Selling on Amazon? Amazon Vendors are vastly different than Amazon Sellers.

[million$$$smile]

This. Is. Gold.

 

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[LightHouse]

Got turned back for not having a vendor central ID.

 

[LightHouse]

@Vigilante

Well, the cat's out of the bag on this. I heard that Scott Voelker had a guest on recently that mentioned using the Vendor Express backdoor to get to AMS, and now it's being posted about here. There will probably be untapped profits here for a bit, but it'll be swamped with people in the near future, just like Sponsored Products is now.

I had an awesome headline banner ad above the search results in my highly competitive niche for months, but recently new people have come in with higher bids and i'm getting fewer and fewer displays. Here's a screencap of a campaign I ran:

The average CPC was SIGNIFICANTLY lower than Sponsored product ads. An example: To get on the first page for sponsored products with my main keyword, you needed to bid $1.50. My average CPC for displaying at the top of the page for the same keyword was $0.20.



There are three options for placement.

Headline above the search results: This links to your brand page that you can set up with custom media, feature different product collections, highlight popular products, etc.

On the side of a detail page all the way on the right hand side, underneath the "Other Sellers on Amazon" box: For these you can target the pages of specific ASINs you want to display on, or you can display by "interest based". I tried these and found them to be incredibly ineffective and unprofitable. The CPCs were higher than my headline ads, and the conversions were way lower. I may try playing with these again, but I haven't had any luck so far.

And then the other option is running regular sponsored product ads, like you all already do.


The only downside is that you get a Vendor Express rep that will breathe down your neck by phone and email wanting to know when you're going to ship in product. Just email them back a reason why you are delaying our decision to do so for a few months, and that keeps them at bay while you run AMS ads. Maybe there will come a point where they shut down my Vendor Express account because of inactivity.


If I remember, the Vendor Express account was a little weird to get set up, and I did it last year so I'm not sure I would be much help to you all trying to figure it out. Just know that it exists, it works, and you don't have to be a vendor to use it.


When you're done with that crow @Troy Mangone I'd be interested to hear about how you are able to help your clients negotiate favorable terms with being a vendor to Amazon.com.

Which TAS episode was it? Or can you explain the vendor express work around here?

Thanks for sharing some in depth info.

 

[amp0193]

Which TAS episode was it? Or can you explain the vendor express work around here?

Thanks for sharing some in depth info.

I think it was towards the end of this one: http://theamazingseller.com/tas-120...-and-launch-products-employee-shares-details/. Again, I didn't actually listen to it, but someone just told me it was mentioned in there.

Got turned back for not having a vendor central ID.

You made a wrong turn somewhere.

Here's what I remember, maybe it will help:

Sign up for Vendor Express at: https://vendorexpress.amazon.com/

When it comes to the part where it asks you to input product info, skip it.

Signing up should give you a vendor Login.

Go to https://ams.amazon.com/ and use that login to get rolling.


If I remember, I had some snafus getting access to the ads. I think that when creating my profile, that changing my company name to match my brand name is what got the problem solved.

 

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[Iwokeup]

Well! This thread has certainly turned around! Thanks to all of the positive contributors.

I submitted my application. Let's see what happens.

 

[LightHouse]

I think it was towards the end of this one: http://theamazingseller.com/tas-120...-and-launch-products-employee-shares-details/. Again, I didn't actually listen to it, but someone just told me it was mentioned in there.



You made a wrong turn somewhere.

Here's what I remember, maybe it will help:

Sign up for Vendor Express at: https://vendorexpress.amazon.com/

When it comes to the part where it asks you to input product info, skip it.

Signing up should give you a vendor Login.

Go to https://ams.amazon.com/ and use that login to get rolling.


If I remember, I had some snafus getting access to the ads. I think that when creating my profile, that changing my company name to match my brand name is what got the problem solved.

Rep+. This worked perfect. once it got to the product part, you can click to the marketing tab and accept the terms right there and you have access. This is purely invaluable information!! Thanks dude.

