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Commingled inventory is an option for FBA sellers. You can disable it easily from your FBA account; I think at this point the "problem" is only for beginning se

Commingled inventory is an option for FBA sellers. You can disable it easily from your FBA account; I think at this point the "problem" is only for beginning sellers who aren't aware that it's on by default

traek 8y ago
Sure, but it’s not an option for brands, which is the more relevant comparison here.
- jasongill 8y ago
  How would commingled inventory have anything to do with brands? Brands can already protect their listings from 3rd party seller issues using Brand Registry / Brand Gating
  - mmt 8y ago
    Possibly this option is too new or too poorly publicized to have had enough of an effect yet. It certainly hasn't been well-publicized as to how it works in practice, especially for a large brand. Do they opt-in or opt-out the sellers? Do they have to choose just one of those two models? For large brands, this brings up yet another antitrust concern. If they suppress the grey market (or even create too much friction for their authorized resellers), big brand manufacturers run the risk of running afoul of even the modern, more lenient antitrust law interpretation by pushing up consumer prices.
mjcl 8y ago
Until it's an option for buyers, I'm going to be quite reluctant to buy from Amazon.
- jasongill 8y ago
  Why? Commingled inventory means that some common, standardized items don't need a seller-specific barcode on them, and are just added to a "pool" of that identical product. It's better for consumers because you're getting the closest one of the item you ordered, faster - and at the (lower) price from the seller you selected. Aside from a couple high profile cases of sellers getting in trouble for inventory they never sent in being associated with them, it's a great benefit to consumers.
  - nsnick 8y ago
    It is not good for consumers. You buy from a particular seller because you know based on reviews that their item is not counterfeit and then amazon sends you the item from someone else and it is.
    - jasongill 8y ago
      Receiving a counterfeit item must happen so very rarely, considering the (millions?) huge volume of these sales per day, and Amazon is obviously swift to fix the issue (much to the chagrin of sellers swept up by the zero tolerance rule) that I really doubt most consumers would ever receive a counterfeit item in this way. It seems more likely that consumers would buy the "cheaper" option from an FBA seller (perhaps unknowingly) and receive a knock off. The major logistical advantages outweigh the very low possibility of abuse. If you asked the average consumer if they would like to receive their item 2 days faster, but risk a 1 in 1000 chance that they get a bogus item they will need to exchange with Amazon at no cost, I think the former would win by a mile.
      - CPLX 8y ago
        You're wildly off base here. The chances of getting a counterfeit item in some product categories is basically 100%. Go ahead, try to buy a real pair of Apple iPhone corded headphones on Amazon. That assignment is quite literally impossible.
        ikeboy 8y ago
        https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MMEF2AM-AirPods-Wireless-Bluetooth/dp/B01MQWUXZS/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1529863847&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=apple+headphones https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MMEF2AM-AirPods-Wireless-Blueto... Here, buy from Amazon direct and you'll get a real one.
        ikeboy 8y ago
        Or buy https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B01M0GB8CC/ref=olp_tab_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B01M0GB8CC/ref=olp_tab_new?i... from datavision self fulfilled, they're the only seller on a ton of apple stuff and I assume they're authorized
mmt 8y ago
As sibling comments pointed out, the main problem is for the manufacturer/brand and for the buyer. An unscrupulous seller (of, for example, couterfeits) would benefit significantly and so would not disable the option. That Amazon themselves don't disable this option (for "shipped and sold by Amazon.com"), except, effectively, for their own brand, is the suspect anti-competitive practice.
- something2 8y ago
  Amazon also has something called Brand Registry. Essentially, if you can prove you own a brand, you can prevent other sellers from selling the same item. That's how most larger brands protect their listings.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 8y ago
    If that works, then why hasn't Apple done it and ended the scrounge of fake chargers? EDIT: Or Anker for that matter. Anker is a better example because their main business is chargers/batteries, so the should care a lot about branding and making sure there are no fake chargers under their name.
  - ikeboy 8y ago
    This is false, speaking from direct experience. Brand registry does NOT let you gate the brand.
  - C7H8N4O2 8y ago
    Amazon's brand registry enables a verified brand to take control of a listing page (edit photos/text/title). That's pretty much it – no power to limit other sellers.
ikeboy 8y ago
They don't actually honor it though. I know plenty of sellers who have gotten back inventory they didn't send in even though they do not choose commingling.

