The short answer is: Professional sellers are paid bi-weekly, while Individual sellers get paid weekly, but the time between an individual marketplace sale transaction and the deposit of funds for that sale can be as short as one day if the sale happens on the settlement day.
When are Payments Made to Professional Sellers?
Amazon makes payments to professional sellers every two weeks.
Each settlement period is 14 days for sale transactions that shipped up until the cutoff time (for me, it’s 4pm every other Saturday, and the finds show up in my account following Monday).
Positive balances are made via ACH transfer with the bank account on file.
Negative balances are settled via the credit card on file.
Payment holds and unavailable balances are less likely on a professional account, and typically have to do with performance issues.
When are Payments Made to Individual Sellers?
The payment schedule for individual sellers is more complicated.
When an order is placed on Amazon and confirmed as shipped, the proceeds from this order will be placed on hold for 14 days.
Once 14 days have passed (and there are no issues with the order such as an A-Z claim, etc) the balance will move to the next applicable disbursement date.
For example: Order 123 was placed on 12/25 for a total of $50.00. The order is confirmed shipped on 12/27. The funds will be on reserve for 14 days from 12/27. (Until 1/10). The next disbursement date is 1/24. Payment from Order 123 is received on 1/24.
How Does a Seller Find Their Next Settlement Date?
To to your Payments Summary Box – Click on the Number next to Balance.
3. This page will let you know what date the next transfer is suppose to initiate on.
How Long does it Take for Amazon to Pay Sellers?
Professional sellers are paid bi-weekly, while Individual sellers get paid weekly, but the time between an individual marketplace sale transaction and the deposit of funds for that sale can be as short as one day if the sale happens on the settlement day.
As an Amazon Seller, you will occasionally get emails from Amazon Answers that might look like the image below.
These questions are asked by customers through the amazon answers platform. If your seller account sells or has sold the product in question Amazon will send you an email asking if you can assist the customer.
What are Amazon Answers?
Amazon Answers allows customers to get feedback on a product from other customers and sellers alike.
Why is Amazon Sending me an Email with a Customer Question?
Amazon will send emails to sellers who are actively selling the product with a question or have sold the product in the past.
Is there a Benefit in Answering the Questions?
Yes, albeit indirectly. There is no direct performance benefit (better search rankings, buy box eligibility, etc) for answering customer questions. However, your answer can help make for a more informed buyer and could avoid similar questions after purchase. The more informed a buyer is, the less likely they are to return an item.
Can I Opt Out?
Yes, anyone receiving these emails can opt out. To do so click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of an Amazon Answers email as shown below.
Bottom Line:
There is no obligation to participate in Amazon Answers. If you chose to participate, Amazon Guidelines will need to be followed. For further information, please access the link below:
Seller feedback is an important part of Amazon eco system to both buyers and sellers. It allows buyers to share their experience with other buyers, while giving an opportunity to sellers to differentiate themselves from their competitors by providing excellent customer service and product quality.
Steps to Remove Seller Feedback through Amazon.com
Login to your Amazon.com account.
Navigate to amazon.com/feedback on your browser once logged in.
On the Leave Seller Feedback page – navigate to the completed feedback tab.
Through the completed feedback tab, feedback is reviewed, and removed if applicable.
Seller feedback can be removed – but cannot be re added at a later date for the order.
What is Send To Amazon? – New Amazon FBA Shipping Feature
Amazon has recently released a new method of sending FBA inventory to Amazon.
Benefits
FBA Inventory Selection – All of the listings that are FBA are listed in this new feature and sellers will be able to choose which product they will be adding to the shipment. Previously, the seller would have to scroll through there catalog and manually check each box before selecting “Send/Replenish Inventory”. This slow process made shipment creation tidious. With this new UI sellers can select and deselect product on the fly.
Packing Templates – This new feature allows sellers to create packing templates for case-packed products. Sellers will be able to save box unit count, dimensions, and prep type for quick and easy shipment creation.
Beta Phase Limitations
Since this new feature is still in beta phase, there are some limitations.
