Are FBA Sellers Actually Paying More than their Fair Share to Amazon?
by November 1, 2020
This post is from our friends at Seller Locker
Most Amazon FBA sellers are unaware of how much control over their own accounts they have willfully given away, as they lose more and more to a system they’re counting on to work on their behalf. Some even choose a reimbursements third party company to file claims for refunds for their businesses, without ever once wondering whether those claims are valid, without knowing that by doing this they could compromise their accounts, and without realizing how much control over their business they’ve now given yet another company.
What Do You Mean FBA Sellers Give Up Control?
The nature of selling on FBA is to give up control, but that’s not Amazon’s fault. FBA literally means Fulfillment by Amazon. It means that a seller, for the sake of efficiency, has chosen to hand a multitude of responsibilities over to Amazon to handle on their behalf. A prime example of this is that a seller often ships products to numerous Fulfillment Centers (FCs). In order to meet demand, they are then often dispersed from there even further to other FCs throughout a vast national Fulfilment Network. There is no possible way to track what happens to all of them, or to oversee how they are handled in transit and arrival.
Essentially, once they are out of a seller’s hands, sellers have no say over what happens to them. Were they damaged in transit? Did something get lost or misplaced? Did an FC employee accidentally weigh the received shipment incorrectly, overcharging the seller? Every accident impacts a seller’s bottom line. Are they actually hitting the profit margins they planned at the end of the day? There are too many moving parts; it’s too much to constantly keep track of.
Imagine hiring someone to track all of this for you. You’d have to pay a team of people every day to sift through hundreds of orders, shipments, fees, reported incidents of loss, damages, and other data, and hope that they don’t overlook anything. It’s an added business expense no seller wants to take on. However, even if they did, it’s no guarantee they wouldn’t end up shelling out more than they recover in the end.
So What is the Future of eCommerce Moving Forward?
When a seller examines all the moving parts that are completely out of their control, they are usually surprised by how overwhelming the results can be. Having a tight grasp on a business is important, so what can be done? Wouldn’t it be great if there was some way to have instant awareness of every occasion in which Amazon overcharged for fees, be able to set those fees correctly before listing a product, oversee and decide on your own reimbursement claims, and take back control over your business?
That’s where Seller Locker comes in. Seller Locker has developed a unique software that merges with a seller’s account to track, calculate, and uncover discrepancies. Upon sign up, which is completely free, they analyze your account’s activities over the past 18 months and find any money that’s owed to you. Furthermore, after entering the dimensions of your products, their Fee Auditor tool automatically uncovers differences between the fees Amazon charged you, and what you should have paid. All of this is managed from one convenient and easy-to-navigate portal (locker).
They continue to monitor your account going forward, to find any future instances where a seller may be getting mischarged. They watch every order to manage profitability, and have a software which compiles reimbursement cases that sellers can easily file with one click.
Seller Locker is also the only clean reimbursement solution that won’t endanger your account! The seller retains total control; (s)he decides what claims they want to file or not file with just one simple click of a button from the central seller portal. Seller Locker is Amazon Terms of Service (TOS) compliant! This means sellers file their own claims. Clicking one button submits a claim on their screen with their IP address; the company is completely hands off. Seller Locker simply compiles the cases and supplies the critical tools a seller needs to handle their business.
What Types of Cases Do They Handle?
Seller Locker is unique in that it handles Pick & Pack fee cases, which no other software or FBA service currently cover. They allow sellers to set Pick & Pack fees correctly for all products, and track every fee discrepancy over the past 18 months, instantly, upon sign up. They also help sellers manage Lost & Damaged Inventory cases, as well as cases where there was an issue with Inbound Shipments.
Check out Seller Locker to learn more, and discover ways to tackle these issues while regaining control of the things that matter most for your business.
About the Author
Sara Hall is the Digital Content Writer and Marketing Communications (MarCom) Manager at Seller Locker. Seller Locker is the only FBA fees and clean reimbursement case manager, and they are tackling issues no one else in the marketplace is or has. They are a software provider for independent small businesses and million dollar sellers alike. Seller Locker does all the work, making account maintenance and filing for reimbursements quick and painless, so business owners can focus on growing their business. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up today.Please note: This blog is for informational purposes only. Be advised that sales tax rules and laws are subject to change at any time. For specific sales tax advice regarding your business, contact a tax advisor.
