Handling Disputes In Ecommerce

Amazon variations are like a bad relationship. They keep breaking up no matter how hard you try. Imagine having 10 children. Now imagine taking them to a mall, only to have them scattered in every direction. Total chaos. That’s exactly how this seller felt when their Amazon variations kept splitting (over and over again) for three months. Let’s call this The Vanishing Variations Case. This seller had a size variation with 10 child ASINs. Every Monday, they’d recreate their variation using flat files, and by the next week… poof ... all the child ASINs had separated again. They tried everything: ✅ Flat files ✅ Seller Support (who, at this point, should have a degree in copy-pasting the same response) ✅ Escalations Nothing worked. Just an endless cycle of variations disappearing and being rebuilt.  The Hidden Culprit: Amazon’s Internal Catalog Systems Here’s what we discovered: 🔎 Amazon has two internal catalog systems that are constantly flagging inconsistencies in listings and variations. ⚠️ One system checks for listing content errors. ⚠️ The other specifically monitors variation inconsistencies. If Amazon’s system detects an issue (even a minor one) it flags the variation as invalid and automatically breaks it apart. Worse, if this happens frequently and you don’t fix it, your account can even get a violation notice. So, instead of wasting time recreating variations every week, we went directly to the Amazon team responsible for this system. • We provided proof that this was a system error, not a content issue. • They manually reviewed and removed the invalid variation flag. • The variations were restored permanently—no more weekly disappearing acts. 📌 Common Reasons Variations Get Flagged as Invalid If your variations keep splitting, one of these is likely the reason: • Incorrect variation theme (e.g., using "Size + Color" for a "Size" variation) • Categorization attributes aren’t consistent • Duplicated attributes in the variation theme • The variation theme isn’t available for that category (but the seller forces it) • Grouping products made from different materials If your variations keep breaking apart, Amazon’s internal systems are likely working against you. Seller Support won’t fix it, you need to go deeper. If you’re stuck in a variation nightmare, let’s talk. Has this ever happened to you? Let’s hear your variation horror stories in the comments! 👇 #AmazonSellers #AmazonFBA #ListingOptimization #VariationIssues #Ecommerce

“Can you lower your price?” That’s the objection. But it’s not the truth. It’s the beginning of a conversation. Most people stop there. They defend. They justify. They fold. But what if you got curious instead? Isolate: “Sounds like price is your only concern.” (Labeling, Chris Voss) If they say yes now you can go deeper: “Is it the total price that feels high, or just the amount you can pay this quarter because of budget?” If it’s timing, offer payment terms. If it’s total price, try: “Sounds like there’s a ceiling to what you’re comfortable paying.” Or “It feels like you’re comparing this to what you have or something else you’ve seen.” Now you’re in conversation, not confrontation. Maybe you can reduce scope. Run a pilot. Or adjust contract length to ease the upfront hit. Objections aren’t rejection. They’re invitations. To slow down. Ask better questions. And uncover the truth. Because without truth there’s no transaction.

11 negotiation tips I wish I knew when I started in sales: 1. Forget what they're asking for. Uncover the underlying need. Your buyer's 'ask' is a means to an end. What's their end? If you uncover that, you can find a solution. If you don't, it's impossible to negotiate. You can only haggle. 2. How you explain your pricing can either prevent or create objections. Bad way: "We charge $1k/seat and have a 5 seat min." Better way: "Our initial pricing is $5,000, and that covers you up to your first five users." 3. Quantify the business value. Do this before you negotiate. A $100,000 price tag looks like a lot to anybody. But a $10 million problem makes $100k look like nothing. 4. Establish 'must have' differentiation. Naive sellers think quantifying value is enough to win. It's not. Because if your buyer thinks your competitor can deliver the same value, but they're 50% of your price? You're toast. 5. A motivated champion is your best defense against procurement. Procurement grinding you down on price? Nothing like a champion to exercise their political capital. Creating champions is a skill. Learn it. 6. Multi-threading is your best "deal insurance." What happens if that champion gets canned? That's a lonely place to be. Building a multi-threaded network in a deal is your best insurance policy. 7. Begin the negotiation session by summarizing the business value. It's easy to argue over price in a vacuum. “II thought I’d spend the first few minutes summarizing the key elements of our partnership so we’re on the same page. Fair?” Remind them what's at stake. 8. Put the onus on your buyer. When you run into an issue, ask them a question. "What do you think is the best way for us to find a win/win?" Get them to solve the problem. They'll feel in control. 9. Never agree to a concession without knowing what comes next. Your buyer asks for a 10% discount? Great. You have authority to give it. But don't yet. Instead ask this: "If we came to an agreement on price, still has to happen before partnering together?" Most likely, they have more asks. Get all of those on the table before responding to a single one. 10. Give your concessions in decreasing increments. If your first concession is 10% off, then your next one is another 10% off, guess what? Your buyer thinks they can get yet another 10% off. But if your first concessions is 10% off, and your next concession is 3% off, your buyer feels they're at the end. 11. Isolate price resistance into 1 of 3 buckets: "Usually if people have an issue at price at this stage, it's for 1 of 3 reasons: First, you don't see the value. Second, you do see the value, but you have some sort of constraint. Third, you're just trying to get the best deal you can. Which of these is true for you?" Solve accordingly based on their answer. What tips would you add?

