Are you a safe Amazon shopper? – 5 things you NEED to know.

Who really knows more about how to buy on Amazon then the sellers who are trying to get you to buy their products? There are a great deal of honest sellers on Amazon. Unfortunately there are also those who resort to cut-throat practices to get you to spend your money with them even if they are not the best or the cheapest. A few questions to consider are: How do you spot shady sellers?, What do customer reviews really mean?, Am I getting new or used (and what is ‘used’) on Amazon?, and How soon am I getting it (is PRIME worth it)?.

I’m going to let you in on a few little “Amazon seller” secrets by giving you those answers with 5 essential tips for shopping on Amazon from a seller’s perspective. I will also dispel some myths and give you the means to decide if PRIME is really good for you?

But first…..

I love Amazon. If I didn’t LOVE Amazon, I wouldn’t BUY from Amazon, if I didn’t LOVE Amazon, I wouldn’t SELL on Amazon, and if I didn’t LOVE Amazon, I wouldn’t be writing to you to keep you SAFE on Amazon. The one thing I am not… is getting paid by Amazon to write this… and I DO love Amazon… BUT…

I miss going to the shopping mall. I can remember parking 20 rows back and trying to remember where I parked my car. The ringing of the Salvation Army bell seemed to travel for miles and the song “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” would be played at least a million times before you left. Tons of people carrying handfuls of bags would just stop suddenly to look at EVERY LITTLE THING on display without any idea who was behind them. It was the best and worst of the shopping season.

At the mall either everything… or nothing… looked like that great gift. Those shoppers with bags lining both arms stopping to pick up a midday snack just made it look way too easy.

Now shopping malls are closing from increased ease of online shopping mecas. The most widely known giant is Amazon but how do you navigate the online experience without paying too much or being burned buying something that you can’t see before you buy?

1 – Know who’s in the Amazon ‘Buy Box’-

Every one of us that sells on Amazon wants to dominate the ‘buy box’. This is the first screen you come to when you look up an item on Amazon and most sales happen from this screen. It is the most successful screen to get a sale from… but it is not the wisest screen to buy from. Don’t just click “Add to cart” or “Buy Now” at this point and I’ll tell you why…

Amazon doesn’t put the cheapest or the best seller in the buy box. No one knows exactly sure (and Amazon isn’t going to divulge their metrics for calculating this) but it rotates among sellers depending on many… many… many factors.  Some say “it’s the closest available stock to send”, others say “most stock”, some even surmise “best seller ranking”… I know who and where my competitors are and how much they have… these ‘thoughts’ just don’t ever prove true.

I do know that if Amazon sells the item your looking for, they will most likely dominate the buy box. I know that as a seller I don’t want to compete against Amazon because I have come to understand this point. Buying something straight from Amazon is not a bad thing and buying something that isn’t straight from Amazon may not be a bad thing either. You have to see who else is selling the item you want to purchase.

Always check to see if other sellers are selling the item by clicking on “NEW ()…” or USED & NEW () FROM…”. This is located just under the short description at the top of the ‘buy box” screen.

So now that you’ve done that….

2 – Know what “USED” and “NEW” mean – HONESTY about returns –

New items… well that’s a fairly simple one. New items are new from the manufacturer. They are NOT refurbished (or at least not supposed to be). These will account for MOST of the items you will see on Amazon.

Used items are appealing for their lower price. But be warned – the description is extremely vague. It might say “…cosmetic imperfection(s)…” or “packaging will be damaged…” but it DOES NOT tell you how many imperfections (one scratch or 3 dents?)… or what was affected when the packaging got damaged. I would LOVE to tell you that you can tell the extent of the damage by price, but that would be a lie.

Additionally, if a customer purchases an item and uses or installs it but does not like it, they can say so and they can send it back. If the item was sent from Amazon, it is returned to Amazon. Hopefully the customer was honest and returned the item in ‘sellable’ condition. If the item was altered in such a way that Amazon cannot sell this to another customer without conditions (such as repackaging, relabeling, etc…), the item is marked unsellable and the seller has to pay to make these items whole again.

