[Crew Review] Amazon wants you to pay for return shipping costs

Amazon just announced that it will start shifting correction charges for seller-fulfilled returns onto sellers beginning January of next year, imposing yet another additional burden on marketplace sellers after the roller coaster that was 2022.

Here's how you can avoid these charges.

Amazon Top Terms

We bring you once again the top 10 Amazon terms. Here are the biggest movers from November 27th to December 10th.

One of the top 10 trending search terms on Amazon during the last week were ASIN strings, “B07fdjmc9q | b08qzsn97z | b09mlpmzqk | b08yj6849h | b07h14rytv”—

This is obviously not normal customer search behavior. Why do you think Amazon's A9 algorithm is recording this keyword as a customer search?

For some reason, the products behind these ASINs have seen a drastic increase in their sales, one of them going from selling 359 units per day to 2,418 units per day, and another one from 283 units per day to 982 units per day in the last few days.

New Amazon ‘Climate Pledge Friendly’ Badge

Amazon launched its Climate Change Friendly program back in 2020, and now it has partnered with Control Union to enable sellers to highlight textile products with the Climate Friendly badge for more visibility, particularly towards customers looking for eco-friendly products. 

Sellers holding eco-friendly certifications listed here and already audited by Control Union can submit products for the Climate Pledge Friendly verification program through the platform, while new sellers who don’t have Control Union accounts can get an exclusive 25% discount on all certification fees for Amazon CPF-eligible certifications.

The Climate Friendly badge, like other Amazon badges, appear as nice ribbons or labels on a product listing that significantly improve visibility and sales velocity.

Amazon To Launch TikTok-like Shopping Interface

Taking a page out of TikTok’s playbook, Amazon is set to launch Inspire. Just like the mega-popular Chinese app, Inspire will feature a short-form video and image feed that enables consumers to go through product listings and shop via content generated by influencers, brands, and other users.

TikTok’s popularity has skyrocketed over the past couple of years and many US-based sellers now consider it as an effective (even essential) way to reach more customers.

 A TikTok-esque Amazon feature also hints to Amazon rolling out more social engagement tools in coming years. 

‘No Box, No Label’ Returns

Amazon, UPS, and FedEx are embracing the  ‘no box, no label’ returns policy to make returning products less annoying for customers, but potentially making it more of a hassle for sellers. 

Under this system, customers need only to take the item back to a FedEx location, hand the item over, present the QR code from the seller, and call it a day. Previously, customers are required to print a return label, pack the item properly, and arrange a pickup or drop-off point for the items to be returned. 

Though this is way more convenient for shoppers, some sellers are concerned over the lack of security and verification measures for unboxed and unlabeled returns. Dealing with Amazon returns can be an annoying for sellers, and Amazon has not exactly been proactive in punishing returns scams on its marketplace.

What Exactly Do Your Customers Want?

Polling your target clientele to determine exactly what they look for in products is part and parcel of running an ecommerce brand. The better you know your customers, the better your bottomline is going to look.

This week’s recommended tool is PickFu, an enterprise-level polling tool that helps you gather feedback from actual customers within minutes and get actionable insights to improve your listings.

We’ve used PickFu to revamp many of the products we sell under our brands, and it’s by far the most advanced tool out there. Check out all its features here.