Amazon tests new "leave seller feedback" page

Amazon is testing a new "leave seller feedback" page, according to this announcement.

Usually when Amazon posts an announcement like this, there's also an accompanying image of the new page being planned or tested. Not this time. Hmmm.

It seems I'm seeing the change in my buying account already. The thing I notice most is that the "seller's comments" are reproduced on the feedback page. That's a good thing, I guess. Also, when you run your mouse over the empty stars, a guide pops up telling you that 5 stars is "excellent," one is "awful," etc. Here's what I see when I click "leave seller feedback" link on my most recent Marketplace order. Anyone else?:

Q&A: Are recalled or banned books valuable?

QUESTION: There have been a few books in the news recently from authors who claimed that the events they wrote about in their memoirs were true when in fact they were fictionalized. Recently one was said to be "recalled" by the publisher.

If you can find copies, perhaps these are good books to invest in and resell online later -- if the publisher doesn't dump them all as remainders, flooding the market. Do publishers destroy recalled books, or just pass them off to the public later?

ANSWER: This has happened so many times recently, you have to start wondering whether the publisher is really trying to do the right thing, or whether it's just a publicity stunt designed to sell more books. If you can corner the market, you can make a few bucks, I guess.

My rule of thumb for all "unusual" books -- whether they're autographed books, misbound books, banned books, special editions, or whatever -- is to consider the demand for reading copies of the book. If the book sells briskly at a good price, then someone will probably pay a premium for something they consider collectible.

But in this case, the book is a one-of-a-kind. It's the first book by an unknown author, so it's probably a crapshoot. What are the odds this author will write a blockbuster next time and push up the value of his or her previous books?

I think that some "recalled" books probably are pulped and never reach the public. Apparently this happened with the original edition of the O.J. "confession" book. Are these rare books or collectible books? I don't know. As long as there's nothing offensive about the book, I'm all for selling the books online at a profit. But usually I'm not willing to take a chance unless I think a book is a sure winner.

Throwing good books into the dumpster

You've got to wonder how often this happens. A school or library throwing perfectly good books into the trash:

Several garbage bags filled with copies of classic literature like "Little Women," "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and "Treasure Island" were discarded in a Dumpster alongside Intermediate School 73 in Maspeth.

"Those books, you open them up, they still crack, they're so new," one staffer said. "Why not give them away or hold a book drive at least?"

I've seen this happen at a regional public library near my house. Either these books should be given away or sold, or there will be a lot more dumpster-diving.

Some good reasons to consider Fulfillment by Amazon

For a while now I've been reading an excellent blog by Randy Smythe, who provides some interesting statistics about his Amazon selling, especially how Fulfillment by Amazon has been getting additional sales for him.

Randy ran his numbers this weekend and found a unmistakable pattern:

In January, FBA shipped 796 orders for me.

• Amazon Prime Customers- Made up 20% (157) of those orders.


• Super-Saver Shipping - Made up 53% (423) of those orders


• Regular Shipping - Made up 27% (216) of those orders.

As you can see, free shipping is a huge incentive for buyers, and it seems FBA orders are making up a growing percentage of Randy's business. (You can list some of your items via FBA while continuing to sell other items directly to buyers.)

Why do I even mention these numbers? Because, if you are not listing and selling using FBA, you are missing out on a huge number of Amazon buyers, who want free shipping (I still sold 27% of my orders to customers who paid for S&H as well).

Read the rest of Randy's post for an illustration of why buyers regularly choose items listed with FBA. (Hint: It's all about the shipping fee and the sorting advantage FBA gives your listing.)

Judging from the FBA Message Board, Amazon is still working the kinks out of this program. Hardly a day goes by without an FBA merchant screaming about how Amazon has fouled up their account. Perhaps the problems are confined to particular warehouses, while other warehouses are managing FBA without too many hiccups.

Judging from Randy's reports, FBA seems to be developing into an important sales tool already.

Will eBay boycott bring boatloads of sellers to Amazon?

