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With the rise of services like Shopify, Etsy, etc. why are independent product manufacturers in the US / Europe still using Amazon? Is it the lack of the supply

With the rise of services like Shopify, Etsy, etc. why are independent product manufacturers in the US / Europe still using Amazon? Is it the lack of the supply chain / item delivery that Amazon provides so well or is it something else? Hearing about how Amazon undercuts pretty much every seller on their system makes me think that sellers would be willing to jump in a heartbeat if given a viable alternative. Facebook Shops seems like a Shopify clone to me ... but I'm not sure as I haven't really used Shopify (and I keep mistaking it for Spotify).

dmalik 6y ago
It's backed by 3rd parties. https://news.shopify.com/shopify-partners-with-facebook-to-help-businesses-launch-branded-facebook-shops https://news.shopify.com/shopify-partners-with-facebook-to-h...
somebrody 6y ago
> why are independent product manufacturers in the US / Europe still using Amazon? They do it to sell to people that are shopping on Amazon in spite of every problem with it. Never being undercut by Amazon isn't important to these sellers. Think, "I don't want to live in a world where someone gets undercut by Amazon better than us".
nickff 6y ago
Many potential customers use Amazon as a search tool, as well as a source for (slightly) trustworthy reviews. If you are off Amazon, you miss out on those customers. In addition to that, making your own webstore used to be more complicated and difficult than it is now; platforms like Shopify have really lowered the barrier to market entry.
- swagonomixxx 6y ago
  That's true. Amazon unfortunately has gained way too much market share for someone to forego being a seller on there.
stevekemp 6y ago
Shopify is pretty good, but if you have a small independant shop the hard part is getting visitors. On that basis etsy is better, because it gets a lot of traffic, but I think facebook will be even more popular. I'm a member of a couple of local groups, largely for buying/selling kids clothing/toys. Something like that wouldn't work so well on other platforms - getting cheap stuff locally. Of course etsy has its own problems, with a large number of their shops just being fronts for aliexpress resellers.
Spivak 6y ago
It's the logistics network. Being able to just ship your product to an Amazon warehouse and then have them handle the rest on the cheap pretty much guarantees that using Amazon will come out cheaper. Combine that with Amazon handling the bulk of customer support, returns, and payments and you end up making more money on Amazon than anywhere else. I've actually tried to get a company to price match their own store on Amazon and they told me to just order it on Amazon because it was better for them.
- fuzzybeard 6y ago
  I purchased an item directly from a manufacturer's own website, so there's no middle-man and no fees lost to selling on another platform. The price difference between that and Amazon was so staggering, I returned the original purchase and re-purchased, this time from Amazon. Same product, but it was significantly cheaper on Amazon.
  - raxxorrax 6y ago
    You will almost never get good prices from the manufacturer itself. That would undermine their standing with sales partners. So you will always get the rather high list price.
- dannyw 6y ago
  I also know companies that are going the complete FBA route now. Even if you order on their web shop, you get your item from Amazon. Amazon is often cheaper. When you account for the cost of a part time web dev and designer, as well as Shopify plugins and fees, I imagine the merchant probably prefers for me to buy on amazon.
crazygringo 6y ago
Because that's where the customers are. Above all the Prime customers. And customers can have a lot more trust in Amazon's shipping speed and returns policy, than when ordering from an unknown. A ton of people, when they want to buy something, put it into Amazon's search box. If a product doesn't show up there, it might as well not exist. Also, Amazon reviews. I can't count the number of times I've chosen not to buy a product because Amazon's reviews warned me away. Ordering something from a small shop where there are no reviews, or the reviews seem fake or too positive? I feel like there's a much greater chance of being taken advantage of with a shoddy product. End of the day, on Amazon I generally know exactly the quality I should expect, that it will arrive on time, and that I can return it if there are any issues.

dmalik 6y ago

It's backed by 3rd parties. https://news.shopify.com/shopify-partners-with-facebook-to-help-businesses-launch-branded-facebook-shops https://news.shopify.com/shopify-partners-with-facebook-to-h...

somebrody 6y ago

> why are independent product manufacturers in the US / Europe still using Amazon? They do it to sell to people that are shopping on Amazon in spite of every problem with it. Never being undercut by Amazon isn't important to these sellers. Think, "I don't want to live in a world where someone gets undercut by Amazon better than us".

nickff 6y ago

Many potential customers use Amazon as a search tool, as well as a source for (slightly) trustworthy reviews. If you are off Amazon, you miss out on those customers. In addition to that, making your own webstore used to be more complicated and difficult than it is now; platforms like Shopify have really lowered the barrier to market entry.

swagonomixxx 6y ago
That's true. Amazon unfortunately has gained way too much market share for someone to forego being a seller on there.

stevekemp 6y ago

Shopify is pretty good, but if you have a small independant shop the hard part is getting visitors. On that basis etsy is better, because it gets a lot of traffic, but I think facebook will be even more popular. I'm a member of a couple of local groups, largely for buying/selling kids clothing/toys. Something like that wouldn't work so well on other platforms - getting cheap stuff locally. Of course etsy has its own problems, with a large number of their shops just being fronts for aliexpress resellers.

Spivak 6y ago

It's the logistics network. Being able to just ship your product to an Amazon warehouse and then have them handle the rest on the cheap pretty much guarantees that using Amazon will come out cheaper. Combine that with Amazon handling the bulk of customer support, returns, and payments and you end up making more money on Amazon than anywhere else. I've actually tried to get a company to price match their own store on Amazon and they told me to just order it on Amazon because it was better for them.

fuzzybeard 6y ago
I purchased an item directly from a manufacturer's own website, so there's no middle-man and no fees lost to selling on another platform. The price difference between that and Amazon was so staggering, I returned the original purchase and re-purchased, this time from Amazon. Same product, but it was significantly cheaper on Amazon.
- raxxorrax 6y ago
  You will almost never get good prices from the manufacturer itself. That would undermine their standing with sales partners. So you will always get the rather high list price.
dannyw 6y ago
I also know companies that are going the complete FBA route now. Even if you order on their web shop, you get your item from Amazon. Amazon is often cheaper. When you account for the cost of a part time web dev and designer, as well as Shopify plugins and fees, I imagine the merchant probably prefers for me to buy on amazon.

crazygringo 6y ago

Because that's where the customers are. Above all the Prime customers. And customers can have a lot more trust in Amazon's shipping speed and returns policy, than when ordering from an unknown. A ton of people, when they want to buy something, put it into Amazon's search box. If a product doesn't show up there, it might as well not exist. Also, Amazon reviews. I can't count the number of times I've chosen not to buy a product because Amazon's reviews warned me away. Ordering something from a small shop where there are no reviews, or the reviews seem fake or too positive? I feel like there's a much greater chance of being taken advantage of with a shoddy product. End of the day, on Amazon I generally know exactly the quality I should expect, that it will arrive on time, and that I can return it if there are any issues.