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What about purchasers who are tired of crappy FBM shipments? I bought a book on amazon FBM. It cost like $100. Turns out it was shipping from overseas and took

What about purchasers who are tired of crappy FBM shipments? I bought a book on amazon FBM. It cost like $100. Turns out it was shipping from overseas and took 3 MONTHS to get to me (I was sure it would not). I had to buy a different one in the meantime. I've bought FBM and had stuff come from china in a flimsy envelope crushed. I've no idea how they can justify shipping this crap internationally. FBA from a customer standpoint is simply more predictable. I can get extremely short delivery times (most are next day where I am for some reason instead of two day). Did they do any analysis of whether customers are willing to pay more for FBA? I wouldn't be surprised if they were. You also tend to get fewer boxes if you do FBA. I did a bunch of third party orders once for an electronics project (think 30 different small things) most were FBM and all came in separate small boxes which is ridiculous.

SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
Yeah, I can vouch for this. When I care about when I get the delivery, I go out of my way to make sure the thing I'm ordering is fulfilled by Amazon.
ineedasername 7y ago
Yes, definitely this. I generally buy only via FBA for this reason, I don't mind paying a few dollars more to know I'll get it quickly and also have an easy return process if needed.
- privateSFacct 7y ago
  I forgot about the easy returns. I'm not sure what their deal is but the local Kohl's will actually PACK and ship your stuff back to amazon - then gives you a 40% discount to the store in my case. I just actually screwed up and bought something expensive that turned out not to be a good fit from a non amazon seller (no return). I'm going to eat the loss and buy from amazon for the next - my own fault there.
Alupis 7y ago
> Turns out it was shipping from overseas This is by Amazon's design too. If you use the "Buy Box" (add to cart button on the product page), it's quite difficult to see who you're buying from and from where the item ships from. However, if you select "More offers from..." button, hidden on the page pretty well, you can see exactly where the product ships from, and expected delivery dates, as well as seller feedback ratings and number of feedbacks (giving you an idea of size of the seller). Many of us FBM's have primary websites we sell on that make majority of our annual revenue, and our own distribution network. Guess what? The same products we sell on Amazon are cheaper on our website - and we'll still get the product to you in 2-3 days, often with Free Shipping too. We don't have to pay Amazon fees that way, and we stand behind our company name - we're not going to screw you over in some shady way like pretend to be American but actually ship from China. It's insane that we've spent all this money, and decades building our own fulfillment network, warehouses, and processes - but when we sell on Amazon, we're compelled to use their FBA just so we can sell enough product there to be worth our time.
- privateSFacct 7y ago
  The problem is I don't know your company when I buy direct from you. I bought direct from an Instagram ad. Turns out they wanted me to wait for their next shipment despite saying "in-stock" - 2-3 months. When I said refund me they said no wait, we DO have it in stock! That is shady. All this took lots of back and forth. I couldn't just cancel without talking to them, I had to figure out their system for submitting requests etc. Amazon sells predictability in part. Their business accounts let me ad a GL code to my order and ties into a statement that can be paid by check within 30 days through an AP system on our side (also electronic). I don't drink coffee but I imagine Starbucks does the same otherwise why would everyone go there? Amazon's big risk is their marketplace and the crap in there. They should clamp down HARD there. That is getting us to consider moving business purchases elsewhere.
  - Alupis 7y ago
    Sorry to hear that, you rightfully should have charged back your payment. That's a massive stick in your corner as a consumer. It's expensive for the retailer to deal with, and too many risks having their Processor close their account. It's also the reason Amazon freezes your account if you chargeback something. Sounds like you were buying from an arbitrage seller, our more commonly called a drop shipper our crossdocker in industry terms. Basically they don't stock the products they sell. They buy goods when they sell goods, and hope you won't notice. Sometimes it works out, if their source can ship quickly... But in your case... It didn't. That's not really an online store... Unfortunately, only online reviews will be able to help you stay away from that. I can't speak for all online stores, and certainly if your organization has an approved vendor list then things are set... But many of us are happy to accept PO's, setup NET accounts, and more. You'll also get a more personal touch with a company that cares about your business instead of you just being another number. As an aside, take a look at Quill for office supplies. They'll treat you right.
ikeboy 7y ago
You can buy from sellers offering FBM SFP (seller fulfilled prime) which has a 2-day guarantee and Amazon enforces it and kicks sellers out if they can't keep it.