 

[Jake]

I'm in.

This is a nice little benefit.

when inserting a keyword it will bring up additional keywords and tell you if they're high/medium/low traffic. Numbers would be nice but at least it's something. It can help when adding keywords into your listings.

Cheers and rep sent @amp0193

 

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[Iwokeup]

I think it was towards the end of this one: http://theamazingseller.com/tas-120...-and-launch-products-employee-shares-details/. Again, I didn't actually listen to it, but someone just told me it was mentioned in there.



You made a wrong turn somewhere.

Here's what I remember, maybe it will help:

Sign up for Vendor Express at: https://vendorexpress.amazon.com/

When it comes to the part where it asks you to input product info, skip it.

Signing up should give you a vendor Login.

Go to https://ams.amazon.com/ and use that login to get rolling.


If I remember, I had some snafus getting access to the ads. I think that when creating my profile, that changing my company name to match my brand name is what got the problem solved.

Sweet! Worked for me too. Thank you. Rep sent

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I have a vendor central account and got declined. Guess book marketing is not a part of this.

 

[Vigilante]

This is one of the most classic threads on the forum lately, and it was made GREAT by @amp0193 who is slowly draining my rep bank. Awesome. OP, I told you if you hung around here you would learn a few things. This whole group moved ahead two steps.

 

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[LightHouse]

I have a vendor central account and got declined. Guess book marketing is not a part of this.

If you have vendor central, can you sign up for vendor express still? If so, try it and see if the work around works for you. It may not be for books, but you'll know pretty quick. If you can get access, it may give you a leg up as well if it DOES work for books.

 

[Vigilante]

Kills me that I had access to this tool box for years an never used it until you noobs came along to teach this old dog new tricks.

 

[amp0193]

This is one of the most classic threads on the forum lately, and it was made GREAT by @amp0193 who is slowly draining my rep bank. Awesome. OP, I told you if you hung around here you would learn a few things. This whole group moved ahead two steps.

Thanks @Vigilante

Without this forum, and specifically your Passive Income thread, I'd still be nowhere, and definitely wouldn't be 5-months away from quitting my day job. After making some huge progress in the last year, it's time to start giving back.


Stay tuned for a step-by-step thread on getting all of the money back that Amazon owes you right now.

I've gotten $4,000 back so far from the last 4 months of orders... and I'm not done with them yet.

 

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[Greyson F]

I have a vendor central account and got declined. Guess book marketing is not a part of this.

I think that is fair, given that book authors have the all-powerful KDP Select Opportunity. If there was something like that for products....

 

[Iwokeup]

Got approved for Amazon Marketing Services account.

 

[Vigilante]

Got approved for Amazon Marketing Services account.

Boom. Another victory.

 

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[LightHouse]

Thanks @Vigilante

Without this forum, and specifically your Passive Income thread, I'd still be nowhere, and definitely wouldn't be 5-months away from quitting my day job. After making some huge progress in the last year, it's time to start giving back.


Stay tuned for a step-by-step thread on getting all of the money back that Amazon owes you right now.

I've gotten $4,000 back so far from the last 4 months of orders... and I'm not done with them yet.

Returns and reimbursements? I have been sending that around to everyone if that's hat you are talking about. it's a huge thing i think almost no one knows about.

 

[amp0193]

Returns and reimbursements? I have been sending that around to everyone if that's hat you are talking about. it's a huge thing i think almost no one knows about.

These things:
"Other Concession" refunds
Customers not returning refunded products" within 45 days
Destroyed Inventory
Shipment Reconciliations
Inventory that Disappeared without a trace
20% Restocking Fees for products returned after 30 days
Overcharges of Weight or Commission Fees
Replacement given to customer, but original never returned
Making sure refunds from Amazon for all of the above actually got deposited into my account


It's a lot of stuff to sift through. I'm making a trello board with step-by-step processes with what reports I need and the scripts I'm using when opening cases with Amazon. When I get it more organized, I'll share the processes in a thread here.

