Note on Amazon listings to "Contact seller before buying"

Hi,

I'm brand new to Amazon selling, considered FBA but thought I'd get my feet wet with drop shipping to start.

In the past few days, I've launched a few products. I'm feeling a bit nervous because the wholesaler has no notes on inventory. I tested out the cart on the wholesalers site and entered '1000' units as a test and there was no note indicating stock was limited, or the like.

I contacted the supplier and there is no way they can notify me of product volume, which makes it a bit of a gamble.

To this point, I've seen some sellers put a note in their listing similar to: "CONTACT!! ORDERS(at) [URL] ~~ WITH ASIN!!BEFORE ORDERING"

Would this be why? Is this a means for the reseller to check on stock before completing an order? If so, is this standard practice or does it adversely affect one's advertisement in any way?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

Hi Mike,

I'm not an expert on Amazon and can't with any certainty claim to know why that is in place, although it makes sense to me that your assumption would be quite correct. Stock control is one of those drawbacks with dropshipping, it can quite quickly bring you undone. The problem is, you could have dozens, hundreds or even thousands all selling the same item as you are across multiple platforms internationally and it's next to impossible for a supplier to keep up with the stock flow on a daily basis, especially if it's a fast moving item.

So if you are able top confirm a sale before processing a transaction, that has to be a good thing. Would it hurt the chances of a sale, I would say the chances of that would be very high in most cases, especially if someone else is offering the same item for purchase that the buyer can close the sale on straight away.

So that one has pros and cons to it.

Hi Mark -
Thanks for your quick reply.

What you say makes sense regarding one extra step potentially deterring a prospect. However, without this type of preliminary step, it's bit of a gamble that stock will be in place and that makes me uncomfortable. I suppose this is why FBA with white-labelled goods may be a better option and drop shipping more viable from an eCommerce site using a wholesaler who has a consistent supply of product.

So much to learn and weigh out.

Thanks again.
Mike

Hi Mike,

Yes, there are all sorts of pros and cons with everything involved no matter what supply resource and market you use to sell, it's a matter or weighing everything up and going with the option that best suits, but there will always be some compromises you have to make along the way, just the way this type of business works unfortunately.

:)

Hi Mike,

I am concerned on those sellers with notes on their listing saying to contact them first before ordering. Do they put a third party contact detail such as email address or contact number? If so, it seems like a red flag to me. Amazon does not allow their sellers to make contact with buyers directly outside their website. So, it might affect your listing if you put any third party contact details but if you intend to contact your buyers within the site then, it should be fine.

Be extra vigilant with these types of listings since the seller might be luring their buyers to make contact with them outside of Amazon. This is not a standard practice on Amazon since putting contact information on the listing would be a violation - And that is something I do not want you to do. The classic cliché still stands right -- If it is too good to be true, it probably is. You can try to validate their listing by checking on their offer if it seems too good of a bargain. And then, try to see if they would try to make contact outside Amazon. As for you as a seller, communicate with buyers via Amazon and not outside the site to protect yourself as a seller as well.

I'm not concluding if these sellers are really bogus but it pays to be extra wary these days. You can always contact Amazon support to double confirm on these matters. :)

Hi.

We've run an Online Seller Program for Amazon FBA Sellers for several years, and I will tell you anyway you sell on Amazon is tough nowadays, unless you use a service. As far as Dropshipping, BEWARE! You want to screw up on Amazon start dropshipping!

Dollar Fanatic
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