Shipping Method – Currently, the only shipping method available is small parcel delivery – no pallets or LTL shipments with this tool.
Carrier – Amazon is not allowing Amazon Partnered Carriers with this tool at this time, meaning you will not be able to purchase shipping labels directly from Amazon. All shipping will need to be purchased off of Amazon.
Locating Amazon Seller Central Performance Notifications
On Amazon Performance Notifications are critical pieces of communication directly from Amazon. These notifications can encompass some of the following topics:
Policy Warnings
Suspension Messages
Listing Deactivation
Category Approvals
Banking Issues
Pricing Issues
More
Locating and responding to these notifications is critical to addressing any issues with your account and keeping the account in good standing. While Amazon typically will send an email to go along with each performance notification, they can easily get lost, sent to spam, etc in your inbox. The safest option is to always check your notifications page through Seller Central on a routine basis.
To locate these notifications please do the following:
Go to your Seller Central Home Page.
Check the notification flag. If it has a number by it – you have new notification(s).
3. Even if there are no new notifications – it is always prudent to check your notifications page to see if one could have been missed, etc.
4. To do this go back to your Seller Central Home page and hover over the performance tab as shown below (Seller Central > Performance > Performance Notifications… or by clicking here: Performance Notification.
5. On the Performance Notification Page you can see all notifications sent from Amazon, the date they were sent, if any actions need to be taken, etc. You can also filter between read and unread notifications.
How to Access the Amazon Brand Store through Seller Central
Once your Amazon Seller Account is Brand Registered, there there is an option to create a store page for your brand. Once the store page is created, it will be launched onto the Amazon platform for all Amazon users to see. To be able to view and edit your store once created please follow these steps below:
Go to your Amazon Seller Central home page.
Hover over Stores on the top tool bar as shown below.
3. Click Manage Stores.
4. On the Manage Stores Page there are three options:
1. You can see the link to your store directly.
2. You can edit your store.
4. Through the manage store page the user can find the following – A direct link to their Amazon store page, The See Insights Area where statistics on your store can be found (traffic etc) and the Edit Store link where a user can make edits and revisions to their store. Please see image below.
5. For further information on the Amazon Store Page – please visit the following link:
My Amazon Guy is Proud to Introduce – My Refund Guy
Amazon Owes 99% of Sellers Money
Did you know that Amazon Owes 99% of seller’s money? Fulfillment by Amazon is an amazing service that has brought sellers to the next level, but many sellers do not realize they are leaving money on the table! Issues such as the following below can end up costing sellers significant amounts of money that can often go unnoticed and have a negative effect on your profits and bottom line:
Lost and Damaged Units
Refunds and Mishandled Returns
Lost Inbound Shipments
My Refund Guy can Recover Money for your Business – At No Upfront Cost
My Refund Guy takes on the hard work for your account at no risk. If we are not successful in recouping money from Amazon, you pay NOTHING! All you will pay is a 25% commission on all successful reimbursements. In other words, you will pay a small commission on NEW RECOVERED MONEY – Money not budgeted, not accounted for, money that was written off as “the cost of doing business” – now can be funneled back into your business!
My Refund Guy Benefits:
No Risk – We get paid when you get paid.
Low Commissions – A low 25% Commission on Successful Reimbursements
Additional Money for Your Business – No more money left on the table. Extra money your business deserves back in YOUR pocket.
Easily Traceable – We do the Work – Your Business Reaps the Benefits
Ease of Use: My Refund Guy files the cases, research reports, and files reimbursement cases on issues that can be easily overlooked and missed.
Convenient User Dashboard: Our service offers a convenient dashboard which keeps track of Filing Date, Case IDs, Reimbursement Status, Potential Reimbursement Amounts, Actual Reimbursement amounts, and details on the issue(s) being requested for reimbursement.
Safe and Secure: We use Amazon’s infrastructure (AWS) advanced encryption to store your information and if you decide to cancel, all information will be removed immediately.
My Business is Interested – What is Next?
