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02/19/2011 11:37:13 AM · #1 |
Had an interesting exchange with Todd of "Todd's Travel Photos", a.k.a "Cheaplights" on Amazon last night, and thought the info I gained worth sharing.
I got a PM from  MattO last night asking about the cheapo wireless triggers I use. I then went looking on Amazon for them, since I knew Cheaplights stocked them in the US and offered them there. I did a search for "RF-602" and only came up with an offering from a vendor I don't wish to do business with anymore (incorrect orders every time).
I finally found it by going to Cheaplights Amazon storefront and browsing for the item. I then realized the reason it didn't show up in my search was that it was labeled as "2.4GHz Wireless Flash Trigger/Receiver and Shutter Remote for Canon 1D/5D/7D/10D/20D/30D/40D/50D DSLR". It was not listed with the model number I was searching on.
I sent some feedback to the seller via Amazon letting him know this and that he would likely sell more if he added to the description. I was surprised to get an response within just a few minutes. What he said was interesting:
Originally posted by Todd's Travel Photos:
Thanks for your feedback, the strange thing with amazon listings is that anyone selling a product can make changes to descriptions, titles and photos. Some other seller must have changed the listing description. I'll make the change and check my other listings. |
So Amazon leaves the product descriptions and offerings to be managed by the vendors themselves, and do not oversee the listings at all for accuracy. This helps explain the reflectors a few of us bought a while back that, while decent, were not the name brand they were listed as.
I then asked him another question:
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
Perhaps you can answer another question for me, if you don't mind. I am confused by the Amazon marketplace. Some items come from Amazon, simple enough. Then there are third party sellers such as yourself who have products listed as "fulfilled by Amazon", and falling under their super saver shipping plan. Then there are others who don't. I'm just curious what the difference is. |
His response:
Originally posted by Todd's Travel Photos:
There's Amazon that sells and ships for themselves, then the 3rd party sellers like me. We can either ship ourselves or have Amazon warehouse our products and ship, then customers get the free super saver shipping. This is what I do for most of my products because it saves on warehouse space and shipping individual orders to customers. Also the super saver shipping is a great benefit. I just ship cases and pallets of product to Amazon and they ship as orders come in.
I would say 80% of what I buy, I buy from Amazon, and 95% of that I only buy if Amazon does the shipping. With Prime I get free 2 day shipping, and I know the exact date it should come. With 3rd party sellers shipping on their own, there's no exact timeframe, and if you have a problem, you have to deal with that company. When Amazon ships, if you have a problem, they'll just refund it. That' s bad for me as a seller, people just buy things to try and return them, then I have to pay to have it shipped back to me and use it myself, sell it as used, or use it as a display. |
Sounds like an easy way of starting a virtual business, since what he is really doing is the purchasing and arrangements and managing a virtual storefront, but he has no brick an mortar warehouse or store. He could be running this business from Starbucks or his bedroom. (He responded to me from an iPad). But it works. I would assume Amazon takes a generous cut and probably has some strict requirements for such vendors.
He also mentioned to me that he has an Amazon powered storefront at another address. It all links to the same Amazon items, but it is categorized for easier browsing. simplestudiolighting.com
I know this was a little long-winded, but hope it was useful info to know about how the Amazon marketplace works.
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02/19/2011 12:09:12 PM · #2 |
| I for one found it interesting - thanks for posting |
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02/19/2011 08:02:41 PM · #3 |
Interesting.
Along the same lines as this, I was having a peculiar discussion about the Amazon marketplace with a vendor the other day. Here's a rundown of what happened with me-
I ordered some protein powder through the Amazon marketplace, who had the best prices I could find anywhere. The order was to be fulfilled by Vitamin Shoppe, and shipped to me for a dollar if I remember correctly. The other day, I figured I'd just go see if the local shop would offer the same price as I got online so I wouldn't have to wait for a new shipment, and they said the Amazon order fulfillment wasn't something they were aware of, and the price I got was lower than what they were currently able to offer, and the shipping was astoundingly cheap as well. They said that the cost of whey protein has recently increased due to a giant buyout of the market by Gatorade, and that they can't check their old prices to see if directly through them would have been the same or different, so we were unsure as to whether the cost would be markedly different today. They also said that the order looked somewhat strange from their side, and that although it was in their system, it seemingly had no origin. Comparing their current prices with the price for the same object on the Marketplace is comparable, as of today, though they aren't currently listed as a supplier for the product through Amazon anymore. |
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02/19/2011 08:08:23 PM · #4 |
| Thanks for the post. Behind the scenes information is always helpful. |
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02/19/2011 08:10:00 PM · #5 |
| I've done some third party selling on Amazon (DVDs and books) and the fees are kind of high. So keep that in mind if thinking about selling. |
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