Honesty about returns and item condition are very important to Amazon and the sellers who place their products on their site. Customers are extremely important to all of us, we just hope the honesty reciprocates back in the process. Sellers who give a great customer experience are those who still (like me) take pride in serving customers and have not had too many problems to taint our perspective. It’s all about taking personal responsibility for the service that you give.

3 – Know the difference between product and seller reviews and what ratings really tell you –

Product review vs Seller review:

• Product review is the customer’s perspective on the product as listed in the description. Does it work? Does it work like it should? Is it value for the price?
• Seller review is the customer’s perspective on the SELLER’S performance (not Amazon – unless they were the seller) during the transaction. This could be matching the description to the item, packaging, labeling, and shipping IF it was shipped from the seller.

Product Reviews –

I learned in Statistics class that when you send someone an email to ask them kindly to leave a review, it is like asking them to fill out a survey. They will either do it because they ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT, ABSOLUTELY HATE IT, or feel compelled to do THEIR part to help other customers. Problem is that only as recent as a few years ago (and I’m sure some are still doing it) shady sellers were BUYING reviews for Amazon. What they would do is offer to give you the item for free if you leave a 5-star review. Great for those people at the time because they got free stuff, however it was not good for the rest of us because the reviews weren’t honest. These sellers just didn’t do a couple of reviews, they did it for THOUSANDS of reviews. It boosted their credibility, their status on Amazon, their performance metrics, and got them A LOT of sales but… they are not usually the cheapest seller or the one with the best customer service. Those of us on Amazon who are honest and work hard for those reviews, DO NOT violate Amazon’s standards or policies to get your sales. There is a fear that exists that if Amazon would “catch you” violating those policies, they will simply shut down your storefront and not let you back in. So how do you know the review you are looking at is a ‘bought review’ or an unsolicited honest review?

Amazon banned ‘quid pro quo’ (this for that) reviews for products in 2016 but the policy was updated as recently as October of 2018. Here are a couple quick thoughts about which reviews in order to base your judgement:

• Don’t look at the highest or lowest rated reviews.
  • Highest rated could be fake,
  • Lowest rated could be product competitor bashing.
• So… look at reviews in the middle (2-4 star reviews).
• My favorite reviews are the ones that say “it’s good BUT…” I end up trusting these more.
• Look at the reviews who get emotional but not TOO emotional
  • This is great when…
  • This sucks when…
  • It was hard to…
  • I found it easiest to…
• Not generalities….
  • I LOVE IT
  • I HATE IT
• Do they review often? Look at the review’s other reviews… Are they a professional reviewer?
• If they do review often are they a mix of 1,2,3,4, and 5 star reviews (=honesty)
• Are they a verified purchaser? Amazon allows non-purchasers to review so verify they own the product.
• Most importantly… Look at RECENT reviews and recent ratings. These are more credible of what you are getting today.

If a reviewer left a review for a free product, they are supposed to note that in the review. Now this is NOT to say that they couldn’t be objective and give you a really honest review but it had to be prior to 2016. At least they were honest about getting a free product.

Seller reviews and seller ratings –

Seller ratings are the total number of customers who have rated the seller (not the product) in a review from Amazon.

Let’s look at a couple of sellers.

One seller has a 5-star rating but only 8 reviewer ratings (100% positive over the last year).

One seller has a 5-star rating and 5,343 reviewer ratings. (96% positive over the last year).

Which is better… Is that 5,343 reviews ‘bought reviews’ to boost their 5-star rating or honest reviews. Is one seller established and the other new? (Probably) Since these are really averages….How do you know for sure…?

You got to tip number 4…

4 – Know who is your seller?

