Cliff Aliperti - Guest Blogger
Cliff Aliperti is known in some circles (Twitter - Land) as the eBay buyer/Amazon seller.
Cliff Aliperti specializes in paper goods and collectibles and is a long time eBay seller and buyer. He has a nifty blog/website called "things and other stuff" which focuses on his passion for these items he collects and sells.
Recently Cliff has ventured into the world of Amazon and Amazon FBA as a merchant and he is quite active on Twitter discussing with excitement his daily purchases on eBay and then subsequent sales on Amazon through the FBA program.
I asked Cliff to explain Amazon FBA to our readers here at the Trading Assistant Journal because we are always aware of the desire to look outside of eBay and learn about eBay competition. Naturally Amazon is one of the first places eBay sellers think about when considering a switch.
I think Cliff's frank and honest story reveals two constants.
- It is not always greener on the other side of the fence - but sometimes it is cooler.
- The tournament is always easier to win - When you know how to play the game.
I want to extend my personal thanks to Cliff for this amazing insight into Amazon FBA, not only is it a great story, but when told from the perspective of a long time eBay seller it brings the ring of truth rarely found in these types of reviews. Thanks Cliff!
Amazon FBA from a eBay Powersellers perspective: by: Cliff Aliperti
You ever get that feeling that you're dealing with a bunch of idiots who know less about the company that they work for than you do?
This was my start to selling on Amazon.
I'd never sold on Amazon before, wait, that's not true. At the time of my return in Spring 2008 I had one seller feedback from an old Z-Shops sale back in 2000. That was almost embarrassing.
Then sometime in 2007 I signed up for one of their web stores under a free trial, quickly became confused, then irritated, then shut down well before the trial was up. I left shaking my head content to continue selling on eBay.
Then I started reading Randy Smythe's My Blog Utopia! and his adventures with something called FBA and little by little the thought of trying out Amazon one more time sprouted.
Amazon FBA
Amazon FBA
FBA is the acronym for Fulfillment by Amazon. Basically, you take your product, list them for sale on Amazon, click a button to convert them from merchant fulfilled (ie: you pack it up and ship it out after a sale) to fulfilled by Amazon. Then you just have to put some identifying labels on your goods, box 'em up, ship 'em out, and sit back while Amazon fulfills your customers orders.
