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This does not surprise me at all. Amazon, behind the curtains, is an ugly smelly mess. Just ask anyone who sells on Amazon professionally. The stories I've h

This does not surprise me at all. Amazon, behind the curtains, is an ugly smelly mess. Just ask anyone who sells on Amazon professionally. The stories I've heard are beyond belief.

leeoniya 12y ago
yes, it's bad; not just bad, it's borderline insane, given the resources they have to make something awesome. there are no fewer than 4 different APIs and endpoints to do the same thing, each with strange feature omissions / quirks and differing names for the same variables (sometimes just case). there is a separate sign-up for each service, with all-new verification; it's like they absorbed 10 different competing payment services, kept their original APIs and rapidly churned each of them into some additional shitty branded product. what's worse is that FPS was the best option as it could do what you wanted, how you wanted without being forced into a specific UI/pipeline. now FPS is being discontinued [1] and everyone is being shoved into the widget-only "Login and Pay with Amazon" if anyone knows of a way to retain the "leave-to-log-in -> select funds source -> come-back-with-token" process, please let me know. we're trying to keep our UI the same for all payment processors/methods, this widget requirement is not going to work for us. [1] https://payments.amazon.com/help/201626250 https://payments.amazon.com/help/201626250
ChrisNorstrom 12y ago
I hate selling on Amazon. Hate it. Ebay fees are 11%, Amazon fees are 40-50%. I've seen a seller almost cry watching amazon take over $140 in fees out of a $300 transaction. And ruetinely take 50% of gross receipts. Yes this is normal. I read the email customer service sent back about it. Sellers have started canceling large transactions and directing their buyers to the same product listing on etsy, ebay, or their own store. Don't get me started on the inability to control shipping rates like every other marketplace. Amazon is the dinosaur of online shopping. And the biggest insult is Amazon saying they make so little profit. Where is all this money going?
- moe 12y ago
  Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
- moe 12y ago
  Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
- moe 12y ago
  Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
- moe 12y ago
  Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
- moe 12y ago
  Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
- moe 12y ago
  Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
- buovjaga 12y ago
  > And the biggest insult is Amazon saying they make so little profit. Where is all this money going? I guess they make the profits disappear by using tax havens: http://www.ibtimes.com/eus-amazon-probe-puts-scrutiny-global-tax-shifting-schemes-1700683 http://www.ibtimes.com/eus-amazon-probe-puts-scrutiny-global...
  - mschuster91 12y ago
    Even "sunk" or "disappeared" money must end up somewhere. In Amazon's case, they have a shitload of investment costs (warehouse/datacenter building and staffing, both need massive upfront investment and take quite a time to go black) and costs for failed/under research-projects like the Fire Phone.

This does not surprise me at all. Amazon, behind the curtains, is an ugly smelly mess. Just ask anyone who sells on Amazon professionally. The stories I've heard are beyond belief.

leeoniya 12y ago

yes, it's bad; not just bad, it's borderline insane, given the resources they have to make something awesome. there are no fewer than 4 different APIs and endpoints to do the same thing, each with strange feature omissions / quirks and differing names for the same variables (sometimes just case). there is a separate sign-up for each service, with all-new verification; it's like they absorbed 10 different competing payment services, kept their original APIs and rapidly churned each of them into some additional shitty branded product. what's worse is that FPS was the best option as it could do what you wanted, how you wanted without being forced into a specific UI/pipeline. now FPS is being discontinued [1] and everyone is being shoved into the widget-only "Login and Pay with Amazon" if anyone knows of a way to retain the "leave-to-log-in -> select funds source -> come-back-with-token" process, please let me know. we're trying to keep our UI the same for all payment processors/methods, this widget requirement is not going to work for us. [1] https://payments.amazon.com/help/201626250 https://payments.amazon.com/help/201626250

ChrisNorstrom 12y ago

I hate selling on Amazon. Hate it. Ebay fees are 11%, Amazon fees are 40-50%. I've seen a seller almost cry watching amazon take over $140 in fees out of a $300 transaction. And ruetinely take 50% of gross receipts. Yes this is normal. I read the email customer service sent back about it. Sellers have started canceling large transactions and directing their buyers to the same product listing on etsy, ebay, or their own store. Don't get me started on the inability to control shipping rates like every other marketplace. Amazon is the dinosaur of online shopping. And the biggest insult is Amazon saying they make so little profit. Where is all this money going?

moe 12y ago
Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
moe 12y ago
Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
moe 12y ago
Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
moe 12y ago
Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
moe 12y ago
Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
moe 12y ago
Where is all this money going? Presumably into keeping their retail prices slightly below the competition, and free shipping.
buovjaga 12y ago
> And the biggest insult is Amazon saying they make so little profit. Where is all this money going? I guess they make the profits disappear by using tax havens: http://www.ibtimes.com/eus-amazon-probe-puts-scrutiny-global-tax-shifting-schemes-1700683 http://www.ibtimes.com/eus-amazon-probe-puts-scrutiny-global...
- mschuster91 12y ago
  Even "sunk" or "disappeared" money must end up somewhere. In Amazon's case, they have a shitload of investment costs (warehouse/datacenter building and staffing, both need massive upfront investment and take quite a time to go black) and costs for failed/under research-projects like the Fire Phone.