Amazon. com Help About Ordering from a Third-Party Seller

Amazon. com Rolls Out Anti-Phishing System for Third-Party Sellers

By Steve Weber

Amazon. com is testing a new order-notification system that may give the retailer a perceived safety advantage over rivals like eBay and PayPal. New desktop software will provide encrypted order alerts, replacing the emails Amazon sends to third-party sellers.

Amazon's Marketplace sellers range from individuals selling a few used books per year to regional bookstore chains with thousands of daily transactions. After several seller accounts were compromised by scammers using phishing techniques in 2006, Amazon began a security crackdown and warned sellers it would discontinue the order emails this month.

"When Amazon scraps the emails, they'll be forcing sellers into a more secure environment," said Kevin O'Brien, founder of SpaceWare. com, a provider of software tools for Amazon sellers. "They'll also be forcing sellers to maintain their customer information in a more secure manner. This is good for sellers and buyers alike."

Since Amazon invited third-party merchants onto its site in 1999, it has sent order notifications via "Sold, ship now" emails containing buyer names, shipping addresses, and email addresses. Most sellers have used the emails as their primary customer-service tool, cutting and pasting the transaction details onto shipping labels and packing slips. Many high-volume sellers also depend on the emails, which they parse and import into databases.

Amazon's security crackdown started last year, when it began restricting public access to its seller email addresses. Seller email addresses had been visible to anyone visiting Amazon's site, then the retailer installed a secure Web contact form similar to eBay's Message Center. Now, initial contact between buyers and sellers must go through the encrypted Web form, unless the buyer and seller have already completed a transaction.

Easy access to email addresses had proved tempting for phishing scammers. Unsuspecting sellers received bogus messages demanding that they log into a Web site and "update" their Amazon account information. When sellers provided their login information, scammers could then hijack the accounts. Scammers used the accounts to create phantom listings for expensive items, then collected the funds until Amazon received nondelivery complaints and shut the accounts.

The problem is industry-wide, and another big target of scammers is eBay and its PayPal unit, both of which email transaction details to sellers. Besides Amazon's new encryption program, its major difference with eBay/PayPal is that Amazon sellers are required to use an internal system, Amazon Payments - the same checkout used for purchasing new items from Amazon. Buyers automatically receive $2,500 of money-back coverage per transaction with any Amazon seller. eBay/Paypal provides up to $2,000 in coverage, but only for certain sellers -­ those with exemplary feedback ratings of 98 percent or greater - and only when using PayPal to pay for the transaction. Otherwise, eBay provides up to $200 in buyer protection for PayPal-funded transactions.

Amazon's new software, Amazon Services Order Notifier (ASON), was released in late January and provides Secure Sockets Layer encryption. But the beta-test version of the software was short on convenience features, and sellers clearly were disappointed. "I can't think of any reason I need this new software. Am I going to lose anything by not downloading what appears to be a cumbersome and unnecessary program from Amazon?" was a typical complaint in the comments section of this post on my blog: http://weberbooks. com/selling/2007/01/missing-manual-for-amazon-services. html

Sellers complain that ASON doesn't allow customized packing slips or batch printing. However, providers of third-party software say the limitations of ASON may make their products more appealing to Amazon sellers.

For example, FillZ says it will add new order retrieval-features that take advantage of the underlying communication protocol for ASON but exceed its limitations:

The ability to check for orders more frequently than ASON's maximum of once every 15 minutes. Exceeding ASON's storage limitation of only 30 days of previous orders, up to a maximum of 5,000 orders. Expanding availability to Mac users. (ASON runs only on Windows machines.)

Although ASON has some limitations, it also has some important advantages, said Shaun Jamison, business development manager at FillZ. "The upsides are no log-in requirement, and it's always running, and it's reliable," he said.

SpaceWare's O'Brien said ASON will certainly be improved as new beta versions are released. But no matter how much Amazon manages to improve it, some sellers have vowed to never use ASON. A vocal minority believes that the software will enable Amazon to spy on its sellers. O'Brien discounts that idea: "Amazon is rolling this out to improve privacy, they're not doing it to snoop on people."

Sellers who decline to use ASON or third-party software will still have a couple of options, though not as handy as Amazon's familiar emails. Sellers can log into their payments accounts on Amazon's site, and Pro-Merchants can download fulfillment reports in a spreadsheet.

Yet another problem with email notifications is spam filtering. To cope with increasing amounts of junk emails, some Internet providers have begun filtering out bulk messages more aggressively. Even emails from legitimate companies like Amazon and PayPal are sometimes deleted before reaching in-boxes. Amazon's ASON system overcomes this problem, since the software runs in the background and periodically polls Amazon. com and retrieves new orders.

