Power Sellers Unite

elgato · Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 17237 Location: Texas

Amazon.com is making a change to its Communication Manager, a system that facilitates email communication between buyers and sellers in the Amazon marketplace. Buyers and sellers may continue to use standard email providers such as Yahoo and Hotmail, but Amazon will hide real buyer and seller email addresses; all sellers and buyers will be assigned an Amazon email alias. According to the announcement, "All communication will be stored and available for review in case of disputes."

Communication Manager is currently enabled for the first email message between buyer and seller. Amazon.com said its objectives with the changes are to:
more.. link to news article

mfaust · Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Posts: 9

Clearly this is a way for Amazon to be able to monitor buyer-seller conversations in case any attempt is made to do business outside of Amazon.

elgato · Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 17237 Location: Texas

mfaust wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")Clearly this is a way for Amazon to be able to monitor buyer-seller conversations in case any attempt is made to do business outside of Amazon.

Kind of like ebay, ola and a few others with their buyer/seller communications.

quicksrt · Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 401

elgato wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")[b]Communication Manager is currently enabled for the first email message between buyer and seller.

So the second email response will feature real email addresees?

Because most all of my email communications involve a second set of replies anyway.

mfaust · Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Posts: 9

No, all subsequent emails also hide both email addresses. Plus, Amazon makes a pint of letting you know that they keep them on file for two years!

quicksrt · Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 401

mfaust wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")No, all subsequent emails also hide both email addresses. Plus, Amazon makes a pint of letting you know that they keep them on file for two years!

I just signed up and listed 26 items. Beautiful interface, smooth fields.

One thing I just read in the rules section is no promotion of your own site through communications, or loink on site. Ok, but what about flyer inside of packages you send out, can they control that? And is it legal for them to state anything about it, no!

I have by the way bought books with not only flyers, but boxes printed with their dawd damn store on every side printed custom. Kind of classy if you ask me.

mfaust · Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Posts: 9

There's no way they would know if you send buyers a flyer or URL address with each purchase, and as soon as I get together a separate website of my own that's what I will be doing.

jjj525 · Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 354

Google checkout also allow buyers to anonymize their email address.

The problems is that these anonymized email comes with so many letters and words.

So when there is a problem, if the seller email the buyer most times the email goes straight to buyer's spam folder.

Instead Amazon should introduce a buyer-seller communication message system like ebay.

salesonamazon · Joined: 23 Jul 2010 Posts: 15

I think amazon email is more convenient than eBay, you just to a email the buyer using the email amazon is providing you, you don't have to login to their website like eBay

quicksrt · Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 401

I'd guess that there is a filter that keeps email addresses blocked.

But I did just two days ago send a buyer (who already paid) my phone number and it went through no problems.

So from now on I will just send them my number if they have further questions.

But I mostly just ask buyers to look for contact info inside of package, and we'll go from there. I would hate to get booted off of amazon for answering directly questions about off-site sales.

If I am asked about giving combined shipping, or multiple item discounts, I just ask them to contact me with info provided in order package. And if they decline to order, then they are not getting discounts from me. Real simple!

I want to work with folks who want to work with me, and follow simple instructions. So it is a good way to see who really wants to spend, and who simply wants to nickle and dime me.

jjj525 · Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 354

If you search white pages with buyer name and address most times you will get the buyer phone number & their social network profiles like facebook,myspace etc so that any seller can directly contact the buyer and avoid the Amazon censorship.

quicksrt · Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 401

jjj525 wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")If you search white pages with buyer name and address most times you will get the buyer phone number & their social network profiles like facebook,myspace etc so that any seller can directly contact the buyer and avoid the Amazon censorship.

I would have no problem emailing a buyer, but I would not call them on the phone or contact them in any other way. It's up to buyer to show interest, contact me, and then I'll make them an offer.

Many contact me asking for some deal or another, but few follow through after I ask them to buy an item (some of my items are as low as 2.99), and I will include all the info that they need for major savings.