A seller got kicked off a marketplace for cosplay. A Japanese court said “fair enough.” Rakuten just won a decisive ruling in Japan after removing a seller whose costumes drifted too close to famous trademarks. The seller tried to fight back. The court sided with the platform. That single judgment quietly shifts the power map in marketplace enforcement today. This is not a niche cosplay problem. This is a signal. Marketplaces now have courtroom backing to eject risky listings before they explode into full infringement battles. Every operator running DTC across Rakuten Amazon or any crowded marketplace will feel this shift. The tension is simple. Brand protection teams are pushing harder. Marketplaces would rather over enforce than risk getting dragged into legal liability. Sellers with “inspired by” products suddenly stand on thinner ice. The ripple effect is immediate and practical. Rights clearance becomes an operational task. Listing checks become a risk filter. Grey zone creativity becomes a business liability dressed as a costume. 📦🧩 Products that mimic famous shapes now trigger faster reviews 📝🔍 Evidence of rights or distribution deals becomes mandatory in disputes 🎭🚫 Cosplay and fan goods face a near zero risk tolerance on big platforms ⚡📣 Takedown speed rises once a brand complains 🛡️📊 Marketplaces lean toward safer overkill instead of legal complexity This ruling quietly rewrites how operators need to manage product risk. The smarter play is building trademark checks into the workflow before the listing button gets tapped. #marketplaces #ecommerce #retailmedia #crossborder #dtc

3 realistic ways to escape #Amazon's price-matching algorithm: 𝟭- 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 If you sell the same products on Amazon as with any other retailer, you'll get caught in a downward price spiral. Instead, launch channel-exclusive selection and optimise your price-pack architecture based on existing customer behaviour. Note that I said channel-exclusive and not Amazon-exclusive. It's a small detail that makes all the difference. Bonus tip: Hard bundles beat virtual bundles every time. 𝟮- 𝗘𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗔𝗣 / 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗗𝗔 The price-matching algorithm hinders vendors from enforcing Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) Policies with Amazon. But you can still enforce them with your other retail partners. Remember: Amazon is merely a mirror of your sales strategy and will bring any leaks to the surface, but rarely cause them. Policing MAP can help you rework incentive structures with retailers and distributors that erode your prices. If you're a 1P Vendor in Europe, sign Selective Distribution Agreements (SDAs) with your retail partners. You don't need to create SDAs for your entire portfolio. Instead, you can focus them on items most affected by price compression. 𝟯- 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘀 Whether it's Easter, Prime Day or Black Friday. Most tentpole deal events are no longer exclusive to Amazon. So if you are planning price promotions with Walmart, Target & Co. during this time, make sure to mirror the advertised selection on Amazon. This will help reduce your Vendor Manager's demands for margin compensation. At the same time, it allows you to meet your promotional investment targets. --- What other tips can you think of? Share them in the comments! #amazonvendor #amazonstrategy

Are you prepared to walk away in a sales negotiation? One insight I've gained when negotiating is understanding your customer's true needs and priorities. When a customer pushes for a lower price, it's often a test of your resolve. Here are two strategies to help you navigate these situations: Beyond Price: * Identify the customer's true needs: What other factors, beyond price, influence their decision? Is it quality, service, or delivery time? * Position your offer: Clearly articulate the value proposition of your product or service, highlighting its unique features and benefits. * Negotiate on value: Rather than simply focusing on price, negotiate on value. Offer additional services, customization options, or extended warranties to justify a higher price. Set Your Bottom Line: * Establish a firm price floor: Determine the lowest price you will accept. * Be prepared to walk away: If the customer's demands exceed your bottom line, don't be afraid to walk away. * Build your reputation: By sticking to your principles, you'll establish a reputation as a reliable and trustworthy partner. While price might be important to the customer, it is usually not the only factor. What are your experiences with price negotiations? Share your tips and strategies in the comments below. #salesnegotiation #pricenegotiation #salesstrategy #negotiation

