As an Amazon Seller, What Learn from Painful Lessons without Good Inspection?

For a long time, I personally think that the most important thing in the cross-border industry is the product itself, especially Amazon. The platform rules are becoming more and more strict, and the trend of branding is becoming more and more obvious. Refined product selection and supply chain control can ensure a company's healthy cash flow, while excellent operations are more icing on the cake and expand its territory.

This time, I am sharing a recent negative case of myself. I was negligent in the link that I am good at, which led to the "meat-cutting incident". Today's review and summary, I hope you will also take a warning. This incident can be summed up in one sentence: a bloody case caused by negligence in quality inspection, which was also highlighted in the previous article, is the problem of product quality inspection.

The incident originated from a seasonal product of ours. This product is an exclusive private model. Because I am optimistic about this product, I also went to the factory to inspect it. After returning to the company, I immediately finalized the order. Because it is a summer product, I analyzed it. According to ABA data, the peak of sales was in July, so after the order was confirmed in mid-April, we started to prepare pictures and listings. The production cycle takes about 1 month. After the product arrives, plus the first-way transportation, the real sales window period can be said to be stretched, but I don’t want to miss such an excellent product, so I bite the bullet.

Since it is a new product, the manufacturer also has various running-in processes in production. I believe that friends who have dealt with the factory have a deep understanding of this, but in any case, after a delay of half a month, the factory finally completed the delivery task. Due to the rush of time and the delay in delivery, the quality inspection period left to us was very short, and the nightmare began.

For all Amazon products, we have always followed the standard of full inspection. Because the time is relatively short this time, we have simplified part of the inspection process, but also re-inspected one by one. This is a lamp, all of which have been tested for lighting, and the ones that are not bright are selected and replaced by the manufacturer. Other non-core performances have been sampled instead of fully inspected. After the inspection, the first shipment will be arranged.

After the product arrived, the normal operation and promotion began. In the early stage of the launch, there was a small episode. I wrote an article on this in my official account, that is, the infringement was taken off the shelf. Due to the sufficient preparation work, the appeal was successful soon and the sales link was restored. It is emphasized here that if it is a new product that is the main push, it is necessary to confirm the patent matters with the factory in advance, because Amazon basically has zero tolerance for infringing products.

During the sales process, it was gradually found that the return rate of this product remained high, and due to the soaring dissatisfaction rate of the buyer's voice, the product was removed from the shelves again (generally, the buyer's dissatisfaction rate is higher than 5%, There will be a risk of being taken off the shelf, and the dissatisfaction rate of this product is already higher than 10% at this time). At first, I thought that the return rate caused by excessive listing promotion was high, so after improving the listing, it was put on the shelves again.

After more than half a month of sales after re-listing, the data in the background has completely subverted my original cognition. I screenshot the specific data below. Combining negative reviews and feedback from buyers' voices, and researching other competing products from the same factory, we seem to have found the source of the problem - product quality.

A series of problems such as the inability to charge due to design defects, power loss in the standing state, assembly process details (hair strands, glue marks) and so on have pushed a product that looks good into the abyss. The satisfaction rate is more than anything. Looking back now, it would have been better if the product could be re-inspected carefully and comprehensively. At the beginning, I naively thought that for a lamp, as long as it can be lit, the quality is qualified, but it was slapped by reality.

At the time of writing this article, we have disposed of all FBA inventory, and some friends may have questions here, why not clear the inventory at a low price. First, due to quality problems, there will still be endless follow-up return costs after clearing the goods. Second, because there are not many stocks in stock, it is simply one size fits all.

Although the loss caused this time is not big, it is enough to make people feel a pain in the flesh. I hope that personal painful lessons can also bring some inspiration to you. It's the same with work and life, when you're paralyzed, it always hits you in the head and keeps you awake.