Amazon is starting to lean on sellers who don’t make a habit of providing U.S. Postal Service delivery confirmation numbers or other tracking numbers from other shipping services. Although the discounted online rate for Delivery Confirmation is expensive enough (19 cents), the value is simply not there when you have to pay the full retail window rate for DC, which is now 70 cents to 80 cents! For crying out loud, that’s almost as expensive as insurance, and the DC barcode doesn’t even get scanned lots of times.
Seems a little heavy-handed to me — plenty of the highest-rated sellers never use DC, and it’s their choice. In fact, I’ve gotten several negative feedback ratings from people who were simply irked that the DC number I gave them produced no immediate tracking result on the day of shipment — because my Post Office refuses to scan my electronic DC numbers. Arrrgh!!!!
In any case, if you’re not providing tracking numbers when you confirm shipment on Amazon Marketplace orders, expect to receive this message soon:
Dear Amazon Seller,
Did you know that Sellers who include shipping tracking numbers upon shipment confirmation are 2x less likely to receive negative feedback? Our data shows that Buyer satisfaction is directly correlated to the use of shipping tracking numbers.
We’ve noticed that you have recently sent packages without indicating that you’ve used shipping tracking numbers. You can start adding tracking numbers to your packages from within the Seller Central “Manage Your Orders” area, just click below to get started:
Entering Tracking Numbers on “Manage Your Orders” page (login required)
When you consider that tracking numbers protect most Sellers from lost items and A-to-z Guarantee claims they seem like a no-brainer. If you use a tracking number, make sure it’s entered correctly, and if you don’t currently use them, we encourage you to give them a try — it is well worth the investment.
Upon shipment confirmation, you have the opportunity to enter a carrier and a tracking number, either in Seller Central or through automated processes that include feeds.
Thank you for Selling on Amazon.com,
Amazon Services Team
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18 Comments
“When you consider that tracking numbers protect most Sellers from lost items and A-to-z Guarantee claims they seem like a no-brainer.” ???
Not sure where Amazon came up with that idea – it’s pretty funny! A-Z claims made against me by buyers have ALWAYS resulted in the buyers getting their money back – even though I had provided DC numbers at the time of shipment; and those DC showed that the items had been delivered to the buyers. Amazon doesn’t rule in favor of a seller, only a buyer.
I have used online DC for years. It has significanatly reduced the number of “where’s my book” emails – to nearly zero. I also don’t get the “I want a refund – my book didn’t aarrive” emails anymore, because of the proof that it was indeed delivered. Most of those complaints have found that the books lay unclaimed at the receiver’s PO. I have found it well worth the 19 cents per pkg. To me, the benefits of using it are a “no brainer”.
I agree with the above seller, Sue. We have used DC for the past two years via our Endicia account. It is an added expense but it seems to have decreased buyer emails of”where is my book” or I want a refund because it was not delivered. On the negative side however is the way that Amazon does usually side with the buyer rather than the seller. We had a few incidents where we did provide a tracking number which stated that the book was in transit or delivered to the buyer but Amazon did side with the buyer resulting in the refund. I guess in business the buyer is always right (even if they are wrong)!
Amazon’s letter: “Did you know that Sellers who include shipping tracking numbers upon shipment confirmation are 2x less likely to receive negative feedback?” What does “2x less likely” mean? Wouldn’t “one time less likely” mean a zero probability? And thus “2x less likely” would be a negative probability equal in magnitude to the original probability? Why not simply “half as likely”?
I got that email yesterday. And I’m LOL at Prof.
)
At 19 cents per item it would run us about $130 per month to use DC on every order. We only refund an average of $10 or less per month. We get very few “where is my package?” emails. So, I don’t see how DC is of any use. It doesn’t provide any real tracking, like UPS Tracking, and only frustrates the customers that do try to use it.
I almost never use DC (only to major metropolitan areas where it might be lost in the PO). As Amazon has not provided a shipment increase after three postal increases, at this juncture the $1.67 or so we get to mail the item doesn’t even cover the cost of materials (bubble envelope, plastic covering on every item, and tape (lotsa tape!). More, we have to drive to the PO, and we know what US gas has gone up to, sometimes for only one item so we can get it out ASAP. My frustration is how many more demands can Amazon make on its sellers without standing behind their sellers in disputes? Last month I got ‘one’ neutral. It brought my numbers down to 73% fulfillment because most satisfied customers don’t leave any feedback at all. At the end of the month, I started all over again, back to my ‘normal’ 99%, but for a couple of weeks I suffered. Several calls to Amazon got me NO results, not even a consideration on how best to alter the template when the buyer got ‘as described/priced $25.00 less than the next lowest item’ and still left a 3 feedback (I have only had a 1 once in five years, and only this one 3…all the rest were 5s).
I leave scratching my head over Amazon.
Don’t bother to call them re: a shipping increase. They will just raise it to $4.99, and then take $2.33 out of us instead of $1.33!
I am absolutely maxed out as far as my postal/packaging expenses are concerned, because Amazon did not match the last three postal rate hikes. At this stage, there is absolutely ZERO wiggle room left for me.
If Amazon wants me to systematically add 19 cents to the cost of each envelope, then please deduct 19 cents from the huge cut they take out of the $3.99 the customer pays and hand them over to me. Then, I’d be only to happy to oblige….