If your business would like to find more information, or sign up for My Refund Guy please head over to https://myrefundguy.com/
On the website you will find more information on our service and how to SIGN UP.
Please note that My Refund Guy is an optional add on service to My Amazon Guy. Any commissions charged for this service are in addition to existing fees.
Once your account is set up for B2B, it can start to profit off some of the exclusive features for Amazon Business Sellers. Please note that B2B pricing is part of the Amazon Business platform. Your company must apply for and be approved by Amazon Business before it can take advantage of features such as B2B pricing. B2B pricing can encourage business buyers to purchase large quantities of your product at a discount. The discount tier and structure is set up by the individual seller.
Please note that Amazon Business pricing is only available to buyers who are registered through the Amazon Business buyers program which validates the business.
How to Access B2B Pricing
The following steps will guide in the setup of your Amazon Business B2B Pricing:
Navigate to the Seller Central Main Page.
Place your cursor over the pricing tab on the top tool bar and then click manage pricing as shown below:
3. On your Manage Pricing dashboard, business pricing can be reconfigured. Under the business pricing field, you can set your standard business price.
4. Afterwards, you can then setup percentage/fixed price discounts for large quantity purchases. To get here, click Add quantity discounts under the business price header.
Pricing Models
Amazon business pricing uses two pricing models – Percent off business price and a fixed price off a business price. These pricing models are based on the number of items purchased, so a tier structure can be created.
Percent off Business Pricing Model
Please see the image below to see how the Percent Off Price Model tier could work. The minimum quantity equates to the minimum amount of items that would need to be purchased to received a percentage off. This tier can be structured in anyway or fashion. If more thresholds need to be added, click Add more thresholds right above Set prices. Once you are finished setting up your tiers, click set prices to engage the discount structure.
Fixed Price Off Business Pricing Model
Please see the image below to see how the Fixed Price off Price Model could work. In this model the seller would set the minimum number of items that would need to be purchased to receive the item at a discounted amount per unit as shown below. Once finished with the model, click Set prices to engage the business pricing.
To learn more about Amazon Business Selling Accounts, please visit the link below.
Seller Central has a review incentive program called Amazon Vine. This program employs a hand-picked group of reviewers through Amazon’s platform to review new products. Please note that Amazon Vine reviewers have NOT already bought the product. The product can be ordered by a group of pre-selected reviewers (Vine Voices) who give an honest review on the product. They will receive a free product in exchange for the review. This program is very exclusive, and is only available to sellers who meet certain criteria. Sellers that have new brands with limited number of reviews, that have a trademark and Brand Registry with Amazon, that are looking for a boost in their products visibility can benefit greatly from this program.
Benefits of Enrolling in Amazon Vine
Increased product reviews.
High quality reviews.
Trusted reviews – the reviews are unbiased, un-manipulated, and buyers will be able to trust the review, which will increase sales.
Increased awareness of slow sellers or new products.
Increased sales
Product Requirements for Enrollment in Amazon Vine
Be brand registered in Amazon Brand Registry.
Have fewer than 30 reviews on the product detail page.
In addition to the restrictions already in place for listings on Amazon which can be found here. Amazon also has the following product restrictions for the Vine Program.
Require us to bundle multiple products for delivery/review.
Require reviewers to separately order another product in order to conduct a review; accessories for widely-owned products are permitted (for example, cases for popular mobile phones can be enrolled) but you should not enroll an ink cartridge that requires a specific printer, or a replacement battery that only works in a particular camera.
Do not correspond to the exact product listed on the FBA offer.
What Kind of Reviews will My Business Receive through Amazon Vine?
Amazon Vine uses high quality reviewers to post unbiased, honest, opinion. Amazon does not guarantee positive reviews, and will not remove the review unless it violates their Terms and Conditions. Furthermore, it is against Amazon Terms and Conditions to contact a Vine reviewer about a review left.
How Many Reviews can an ASIN Receive through Amazon Vine?