About the author:

Steve Weber is author of "The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site." He also writes about online bookselling at his "Selling Books" blog: http://www. weberbooks. com/selling/selling. htm

You may quote up to 50 words of any article on the condition that you attribute the article to EcommerceBytes. com and either link to the original article or to www. EcommerceBytes. com.

All other use is prohibited.

Email this story to a friend.



2 of 5

Leave feedback to third-party sellers on Amazon. com

I've never sold anything on Amazon: but having often purchased from and spoken with third-party sellers over the years, it seems like some Amazon customers are quick to leave negative feedback. So I'll start saying "Be nice!" Many of these sellers are mom-and-pop shops, which (in my experience) bend backward to fix issues. And don't leave feedback until an problem was resolved to your satisfaction: you lose some leverage once you've left your feedback!

There are two ways of leaving feedback on Amazon: either from the dedicated feedback page (link), or through your order history page (which lets you search orders by name). The feedback page is probably easier to use, because you can leave feedback in batch: it only shows items that require your feedback. By contrast, the orders history page forces you to hunt for "Leave seller feedback" buttons (and large-quantity orders don't even show all items!)

The itemized feedback page shows you the advertised condition of the item ("Condition Used - Very Good", for example). Each one gives you the order date, with a link to the order details. Start by giving a number of stars. If everything arrived as described, and relatively fast, consider leaving 5 stars (a seller - to whom I left 5 stars despite an issue - told me that many people never left above 4 stars, even when they were satisfied: don't be "One of those" :)

The goal is to help other Amazon users: my first priority, for example, is that the item be exactly as described. My second is that it be shipped fast. So when I leave feedback, I comment on both of these, which will hopefully help other customers make up their mind between sellers selling the same item. I've often paid a bit more to buy from a better rated third-party seller. Ultimately, the star rating matters more to other buyers than the comments you leave.

Once you've answered Yes or No to the three questions on shipping speed, item condition, and prompt & courteous service, type your comment and click Submit Feedback. If it's the first time you are leaving feedback, make sure that you like the name (screen name) under which your review will be published - if not, click "Use a different name" to create a new nickname.

Update: I've since become an Amazon seller and started selling books. I was surprised by the lack of feedback. Based on this thread, it turns out that only 2-3% of buyers actually leave feedback. I always do, and I will keep doing it now that I know this. You Know that people won't hesitate to leave negative feedback, so be kind to good sellers and leave reviews when you are happy!

About A-to-z Guarantee

The Amazon A-to-z Guarantee protects you when you purchase items sold and fulfilled by a third party seller. Our guarantee covers both the timely delivery and the condition of your items. If either are unsatisfactory, you can report the problem to us and our team will determine if you ar eligible for a refund.

You can request an A-to-z Guarantee refund when all of the following apply:

You've contacted the seller through your account. You've waited two days for a response. Your request meets one of our A-to-z Guarantee conditions below:

The seller failed to deliver the item by 3 calendar days past the maximum estimated delivery date or 30 days from the order date, whichever is sooner. The item you received is damaged, defective, materially different or you changed your mind and you returned it in line with Amazon's return policy but you have not been refunded or the refund was the wrong amount. You must (1) contact the seller within 30 days of receipt of the item (or by the end of any extended returns period e. g. extended Christmas returns policy, if later) and (2) postmark the return within 14 days from arranging the return with the Seller. The Seller agreed to issue a refund or replace the item and you have not been refunded, the refund was in the wrong amount or the replacement was not sent. You want to return an item internationally and the Seller does not (1) provide a return address within Spain, (2) provide a pre-paid return label, or (3) offer a full refund without requesting the item to be returned. You have been charged extra (e. g. by customs authorities for a shipment to EU) in addition to the purchase and dispatch price you have paid, and the Seller did not cover those costs.

You have waited no longer than 90 days from the Estimated Delivery Date to request your refund.

If you encounter a problem not listed above, you may still report the problem, but note that we cannot guarantee a refund until the investigation is complete.

When you're ready, refer to Request an A-to-z Guarantee Refund for instructions on how to report your problem.

Nota: The A-to-z Guarantee does not cover digital items or payments for services. Additionally, if you file a chargeback with your payment provider or bank, you will not be eligible for a refund under the A-to-z Guarantee.

How to Cancel an Order on Amazon

Updated: August 7, 2019

This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Together, they cited information from 5 references. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article meets our high standards.

The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and validated that they work. Learn more.

This wikiHow teaches you how to cancel an order you placed with Amazon using a computer, phone, or tablet. If you're an Amazon seller who received a cancellation request from a buyer, you'll learn how to cancel that order on Seller Central.