 

[Vigilante]

These things:
"Other Concession" refunds
Customers not returning refunded products" within 45 days
Destroyed Inventory
Shipment Reconciliations
Inventory that Disappeared without a trace
20% Restocking Fees for products returned after 30 days
Overcharges of Weight or Commission Fees
Replacement given to customer, but original never returned
Making sure refunds from Amazon for all of the above actually got deposited into my account


It's a lot of stuff to sift through. I'm making a trello board with step-by-step processes with what reports I need and the scripts I'm using when opening cases with Amazon. When I get it more organized, I'll share the processes in a thread here.

Loss prevention companies charge 50% of what ever they recover

 

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[amp0193]

Loss prevention companies charge 50% of what ever they recover

There's a company called RefundsManager that does Amazon refunds and charges 25%. Actually not too bad for those that have no desire to get balls deep in excel reports, and just want to get money they wouldn't have gotten anyways. However, you could pay a VA to do it for way less.

But, I have a hard time paying a percentage to get my money back. Especially if it isn't rocket science to do so.

 

[Jake]

There's a company called RefundsManager that does Amazon refunds and charges 25%. Actually not too bad for those that have no desire to get balls deep in excel reports, and just want to get money they wouldn't have gotten anyways. However, you could pay a VA to do it for way less.

But, I have a hard time paying a percentage to get my money back. Especially if it isn't rocket science to do so.

1. Setup company
2. Outsource to VA
3. Profit

 

[JasonR]

Dude, this thread rocks.

I actually have known about the vendor express sponsored products, but have neglected to set it up until now. Just set up a test campaign (thanks to this thread as a reminder), and I already had a vendor express account set up when I first learned of it.

I'll update the thread with my results - but I'm super excited that I can bid on the TOP of the search results, and on my competitor's products. If you look closely you can also see Amazon runs email ads. For this particular product, no one seems to be doing this. Muhahaha - love tips like this.

Realistically, I only expect a marginal increase in sales, but I'll take anything that helps me rank.

Did you know you can also get A+ pages through Vendor Express? Pages like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X5RV14Y/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

I'm sure others, like me, have a plethora of Amazon ninja tricks up their sleeve.

Like...did you know you can get twice as many keywords on your listing if you use flat files? Stuff like that...

 

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[amp0193]

If you look closely you can also see Amazon runs email ads. For this particular product, no one seems to be doing this.

@JasonR can you elaborate on this? Is this something through Vendor Express that I'm missing, or something completely unrelated?

Did you know you can also get A+ pages through Vendor Express?

I looked into this a while back, and at first it seemed possible, but I think you actually have to be a full Vendor to get access to this. Have you, or has someone you know, successfully done this through Express?

I have heard though, that you can access A+ content by setting up a full-fledged vendor account, and then opt not to sell to Amazon. I haven't tried it for myself though.

Like...did you know you can get twice as many keywords on your listing if you use flat files?

shhhh

 

[JasonR]

@JasonR can you elaborate on this? Is this something through Vendor Express that I'm missing, or something completely unrelated?

If you look when you're setting up your ads (the right hand column ones on competitor's products) you can see Amazon has a preview of a bunch of the ads - there is one titled email.

I looked into this a while back, and at first it seemed possible, but I think you actually have to be a full Vendor to get access to this. Have you, or has someone you know, successfully done this through Express?

I have heard though, that you can access A+ content by setting up a full-fledged vendor account, and then opt not to sell to Amazon. I haven't tried it for myself though.

It's on my to do list, but just not a priority at the moment. I have a friend who sells both FBA and Vendor Central, I'll ask him but last I spoke with him he said it was doable.

shhhh

 

[Vigilante]

First headline ad submission rejected for superlative statements. .

Modified resubmission approved.

 

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[Being]

@Vigilante

Well, the cat's out of the bag on this. I heard that Scott Voelker had a guest on recently that mentioned using the Vendor Express backdoor to get to AMS, and now it's being posted about here. There will probably be untapped profits here for a bit, but it'll be swamped with people in the near future, just like Sponsored Products is now.