Otherwise, this only looks like yet another postage raise hike we need to absorb.
i like it… i hope all you sellers who have not figured out cheaper ways to do things find it impossible to keep on selling and drop out of the business…
we use DC on every package… we have cheap suppliers of tape, bubble wrap and envelopes that make our shipping costs minimal… we drive our books to the PO on a bike… our profit margin is through the roof….
i like the whining from my competitors… it lets me know i am doing something right for once…
Selling on AZ for nearly a decade- the “Rules” have been on/off on “must ship using a trackable/traceable means.”
The Problem is since this now fixed and no longer [2001] $0.35, $0.45, [2007]$0.65 and now in 2010 $0.80 nearly a dollar AZ should cancel the BOGUS Withholding Fee
of $1.35. WHen I started 1.23 was originally taken out of the $3.39 shipping leaving us at the time with $2.26 to ship. For about 6 months in 2005 the $1.23 was not there and we had a joyous full shipping reimbursement or stipend.
Look Steve the real Amazon / Seller issue has to do with finding out just what Amazon is and Agent or a Mall? Both have different rules and you cannot be both.
lord voldemort
Shipping cannot be minimal
Jiffy Bags #2 cost as much to ship as the bags and even with 50% discounts on additional bags the cost is still$1.00 +/-. Yes fro $2 you can get 110 yards of tape.
If you;re using a bike your sales are only for Beer Money or Pet Food and not reflective of a viable business.
Most AZ Sellers on the Threads/Boards are “hobby sellers” and have no knowledge of business outside of AZ and what they have acquired in this one area.
Example: NONE have a problem with the way AZ and other book sites lump Condition as 1 grade. The Jacket and Book should be Graded separately. Same for Audio Media. [A used auto can look great but have a shot engine and vice-versa]
i have never shipped a book in a jiffy bag…
and i am not a hobby seller—
i support a family of four on my income…
being professional does not require the use of jiffy bags…
sometimes people cannot see the forest for the trees….
i think you need to re-evaluate some aspects of your business—
i view jiffy bags the same way as some people here view DC… some people never include DC on their packages… does that make them less than professional? i would beg to differ…
jiffy bags are a luxury— and if your business cannot afford the luxury- your business stops using them… it is very simple…
using a bike to deliver books to the PO is a bad thing????
wow! thats a first—
i suppose i should buy a hummer so that i have ample room…? maybe a pickup truck? that would be a really good addition to my business… i could even paint the name of my business on the side and everything!!!
you are making an awful lot of assumptions about how people are earning money— and how many books or trips per day are made to the PO…. or even how far one lives from the PO… or that FBA is not a large portion of sales…
a person like you who needs pickup truck to transport the vast quantities of sales per day to the PO should not be whining about the cost of DC….
some of us are just smarter with our time and money than others… and probably in better shape!!!!
Wow! This stirred up a lot of controversy. Here’s my take: I don’t use delivery confirmation (unless it’s free) because it isn’t tracking. It is only scanned on delivery and when an exception happens along the way — or if someone wants to do it some other time. And I wouldn’t give a confirmation number to a customer unless I had check it to see that it confirmed delivery, as I’ve done a few times on Priority packages. That’s just asking for trouble. I would never send it at the time of shipping.
I’m a full time, professional bookseller and have been for years. I get very few complaints or email from customers because I describe accurately, package well (in bubble mailers) and ship quickly.
Oh, and as I remember, Steve’s book does a nice comparison on how much money you can save by avoiding the delivery confirmation trap.
I consider DC to generally be a waste of money. This notion comes from my experience as a buyer for one item. The item had DC and when I checked it, the USPO website indicated it has been delivered, but I didn’t have the item.
I emailed the PO to ask how I can follow up and they said DC only confirms it was delivered somewhere in my zip code. That’s a huge area!
In the meantime, I left my mail carrier a note. Luckily, there was an honest person at the house (two streets away) where it was delivered and I received it the next day.
Still, confirmation that a package was delivered somewhere in a roughly ten mile radius renders the idea of DC as usless to me.
Delivery Confirmation
I have in the past followed a pricey book across America – it was scanned at different “hops”.
On no less that 2 dozen occasions upon receiving a customer email – I was ablew o find where the book was stuck and since when [no OUT SCAN]. On September 2006 I had 18 books stuck in Jersey City New Jersey [one of if not the worst Media Mail Sort Center] it took 6 weeks to get them all delivered. Without DC I would have refunded and have been booted off AZ.
I have also received the “where’s my book” email on the day of delivery or weeks after. Upon emailing the DC Number plus the Copied & Pasted USPS “Tracking” info – there was no further emails, debate or mysterious they “recalled” getting the book.
Try “following” a few packages. Not all parts of the country are the same. But, falling off the radar is cause for concern.
Steve Weber is not the only author of Bookselling Books – of which I have read none.
I am a collector [since my teens / now Seller] and use all past retail and management experience at my disposal.
RE: Jiffy Bags
Book in plastic bag, Shrink wrap or ZipLock, Taped to Cardboard Stiffener then in Jiffy Paper, Tyvek or Mylar. 15,000 delivered in 10 years NO DAMAGES. Very Heavy Books, Money books and Art books do get boxed.
I have received books packed as I pack and some few with no other protection -loosely packed or damaged DJ’s. That is off standard.
I always will pay the extra money to do DC. I am still new at selling books on Amazon, but I have already discovered on 2 occasions where the DC has helped track a book. When I go to ship an item, I ensure that the postal employee scanning and inputting the information scans the bar code and it shows on the receipt. It is a pain and takes a little longer, but I get the satisfaction that if the order is lost or if the customer states they have not received it yet, I can go to USPS and track it down and so can the customer, as I always email them the tracking number also. My customers are very important to me and I will take any extra steps to make them happy.