Hi Salvatore,
You make a few points for me to respond to, but let me start by saying that Multi Seller platforms such as Amazon or eBay are not retail markets, these are wholesale markets. Now I get asked quite a lot as to why I refer to them as wholesale markets and that'quite simple to explain.
Wholesale suppliers themselves worked out quite some time ago that these platforms presented a great business opportunity for them to move bulk stock and increase business. So instead of selling a set MOQ, for arguments sake, let's say 250 units @ X dollars each to a single customer for a total of Y dollars, they can move just as many units at the same exact MOQ wholesale price of X dollars per unit by selling single units to multiple customers and still making Y dollars.
So it became a very popular business model for many wholesalers to adopt. Now no doubt these platforms will have some retail pricing and even some prices well above retail, because there are no restrictions as to what price a seller can request to purchase their item, it's up to the customer to decide the value in the product.
Once you have a marketplace where sellers are competing against genuine wholesale prices, the market compresses due to that level of competition. So the reality is that while an Amazon or an eBay aren't traditional B2B wholesale platforms like an Alibaba or similar for example, the prices you will find in many, if not all fast moving high turnover markets within these platforms are wholesale prices already.
With marketing techniques such as loss leading, you will even find prices set at below wholesale and that means a long way under genuine retail price.
So to your direct question about
"how would selling at the wholesale rate give any idea of a sell through rate" (to paraphrase) You are using the platform to test market it at the price you will be selling it for on your own website. It's about gathering data on what the sales flow is at that price.
To go to your second point (what's the benefit" The data gathered is the benefit. The point here isn't to be making money on Amazon, the point is that this is a marketing exercise where you can then use that data to fine tune your own website. I think you may have misunderstood as me offering this as some sort of bizarre way to make money on Amazon, where the point was to show a way of how to make money away from Amazon.
I'm sorry that you find most of my advice confusing and I'm happy to try and clarify any points I've made if you would like to PM me with links to that advice. It's difficult for to respond in general terms without really knowing what I am responding to. More to that in regards to my advice being discouraging, again, difficult for me to comment, but will happily look over those posts and review my advice if you would PM those links.
"Would s sensible person deal with a company that seems to broadcast more warnings than encouragement?"Firstly, let me point out that my advice is that of my own, it does not necessarily reflect that of SaleHoo management or staff in any way shape or form. My role as Community Manager is to ensure the rules and regulations of the forum are followed and to provide advice to members where ever I can through my years of experience as a previous eBay Powerseller, as well as my work history in sales, marketing and advertising.
To answer your question more directly, I would, yes. I do believe that sensible people respect honesty and if warnings are required that they aren't aware of, then they would want to know about them. Now I can easily tell we aren't going to agree on that point from your post, but that's OK to have a difference of opinion.
As Community Manager I have lost count of the stories that I get to hear from people who find there way to this forum after being milked of thousands of dollars by people telling them what they want to hear, not what they NEED to hear. People who spend hard earned money on books full of garbage, who spend thousands of dollars on so called courses that divulge all the secrets to making money online, yet all they do is empty bank accounts and provide worthless information in return.
There are plenty of platforms around where people will give you all the encouragement you could ever desire, they'll paint this amazing picture where the road to online success is paved in gold, there is no shortage of places and people like that. My question I would ask you is quite simply
Would you prefer to hear the truth or listen to rubbish that teaches you nothing about this business because it makes you feel good?
That's not who I am as a person and it's certainly not how I see my role here on the forum. My advice may not always be as encouraging as you would like it to be, but I'm proud of the fact that I have a reputation of speaking, what I truly believe to be the truth.Without a doubt, most people will always thank me for highlighting an area that the were unaware of, they won't simply tell me that I'm being too discouraging.
Once again, that is your opinion and I can only respect that as you are completely entitled to your point of view.
In regards to SaleHoo too often being on the side of the buyer, not the seller. I'm unsure if this is in reference to me in person or if you are relating that to SaleHoo support staff. If it is directed at me, then I am not going to apologize for helping members in disputes with sellers, that's part of my job description,
If it's in relation to SaleHoo support staff, then if you would like to provide an example of where this has happened, I will pass that through for review. It is our policy to be completely fair and balanced with both our members and the sellers, that's why support will always intervene om behalf of a member to find a satisfactory resolution with the seller.
I'm unsure as to what your previous business was, but in every business I've always been involved in, you work from the bottom up. Meaning, you have to know your down side before your upside. You identify your weaknesses, you identify your threats and then you try to counter them. That then gives you your upside.
To ignore the down side in business in my opinion is reckless and unwise and it is from that stand point that I provide my advice. If I saw someone walking down the street looking at their phone about to step into a giant hole, I would warn them, I would simply tell them how good they looked to make them feel good about themselves before falling.
Now I'm sure many will agree with you, that's me being far too negative, but I'm just as sure as others will say they appreciate the warning before they fall.
In summary, my advice is just that, it's only my advice. It's given freely and is always given with good intentions as to guide people without the experience that I have. People can choose to hear it or completely ignore it, they have that freedom of choice. I appreciate you sharing your opinion, that is always welcomed on this forum, so long as it is delivered in a respectful way, which I believe yours was most definitely delivered.
My response is also delivered in the same spirit.