I had an awesome headline banner ad above the search results in my highly competitive niche for months, but recently new people have come in with higher bids and i'm getting fewer and fewer displays. Here's a screencap of a campaign I ran:

The average CPC was SIGNIFICANTLY lower than Sponsored product ads. An example: To get on the first page for sponsored products with my main keyword, you needed to bid $1.50. My average CPC for displaying at the top of the page for the same keyword was $0.20.

I will say that click traffic to the headline ads is much less than a regular in-line sponsored product ad. It will net you extra sales, but it probably won't be life-changing.

Also, you can't run reports on your campaigns, and you get less insight into campaign performance than you do with Sponsored Products. There is no "automatic" campaign option.



There are three options for placement.

Headline above the search results: This links to your brand page that you can set up with custom media, feature different product collections, highlight popular products, etc.

On the side of a detail page all the way on the right hand side, underneath the "Other Sellers on Amazon" box: For these you can target the pages of specific ASINs you want to display on, or you can display by "interest based". I tried these and found them to be incredibly ineffective and unprofitable. The CPCs were higher than my headline ads, and the conversions were way lower. I may try playing with these again, but I haven't had any luck so far.

And then the other option is running regular sponsored product ads, like you all already do.


The only downside is that you get a Vendor Express rep that will breathe down your neck by phone and email wanting to know when you're going to ship in product. Just email them back a reason why you are delaying your decision to do so for a few months, and that keeps them at bay while you run AMS ads. Maybe there will come a point where they shut down my Vendor Express account because of inactivity.


If I remember, the Vendor Express account was a little weird to get set up, and I did it last year so I'm not sure I would be much help to you all trying to figure it out. Just know that it exists, it works, and you don't have to be a vendor to use it.


When you're done with that crow @Troy Mangone I'd be interested to hear about how you are able to help your clients negotiate favorable terms with being a vendor to Amazon.com.

No crow here...you cheated and essentially lied...I'm sure they will catch abusers like you and change the qualification i.e they must receive product first to allow access to AMS. How am I able to negotiate favorable terms? Well that my friend is proprietary...additionally, you must first be accepted as a Vender. Thats really the hard part without giving away product through the Vendor Express program. I will tell you this. I do not charge my clients a penny until they have paid invoices from Amazon. Additionally, my terms are lower than other agencies. I am also a very experienced marketer within Amazon. Let me show you one ad campaign from one of my clients through the AMS program.

Look at the cost per click to appear first "headline" ...$286.12 spent and $4,825.87 in sales...

 

[Being]

Got approved for Amazon Marketing Services account.

prove it...

 

[Being]

This is one of the most classic threads on the forum lately, and it was made GREAT by @amp0193 who is slowly draining my rep bank. Awesome. OP, I told you if you hung around here you would learn a few things. This whole group moved ahead two steps.

You're welcome...This was my original goal...everything I said about being a Vendor is true I don't care what anyone says...Iv seen it myself after years of being in the trenches...

 

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[Iwokeup]

prove it...

I'm sorry. Who are you, again?

Fri 1/15/2016 9:41 AM

Welcome,
Congratulations, [Your Brand]'s registration has been approved!

Drive sales by reaching millions of shoppers at Amazon.com. Create a free Amazon Page and drive shoppers to your page with keyword targeted Headline Search ads that appear prominently above Amazon.com search results.

Create your free Amazon Page to get started.

Once your page is approved, click here to create your first ad. Have questions? Contact us.

Sincerely,
The Amazon Marketing Services Team
https://ams.amazon.com

Now please go away.

 

[DrkSide]

You're welcome...This was my original goal...everything I said about being a Vendor is true I don't care what anyone says...Iv seen it myself after years of being in the trenches...

I was going to leave you off ignore just in the hope that you would come around. I figured it was a long shot and you proved that right.

If this is your normal attitude you need to find another forum to spew your message. I hope you treat your supposed customers better than you have acted here.

Minus that this thread has turned out awesome.