Selling on Amazon.co.uk (Seller Central)

[lesliedocherty]

All the prices are on the sign-up page, but works out about £25 per month plus 15% on each item.

 

[theprintingworks]

Blimey, didnt know that. So is it a flat fee per month regardless of how may products you have? and can I stop the account at any time

 

[lesliedocherty]

not sure, it was the £25 per month that was putting me off aswell

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Lets just say a friend loaned me one.
lol!

But I have more items I want to list, do you think its worthwhile buying a batch of barcodes?
If you are going do regularlty selldozens, then register with GS1. if only a few, probably not (there is an annual charge).

Also where do I find out what amazon are going to charge/keep?
here

 

[Mister B]

Interesting to see that somebody is actually selling barcodes

If it weren't so ridiculously priced, it would almost become a license to print money. Or barcodes

Would be interesting to know what the legal standpoint is on this. Do GS1 concern themselves with the reselling of barcodes?

Mister B

 

[TotallySport]

Your not allowed to resell barcodes, due to the way the number works, as previously said part of the number is the owners number, and if the company owning the number goes bust you cannot simply go an buy that barcode, making your barcodes no longer valid, it also links that product to the people that won the barcode and not the company that actually won the product.

I asked if i could be a barcode pimp and was told this is not posssible.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Have a look at this lot - now that's expensive!!!
http://www.buyabarcode.com/index.php?/en

These guys have been around for years. I originally saw them when were looking for a couple barcodes, before we registered with GS1

 

[TotallySport]

WOW!!!!!

Although it is an American company and GS1 is for UK only, not sure if there would be a problem buying a US 1, but at those prices it's cheaper going to GS1 for 100,000 than 1 barcode from that company.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

GS1 is the international organisation for barcodes, not UK only!

http://www.gs1.org/contact/worldwide.php

 

[TotallySport]

You learn something new every day

 

[TotallySport]

Apparently there are only 2 companies in America that can resell barcodes, due to their terms and conditions being different when they signed up, but your definatly not allowed.

 

[escentual]

we have been selling on Amazon UK for the past few months.

Our accountants have flagged up a huge problem.

Amazon take 15% commission on the total value of the sale (gross value) including VAT and shipping.

This means we actually commission at a rate of 17.625%

Our accountants say there is nothing that can be done, unless amazon change the way they calculate the commission.

warning to be careful with margins on products

 

[Mister B]

Sound words on margins from escentual. Before I even list a product I calculate my margin after factoring the entire commision rate payable to Amazon.

Crazy not to really, but looking at the prices that some guys sell equivalent products for on Amazon, I would be amazed if they check their margin

Mister B

 

[ericson1973]

I just stumbles across this forum whilst researching EAN ownership. I have been trading in Amazon seller central for 18 months very successfully via selling my own products, which were initially branded with an unregistered trademark but are now registered with a Trademark. Another seller listed on one of popular ASIN's and because I had ownership of both the EAN (bought from GS1) and had branded my items his item could not possibly be a 100% match. This was reported to Amazon and the guy was removed. He came back on my ad and was removed again. After then he threatened legal action if I removed him again, which I duly did. He received a 30 day suspension and took me to court for 'lost profit' of that missed month. I duly defended this claim and countered on the basis that he was 'passing off'. The guy then came back on Amazon and listed again. 3 more times he was reported and therefore was banned from Amazon. After a couple of month he withdrew his case but I continued with my counter. After all he had been listing on my advert for 2 months and had taken some sales away from me. This case is now going to the court. What I would like assistance on is the legality of EAN use. On a previous reply one member states that the first 5 digits of an EAN are allocated to the company who buys them, so therefore if that is correct it would correct for Amazon to remove the other seller from my adverts as only I could list on that ASIN created with EAN numbers I own. I have spoken to Amazon and they have confirmed this but their legal team only refer me to their participation agreement, which eludes to 'database rights'. What I need to know is how much these database rights within Amazon's participation agreement can be attributed to EAN ownership and what rights EAN ownership itself brings? I am going to court soon so want to make sure my argument is 'watertight'.

