amazon Lightning Deals and Tips to Improve Your Amazon Deals Campaign for Increased Profit by Seller Snap

YouTube

Amazon Suspension Trends: The Dangers of Contacting Amazon Legal by eCommerce Chris

Other Quick Clicks

Meme of the week comes from My Amazon Guy.…

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Amazon Sellers Sue Walmart