A question or two about using Amazon.

pcktlnt

pcktlnt

CAGiversary!
Feedback
6 (100%)
Hey all,

I normally use Ebay, but with the recent changes I thought I venture out. I ended up trying out Amazon and I have the following questions.

1) People told me to use Ebay because they have a 15% fee (I'm okay with that), but is there really a $1.xx they take in addition to the commission? Is there a way to remove that?

2) How do I know I will be paid? I sold an item, but how does Amazon know to credit me with the money? I haven't filled out any information for them to actually deposit money into my account in anyway. Will I end up getting a gift card? (I do not want this, need to pay for medical bills).

3) How do I know I am being protected by Amazon from deadbeat buyers?

Thanks all. ^__^
 
1)
As for your first question, you do mean Amazon right? I'm not too sure about the fee breakdowns, other than there's a huge amount they take out - but they do tell you how much they take and how much you actually receive after every sale. Here's the chart:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=1161240


2) People can only purchase an item if they fully pay on the spot. That money is automatically sent to your Seller Account and until you set up a method of payment (either GCs or direct deposit), it'll stay there. You have to choose, it won't choose for you. The thing to remember is that you don't get the money immediately - it'll be in your account but they won't transfer to your bank account for like 2 weeks.

3) Again, there aren't "deadbeat" buyers like the non-paying-bidders on Ebay. they have to give Amazon the money first before you ship it. I've had one instance where a payment hadn't gone through - something about non-updated credit card information from one of my buyers, but I was at 0 risk as they told me this in the same email they told me an item sold.
I'm not sure what happens if a buyer wants to return something, and if you mean protection from that. I'm fairly certain you just have to take the return...Don't know if you'll really get to dispute it.

One more thing to remember besides the huge commission is that most people don't leave feedback. Well, not MOST, but definitely much lower than Ebay feedback rates. Hope that helps.
 
I just found that chart. For a videogame, it is 15% of the final value, 1.35 for various fees, 0.99 for listing fees. So my 35 dollar game gave them a 7.60 commission. Ouch...=(

Thank you for answering the other two questions. I don't think I'll use Amazon...their fees are much much higher than ebay. I'll just stick with ebay even if their policy sucks this time around. Hopefully it isn't too bad...heh =/
 
[quote name='pcktlnt']I just found that chart. For a videogame, it is 15% of the final value, 1.35 for various fees, 0.99 for listing fees. So my 35 dollar game gave them a 7.60 commission. Ouch...=(

Thank you for answering the other two questions. I don't think I'll use Amazon...their fees are much much higher than ebay. I'll just stick with ebay even if their policy sucks this time around. Hopefully it isn't too bad...heh =/[/quote]

Games can also sell for much more so it can even out. Good luck
 
[quote name='jacknicklson']Games can also sell for much more so it can even out. Good luck[/QUOTE]

QFT. I'm actually in the opposite boat of the OP...I've been using Amazon for years and now I'm trying to venture out to ebay because of Amazon's fees... HOWEVER, it is indeed true that games usually do go for more than ebay's..
 
Amazon also allots you an amount for shipping. For games, it should cover alright ($2.99, IIRC). For movies though, you can run in to problems selling box sets.

Amazon also encourages you to ship via media mail. I emailed them once about delivery confirmation and I was told that they don't really care.

Also, you have the option of accepting Amazon gift certificates instead of having the money deposited in your account.
 
[quote name='thelonepig']Amazon also allots you an amount for shipping. For games, it should cover alright ($2.99, IIRC). For movies though, you can run in to problems selling box sets.

Amazon also encourages you to ship via media mail. I emailed them once about delivery confirmation and I was told that they don't really care.

Also, you have the option of accepting Amazon gift certificates instead of having the money deposited in your account.[/quote]

Yeah, they said that you have to factor in shipping costs into your original price if it's going to be more than your allotment. I had to ship those Rome DVDs which were 4 pounds media mail. My customers were not pleased.

If you choose to ship overseas, they give you a pretty big allotment, like $11 or something to ship a game or DVD - it only costs like $5 to Canada.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top