Amazon is testing a new program to vet new sellers, according to Geekwire, which broke the news on Sunday.
Amazon told the publication it began the pilot program early this year that initially included in-person appointments with prospective sellers, but it switched exclusively to video conferencing in February due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Geekwire said Amazon had vetted 1,000 merchants from China, the UK, Japan, and the US through the new program.
You can find the details in this Geekwire article.
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.
If there was ever anything that screamed “sellers are employees!” it has to be these interviews. Bonus points if they ask you about your biggest weakness or where you see yourself in five years.
“Bonus points if they ask you about your biggest weakness”. Ain’t that the truth? Hahaha! My biggest weakness is: I’m a #CoronaCoward who’s too scared to take packages down to my local post office so I hope that Amazon’s mighty fleet of delivery vans can get my merchandise to the buyers!