Shopping on Amazon has gotten to the point where I actively try to avoid any 3rd party sellers now. I've had enough unexpected surprises when buying from 3rd parties that I'm fed up with it. I see Amazon's new restrictions on 3rd party selling as being a good thing, although it seems the change is first affecting manufacturers who sell on the Amazon platform who are probably the least bad of the 3rd party sellers.
Overall, I see Amazon wanting to own more of the customer interaction as being a good thing for me as a customer. Buying and returning items from Amazon itself (not using 3rd party sellers) is a very good shopping experience for me and always has been.
Yet back in high school my step mom owned a small toy store (two locations), and was basically forced to start selling on amazon to get by... it changed the focus of the store and really ruined it for her.
Who knows maybe attitudes like this will be the (needed) downfall of the giant.
>Shopping on Amazon has gotten to the point where I actively try to avoid any 3rd party sellers now.
You can't really avoid it. Amazon comingles its inventory with that of 3rd party sellers who sell as FBA. So even if you choose Amazon as the seller, the actual product you receive could be the one a 3rd party seller shipped to Amazon's warehouses.
Are you sure about that? I vaguely recollect reading somewhere that the 3rd party vendors stocks were indeed shared as undifferentiated stock to optimize logistics, but that Amazon kept its own stocks separate over QA reasons.
>Do you mean, if I try to avoid fakes by buying from a seller I trust, i might get inventory from the one I was trying to avoid? This makes zero sense!
For new products, that is how Amazon does it. Which will explain why many products will have inconsistent reviews about fakes. And you can ignore any review that says "Avoid seller X. He sent me a fake!" You have no way of knowing which seller's item you got.
Note that this is only for "Fulfilled by Amazon" orders. For non-FBA, the seller ships it to you directly.
And for used items, Amazon will ship you the exact one from the seller.
This is counterintuitive, appalling, and the reason I'm not going to buy any such orders again. This HN posting has enlightened me enormously. For 'customers', it's such an appalling decision, and one which if European country regulation would have been implemented would probably be deemed illegal
I have gone so far as to advise my close relatives the same thing. "Look to see who the seller is -- and try to only buy from Amazon.com, even if it costs a small percentage more". I have had fantastic return experiences with Amazon. 3rd party sellers: Not so much.
As a FBA 3rd party seller (my product shows up as Sold by <my company name> fulfilled by Amazon. I'm the manufacturer of my product and it's the only thing I sell on Amazon.) returns are a nightmare since Amazon controls them. Amazon never questions the customer beyond a dropdown box for the return and penalizes the seller of the product.
On my Shopify store I have a tiny return percentage and an almost 0% defect rate. On Amazon people buy my product, decide they don't want it, and mark it as defective to not have to pay a return fee. Either the units I sent to Amazon have a 50x higher defect rate than the stock I ship out myself, or people are cheating the system.
When Amazon decides your defect rate is too high they remove your listing.
Just out of curiosity -- do you have free returns on your Shopify site? As a consumer I generally choose the sales path that will allow me the most pain free return if the product doesn't work out. I don't return often, but when I do -- I don't like a hassle.
Lots. Just this year: Opened "new" Makita power-tools where I can't be sure if the batteries are legitimate or knockoffs or old/refurbished ones in their place. Cracked sink that is still pending return after two weeks. Counterfeit Whirlpool filters for my air filter. Floor oil that was opened, spilling a little, and shipped in a bag alongside its non-spilling counterparts.
The only quality items I'm willing to order from Amazon now are small things like pens, and commodities. No more high tech stuff, no more camera equipment, etc.
Overall, I see Amazon wanting to own more of the customer interaction as being a good thing for me as a customer. Buying and returning items from Amazon itself (not using 3rd party sellers) is a very good shopping experience for me and always has been.