Latest news with #FulfillmentbyAmazon
CNBC
a day ago
- Business
- CNBC
Easy returns cause big trouble for Amazon sellers, but return rates show signs of slowing
Returns on Amazon are free and easy for shoppers, but they're risky and expensive for the small businesses that sell a majority of the goods on the world's biggest e-commerce site. Returns have driven some sellers to exit the popular Fulfillment by Amazon program, while others told CNBC they'd like to leave the platform altogether. At the heart of the problem is a big rise in returns fraud, which has led to customers mistakenly receiving used products when they ordered something new. In two particularly egregious examples involving baby products described to CNBC, Amazon sent customers used diapers and a chiller with someone else's rotten breastmilk inside. "I really don't think that consumers understand how many small businesses are on Amazon and how their return habits affect small businesses and families like mine," said Rachelle Baron, owner of Beau and Belle Littles, which sells reusable swim diapers on Amazon. Baron said her business tanked after a return incident with Amazon. The e-commerce platform shipped soiled swim diapers to customers after the used baby products had been returned to Amazon, Baron said. "There was actually two diapers that were sent out that were poopy," she said. In 2024, nearly 14% of all U.S. retail returns were fraudulent, up from 5% in 2018, according to a report by the National Retail Federation. In total, the report found that returns cost retailers $890 billion in 2024. Amazon started charging sellers in its fulfillment program (FBA) a new fee in June 2024 for items that exceed certain return rate thresholds. Sellers who sign up for FBA rely on Amazon for logistics, including shipping, packing and returns. In September, a couple months after the fee went into effect, e-commerce group Helium 10 saw return rates for U.S. Amazon sellers drop nearly 5%. "It's forcing the seller to have higher quality listings and higher quality products," said Helium 10 General Manager Zoe Lu. Amazon has also started adding a warning label to some "frequently returned items," which could be contributing to the dip. However, the new fee may also be leading to rising prices. One survey by e-commerce analysis company SmartScout found that 65% of sellers said they raised prices in 2024 directly because of Amazon fee changes. Other sellers told CNBC returns fraud is the reason they've raised prices. In total, CNBC talked to seven Amazon sellers to find out how they're handling the rising cost of returns. "We're running at about just over 1% net profit on Amazon, totally due to fraud and return abuse," said Lorie Corlett, who sells Sterling Spectrum protective cases for hot wheels. She said her return rate is 4% on Amazon and only 1% on other marketplaces like Walmart. "It's really Amazon that's accountable at the end of the day. People would stop doing it if Amazon held them accountable." Amazon told CNBC it has no tolerance for fraudulent returns and that it takes action against some scammers. Those measures include denying refunds and requiring customer identity verification. Mike Jelliff sells professional music gear through his GeekStands brand on Amazon and eight other marketplaces. He said his return rate on Amazon is three times higher than the average he sees elsewhere. "On eBay, we're allowed to block specific customers out," Jelliff said. "But on Amazon, that customer is still allowed to repurchase from us." Jelliff showed CNBC the system of about 40 cameras he's installed in his Tyler, Texas, warehouse to track every outgoing item, incoming return and unboxing. He uses the images when filing appeals with Amazon, including when customers request refunds claiming they never receive an item. He keeps a blacklist of repeat offenders who commit this kind of fraud and those who return used and damaged items, which become a total loss for him. Amazon has made some improvements to its returns process, said Jelliff, who doesn't rely on FBA. This includes Amazon allowing small businesses to make multiple appeals when fighting a fraudulent return. Amazon has also let Jelliff opt-out of automatic return labels for items above $100 starting in 2023, and his return rate has been dropping since. Figuring out which returns are fraudulent and which are ready for re-sale is labor-intensive and item specific, experts said. That creates plenty of room for error. "Because it's such a large operation, things are missed," said Lu of Helium 10. "I think they're probably missed on the margins, but these stories are very impactful because it is such a reckoning for the brand." Ceres Chill founder Lisa Myers, who once relied on Amazon to handle returns for her business as part of FBA, has one of these stories. In 2023, Amazon sent one of Ceres Chill's products to a customer with someone else's rotten breastmilk inside, said Myers, adding that the customer wrote a review saying, "she will never forget that smell." "To have something, and I don't mean to be dramatic, but dangerous, somebody else's bodily fluids in your kitchen rotting in something that you had intended to use for your child is unacceptable," Myers said. "That's the moment I broke down crying and just sat down and thought, I have no idea how this could have happened." Myers said she left FBA after the incident, leaving behind benefits like having her products labeled with Amazon's Prime badge. "It hurts our business to not participate in Fulfilled by Amazon," Myers said. "It's just we're not willing to, we will never put profit over the safety and, frankly, mental health of our customers." Instead, Myers outsources all her returns to baby resell specialist Goodbuy Gear, which is on track to re-sell 200,000 returned baby products this year. Kristin Langenfeld started GoodBuy Gear when she was a new mom struggling to find a good quality, used jogging stroller. "We've spent the last nine years building out a database that has all of the products and the variations, the common issues, the recalls," Langenfeld said. "For some of these, there's 40 points that we inspect on the item itself, and it's really complicated." Langenfeld showed CNBC the process at her warehouse in Malvern, Pennsylvania, where each item is inspected for about 15 minutes and is typically handled by at least four employees. The resource intensive process is paying off. She says 33 new sellers signed up in 2024, three times more than the previous year. And with business growing 50% year-over-year, she's upgrading to a bigger warehouse in Columbus, Ohio. She was inspired to handle returns after visiting a major retailer's returns warehouse five years ago. "Taped on the floor were signs that said 'incinerate,' 'destroy,'" she said. Returns generated an estimated 29 million metric tons of carbon emissions in 2024, and 9.8 billion pounds of returns ended up in landfills, according to reverse logistics software provider Optoro. Amazon has faced criticism for destroying millions of pounds of unused products. In 2022, Amazon told CNBC it was "working towards a goal of zero product disposal," but wouldn't give a timeline for that ambition. Three years later, that goal is still in the works, with Amazon telling CNBC in a statement, "The vast majority of returns are resold as new or used, returned to selling partners, liquidated, or donated." In 2020, Amazon added two new options for sellers to re-home returns. "Grade and Resell" allows all U.S. FBA sellers to have Amazon rate the return and mark it as "used" before re-selling it. FBA Liquidation allows sellers to recoup some losses by offloading palettes of goods for re-sale on the secondary market through liquidation partners like Liquidity Services. There's also an FBA Donations program that's been around since 2019, allowing sellers to automatically offer eligible overstock and returns to charity groups through the non-profit Good360. Amazon told CNBC these seller programs give a second life to more than 300 million items a year. For shoppers wanting to keep returns from incineration or landfills, Amazon also has options. Amazon Resale has used and open-box goods, Amazon Renewed sells refurbished items and Amazon Outlet sells overstock. Daily deal site Woot!, bought by Amazon for $110 million in 2010, also sells scratched and dented items. Customers can also trade in certain electronics, like Amazon devices, phones and tablets, for Amazon gift cards or send them to the company's certified recycler. "I hope the change that we're able to make as a country is that we stop making crap," Langenfeld said. "We should make high quality products that are meant for resale."
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
4 Non-Emergencies Where a Personal Loan Makes Sense
Not every financial need is a full-blown emergency. Sometimes, life just throws you a curveball — or an opportunity — and you need a little extra cash to handle it smoothly. Read More: Find Out: That's where a personal loan can come in handy. From covering big life moments to tidying up your finances — here are some non-emergencies where taking out a personal loan might actually make a lot of sense. According to Lending Tree, Americans have an absolute mountain of credit card debt — $1.18 trillion, to be exact. Chris Heerlein, CEO of REAP Financial, noted that a personal loan can make sense when used to consolidate high-interest credit card debt. He worked with a client carrying multiple cards with rates above 20%. 'We used a personal loan with a lower fixed rate to wipe that out,' said Heerlien. It immediately reduced their monthly interest burden and simplified their payments into one. It wasn't an emergency, but it gave them breathing room and helped improve their credit score over time. Dennis Shirshikov, professor of finance at City University of New York and head of growth and engineering at Growth Limit, similarly agreed. He said that among the most common overlooked examples is taking out a personal loan to pay off higher-interest credit card debt. What's frequently overlooked is that the psychological effect of going from multiple high-interest revolving uses of debt to a single fixed monthly payment can be transformative. 'It's not just a loan, you're not just refinancing — you're resetting your theoretical money model,' said Shirshikov. Discover Next: According to Shirshikov, most traditional banks will not issue a business loan for a $5,000 idea, but a personal loan can be a bridge within reach. He's personally seen new entrepreneurs borrow small sums to purchase equipment or inventory for their Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), mobile detailing business or Etsy storefront. 'The trick is to see the loan as a short-term shot in the arm, not a crutch,' he said. Another example? Medical procedures that are not emergencies but are life-altering. Think dental implants or fertility services. These aren't luxuries; they're delayed necessities that don't easily come under insurance coverage. Personal loans, Shirshikov explained, especially those with clearly defined repayment terms, can give people the chance to take charge of their health without capsizing their financial lives. Even spending money on professional development — like an executive master of business administration (M.B.A.) class, a coding boot camp, or a specialized certificate — may be reasonable. 'You're borrowing against your future earning potential, essentially, and when the return on investment (ROI) is clear, the math usually adds up,' said Shirshikov. More From GOBankingRates 7 Luxury SUVs That Will Become Affordable in 2025 This article originally appeared on 4 Non-Emergencies Where a Personal Loan Makes Sense Sign in to access your portfolio
Time Business News
13-05-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
Amazon FBA Automation: Build an Automated Amazon Store
Late nights managing shipments. Constant emails with suppliers. Endless clicks inside Seller Central just to keep up with your listings. This isn't entrepreneurship, it's digital chaos. And if your dream was to build a hands-off, income-generating Amazon business, it's probably starting to feel more like a job than a freedom engine. But there's a way out and it's called Amazon FBA Automation. Let's dive deep into how smart sellers are now building automated Amazon stores that practically run themselves. Spoiler: They're not working harder, they're working smarter, with Amazon FBA Services and the support of a professional Amazon Marketing Agency. Amazon FBA Automation isn't just about hiring a VA or setting up a few tools. It's a business model transformation. You're leveraging Amazon's Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service, pairing it with automation strategies, systems, and partners to eliminate day-to-day involvement. That means: No packing or shipping No constant price-checking No late-night inventory panic No manual customer service battles When built correctly, an automated Amazon FBA store handles product research, sourcing, logistics, and even marketing, with little to no manual input from you. Once your system is live, you're no longer stuck in the weeds. You get time back—time to scale, time to travel, time to focus on growth instead of grunt work. With the right Amazon Store Setup and Optimization, your store is ready to scale from day one. Listings are fully optimized. Backend keywords are tuned. Product pages are conversion-ready. An automated store reduces risk through consistency. No guessing games. No last-minute surprises. Just clean, trackable performance metrics you can monitor and refine. Most sellers start with excitement, then burn out midway trying to juggle everything alone. That's where an expert Amazon Marketing Agency steps in. These agencies bring: Data-driven product research Keyword-rich listing optimization PPC campaign automation Real-time market adjustments Compliance and policy protection You're not just outsourcing tasks. You're hiring Amazon veterans who've launched and scaled thousands of FBA stores. They know what works and more importantly, what doesn't. It's not about picking what you like. It's about what customers are searching for. Tools like Helium 10 or Jungle Scout help, but interpreting that data requires experience. That's why successful sellers turn to Amazon FBA Services that specialize in identifying low-competition, high-demand products. You don't need to fly to China or negotiate with dozens of suppliers. A solid automation team manages sourcing, negotiates prices, and ensures products land in Amazon's warehouse, on time and under budget. Once your product's inbound, your Amazon store setup needs to shine. That means: High-converting product titles SEO-rich bullet points Eye-catching A+ content Backend keyword tuning This is where Amazon Store Setup and Optimization services make a huge difference. They don't just make your listings 'pretty', they make them sell. Using platforms like SoStocked or RestockPro, sellers can monitor inventory levels, predict future demand, and automate restocking, all without manually checking stock every day. This prevents stockouts, which are revenue killers, and overstocking, which eats into profit margins. With tools like Aura and SellerSnap, your pricing stays competitive in real-time. These AI-based repricers automatically adjust your listings to win the Buy Box without tanking your margins. Running ads without automation is like lighting money on fire. Tools like Teikametrics and Perpetua help scale Amazon advertising campaigns without constant human oversight. Set your goals, budget, and target ACoS and let the algorithm handle the rest. You didn't get into Amazon to build another job. You wanted a business that runs itself. Amazon FBA Automation is the secret sauce behind today's most successful Amazon sellers and it's no longer reserved for elite brands. Manage Amazon, a top amazon managing agency helps you break through the manual mess and build a system that scales automatically. From Amazon Store Setup and Optimization to full-scale automation, our team handles every moving piece while you focus on the bigger picture. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Epoch Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
US Tariffs Push China's Largest Wholesale Market to the Brink
Stacks of unsold socks, gloves, toys, and storage boxes now clog warehouse floors in Yiwu—the Chinese city that once sent cut-price trinkets to every corner of the planet. Cross‑border e‑commerce orders from the world's biggest small‑commodity hub have plunged by roughly 70 percent since the U.S.–China tariff standoff escalated, a local freight‑forwarding executive says. The shock has hit Yiwu's merchants and logistics firms so hard that many are teetering on collapse. Just last month, Washington raised average duties on Chinese imports to 145 percent, and Beijing hit back with 125 percent tariffs on U.S. goods. A fresh blow landed at one second past midnight on May 2, when Washington With those parcels now taxed—and Washington and Beijing still locked in the broader tariff standoff—exporters in Yiwu say their business model no longer works. 'It feels like the sky has fallen,' Mr. Lin, a cross‑border seller, told The Epoch Times. Lin supplies the U.S. market through Temu, the overseas arm of Chinese retail giant Pinduoduo, but can no longer make the math work. Related Stories 5/5/2025 5/4/2025 'They force you to slash prices, or they fine you for slow movers. In the end, you lose both goods and cash,' he said. Lin has already cut staff, will vacate his multi‑thousand‑square‑meter warehouse next month, and will move into a space a fraction of the size. 'Our sales are down 50 to 60 percent. I can't sleep. There's no way out, so we keep going and hope,' he added. Mr. Xu, another Yiwu-based merchant from Henan Province, was blunter still. 'Foreign trade is now the hardest line of work. The U.S. market is dead; small parcels have zero orders. Every day is confusion, anxiety, pain,' he said, adding that he works more than 12 hours a day with no weekends, yet sees no path back to growth. Yiwu hosts more than 20,000 freight‑forwarding companies that once funneled local factory output through nearby Ningbo Port to the United States, according to Mr. Wang, owner of a Yiwu-based international‑logistics company. Roughly half have shut their doors since the tariff fight began, he told The Epoch Times. 'Our weekly containers have dropped from a steady 80 to fewer than 40,' he said. Forwarders now demand cash top‑ups from customers mid‑voyage in case tariffs rise before a ship reaches a U.S. port, Wang said. 'If the duties jumped when the goods reach the U.S. and the client walked away, we'd be bankrupt, with nowhere to dump the cargo,' he added. The squeeze is most apparent for sellers who rely on the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program, where storage fees, shipping charges, and now punitive tariffs can wipe out thin margins, according to Wang. He said Washington now levies duties of about 145 percent on clothing and up to 245 percent on items such as syringe needles. To cope, forwarders cram only a small volume of high‑duty goods—about 16 cubic meters (about 565 cubic feet)—into each container and fill the rest with lower‑tariff items, hoping to dilute the overall tax bill. The tactic buys time but carries serious risks: a single mis‑declaration can trigger fines 'in the tens of thousands of dollars,' he warned. Factories across Yiwu are idling lines, cutting wages, or shutting down altogether as unsold inventory piles up, according to Lin. He puts the casualty rate among would‑be cross‑border sellers at 'about 99 percent,' with only a fortunate few still turning a profit. Even logistics firms may not last, Wang adds. If the tariff stalemate drags on another three months, he predicts, Yiwu's freight‑forwarding sector will shrink to roughly 5,000 companies. For a city whose prosperity was built on the promise of friction‑free global trade, the tariff walls feel like a dead end. 'We're worn out,' Lin said. 'But there's nowhere else to go.' Fang Xiao and Xiong Bin contributed to the report.
Business Journals
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Bedtime to business time: The Bay Area couple who built Jade & Kai while their children slept
Janaiah McClure and her husband, Maurice, always knew they wanted to start a business. Both came from families filled with entrepreneurs, and they loved the idea of building something of their own. But it wasn't until the birth of their second child, son Mala'kai, in January 2022 that their ideas began to take shape. Like his older sister, Jade, Mala'kai struggled with eczema, a common yet challenging inflammatory skin condition affecting 10% to 20% of children worldwide, according to the National Eczema Association. For the McClure children, certain fabrics worsened their already irritated skin, sending their parents on an exhaustive hunt for new options. That search sparked what is now Jade & Kai Co., a Bay Area clothing brand offering essential children's items made of soft, breathable fabrics. 'It's definitely in our blood,' Janaiah said. 'We've always wanted to have something of our own that we could teach our kids about and have them be proud of.' Starting small, dreaming big The McClures launched partway through 2023 with just five products, all hooded towels. They added items carefully and now have more than 50 items, including crib sheets, sleep sacks and pajamas in various prints. Early on, the McClures searched extensively for the right manufacturing partner, a company willing to produce small batches and work closely with them as they refined each item. 'It took a while to find the right manufacturer,' Janaiah said. 'I wanted someone I could develop an actual relationship with and be able to reach at any time. We finally found a manufacturer that we really enjoy, and I talked to my contact there every single day in the beginning.' expand With products ready to go, the McClures turned to Amazon for sales and fulfillment. They learned that more than 60% of sales in the Amazon store come from independent sellers like their business. Amazon also offers a wide range of tools to help them set up and manage their online storefront. 'Amazon obviously is the biggest marketplace online, and their Fulfillment by Amazon program was really attractive to us,' Janaiah said. 'We wouldn't have to hold inventory, and we wouldn't have to handle fulfillment on our own, but we could still reach our target audience.' The business strategy worked. In 2023, Jade & Kai generated nearly $50,000 in sales. In 2024, they more than tripled that figure, topping $150,000. Brand recognition has grown as well. Jade & Kai sees a great response from its Instagram presence, and Oprah's Favorite Things list featured the company's hooded towel for the 2024 holiday season. At the same time, Janaiah and Maurice are still able to manage the business while juggling full-time careers and raising their family. Janaiah works in fintech, and Maurice is in shipping and logistics. Both handle the day-to-day operations of Jade & Kai Co. during evenings and weekends, squeezing in work after the kids are in bed and social media marketing on Sundays after church. 'The Amazon platform end-to-end has been really helpful for us,' Janaiah said. "We've been able to scale as a small business even though, as a small family, we don't have time to do a lot of the traditional things that come with running an e-commerce brand." expand What's next The McClures have big plans for Jade & Kai. They are working on new product launches, including adding adult towels to their collection so parents can match their children at the beach and pool. Adult-size towels are a frequent customer request, and Janaiah said listening to customers is a top priority. 'While we created this business with our kids at the forefront and as the source of inspiration for these products, we've found tremendous value in feedback from other families as well,' she said. 'That's been really important in how we've adapted our products and improved each inventory run.' For now, the McClures are continuing to bootstrap the business as it grows, and they look forward to getting the children more involved. They look at it as building a legacy. Already, Jade, Mala'kai and their youngest brother, Kenzo, feature prominently in the company's marketing materials, and Jade and Mala'kai sometimes help put stickers on packaging. Jade, now almost 5, is even learning about sales commissions. When they visit the pool, she will ask people if they would like to buy a Jade & Kai towel. 'She's really into putting things in her piggy bank now,' her mom said with a laugh. 'She knows there's an incentive there.' To other aspiring entrepreneurs, Janaiah recommends taking your time and starting small. 'Get feedback early and make incremental progress,' she said. 'You don't have to do everything at once. Just keep moving in the right direction.'
