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Thread: Amazon to sell your stuff

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default Amazon to sell your stuff

    Amazon has a new (at least to me) venue to sell hand made custom stuff. Looks to me like they are trying to compete with EBay.

    Here is link to their video
    http://services.amazon.com/handmade/handmade.htm

  2. #2
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    I hope they have a better setup for custom work requests that eBay. They have a lot to learn from etsy.
    "Out of my mind.....back in 5 minutes"

  3. #3
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    I checked it out and the promotional rate of only 12% fee kills me..... they want business from Etsy but with Etsy only charging 3.9% it's not a big decision for me. I wouldn't be able to even make enough items to care about their large scale....

    Joe
    2005 PRT Alpha 48x96
    2013 Colombo 3hp spindle
    Indexer (converted lathe)
    Aspire 9.0

  4. #4
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    Either rate is low when it comes to promoting & selling your stuff. Compare that to retail brick and mortar that wants to double, triple or quadruple your price - which often times makes your product non-viable...and creates a lose/lose situation.

    Amazon @ 12% - so what? Price your wares 12% higher. If you are making artistic one of a kind stuff, this should be easily done. If your stuff is unique, you set the price anyway.

    -B
    High Definition 3D Laser Scanning Services - Advanced ShopBot CNC Training and Consultation - Vectric Custom Video Training IBILD.com

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brady Watson View Post
    Either rate is low when it comes to promoting & selling your stuff. Compare that to retail brick and mortar that wants to double, triple or quadruple your price - which often times makes your product non-viable...and creates a lose/lose situation.

    Amazon @ 12% - so what? Price your wares 12% higher. If you are making artistic one of a kind stuff, this should be easily done. If your stuff is unique, you set the price anyway.

    -B
    Exactly, 12% is nothing to expose your product to the millions and millions that shop Amazon. Heck, my local brick and mortar shops charge 15% + monthly fee for booth space, so Amazon is a bargain compared to them.
    Daniel E.
    ShopBot PRS 48x96 (2010 Model)
    Porter Cable Router
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    What I do when I don't mess up wood: http://www.pathhome.net

  6. #6
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    Just because millions and millions of people shop through Amazon doesn't mean a majority or even a decent % of them are going to view and purchase crafts. Competition is usually a good thing but I hope they don't squeeze etsy out of business [not that I sell much online anyhow]. Besides, it can be easily argued that something made on a CNC is not "hand made" and may not be eligible to be sold there.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xray View Post
    Just because millions and millions of people shop through Amazon doesn't mean a majority or even a decent % of them are going to view and purchase crafts. Competition is usually a good thing but I hope they don't squeeze etsy out of business [not that I sell much online anyhow]. Besides, it can be easily argued that something made on a CNC is not "hand made" and may not be eligible to be sold there.
    Amazon in 2014 stated they had an active user base of 244 million (active defined by Amazon as accounts that made a purchase in past 12 months) so if only 1% are looking for crafts, that's 2.4 million potential shoppers, I'll gladly put products on a site that can draw that volume. If you have a product people want, and market it with the right keywords that show up on searches on Amazon, you will get eyeballs on your product, and that's the first step to selling.

    Amazon is just doing a natural business move, someone comes into the market, introduces a product (Etsy selling crafts online) and after the market matures, competition enters the market. Etsy has changed in reaction to market forces, many of the people I know who sell on Etsy are excited for Amazon, and think it will be beneficial, not just to their sales, but in that Etsy will have to be careful about how they treat sellers now that another large resource for sellers is available. Over the past 2 years, many of the Etsy sellers I know have been very upset with the direction Etsy has been going.

    The CNC not "hand made" argument is one that is always brought up, but I could argue that a item cut out with a circular saw or scroll saw isn't hand made, or if you use a sewing machine to quilt, that's not handmade. Etsy's little dirty secret is that it allows manufactured goods to be sold on the site, it's not all hand made items anymore, and they did that to scale their business by increasing the volume their sellers can produce.
    Daniel E.
    ShopBot PRS 48x96 (2010 Model)
    Porter Cable Router
    Vacuum Table w/ 2 Fein vacs
    Aspire 9.0

    What I do when I don't mess up wood: http://www.pathhome.net

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by barrowj View Post
    I checked it out and the promotional rate of only 12% fee kills me..... they want business from Etsy but with Etsy only charging 3.9% it's not a big decision for me. I wouldn't be able to even make enough items to care about their large scale....