Amazon believes that the customer is THEIR customer… And they are right. They got this aspect of the customer experience nailed because when you buy something, don’t you say “Hey… look what I just bought on Amazon?”. Ebay is the same way. People say they buy things all the time on Ebay only to see the return label says Joe’s Motorsports, East Gibibt, FL… So when there’s a problem, “Ebay is the worst”, or “Amazon is the worst”… but it is not a problem with Ebay, or Amazon… it’s the seller you bought it from so KNOW WHO IS YOUR SELLER.

When you are looking at an item on Amazon… click on the “Sold by” seller name link and it takes you to their storefront. There you can their story (if they bothered to put one in), see all of their products, and all of their reviews. Maybe one seller got a bad batch of widgets… but you don’t care because you are buying bath towels. Maybe one seller is in to retail arbitrage*** from the Dollar General while another seller specializes only in bath towels and buys them straight from the manufacturer. You can tell as much about a seller by the products they sell (mercantile type sellers compared to specialized sellers) by looking at their storefront and seeing what they sell. It is similar to the difference between buying that diamond ring at a jewelry store or from that little section in Walmart. You know when you are there just how you feel about it.  

*** Retail arbitrage – buying products from already existing stores. These could range anywhere from Walmart, Ollies, and the Dollar General, to warehouse buyouts or liquidations. These items are then resold on Amazon at a higher price in order to pocket the profit. Most times the emphasis in retail arbitrage is on profit instead of quality but not everyone believes that has to be the case.

So now you picked your item, got the best value, and it’s shipping from the best seller….

5 – Know who is shipping your item and when it will arrive? –

Every item listed in the buy box or under “other sellers” will tell you:

• Who the item “Ships from”… and,
• Who the item is “Sold by”

If the items ships from the seller, then you can see the expected delivery date when you are looking at “other sellers”. It may tell you “Arrives between December 18-27…”. That’s a wide spread ESPECIALLY if you want it for the Christmas holiday. What that tells me as a seller that this particular seller doesn’t always get right on it making sure those orders get out. I want someone who will take my order seriously and is committed to customer service… so I move on to the next one.

If the item ships from Amazon, then you can get it much faster (even without Prime membership). This is also listed with “other sellers” and indicates that it could reach your door by the end of the week. You can see if you “order within” a specified number of hours and minutes and choose “One-day shipping” if it is available, this makes more sense and gives greater confidence in seller and Amazon customer service expectations.

If the item “Ships from” Amazon, but the seller is different than Amazon, this product is FBA qualifying item and is probably also listed as a PRIME eligible item.

FBA – (Fulfilled by Amazon) –

This is how I sell all of my items currently on Amazon. I tell Amazon I am sending them 20… whatever’s… and they tell me which warehouse(s) and how many to send there. This way when you order your item you’d see:

• Ships from Amazon
• Sold by Misfit…

Your order will be pulled from my stock on an Amazon warehouse shelf in the warehouse closest to your shipping destination. As a seller I just have to make certain that my product is packaged safely for transport to the warehouse, packaged to withstand being on their warehouse shelves, labeled appropriately to be pulled from stock, and packaged safely enough to make it to your shipping destination and still look great when you open it. That’s a challenge, but extremely worth the effort because as Amazon will agree – customer’s are at the heart of every sale.

Some Amazon myths-

• Amazon fills your email with junk – You can go to your account settings and ‘opt-out’ of unsolicited emails from the sellers. Amazon will still ask you how you liked it and if you will review the item but you will not get a million emails after your purchase. They have really tried to get away from this.
• My information is not safe with Amazon – Amazon can be trusted. They spend billions to keep your information safe. They don’t need to worry about selling it off to some ‘spam company’ to make more money.
• I have to tell Amazon the item was defective to get free shipping on my return – Nope… you don’t have to do that. Ordered the wrong item, not as described, just don’t want it… Amazon will return your item… it is the seller who makes these stipulations but you knew that because you KNOW who your seller is and most importantly…where it was shipped from 😉
• If I click on an Amazon Affiliate link, big daddy is watching – Of course Amazon is watching but not so much YOU as they want to make certain that the affiliate is properly credited for the click-over to Amazon. It is safe to do this and highly recommended. Amazon needs to remember that they are not driving all of their own sales.
• Prime membership is too expensive and not worth it – Well…. that depends. To some it is and to some it is not…

PRIME – Is it worth it?

