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I think the big changed needed on Amazon is the "Seller". With their commingling of all products with the same SKU, "seller" is an irrelevant term. If people co

I think the big changed needed on Amazon is the "Seller". With their commingling of all products with the same SKU, "seller" is an irrelevant term. If people could review actual sellers, it could put a dent in the knock-offs. I'm not sure if there are just enough people who can't tell the difference or don't want the trouble of returning it to make this a profitable strategy for everyone.

specialist 7y ago
What does commingling mean? In real world terms? I ask because I'm unclear if shared SKU is a physical thing, a logical implementation detail, or some mix. Is there a bin full of white 3' USB cables of the same type, regardless of supplier? I had the impression that fulfillment centers weren't organized by product. Everything is everywhere. The robots retrieve the bins of whatever from wherever for the pickers to grab from. If this is mostly true, I'm not clear how similar white 3' USB cables get commingled.
- dannyw 7y ago
  Correct. Fulfilment is UPC based and independent of seller, for all FBA products.
  - vinay_ys 7y ago
    This doesn't sound right. Even if two different sellers are selling the exact same brand manufactured product (say, an Android Phone), via FBA, when a customer buys from seller1, they should get the Item1 which was actually supplied to FBA by Seller1. They cannot get Item2 which was supplied by Seller2. When the customer returns the Item1 for manufacturing defect etc reasons, it has to go back to the Seller1. This is because Item1 has "manufacturing date and batch number", may have "imported from" etc that are different from Item2 by Seller2. Seller1 may have gotten it with different pricing terms etc.
    - nkurz 7y ago
      When you say "right", you need to distinguish between "accurate" and "reasonable". The OP has correctly described Amazon's approach to commingling (claimed) SKU's. And you have correctly concluded that policy is likely to lead to bad outcomes for both buyers and sellers. Whether it's a bad policy for Amazon as a corporation remains to be seen.
    - dannyw 7y ago
      This is what happens though. Now you understand why counterfeits are a problem.
- LegitShady 7y ago
  >Is there a bin full of white 3' USB cables of the same type, regardless of supplier? This is my understanding, yes. If something is "fulfilled by amazon" common stock has one bin/location and is not differentiated.

specialist 7y ago

What does commingling mean? In real world terms? I ask because I'm unclear if shared SKU is a physical thing, a logical implementation detail, or some mix. Is there a bin full of white 3' USB cables of the same type, regardless of supplier? I had the impression that fulfillment centers weren't organized by product. Everything is everywhere. The robots retrieve the bins of whatever from wherever for the pickers to grab from. If this is mostly true, I'm not clear how similar white 3' USB cables get commingled.

dannyw 7y ago
Correct. Fulfilment is UPC based and independent of seller, for all FBA products.
- vinay_ys 7y ago
  This doesn't sound right. Even if two different sellers are selling the exact same brand manufactured product (say, an Android Phone), via FBA, when a customer buys from seller1, they should get the Item1 which was actually supplied to FBA by Seller1. They cannot get Item2 which was supplied by Seller2. When the customer returns the Item1 for manufacturing defect etc reasons, it has to go back to the Seller1. This is because Item1 has "manufacturing date and batch number", may have "imported from" etc that are different from Item2 by Seller2. Seller1 may have gotten it with different pricing terms etc.
  - nkurz 7y ago
    When you say "right", you need to distinguish between "accurate" and "reasonable". The OP has correctly described Amazon's approach to commingling (claimed) SKU's. And you have correctly concluded that policy is likely to lead to bad outcomes for both buyers and sellers. Whether it's a bad policy for Amazon as a corporation remains to be seen.
  - dannyw 7y ago
    This is what happens though. Now you understand why counterfeits are a problem.
LegitShady 7y ago
>Is there a bin full of white 3' USB cables of the same type, regardless of supplier? This is my understanding, yes. If something is "fulfilled by amazon" common stock has one bin/location and is not differentiated.