Analysis of pros and cons of Amazon FBA and follow-up selling: comprehensive understanding of e-commerce strategies

In Amazon’s e-commerce ecosystem, FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) and Listing Hijacking are two topics that have attracted much attention. Understanding the pros and cons of both can help sellers develop more effective sales strategies.

Advantages and limitations of FBA

When choosing FBA, sellers only need to send products to Amazon’s warehouse, and a series of logistics services such as warehousing, picking, distribution, customer service, returns and exchanges are all handled by Amazon. For buyers, FBA provides professional customer service and a convenient return and exchange experience, which significantly shortens the delivery time, thus improving the shopping experience. Therefore, most consumers prefer to choose products shipped by FBA.

From a seller’s perspective, the benefits of FBA are obvious. On the one hand, it reduces the burden on sellers by outsourcing logistics services. Sellers no longer have to worry about warehousing, sorting, packaging and delivery issues, nor will they encounter negative feedback due to logistics services. On the other hand, FBA can bring higher traffic and exposure to sellers, improve conversion rates from Prime users, and reduce time costs.

However, FBA is not without its challenges. Sellers need to pay monthly storage fees and bear FBA first-leg fees. At the same time, FBA has a high return and exchange rate. Sellers cannot authenticate the returned goods when returns and exchanges occur, and the losses are often borne by the seller. This gives sellers significantly less control over logistics and after-sales services.

Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of follow-up sales

On the Amazon platform, follow-up selling is a common strategy. Although it is convenient, it also has some unfriendly effects. Follow-up sales can quickly increase product traffic and conversion rates. Following others’ sales allows sellers to gain exposure quickly, so this is especially beneficial for novice sellers.

The specific benefits of following sales include:

1. Time saving: Because the product page already exists, sellers only need to set prices and prepare inventory, saving effort and not spending too much time on other things.
2. Get a lot of traffic: Sharing your listing with other sellers can increase the overall traffic to your page, making it easier for new sellers to reach potential users.
3. Improve user experience: Follow-up sales allow users to quickly find the products they need and compare prices from different sellers.
4. Increase the probability of transaction: Popular products have higher views and conversion rates, thus promoting transactions.

However, following sales also comes with many risks:

1. Risk of infringement: Especially when selling products of big brands or registered brands, you face a higher risk of account suspension and penalties.
2. Risks of malicious follow-up sales: Following sales at a low price and deliberately giving negative reviews may bring a lot of trouble to the seller.
3. Increase of negative reviews: Sharing your listing with other sellers can expose the seller to negative reviews, impacting overall sales.
4. Profit squeezed: Price competition squeezes profits as multiple sellers compete for the same product.

Although follow-up sales can indeed quickly bring traffic and exposure, sellers still need to carefully choose the products they follow up and avoid following big brands and low-priced products to maintain profit margins and sales stability.