#47 Amazon Keyword Research, Amazon USA vs UK and Quality Control – Q & A Tuesday no 4

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#47 Q and A Tuesday no. 4 SHOW NOTES

Q. 1 David G.

Merchant words vs KWI for accurate kW search volumes?

Danny :

Both use algorithms rather than qualified data from Amazon’s servers. Use as guidance rather than absolute numbers. The best data will be from your reports.

Michael: remember that all research numbers before you have product live are an approximate guide. If the numbers look good, go ahead and place an order, but just place a small one. You could go to AliExpress and make a really small order of say 20-50 units. Or go to a supplier on alibaba.com who will accept a small MOQ. Then launch the product with a few reviews and see if you can get sales at a reasonable price.

Either way, then you will get real data which you can then use to decide whether to place a full sized order.

Q2.  Kurt

Hi all, I am currently selling on co.uk and I am wanting to start selling on the .com market… do I need to create a brand new buyers account (with different email address) and then use that to create me .com sellers account?

Thanks

Hi Kurt, yes you do need a separate account. The advantage is that your business on amazon.com is separated from amazon.co.uk. So if there is a global issue (like account suspension) in one marketplace, you are safe in the other one.

You can link the reviews for a product between the two marketplaces as long as it is the same ASIN. This can be very helpful if you have for example a product that did well in the USA and you want to take advantage of the reviews in the UK. This is only going to work if it’s the exact same product.

Ruth B

Advice needed asap –

I have had long delays with my first order, the initial colour changes and gift box design took longer than expected and then it failed the inspection in China. 

My supplier said they would rework the problem items and with the canton fair happening, instead of the promised 3-4 days this took more like 3 weeks. 

I have had it reinspected and it still hasn’t passed – the previous major problem has been fixed but various other problems were found – all cosmetic – scuff marks, glue marks, slight gaps where the 2 materials meet (only a couple of these), damage to gift boxes. 

In total there were more defects found in the second inspection than the first (including major and minor defects). 

Where do I go from here in terms of negotiations/demands with my supplier?

I don’t really want to say goodbye to the product and lose my deposit plus all the time and effort that has gone into differentiating/designing etc, but i also don’t want to risk receiving an order of a defective product. 

The inspection pictures of the products without defects do look really good and the finish looks good quality but there do seem to be a number of defects which would result in returns. 

Having failed the first inspection my supplier agreed by email to replace (including shipping costs) any damaged items that might arrive in the UK, but how do I know they will actually stick to their promise as this is my first order with this supplier?

Nigel:

Ruth, sorry to hear that it’s a bit deflating and it happened to me with my 1st order last year. Our solution was

to have all our 1,000 items checked & pay for the ones that are ok & leave the others (after 3 inspections!)

This resulted in 203 out of 1,000 being passed &

given we paid 30% upfront we actually got a small refund.

Remember most inspections fail initially and you can accept or reject the order despite the result . Well done you though for having an inspection – many still don’t bizarrely & it’s saved you a big problem down the line.

In the end we had to change supplier for future orders.

Michael: Nigel’s advice is good.

Watch Q&A Tuesday No. 4

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