With the official announcement of Prime Day for June 21-22, Amazon is now beginning to hype up the event – and they’re doing it with an excellent promotion to support small business sellers in the US and UK.
From June 7-20, Prime customers who spend $10 or £10 on selected products from eligible small business brands in the US or UK will receive a matching $10 or £10 credit. The credit can be spent on any products during Prime Day itself. The promotion is fully funded by Amazon, meaning sellers will receive the full amount for their products and shoulder none of the cost themselves.
On the surface, this promotion seems to be a win-win-win for customers, small brand owners, and (of course) for Amazon.
But is it too good to be true? What are the eligibility requirements? Will Chinese factories find a loophole and hoover up big checks from Amazon? How can small businesses make the most of it to increase sales and customer engagement? The good news is, we’ve got answers.
Amazon’s generous promotion for small brand owners
The first thing that both US and UK sellers will want to know is, “Am I eligible?” Amazon is being quite proactive on that front. According to both the US and UK announcements, Amazon will be sending sellers an email on June 7 with a link to view all products eligible for the promotion. In general, the criteria are:
- Your Amazon business must qualify as small per Gartner’s definition: fewer than 100 employees and less than $50 million in annual revenue.
- Your Amazon business must be based within the country where the promotion is taking place, either the US or the UK. (Note that the promotions are separated by country, and are not overlapping.)
- Your Amazon business must be registered with Brand Registry or participate in the Handmade program. The specific products in the promotion must be owned and sold exclusively by you, the seller.
Essentially, this means there is a very wide swath of sellers who will be able to take advantage of this promotion. There are FAQ’s available for both US and UK sellers that break it down in more detail (including how to opt-out, should you wish to).
How can eligible small business brands take advantage of this promotion? Marketing to previous customers directly (within the bounds of Amazon’s Ts & Cs) and via social media seem like the most obvious ways to share the windfall that could ensue. Considering that Amazon is essentially giving customers 50% off a $20 item, the marketing – and profit – possibilities are immense. Overall, this promotion seems like quite a gift Amazon is giving to small business brands.
On the downside, there is the strong possibility that businesses who are ineligible will try to manipulate the situation so they can benefit as well. Shell companies based in the US who simply act as a local importer and seller for Chinese factories would surely love to get their hands on this.
There are millions of marketplace sellers. Is Amazon going to vet each one of them to establish if they are genuinely a US business with their own products, and not just a local front company? The world will be watching, and if this cash starts getting funneled to the wrong businesses, people are going to notice very quickly.
Read more at Amazon Seller Forums (US and UK).
Amazon news
Arbitration clause dropped for consumers, but not sellers
In a victory for individual legal rights, Amazon customers will now be able to sue the company in court. Previously, all customer disputes against Amazon had to be handled in private arbitration.
The change was made in the wake of thousands of arbitration demands being brought against Amazon over the recording of conversations by its Echo smart devices. One catch (and with Amazon, there’s always a catch): all claims must be adjudicated in the state or Federal courts in King County, Washington (Amazon’s home) and without a jury trial.
For sellers, this news will engender some serious envy, as they are still covered by section 18 of the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement to binding arbitration for all disputes.
Amazon and you both consent that any dispute with Amazon or its Affiliates or claim relating in any way to this Agreement or your use of the Services will be resolved by binding arbitration as described in this paragraph, rather than in court
This same section also strictly limits sellers to individual proceedings, prohibiting any class, consolidated, or representative hearings – as well as any jury trial, should an arbitration find its unlikely way to a courtroom.
As savvy Amazon sellers are aware, an arbitration process can be long, winding, and end up with a negative result for a seller, even if they win. In a recent case reported, one seller ran up $200,000 in legal fees in his arbitration case. While he won his case, he settled for only half the value of damages asked ($700,000), of which nearly a third went to lawyers.
Sellers, in general, are deprived of their legal rights under Amazon’s terms and conditions. While the recent opening of legal action to consumers is a step in the right direction, sellers are left to wonder if their legal rights will ever be equal to those of their customers.
Read more at CNET.
Brazil joins the unified selling accounts system
In an announcement that should come as good news to professional Amazon sellers in the North American unified account system, the Amazon Brazil marketplace has been added.
This will allow sellers in the US, Mexico, and Canada to use their existing accounts to sell on Amazon Brazil; and conversely, will allow professional sellers in Brazil to use their accounts to sell in the US, Mexico, and Canada.
Brazil is the world’s sixth most populous country and the largest ecommerce market in Latin America, with 32.5% of all sales. Amazon Brazil hosts 54 million visitors per month. These factors make it an enticing market with great growth potential for North American unified account sellers.
