Sell DVDs on Amazon as a hobby? Say goodbye...

Amazon just announced this:

That means if you're not an "approved seller", as of November 17, ALL your listings, used or new, for any DVD title that has a MFSP of > $25 will be delisted, permanently.

OK, you think, how do I become an approved seller? The easy but annoying part is you have to become a "pro seller", which means you need to pay Amazon $40 a month. You save $1 per sale, so if you sell 40 items a month, you break even, otherwise that's a new cost.

But the bigger problem is that you have to apply to be able to sell DVDs with MFSP > $25. Aside from seller metrics (not a big deal if you're honest), you ALSO have to list all the DVDs > $25 MFSP you wish to sell PLUS provide an invoice WITHIN THE LAST 180 DAYS for those DVDs. An invoice, not a sales receipt. In other words, if you aren't buying from a recognized, legitmate wholesaler, say goodbye.

Most small timers like the people around here buy either via retail arbitrage or else yard sales, Goodwill or whatever. Nope, you are gone. And, presumably, NO ONE is going to be able to sell used anymore, because how are you going to provide INVOICES (not sales receipts) for those items from a recognized distributor?

I don't sell many DVDs. I just hope this doesn't spread to music!

 

Well, there's still eBay, right?

There's obviously a bottom-line reason Amazon is taking this route. Do they have excessive claims against "non pro" sellers for counterfeit items? Are they simply trying to support the professional sellers? Who knows.

I was a bit amazed to recently get an email from them following the sale of my old cell phone. They let me create the listing with no issues. Someone bought it almost right away. I shipped it the next day. I never heard anything from the buyer (I haven't even checked whether he left feedback). A couple of weeks later, I got an email from Amazon indicating that only pro sellers were allowed to cell locked cell phones; mine was a Virgin Mobile/Samsung phone and was properly listed as such. It seemed awfully strange to me that Amazon not only had this policy about cell phone sales but also that that policy didn't stop me from listing the item to begin with.

 

You're right: The real question is: What's the motivation for this move? Could be to stem the flow of counterfeits, but if you were really in business to do that, you could assuredly ID a legitimate source for your items and then intermingle (or sell exclusively) counterfeit ones.

I think the more likely reason is to get rid of the used listings and to stop users from doing retail arbitrage (buy from the Target clearance bin and sell near list on Amazon). Both of these eat into sales of retail units.

As you note: There's always eBay. But my experiences selling commodity stuff on eBay are far less good than selling the same stuff on Amazon--if you are price competitive.

 

I, too, have preferred to sell stuff on Amazon. I don't sell stuff that often, but when I do decide I want to get rid of something I much prefer not having to pay to list the item and then pay a higher overall commission if the item sells. That way I'm out no money if the item doesn't sell, and I can calculate what my bottom line proceeds will be before deciding how much to charge.

Now that I think about Amazon's change in policy vis-a-vis dvd sales, I wonder if it isn't to support their own sales as well. Now that many customers live in areas where sales tax is collected on items sold by Amazon but not when the items are sold by Marketplace sellers, it's frequently the case where a Marketplace seller has a better overall price, after shipping, than Amazon after tax. (I know, I know. People are supposed to pay the equivalent "use tax" when they aren't charged sales tax, but obviously a lot of people don't do that and consider the lack of sales tax part of the discount gained by shopping online.)

 

Does this policy also apply to OOP DVDs that go for big bucks in the used market?

 

The policy refers to the manufacturer's suggested retail price. I assume that if you're trying to sell a dvd with an MSRP of $14.99 that's out of print and now can go for $100 that you'll be able to continue to do so. What is does, however, is eliminate almost all multi-disc sets for everyone except the non-pros since most of those sell for more than $25 new.

 

Also Criterion Collection discs often have an MSRP of $39.99. The multi disc sets that cost cheap are mostly public domain collections.

 

Wow. I just noticed my typos in this post. The last sentence should have been written: "What it does, however, is eliminate almost all multi-disc sets for everyone except the pros since most of those sell for more than $25 new."