Thanks

 

[webseller_pro]

I just stumbles across this forum whilst researching EAN ownership. I have been trading in Amazon seller central for 18 months very successfully via selling my own products, which were initially branded with an unregistered trademark but are now registered with a Trademark. Another seller listed on one of popular ASIN's and because I had ownership of both the EAN (bought from GS1) and had branded my items his item could not possibly be a 100% match. This was reported to Amazon and the guy was removed. He came back on my ad and was removed again. After then he threatened legal action if I removed him again, which I duly did. He received a 30 day suspension and took me to court for 'lost profit' of that missed month. I duly defended this claim and countered on the basis that he was 'passing off'. The guy then came back on Amazon and listed again. 3 more times he was reported and therefore was banned from Amazon. After a couple of month he withdrew his case but I continued with my counter. After all he had been listing on my advert for 2 months and had taken some sales away from me. This case is now going to the court. What I would like assistance on is the legality of EAN use. On a previous reply one member states that the first 5 digits of an EAN are allocated to the company who buys them, so therefore if that is correct it would correct for Amazon to remove the other seller from my adverts as only I could list on that ASIN created with EAN numbers I own. I have spoken to Amazon and they have confirmed this but their legal team only refer me to their participation agreement, which eludes to 'database rights'. What I need to know is how much these database rights within Amazon's participation agreement can be attributed to EAN ownership and what rights EAN ownership itself brings? I am going to court soon so want to make sure my argument is 'watertight'.

Thanks

even 10 sellers can sell the same product on amazon
doenst matter if you created the ean or not.. every seller has equal rights of selling the products..

if you didnt lose yet.. I am sure that you will lose the case.

 

[ericson1973]

You are correct in your assumption that everyone has the right to sell an identical product, however, Amazon have provided written verification that a seller who owns an EAN has the sole right to sell on that advert, unless they wholesale to different sellers.
Even if the other item being sold by another seller looks the same it cannot be the same materially as that seller does not own the EAN number and therefore is infringing.

 

[webseller_pro]

You are correct in your assumption that everyone has the right to sell an identical product, however, Amazon have provided written verification that a seller who owns an EAN has the sole right to sell on that advert, unless they wholesale to different sellers.
Even if the other item being sold by another seller looks the same it cannot be the same materially as that seller does not own the EAN number and therefore is infringing.

I am not talking about different items that looks the same..

if I am a seller and you are a seller.. we have the same product to offer.. why would Amazon not let other people sell the item?
who cares if the other seller owns the ean or not?.. if the product is the same and isnt stolen or fake goods.. he should be fine.

 

[ericson1973]

Your statement "who cares if the other seller owns the ean or not?" is unfortunately incorrect. An EAN is bought by one company and assigned to a product. Only that company has legal rights to sell that product unless they distribute that product to other resellers.

We could split hairs forever but I have a host of other things to do. Amazon have provided clear definitions so there is no need to debate this any further.
Thanks for your time.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Re the EAN and the 'who sells' issue, there are a couple ponts and possibly confusion.

If you set up an item on Amazon and that is your own 'exclusive' product, with the EAN from your own ranges, it is unlikely (indeed, near impossible) for someone else to sell that item under your barcode or, potentially another. This is on the basis that if the product is made for you, under your brand etc and you do not resell it, how can another person get their hand on it to also offer on Amazon?

The next point is that if you buy a product from a factory and you put your own barcode on it (regardless of whether one exists, or not), then someone else imports the same product and sells the item under your barcode/amazon listing, the legalities can get a litle fuzzy. On the one hand, both sellers are selling the same item, but the second does not 'own' the barcode. I cannot see where, on Amazon, it defines how this is handled. Bottom line is that the second seller is not passing off, as the item is the same (one might assume the branding etc is identical). However, if the spec is identical and branding or colour is different, it would be seen as a different item and coexistance could easily be challenged!

Ericson, not knowing the full story, if he is selling your exact item, I would be more worried where he got it from!

 

[webseller_pro]

how can another person get their hand on it to also offer on Amazon?

