Amazon creates misery for its sellers, too

Standard

My blog is in danger of becoming an anti-Amazon space, which I don’t want. Not because I love Amazon so much, but because it’s not that interesting.

That means I’ll keep this one short: This article about independent companies selling through Amazon’s site is a little long but very informative. It’s not just that Amazon uses these 3rd party businesses as market research, trying to determine if these products would be worth carrying themselves. It’s that the contract allows them to withhold payment for extended periods without giving a reason.

I understand that they have to be careful of scammers who might hurt their brand, but the arrogance on display here is problematic. It’s one thing to say “We are placing a hold on your payment because of X” but they never explain anything.

I know people like to think of Amazon as this disruptive force that will upend business models and drive innovation, but I don’t see how they’re going to make it if they can’t even be bothered to treat their business partners with basic respect.