SpicyLemonZest 7y ago

Yeah, I can vouch for this. When I care about when I get the delivery, I go out of my way to make sure the thing I'm ordering is fulfilled by Amazon.

ineedasername 7y ago

Yes, definitely this. I generally buy only via FBA for this reason, I don't mind paying a few dollars more to know I'll get it quickly and also have an easy return process if needed.

privateSFacct 7y ago
I forgot about the easy returns. I'm not sure what their deal is but the local Kohl's will actually PACK and ship your stuff back to amazon - then gives you a 40% discount to the store in my case. I just actually screwed up and bought something expensive that turned out not to be a good fit from a non amazon seller (no return). I'm going to eat the loss and buy from amazon for the next - my own fault there.

Alupis 7y ago

> Turns out it was shipping from overseas This is by Amazon's design too. If you use the "Buy Box" (add to cart button on the product page), it's quite difficult to see who you're buying from and from where the item ships from. However, if you select "More offers from..." button, hidden on the page pretty well, you can see exactly where the product ships from, and expected delivery dates, as well as seller feedback ratings and number of feedbacks (giving you an idea of size of the seller). Many of us FBM's have primary websites we sell on that make majority of our annual revenue, and our own distribution network. Guess what? The same products we sell on Amazon are cheaper on our website - and we'll still get the product to you in 2-3 days, often with Free Shipping too. We don't have to pay Amazon fees that way, and we stand behind our company name - we're not going to screw you over in some shady way like pretend to be American but actually ship from China. It's insane that we've spent all this money, and decades building our own fulfillment network, warehouses, and processes - but when we sell on Amazon, we're compelled to use their FBA just so we can sell enough product there to be worth our time.

privateSFacct 7y ago
The problem is I don't know your company when I buy direct from you. I bought direct from an Instagram ad. Turns out they wanted me to wait for their next shipment despite saying "in-stock" - 2-3 months. When I said refund me they said no wait, we DO have it in stock! That is shady. All this took lots of back and forth. I couldn't just cancel without talking to them, I had to figure out their system for submitting requests etc. Amazon sells predictability in part. Their business accounts let me ad a GL code to my order and ties into a statement that can be paid by check within 30 days through an AP system on our side (also electronic). I don't drink coffee but I imagine Starbucks does the same otherwise why would everyone go there? Amazon's big risk is their marketplace and the crap in there. They should clamp down HARD there. That is getting us to consider moving business purchases elsewhere.
- Alupis 7y ago
  Sorry to hear that, you rightfully should have charged back your payment. That's a massive stick in your corner as a consumer. It's expensive for the retailer to deal with, and too many risks having their Processor close their account. It's also the reason Amazon freezes your account if you chargeback something. Sounds like you were buying from an arbitrage seller, our more commonly called a drop shipper our crossdocker in industry terms. Basically they don't stock the products they sell. They buy goods when they sell goods, and hope you won't notice. Sometimes it works out, if their source can ship quickly... But in your case... It didn't. That's not really an online store... Unfortunately, only online reviews will be able to help you stay away from that. I can't speak for all online stores, and certainly if your organization has an approved vendor list then things are set... But many of us are happy to accept PO's, setup NET accounts, and more. You'll also get a more personal touch with a company that cares about your business instead of you just being another number. As an aside, take a look at Quill for office supplies. They'll treat you right.

ikeboy 7y ago

You can buy from sellers offering FBM SFP (seller fulfilled prime) which has a 2-day guarantee and Amazon enforces it and kicks sellers out if they can't keep it.