ChannelAdvisor and Amazon partner to on-ramp sellers for the holidays

We frequently host training sessions at ChannelAdvisor called ChannelAdvisor Academy and I always enjoy talking to the attendees for 1-2hrs about ecommerce channels, trends, etc.  Historically the bulk of my time is spent answering eBay oriented selling questions.  Last week we had a group in and much to my surprise 80%+ of the questions were Amazon Pro Merchant/3P related. For example:

• How do I get accepted on Amazon's Pro Merch program?
• What's the buy box and how do I get in there?
• What's the best pricing strategy?
• What's the difference in the Amazon programs?
• Should I look at Fulfillment by Amazon?
• etc.

In fact, one attendee suggested I write an "Amazon 3P Strategies" book - egads, I think I've had enough book writing to have cured that bug.

Anyway, in order to address the seemingly insatiable interest in Amazon and to help our customers get up and running as quickly as possible for the holidays, today we announced a special program whereabout Amazon is waiving the standard subscription fees for the first three months. The goal is to give as many merchants as possible a chance to enjoy their first year of Amazon 3P sales and enter 08 with a tailwind.  Interested parties can sign up for more information here.

Here's a fun fact.  The folks in engineering told me that last Tuesday was a record Amazon 3P GMV day for us (Tuesdays are big at Amazon - not sure why).  It will be fun to watch this as we get into the holiday season.  Historically Amazon has more of a holiday spike than eBay, but eBay has a stronger Q1 extended holiday period.

Finally, the Academy folks woke me up that we're not covering Amazon enough on the blog and there's a huge appetite out there for more information, so while the name of the blog is eBay strategies, look for more amazon content coming soon.  Maybe we should rename it marketplace strategies?  If readers have any Amazon 3P questions, feel free to post them to comments.

Comments

[Don]

Hi Scot!

I'm a seller in Hong Kong and I'm disappointed that Amazon doesn't want me, because apparently I live in the wrong country! I really don't understand the geographical barrier.

I can't even advertise on Clickriver. Amazon is quite happy to sell me items, but Clickriver won't sell me advertising.

I cannot see why Amazon (and many other internet companies) seem so determined to set up international borders in cyberspace.

[Randy Smythe]

Marketplace Strategies makes since for a new name. After all sellers are now called 3P sellers rather than eBay sellers. eBay just handed this business over to Amazon.