Prime membership ‘worthiness’ is dependent on your spending habits, your needs, and your preferences. The current cost of Prime membership is $119/year ($9.92/month).

Spending habits –

If you are placing many orders on Amazon (ie… you’re an Amazon junkie like me), then saving on shipping charges and getting your orders faster is worth it. Yes… I do question and cringe every time that membership charge comes out of my checking account but I use it a lot and I don’t even use all of the benefits that come with PRIME.

Your needs –

As technology is advancing, so too is Amazon’s Prime Membership benefits. I have compiled a short list of the benefits of Prime, but still there are so many to list.

Some benefits of Prime you may (or may not) know ***:

1. Cheaper rate for students and those with EBT or Medicaid Card – I paid half the price of a regular membership while in college and got most of my textbooks from Amazon. Of these, I rented 85% and I saved a ton of money doing it that way.
2. Free same day, one-day, or two-day shipping – Depending on your zip code, you could get your items as fast as today with your membership and that’s great if you need something right away and are too busy to stop and go to the store.
3. In-home, In-car, or In-Garage delivery – I don’t use this benefit but if you want your purchase delivered to your car at work, put in your house (don’t know how I’d feel about that) or placed in your garage for safety, you can set this up with your Prime membership. Lately we all have been hearing about packages being stolen off people’s porches, so I think In-car or In-garage options are great. These are camera monitored for your safety so you can watch your deliveries. Zip-code restrictions apply.
4. Prime Book Box – Amazon’s children’s book subscription for Prime members only. You pick the age (Baby-2 years old, ages 3-5, 6-8, or 9-12), the frequency (every 1,2 or 3 months), preview the books or be surprised, and you can skip anytime. The first box is $13.99 and it renews for $19.99.
5. Amazon first reads – Pick a FREE Kindle book each month. Genre choices include:
   • Children’s Picture Book
   • Suspense
   • Contemporary Fiction
   • Psychological Thriller
   • Crime Fiction
   • Historical Fiction
   • Family Drama
   • Non-Fiction (You can also get paperbacks and hardcovers for 50% off).
6. Special pricing access to other affiliates:
   • Woot – An Amazon company that claims : “Woot is… a wild outpost on the fringes of the Amazon community where you’ll find new, absurdly great deals every day”
   • Shopbop – Also an Amazon company that sells the “industry’s foremost contemporary and designer labels” for women, and
   • East Dane – Amazon’s male fashion version of Shopbop.
7. Prime Wardrobe – You pick from women’s, men’s, children, or baby clothes categories and get them delivered. Choose what to keep by trying them on or send back for free.
8. Photo storage and personalized prints – This is one I might start using more. Store your photos and have them personalized into a canvas, wood, or glass home decor accent for a gift. You can also make personalized wall-papers for your computer and a wide rage of other options are available.
9. Exclusive deals for members only – Amazon rewards its members by offering some products at discounted pricing. It’s just another way to get that same product cheaper.
10. Lightning deals – These are great. You can go to this page and see what is marked down for the day. These are usually DEEPLY discounted to move stock… and move it fast (kinda like a Black Friday sale… every day of the year).

Play it safe –

So you can see that shopping malls and Amazon have their advantages and disadvantages. Know how to play it safe when you’re shopping and watch for the best value, the best seller, the best customer service, the best shipping and maybe grab a perk or two with a Prime membership. All from the comfort of home (a cup of coffee, pj’s, and fuzzy slippers included).

*** A huge shout-out and Thank you to Business Insider for compiling an extensive list and providing the links to check out some really great Prime benefits.

~Enjoy and play it safe. Thanks for stopping by,

Sue 🙂