The next point is that if you buy a product from a factory and you put your own barcode on it (regardless of whether one exists, or not), then someone else imports the same product and sells the item under your barcode/amazon listing

that is the point...
Amazon prohibits sellers from listing the same item twice, and if they see the same item listed twice they will delete the item.

if the other seller also has access to the same product, the fact that you bought the ean and sticked on the product DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT OF MONOPOLIZE the product selling rights.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

you are correct and possibly i didnt make my view/understanding clear (early morning, late friday....) - if you have a product and put it under your barcode, but some one else has exactly the same item, under Amazon rules, the second person can sell the same item under your lisitng.

 

[Page]

BUT - if they donot know the bar code then how can they do that.

(I ask because I have tried)

 

[webseller_pro]

click "add item" then search by item name.. or asin
when the result comes
click on "sell yours"

 

[Page]

Ah - doesn't work like that in restricted categories.

(In which I am allowed to sell)

There is no sell yours option.

I can download into seller central but it does not bring the barcode in only the images and description. Which means that amazon have ended up with loads of people selling the same item but with their own images and listing. Very un amazonish!

 

[webseller_pro]

i dont know..
i never have problems selling anything on amazon...
it only appears restricted for me.. when is a DVD item...

 

[ericson1973]

Hi,

You stated: If you set up an item on Amazon and that is your own 'exclusive' product, with the EAN from your own ranges, it is unlikely (indeed, near impossible) for someone else to sell that item under your barcode or, potentially another. This is on the basis that if the product is made for you, under your brand etc and you do not resell it, how can another person get their hand on it to also offer on Amazon?


We can confirm the above is our scenario. The other seller was selling a similar item on our ASIN passing it off as ours. When they were removed and subsequently suspended they started small claims procedures. We counter-claimed and the case is now at the patent court.

 

[vipinpatel]

Hi,
Think very carefully before jumping into selling on amazon. The comission is sky high, the service from seller central support is non existant ( BTW - they only offer this from 9-5 monday to friday) so if you have issues friday evening - you are stuffed. This is stressful when they block your account for no valid reason, then you are unable to contact by phone. E-mail response is standard - they dont actually read your e-mails just reply with a standard response. Recently my account was blocked without any notice. I requested a reason for this and was told that my account was linked to a suspended account and so had blocked the account. (BTW I have had this amazon account for 4 years). When I questioned this the response changed to shortfalls in service. When I questioned this with supporting evidence from the site metrice data from amazon the reason changed to unacceptable cancellation rate, which again was within their acceptable limits. Overall the exercise of selling on amazon has been a disaster and a total loss. So guys if you have money to loose to AMAZON by all means do sell on AMAZON.
E-bay is a much better bet!!
vip

 

[ca_jamesscott]

If you're a professional Amazon business seller, with a typical monthly Amazon turnover of >£20k, then you should make it along to the ChannelAdvisor Catalyst event at the end of March.

www.channeladvisor.co.uk/catalyst.

We'll be covering some advanced eBay strategies in a variety of workshops and demos, plus hearing from Amazon Seller Central UK's Director, Matt Henderson, in person.

Places are strictly limited and the content will not be as relevant for smaller Amazon businesses - but if you're seriously into this channel and are looking to increase turnover and/or profitability then make sure you attend!

Hope to see some ukbusinessforum'ers there!

James.

p.s. PM me if you plan to come along

 

[Simon12]

I have been selling on Amazon seller central for just over 1 year (and regularly talk to another seller) and Amazon seem to have changed there policy on EAN number ownership with relaton to the right to exclusively sell on an Amazon ESIN number in the last few months. In relation to unbranded products from china (whch don't have a barcode) when I first started selling Amazon would let anyone sell on any ASIN number as long as the product was the same as the description. Then a few months ago I was blocked from selling over 100 products because Amazon were notified that it infringed the interlectual propery rights of another seller (I had been selling these products for 9 months withouy a problem and most of them said the brand was generic). I then contacted the seller to ask how I infringed there interlectual propery rights and they said because they owned the EAN numbers used to sell the products. I asked Amazon about this and got a vague reply not really saying much but suggesting I list my own items myself. Then a week ago I was blocked from selling 2 items with a major manafacturers brand and part number. I don't know how the law works but I think Amazon will side with anyone who owns an EAN number.

