So, I decided to move forward with my previously mentioned plan to put more energy into the Amazon Handmade marketplace.
This has turned out to be far more complicated than expected. Complicated, and more than a little bit frustrating.
I logged back into my Amazon Seller account a couple of days back and got ready to start adding new inventory.
The first thing that happened was a pop up message that said "you cannot list any more items until you have updated your method of payment."
Now, it might seem a bit odd that you would need to have a method of payment when what you're doing is selling, but they require that you have a credit card or debit card on file in case somebody decides to return something so that they (Amazon) can charge you for the return the instant the customer wants to send something back.
That, in turn, is just part and parcel of modern ecommerce which essentially amounts to the buyer should be able to return anything they've ever bought for any reason whatsoever for any period of time while the marketplace holds on to the seller's money practically forever just in case the buyer has a nose hair out of place on a Tuesday and decides they need to send the stuff back and get a refund... six months after they bought and used it extensively.
Yes, sometimes I have a bad attitude about this stuff!
But getting back to the problem at hand, I went ahead and reconfirmed the credit card I had on file, after which I got a polite generic email message saying that I would need to "reconfirm my seller account" — which meant once again uploading a copy of my photo ID and a current bank statement — and then that anything I sell for the foreseeable future will be subject to about a 12-15 day hold of the funds because even though I've had an account since 2016, when you have to recertify your account you're treated like a brand new seller.
So I waited a day, uploaded all the required information, and eventually discovered that I was able to start creating new listings.
In my past post I mentioned that Amazon Handmade had allegedly improved their seller listing interface to make it easier for sellers of one-of-a-kind items to upload their new products, but to be honest... it wasn't much different than it had ever been, and even with photos being ready to go it still took me about 15-20 minutes per item to create a satisfactory listing.
But I managed to add a 10 new painted stones and I was pretty happy with that, but then I decided to take a look at my listings from a buyer perspective, before publicizing that I had new items for sale.
Well, I am very glad that I chose to do that because it turned out that there was actually nothing showing as available for sale!
I poked around in the help section for a while and eventually ended up calling Amazon customer service, and they were a bit confused and not very helpful so they transferred me to "business services," who were not much more help and so they transferred me to the "seller help desk," where they poked around for quite a while, acted confused, and eventually suggested that I just go to the Seller Control Panel and re-certify my account.
I told the person on the other end of the phone that my account was eight years old and that I had made a sale not very long ago but that didn't make a difference. Apparently, because I had to reconfirm my method of payment it had kicked out some flag that determined that it had been too long since they had updated other information about me, so they put a hold on the account!
So I went through the rather laborious process of submitting all the required documentation once again, and upon finishing that got another pop up message to let me know that most accounts are recertified "within 72 hours, but it might take as long as two weeks."
So far, I can't say I'm terribly impressed with the process.
However - reading between the lines - it seems like the entire system is set up to prevent quick "hit and run scams" rather than to service long term sellers and customers of Amazon. Whereas I can appreciate that they don't want those quick list and run scams even though some do slide through the cracks (I've seen plenty), it does certainly not make me feel very appreciated as a seller there.
That said, I'm going to keep moving forward.
I appreciate you coming to visit and please do leave a comment if you feel so inclined!
Thank You!
If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!
Because I am trying to make some semblance of income — a part time living, even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art.
Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!
My Alchemy Stones Patreon appeal
Alchemy Stones web site and blog
Regardless, your upvotes and comments are always appreciated!
Thank you for supporting independent art & creativity!
2024.09.18 AS-TXT-276/246