Amazon

[MonicaJacobson]

Just curious if anyone has been approached by Amazon. My husband got a call from Amazon wanting to host some of my items in a hand-made section, but we were wary of the idea, since I've heard that Amazon can force price-reduction sales on vendors who don't necessarily want them.

[Hi Im Joe]

That's a tough one. I would definitely go through the Terms of Service with a fine tooth comb. Maybe run it by an attorney? Especially with some of your items. You have some really nice stuff that I know took a LOT of time and effort to complete.

It would really suck if Amazon was able to jerk you around with the ToS.

[MonicaJacobson]

Hey Joe,

Yeah, we decided to give it a miss because we didn't think we could afford to tangle with a huge company. I was just curious, because I've never heard of an Amazon handmade section, and as one hasn't materialized, I began to wonder if it was a scam.

[Hi Im Joe]

Yeah I guess it could be a phishing scam but that to me seems unlikely. But I don't blame you for passing.

[leathercraft209]

I've never heard of Amazon contacting anyone directly to solicit their handmade product, seems unlikely they would. They don't really need to waste time doing that, why would they pay service reps, to solicit, when all they would need to do is announce a handmade section on their homepage. Its more likely they would use service reps to screen and reject submissions. There are probably, hundreds of vendors that apply to be vendors, on a monthly/weekly basis, there is no need for them to solicit.

I could be wrong, but I would verify that it is actually Amazon... Not sure how...but sounds fishy to me.

[MonicaJacobson]

Yes, that was our feeling, as well. I can't imagine what someone could gain out of a scam like that, but it certainly seemed like too much work for Amazon to go to.

[SmokeyPoint]

No, it's legit. Amazon saw the success of Etsy and said "Me Too!"

http://www.wsj.com/article_email/amazon-targets-etsy-with-handmade-marketplace-1432332301-lMyQjAxMTE1NDI5MjMyMTI2Wj

http://services.amazon.com/handmade/handmade.htm

[Twofinger]

It says that they take 12%, thats quite a lot I think.

If you sell more than 40 items, it will cost $39.99 per month as well.

Edited September 1, 2015 by Twofinger

[Jimdad]

Don't only go through the terms of service with a fine-tooth comb, do it monthly if you work with them. Amazon has a horrible rep for changing the terms of service. For example, the TOS may currently say that you'll be notified of all changes by email 30 days before the change goes into effect. At some point in the future you'll get a notification of a change, and if you don't look carefully at the new TOS, won't notice the 30 day notification clause is what was changed, and now isn't there at all. After which Amazon can change anything without your knowledge. This is the exact sequence they have followed for other services they offer.