 

Regarding the last few messages:

Yes, you will still be able to sell out of print DVDs that originally listed for under $25 for whatever you want to sell them for.

On the other hand, a DVD that originally listed for $25 or more, no matter what the current street price, will be off limits to you as a seller.

 

The MSRPs of major DVDs a lot of times start high and when they become big sellers, the MSRPs get close to Wal-Mart's sale prices, and then the MSRP goes to $14.95 while Wal-Mart dumps them in the $5 bins.

 

I was certainly not happy to read this a few days ago , what a drag ..........

 

This is absolutely fantastic for buyers!

I wish though that they would charge to list so that it would lead to sellers pricing and listing items to sell rather than to sit indefinitely hoping someone will bite at a way higher than average price. There's a reason why you can find many items cheaper used on eBay than Amazon.

 

I'm confused. How is this fantastic for buyers? The change in policy says nothing about the price at which discs can be listed, only that discs with an MSRP over $25 can now only be sold by "pro" sellers. Of course, if those discs are hard to come by, there's nothing stopping the pro sellers from attempting to sell the items at a greatly increased cost versus the original MSRP.

 

^ Because leaving the higher priced items to Pro-sellers makes for better customer service for buyers, less issues with counterfeits (ex: Beatles mono CD box set), etc.

 

This was part of the recent supplier negotiations between Amazon and the Hollywood studios, mostly Disney and Warner Bros. It is all a concerted effort to keep new release prices as high as possible. In exchange Amazon got cheaper wholesale rates.

 

I'm starting to increasingly dislike Amazon.

 

If this was put in place to address issues involving counterfeit box sets, one would think that Amazon could have set the MSRP a little higher. Basically anything that's a more than a single disc will likely be off limits for all but pro sellers now. For me as a very occasional seller, that's unfortunate. Just within the past year I sold several dvd box sets on Amazon, and next time I want to do so it looks like I'll have to go to eBay.

 

It looks like they are blocking the listing of any DVDs no matter what the price. I was unable to list a couple DVDs they are selling for under $10.

 

Wow. Sounds like the FTC is about as on it as the Secret Service. Isn't this collusion?

 

I was afraid that was going to happen. I have a few DVD box sets I was hoping to list on Amazon and sell quickly before the new restrictions went into effect. Looks like they'll be going to eBay instead.

EDIT: If you go to Amazon's "introduction to selling" page at http://services.amazon.com/content/sell-on-amazon.htm and click on the "What can I sell as an individual?" link, the popup list of available categories no longer includes DVDs or Blu-rays. They are only listed under available categories for professional sellers.

 

If you haven't sold any DVDs in the past year or so, you are now blocked from selling ANY DVDs at any price.

If you sold any DVDs in the past year, you are grandfathered in to sell DVDs with < $25 MSRP.

 

While I totally believe what you've written and expected that this was the reality, do you have a source for this info? Amazon has been entirely quiet in commenting on this.

 

Interesting stuff. Amazon already embargoed listing most new releases as well as titles from Disney etc, I guess this is the next step. Agreed that I'd like more information and a source.

In total fairness to Amazon, the DVD market is glutted to the point where there isn't any profit in selling most movies on DVD unless they're new and unusual. I suspect that in a market where most used mass-market DVDs sell for $4 shipped, and where that leaves maybe 30 cents in profit for the seller, it makes it very hard for both third party sellers and the studios to move new copies at higher prices.

Naturally, the short-term effect is going to be that until November 17, DVD prices will be in free fall. I've already marked down most of my DVD inventory. Like others here I mostly sell music, and will only really raise a hue and cry if this policy moves into my core products.

 

No comment.

 

OK, fair enough. How about I ask this a different way: Without revealing your sources, how certain are you that what you posted is fact and not heresay? Because I (and a lot of us) have heard similar things. But all of what I've heard is speculation and heresay.