The week-long eBay boycott set to begin tomorrow is getting huge play in the media. Sellers are outraged about a series of changes to feedback, fees, and search results. Here's a good rundown of the changes at CNN/Money:

• Fee hike sparks seller rebellion

• Backlash: Rival sites court eBay sellers

• Outraged sellers plot strike

• PayPal funds freeze draws fire

• Talk back: eBay forum discussion

• 5 sellers who ditched eBay

And here's a YouTube video that states the grievances of sellers devastatingly well.




In part, it says:

New CEO John Donahoe] called eBay sellers and buyers "nothing more than noise." He then proceeded to call eBay buyers and sellers "a flea market" and implied that he is ashamed to be a part of it.

In his very next breath, Mr. Donahoe then announced yet another eBay fee increase. This increase raises fees by up to 66 percent higher for some sellers. eBay management had the bright idea to market this increase as a "fee decrease," blatantly insulting the intelligence of millions of buyers and sellers worldwide."

True enough. But as noted by Ina Steiner on AuctionBytes, the impact of the week-long boycott will be hard to measure. eBay has coyly scheduled a temporary listing fee reduction to coincide with the boycott.

Meanwhile, Amazon is doing all it can to attract eBay refugees. "We want all sellers on our site," Amazon's business solutions chief, Matt Williams, told Steiner.

eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days

Amazon redesigns payment accounts

The excitement never stops at Amazon. Now they're redesigning the payments section of seller accounts. Click twice on the picture at right for an enlarged illustration. Here's the announcement:

Soon we will be upgrading the Get Paid section of your Seller Account. Below is a preview of the redesign. Please note, these changes are designed to make this feature easier to use. No fees are being changed or updated. Improvements include:

• A completely new interface that makes it easy to examine your financial data.
• No longer need the additional log-in step currently required.
• Quick access to other settlement periods.
• A set of Quick Filters to quickly refine a list of transactions.
• Easy drill down to transaction details and order information.

We know that access to your Payments account is key to your business; therefore, we will provide continued access to the current interface while you move to the new one.

As always, we welcome your comments. Please feel free to send feedback to sya-changes@amazon.com.

Thank you for selling on Amazon!

eBay cuts media listing fees, but shuts the book on feedback

It seems eBay is starting to recognize that sellers are really steamed about the recent policy changes. In response, the company is making what looks like a token adjustments in fees in some categories, including books. But there's no give on the issue of feedback--sellers will no longer be able to leave negative or neutral ratings for bad buyers.

eBay is slashing insertion fees for these categories by up to 50 percent. For example, auctions with start prices of $1.00 to $9.99 will cost 25 cents in insertion fees, compared with 40 cents under the previous scenario.

Here are the changes, effective February 20:

In the Books, Music, Movies and Video Game software categories, eBay will offer lower insertion fees for the first three insertion tiers as follows:

$0.01 – 0.99 (auction-style only)
Original Categories Insertion Fee: $ .20
New Media fee: $ .10

$1.00 - 9.99 (auction-style and fixed price)
Original Categories Insertion Fee: $ .40
New Media fee: $ .25

$10.00 – 24.99 (auction-style and fixed price)
Original Categories Insertion Fee: $ .60
New Media fee: $ .35

But eBay marketplace honcho Lorrie Norrington pooh-poohed seller concerns that the recent feedback changes would hurt business. "We will proceed with our plans to evolve our feedback system and with the weighting of Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) in search, as announced," she said. "They are both central to our plans and will aid in providing a great buying experience from sellers buyers can trust."

By a landslide, eBay sellers say feedback changes will hurt business

Nearly 99 percent of eBay sellers responding to a survey last week said the site's recent feedback changes will hurt business. The only thing sellers were happy about was enhanced PayPal protection for Powersellers:

	Neg	Pos
Feedback changes	98.7%	1.3%
Fee changes	86.3%	13.7%
Best Match search visibility changes	83.3%	16.7%
Seller Standards	84.9%	15.1%
PayPal Protection for eBay PowerSellers	29.6%	70.4%

Read the full report here at AuctionBytes.