Each product can receive up to 30 reviews per ASIN – with the exception being 30 reviews is the maximum amount ofreviews any ASIN can receive in the program. If your product already has 25 reviews for example, the maximum number it can receive through Amazon Vine is 5 reviews. However, if your product has 0 reviews the maximum number it can receive through Amazon Vine is 30 reviews.
How Many ASINs can Participate in Amazon Vine?
Amazon limits the number of ASINs that can be active at one time to five.
Are Amazon Voices Members Required to Leave a Review if they Order your Product?
No, Amazon Voices members are not required to leave a review once they receive the product. However, Amazon audits its pool of reviewers to ensure that only the most active reviewers are on the platform.
What is The Cost of Amazon Vine?
The cost of Amazon Vine is not clearly defined by Amazon at this time. Amazon does indicate that there will be a fee to the account, once a review is left. Amazon does not give further information regarding their fees.
How does my Business Enroll a Product in Amazon Vine?
Logon to the Seller Central Main page.
Move your cursor to the Advertising Tab.
Click Vine.
4. Next you will go to your Vine Dashboard. To start enrollment you will enter the ASIN that you wish to enroll into the text bar.
5. Furthermore, once the ASIN is enrolled, the progress of the ASIN can be tracked through the enrollment details page and the user can get to the enrollment details page by clicking Details next to the ASIN being inquired about.
User Permissions for Amazon Vine
Not being able to access the Vine Functionality. If not able to access the Vine Dashboard through Seller Central, check your permissions. You can do so by going to the seller central main page, and going to your settings and then user permissions.
2. Next scroll down to the Advertising Section of your permissions, and modify the permissions for Vine, next modify the permissions for the account, and when the new permissions are selected, click continue and this will save the settings.
More Assistance:
For identifying errors or managing products please refer to your Vine Dashboard. Please see above for instructions on how to access your dashboard.
Amazon has rolled out a new feature in the Advertising Campaign Manager called Search Terms. Essentially, search terms has already been around for a significant period of time and could be located within downloadable advertising reports. These reports generally contain a large degree of data and can be time consuming to sift through. Before we delve into how this new feature can help your advertising campaigns, we must first discuss what search terms are as there can be confusion between what a search term is and what a keyword is. They both appear very similar, but there are significant differences that we will discuss below.
Customer Search Terms
A customer search term is the word(s) or phrase(s) that the customer enters into the Amazon search engine. Below is an example of a customer search term.
As one can see the phrase “bbq glaze sauce” is the term the customer entered into Amazon’s search engine.
Keywords:
Keywords are important phrases and words that Amazon sellers research and use in advertisements. Essentially, keywords are what help customers to the merchants product on Amazon.com. Keywords are what defines a product through the Amazon platform and marketplace. When you create your advertisement on Amazon you will add keywords that are relevant to your product. Please see the example below for this product: Momstir Sweet Heat Marinade & Hot Sauce for Gourmet BBQ, Grilling, Ribs, Oven Roasting Chicken, Pork, Beef, and Anything in the Kitchen (20 oz)
Amazon Search Terms Tool
Now that we know the difference between search terms and keywords, how exactly does Amazon’s Search Terms Tool assist the merchant?
It is easy to use. No longer does one have to sift through excel sheets with large amounts of data. One can now easily find which keywords are performing the best based on search terms.
You can easily sort by the number of clicks per term, the amount spent per term, orders per term, sales per term, and ACOS per term. There are also a variety of other variables in which you can filter a search term by.
You can find keywords that are performing well, and keywords that may be causing unnecessary spend and inflated ACOS. Once you find this information you can easily add unneeded keywords/search terms into negative targeting to block that search or increase the bid on a keyword if it is performing well.
For example: If you have a product named: Momma Shark Needs a Drink Do Do Do Do Funny Novelty Libbey Stemless Wine Glass with Sayings – Gift for Moms, Birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day Gifts
The search terms tool may show that a large amount of searches that hit your keywords was from something broad such as gift for mom. If this is creating a lot of spend, but low conversion this tool just helped identify a keyword that can be blocked, which will save your company money! In fact – Amazon encourages this practice! Please see the link below:
