1. Amazon are unifying Base Reserve Policies for Sellers – here’s what you need to know…
From 6 September 2023, some Sellers will see their current Base Reserve policy changed to a Delivery Date-based Reserve policy.
It’s been the global standard for Amazon Selling Partners since 2016, but not all Sellers are currently on a Delivery Date-Based Reserve, so Amazon is looking to bring all Seller policies in line.
What difference does it make?
For those Sellers on the Base Reserve policy, the portion of funds Amazon reserves to cover refunds or other buyer claims is based on when the shipment is confirmed.
From September 6th, Amazon will reserve funds based on the delivery date instead.
How might this affect us?
For affected Sellers, there’s the potential for the change to temporarily disrupt cashflows – at least until a new reserve is built up and funds become available based on the estimated or confirmed delivery date.
But it’s important to note that this policy change will not affect how often Sellers receive their money, their ability to use the Disburse Now feature or the total amount of funds received – it will only delay the availability of funds by seven days from the delivery date of the order.
Why are Amazon making these changes?
Apart from making things easier and less complex for Amazon operationally, this change will allow sellers to offer non-Prime deals in European stores – currently, only Sellers on the delivery date-based reserve policy can run these deals.
Other requirements for non-Prime deals still apply.
I think we’re affected – what do we need to do?
Nothing – the policy change will automatically take effect on September 6th, 2023.
However, Amazon recommends you assess any potential impact on payment processes, make sure you’ve got enough funds to cover any temporary cashflow disruption and line up financial support options if you think you’ll need them.
Want some guidance? Click here to speak to our expert team.
2. Does your start-up qualify for the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards?
If you’re creating cutting-edge products that “bring innovation into the everyday, building a better future for all”, then you could be in with a chance of winning a whopping €100,000 – plus lots of Amazon benefits that will help supercharge your growth.
Applications for the 2023 Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards close on 31 July, so there’s still time to enter!
Created to support smaller brands in the UK and Europe who are bringing outstanding innovations to the marketplace, the Awards will reward one overall winner.
In addition, the 6 best local startups will receive a smaller awards package that includes a €10,000 payout, and a further 20 finalists will also receive Amazon benefits and recognition that will help them drive their discoverability and growth.
Winners and finalists will be announced on 22 September 2023, decided by a judging panel of Leon Co-Founder John Vincent, Virgin Start-Up MD Andy Fishburn, HubDot Founder Simona Barbieri and Bayes Business School’s Alessandro Giudici.
Who’s eligible?
To enter, these statements must be true of your business:
- You’re registered in an EEA (European Economic Area) country, the UK or Switzerland.
- You’re the brand owner of the product you’re entering.
- You’re selling a physical product to consumers, not to other businesses.
- You’re small to medium-sized, with less than 250 employees and an annual turnover of less than €50 million (or an annual balance sheet total of less than €43 million) at the time of entry.
Check out the full terms and conditions here.
And what might we win?
The Winner gets:
- €100,000
- Free access to Amazon Launchpad for one year
- A featured seller placement on Amazon Launchpad
- A license to use the awards logo
- One Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards Trophy
The Best Local Startups each get:
- €10,000
- Free access to Amazon Launchpad for one year
- A featured seller placement on Amazon Launchpad
- A license to use the awards logo
- One Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards Trophy
The Finalists each get:
- A featured seller placement on Amazon Launchpad
- A license to use the awards logo
- One Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards Trophy
Learn more and apply here.
3. EU Prime Eligibility has changed – get the Lowdown
On 21 June 2023, Amazon Prime eligibility criteria changed across several EU countries, including Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Belgium. Here’s what’s afoot…
Why and how has Prime eligibility changed in these marketplaces?
Following the European Commission’s concerns about competition in the marketplace for Seller-fulfilled offers, Amazon has relaxed their criteria to qualify for the Prime badge.
Before, only FBA or Seller Fulfilled Prime offers were eligible to display the Prime badge.
Now, Sellers can qualify for the badge – with its increased search visibility and other benefits – by shipping products from their own warehouses.
They can also choose to use any carrier they wish – Sellers won’t be limited to those on the approved Amazon Shipping lists.
Amazon won’t be happy…
That’s true.
While we disagree with the European Commission’s preliminary conclusions in these cases, we have worked closely with the Commission to address its concerns and ensure we can continue to serve customers across Europe, as well as support European small and medium-sized businesses and others selling through our stores.
Amazon
And, in addition to the eligibility changes outlined above, Amazon says will also introduce a “Second Displayed Offer” for certain products, with a view to featuring third-party sellers with offers customers might consider an attractive alternative, such as a lower price + slower delivery.
All other third-party offers will still be available for customers to consider.
So, what’s eligible for Prime in these countries now?
To be eligible for Prime, offers must be available nationwide, with free shipping and free returns for Prime members (with some exceptions).
Sellers must consistently meet delivery promise requirements, maintain a high on-time delivery rate, provide valid tracking information, and keep the cancellation rate for Prime orders below 0.5%.
Prime-eligible offers will receive the Prime badge based on shipping speed thresholds, ensuring that only the top 90% of offers with the fastest delivery speeds earn the badge.
Sellers can now use any carrier for their Seller Fulfilled Prime orders, without the need to purchase shipping labels through Amazon’s Buy Shipping feature.
And all listings participating in Prime will receive Amazon’s customer service support, without any additional charges.
Want to explore if there’s an opportunity here for your brand? Speak to our experts now…
4. Did you catch our first “Amazon Experts” webinar?
On 22 June 2023, we hosted a power-packed deep dive into the world of Amazon, where Venture Forge CEO Andy Banks was joined by Paul Sonneveld of the brilliantly user-friendly analytics platform MerchantSpring…
What followed was a 30-40 minute discussion on just critical it is to have accurate, real-time data at your fingertips when it comes to building a successful and profitable Amazon business.
In this half-hour packed with incredible value, the discussion ranged from how to apply a trading mindset for both Seller and Vendor success through to the top KPIs all Sellers and Vendors should be looking to improve – and why.
Not to mention an open Q&A session at the end, where Andy and Paul tackled the tough questions posed by our attendees!
Missed out on this one?
Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered!
And keep your eyes on your inbox as we announce our future episodes!
You’re the first to know…
We’re planning an Expert webinar on the hot topic of EU Packaging Compliance for 28 September 2023 at 10 am.
As always, it’ll be free and spaces are limited so we’re opening exclusive access out to you first, as our prized subscribers!
Jump the queue and save your seat today – just hit this link to register!