Amazon just made my two-month-old prediction official. Back in June, I found 68 deprecated variation theme names in Amazon's flat files. I posted about it and even offered to check people's variations for free. Now Amazon's announced they're enforcing it: September 2 - November 30 deadline. Their solution? "Delete your parent ASIN and rebuild." That's terrible advice. I documented a 6-step workflow that preserves everything: ✓ Free tool to identify affected SKUs ✓ Test partial updates first (don't delete parents) ✓ Scale systematically without breaking anything In my client work, 69% of variation issues come from theme name problems. This change will amplify that significantly. Most sellers will scramble during the 90-day window. The prepared ones won't miss a day of sales. Full breakdown + free scanning tool

Amazon sellers are pulling out of Prime Day 2025. And it’s not just a few. It’s some of the platform’s biggest third-party players. Why? Because Prime Day doesn’t make sense anymore when you’re barely breaking even. Since April, new China tariffs have pushed import costs up by 145%. Margins are shrinking. Discounts are no longer possible. Even longtime sellers are tapping out: ❌ Steve Green — skipping Prime Day for the first time since 2020 ❌ Kim Vaccarella — paused all China production ❌ Rick Sliter — saw 7x sales last year, but not joining this time The math no longer works. ► 15% Amazon fees ► $500–$1,000 deal costs ► Thousands in ad spend → And sometimes 80–85% of revenue gone before profit hits Sellers are holding back. Inventory that arrived pre-tariff is being stockpiled. New shipments are just too expensive to discount. The result? Prime Day may still happen but it’ll feel… thinner. Fewer deals. Lighter selection. Less ad traffic. 📉 When top sellers say no, the whole ecosystem feels it. Keep an eye on what’s not on sale this year. That’ll tell you what’s really going on. 🔔 Follow Jonny Golding for more content. ♻ Share this to help other sellers level up.

Amazon Sellers are fed up with seller support. It's like trying to communicate with a brick wall that occasionally spits out irrelevant responses. The frustration is real, and it's costing businesses big time. I've seen countless sellers lose sales, inventory, and even entire product lines due to support issues. Here's the kicker: Amazon rakes in a staggering $140 billion annually in seller fees. You'd think with that kind of cash, they could afford some decent customer service. But no, it's like they're actively trying to make our lives difficult. I've had easier conversations with my cat than with seller support. Let's break down this mess: 👉 Support tickets are a gamble 👉 Responses often miss the mark 👉 Resolution time? Glacial at best 👉 Escalation? Good luck with that I've been there, folks. My own business took a $250k hit when Amazon decided to play Godzilla with my listings on Black Friday. It's not just frustrating – it's downright soul-crushing. But here's the truth: Amazon is the 800-pound gorilla in the room. We can't ignore it, and we can't escape it. So what's a seller to do? We adapt, we persevere, and we find ways to work around the system. It's not ideal, but it's the reality of selling on Amazon in 2024. Stay sharp, stay persistent, and don't let the support struggles define your business. We're in this together, and together, we'll find ways to thrive despite the challenges.

Generic Vs Brand Listing on Amazon! Selling on Amazon is not just about listing a product and waiting for sales, it’s about owning your brand and protecting your listings. Two real cases we handled recently: Case 1: A brand had their trademark registered. Another seller mapped their product under that listing. We filed infringement and asked them to remove it. The seller asked for proof of ownership, we submitted the trademark certificate. Within days, the seller removed their mapping. Trademark and brand registry gave protection and control. Case 2: Another seller had a generic listing with 300+ reviews and even the Amazon’s Choice badge. But since it was generic, Amazon treated the listing as open. Another seller mapped into it and captured sales. No trademark, no brand registry, no proof to claim ownership. Years of reviews and organic ranking vanished overnight because there was no brand ownership. The difference between these two cases is simple: "control". With a trademark, you decide how your listing is managed. With generic, anyone can take over. If you’re building on Amazon, don’t just focus on sales. Secure your brand first.