traek 8y ago

Sure, but it’s not an option for brands, which is the more relevant comparison here.

jasongill 8y ago
How would commingled inventory have anything to do with brands? Brands can already protect their listings from 3rd party seller issues using Brand Registry / Brand Gating
- mmt 8y ago
  Possibly this option is too new or too poorly publicized to have had enough of an effect yet. It certainly hasn't been well-publicized as to how it works in practice, especially for a large brand. Do they opt-in or opt-out the sellers? Do they have to choose just one of those two models? For large brands, this brings up yet another antitrust concern. If they suppress the grey market (or even create too much friction for their authorized resellers), big brand manufacturers run the risk of running afoul of even the modern, more lenient antitrust law interpretation by pushing up consumer prices.

mjcl 8y ago

Until it's an option for buyers, I'm going to be quite reluctant to buy from Amazon.

jasongill 8y ago
Why? Commingled inventory means that some common, standardized items don't need a seller-specific barcode on them, and are just added to a "pool" of that identical product. It's better for consumers because you're getting the closest one of the item you ordered, faster - and at the (lower) price from the seller you selected. Aside from a couple high profile cases of sellers getting in trouble for inventory they never sent in being associated with them, it's a great benefit to consumers.
- nsnick 8y ago
  It is not good for consumers. You buy from a particular seller because you know based on reviews that their item is not counterfeit and then amazon sends you the item from someone else and it is.
  - jasongill 8y ago
    Receiving a counterfeit item must happen so very rarely, considering the (millions?) huge volume of these sales per day, and Amazon is obviously swift to fix the issue (much to the chagrin of sellers swept up by the zero tolerance rule) that I really doubt most consumers would ever receive a counterfeit item in this way. It seems more likely that consumers would buy the "cheaper" option from an FBA seller (perhaps unknowingly) and receive a knock off. The major logistical advantages outweigh the very low possibility of abuse. If you asked the average consumer if they would like to receive their item 2 days faster, but risk a 1 in 1000 chance that they get a bogus item they will need to exchange with Amazon at no cost, I think the former would win by a mile.
    - CPLX 8y ago
      You're wildly off base here. The chances of getting a counterfeit item in some product categories is basically 100%. Go ahead, try to buy a real pair of Apple iPhone corded headphones on Amazon. That assignment is quite literally impossible.
      - ikeboy 8y ago
        https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MMEF2AM-AirPods-Wireless-Bluetooth/dp/B01MQWUXZS/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1529863847&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=apple+headphones https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MMEF2AM-AirPods-Wireless-Blueto... Here, buy from Amazon direct and you'll get a real one.
      - ikeboy 8y ago
        Or buy https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B01M0GB8CC/ref=olp_tab_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B01M0GB8CC/ref=olp_tab_new?i... from datavision self fulfilled, they're the only seller on a ton of apple stuff and I assume they're authorized

mmt 8y ago

As sibling comments pointed out, the main problem is for the manufacturer/brand and for the buyer. An unscrupulous seller (of, for example, couterfeits) would benefit significantly and so would not disable the option. That Amazon themselves don't disable this option (for "shipped and sold by Amazon.com"), except, effectively, for their own brand, is the suspect anti-competitive practice.

something2 8y ago
Amazon also has something called Brand Registry. Essentially, if you can prove you own a brand, you can prevent other sellers from selling the same item. That's how most larger brands protect their listings.
- yjftsjthsd-h 8y ago
  If that works, then why hasn't Apple done it and ended the scrounge of fake chargers? EDIT: Or Anker for that matter. Anker is a better example because their main business is chargers/batteries, so the should care a lot about branding and making sure there are no fake chargers under their name.
- ikeboy 8y ago
  This is false, speaking from direct experience. Brand registry does NOT let you gate the brand.
- C7H8N4O2 8y ago
  Amazon's brand registry enables a verified brand to take control of a listing page (edit photos/text/title). That's pretty much it – no power to limit other sellers.

ikeboy 8y ago

They don't actually honor it though. I know plenty of sellers who have gotten back inventory they didn't send in even though they do not choose commingling.