Discussion boards were buzzing with gleeful FBA sellers, who failed to read the small print!
FBA was immediately flooded with email requests, and it took only a few hours for FBA to post a new statement, clarifying that NONE of the requests to "strike" feedback actually met their criteria.
Basically, here's the "small print" on their new policy:
-Feedback will never be fully retracted - it will be stricken through
-Feedback striking is not retroactive (nobody's past negative feedback will be erased)
...and, the biggest caveat - no feedback will be removed if the feedback complains about the condition, even when FBA (or the carrier) damaged the item!
This is the cause for 90% of the negative FBA feedback - that the FBA warehouse damages an item!!
So basically, the only time Amazon will remove feedback if:
-FBA sends the wrong item
-If a seller specifically says "this mistake was the fault of the FBA warehouse" (which never, ever happens. Trust me, customers don't understand FBA, and don't care - they just want their book)
-Finally, if somebody says "Amazon sucks" in their feedback... which Amazon already has a policy against! The bottom line is, almost nothing has changed!
This is basically lip service - something to make FBA sellers feel better, and to boost recruitment (too many people have read too many blogs and horror stories like the ones we document here). In actuality, this "new" policy will not make things better for most sellers.
7 comments:
I sell various items through Amazon, and recently had a buyer go batshit crazy on me. She left feedback that was downright abusive, so I contacted Amazon and they removed it from my account.
Amazon will remove negative feedback if:
The feedback includes obscene language.
The feedback includes personally identifiable information.
The entire feedback comment is a product review.
The entire feedback comment is regarding fulfillment or customer service for an order fulfilled by Amazon.
That's good to know...
There's always the crazies out there! Plus, with anonymity of the web, people who are inclined to crazy behavior can really "let loose"...
Having FBA negative feedback removed can cost hundreds of dollars. We've discovered that the average number of contacts with FBA before a feedback is removed is very high--sometimes >30 contacts with Amazon Tech Support before the representative is "trained" that they need to remove it. You'll need to constantly ask for Amazon to ESCALATE the case until it reaches a higher up rep that understands the case, and even then they tend to ask for a "phone call" with you where they'll try to throw a bunch of gibberish of how your feedback doesn't really qualify. It's a huge resource suck and has made us go back to Merchant Fulfillment with the items as it's much simpler and cheaper to interface with the Customer than with Amazon Tech Support.
I left negative feedback because the vendor did not live up to the terms of the agreement. I appealed through the A-Z guarantee program. My negative feedback was subsequently deleted.
I'll never buy from 3rd party sellers on Amazon again, as the feedback cannot be trusted.
L - There's a difference between 3rd party sellers & FBA.
FBA stands for "Fulfillment by Amazon". Theoretically, if Amazon controls fulfillment, customers will have fewer problems.
Unfortunately (as the previous poster says) they are just shifting the problems to the sellers.
Sellers don't fully understand this - You as a seller are now Amazon's customer. You no longer have control. You are no longer the seller. You are now the "customer" (buying Amazon's service).
And, as customer, you only have one supplier of services, that being Amazon. All your eggs are in one basket. If they screw up, there goes your inventory AND your former customrs.
Right! FBA also has a policy that in case the customer opens the item and then changes their mind about wanting it after it has been opened then they get their full refund. Meanwhile, you as a seller get hit with shipping fees for both transactions, the selling and the return of the item. Its win win for amazon and the buyer but dear seller, you lose
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