    Joe
    It really depends upon your marketing plan. I sell my products through craft galleries across the country and very rarely sell retail. I design my products with the final retail price in mind. The wholesale price has to be good for me and the retail price has to work in the market. My suggested retail price is twice my wholesale price, but my wholesale price also includes packing and shipping. Including the shipping works for me because, first, my lowest wholesale price point is $90, and second, I design in 10% of the wholesale price for packing and shipping. Having the shipping included in my prices makes it easier for me, easier for my customers, and since I do a lot of drop shipping for galleries, means they don't have to contact me for each drop shipment to ask "how much to ship this product to Kalamazoo?"

    The problem I'm wrestling with in considering selling through Amazon is whether or not I need a separate product line for them. I don't want to alienate the galleries which represent me and have them replace me with another artist who doesn't sell through Amazon. I do currently sell through another online marketplace, artfulhome.com, but I make sure their retail price is slightly higher than what galleries charge for my work, plus their customers pay for shipping, so my work is always going to be less when purchased in person at a gallery.

    So, I expect I'll work with Amazon when I can get Round Tuit, but I have some planning to do first.

    But back to that 50% markup (or 12% or 3.9%), I find the wholesale model works well for me. I certainly prefer just handing boxes to my UPS driver than packing up the studio and schleping everything to a retail show. But, having said that, I'll be at the Boston Home Décor Show November 19-22 if you want to stop by and say hi.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by tri4sale View Post
    Amazon in 2014 stated they had an active user base of 244 million (active defined by Amazon as accounts that made a purchase in past 12 months) so if only 1% are looking for crafts, that's 2.4 million potential shoppers, I'll gladly put products on a site that can draw that volume. If you have a product people want, and market it with the right keywords that show up on searches on Amazon, you will get eyeballs on your product, and that's the first step to selling.

    Amazon is just doing a natural business move, someone comes into the market, introduces a product (Etsy selling crafts online) and after the market matures, competition enters the market. Etsy has changed in reaction to market forces, many of the people I know who sell on Etsy are excited for Amazon, and think it will be beneficial, not just to their sales, but in that Etsy will have to be careful about how they treat sellers now that another large resource for sellers is available. Over the past 2 years, many of the Etsy sellers I know have been very upset with the direction Etsy has been going.

    The CNC not "hand made" argument is one that is always brought up, but I could argue that a item cut out with a circular saw or scroll saw isn't hand made, or if you use a sewing machine to quilt, that's not handmade. Etsy's little dirty secret is that it allows manufactured goods to be sold on the site, it's not all hand made items anymore, and they did that to scale their business by increasing the volume their sellers can produce.
    Well ,good luck to you then, I don't begrudge anyone a right to sell where they want. I fear we may soon end up in a world where our choices of commerce may be limited to walmart, google and amazon though.
    Amazon is purely profit driven, where at least with etsy it can be said they, while enjoying a profit like anyone else, was conceived as a venture tailored to the craft making community. I'm sure they are people not satisfied, just like droves are not satisfied with ebay, paypal, sprint pcs, comcast ect. Give it time, amazon will have its share of detractors.

    I haven't heard or said The CNC not "hand made" argument before as I never really thought about it, thats rather like saying "the sun is hot", pretty obvious and more a statement of fact than an argument. It is machine made, though obviously there can be and is alot of hand work that goes into making a finished product.

  10. #10
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    I posted about this new Amazon department a couple weeks ago but I guess it wasn't noticed.
    I'm glad the conversation is going on now as it is interesting.
    My take on this deal is the difference in commission is irrelevant. Just price accordingly.
    At this point Amazon's department is new and pretty sparse. Etsy is jammed with craftsman that come up on general searches for the type of craft work done on a Bot
    and therefore it is pretty hard to stand out in their search. I'm sure, and likely sooner than later, Amazon's will be getting pretty congested also.
    If I were producing the type of work that qualified as "craft" pieces and wanted to sell retail I'd be all over Amazon in half a heartbeat. It may be a big company that owns the mall, but it's a new mall that will get a lot of attention and therefore qualifies in the positive for the first three principles of having a retail store:
    Location, location, and location!
    Getting deeper into the rules and regs of setting up a storefront there, does that mean they are the only retail outlet you are allowed?
    Or could you have specific product for their site different from what you may sell on another?
    Or can you have an independent location that includes the Amazon items?
    How is it handled when someone wants the table you have for sale on Amazon but want it custom to different specs?
    I know on Ebay you can have another site.
    I just ordered some car parts from a company and discovered I was already in their client base as I had bought something from their e-bay store. Many of us know already you can buy from Onsrud or their e-bay store. same for Bosch metal and 80-20, but it is generally overstock on e-bay for them.
    If I were Etsy, I would be very, very unhappy about Bezos' new department!

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