 

[The Dreaded Lurgy]

Does anyone know what you have to do to br allowed to sell items in a restricted category on amazon i.e. what criteria you have to meet to get that status?

 

[Blush]

I have only just recently started sellign on Amazon, using it really to advertise main website so don't intend to list everything on there, but seem to be getting daly sales so can't complain.
However when i TRIED TO sell the dancewear I had to apply for a restricted category, and what really really annoys me is when they can't be bothered to even reply to you and you have to chase them up via another department.Then their reasons were complete consense.waffled on about images etc? well when I haven't had the chance to upload images as I can't sell in that category yet how on earth can they commnet? my current category other buyers already ahve items listed so I am stuck with their images?
So as far as service goes -10 I am afraid, very poor

 

[Mister B]

It's a little bit of an enigma really-it's quite easy to get going at a basic level but if you want to expand it's like trying to get blood out of a stone:|

I have always been a big supporter of Amazon, but they really do need to start policing it so that certain products only have one number and that all vendors follow the same rules. As an example, each product/colour/size should have one listing but with variations instead of multiple entries for each size, colour etc. I am finding that not only is the search facility getting blocked up but also that my products are being squeezed out

Time to push your own site a little harder I think...

Mister B

 

[Blush]

It's a little bit of an enigma really-it's quite easy to get going at a basic level but if you want to expand it's like trying to get blood out of a stone:|

I have always been a big supporter of Amazon, but they really do need to start policing it so that certain products only have one number and that all vendors follow the same rules. As an example, each product/colour/size should have one listing but with variations instead of multiple entries for each size, colour etc. I am finding that not only is the search facility getting blocked up but also that my products are being squeezed out

Time to push your own site a little harder I think...

Mister B

I couldn't agree more Mister B
Amazon is ok but you will get further with your business if you spend time on your own sites rather than fighting what sometimes seems alosing battle with Amazon.

 

[Page]

Does anyone know what you have to do to br allowed to sell items in a restricted category on amazon i.e. what criteria you have to meet to get that status?

Just contact them.

 

[Wayne-SAF]

I couldn't agree more Mister B
Amazon is ok but you will get further with your business if you spend time on your own sites rather than fighting what sometimes seems alosing battle with Amazon.

Couldn't agree more.

I am in dispute with Amazon at the moment. They, and I for that matter, want to move over to seller central. At the moment I am forced to chagre Amazon standard £4.43 shipping fee for every item I sell. I sell many Action Figures, and the shipping fee is usually well over 50% of the item price, in some cases on clearence stuff I have to sell it for 1p and still get undercut!!

Sellers on seller central set their own shipping rates, but for me to move over I have to throw away 13000+ 99% Postive, 1 % netural feedback. They cannot move over the feedback from Marketplace to Seller Central, which I find staggering. So it's either charge ridiculaous shipping fees, or lose 3 years feedback.

Wayne
Star Action Figures.co.uk

Answer= Kick up a fuss and hope someone there is actually listening, or throw 100% of time and effort into making my own site outperm Amazon.

 

[ANGELLINA35]

HI
I just read about the problems you have been having on Amazon, I am shortly hopefully trademarking a product, and would be interested in chating more about this with you, if you have time.

Thks Angellina.

 

[ANGELLINA35]

Hello Is Anyone Still Using This Foram? Lol!

 

[aaamusements]

Hello Is Anyone Still Using This Foram? Lol!

You can't necessarily expect a reply within the hour to a thread that is now stale...

 

[Simon12]

I have now confirmed with amazon that if anyone sends them there standard form saying another seller selling an item violates there interlectual property rights it is Amazons policy to believe them whatever and not check anything.

 

[aaamusements]

I have now confirmed with amazon that if anyone sends them there standard form saying another seller selling an item violates there interlectual property rights it is Amazons policy to believe them whatever and not check anything.

Sounds exactly the same as Ebay's "Policy".