Fulfillment by Amazon vs Wayfair CastleGate: A Supplier's Perspective

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Compared to Wayfair's Asia consolidation service, where you contract a manufacturer in Asia, get the goods out, consolidate them in a warehouse before sending them through ocean freight, does Amazon offer this service?

Yes, both Wayfair and Amazon offer the consolidation process directly from import or they also handle the domestic pickup. They both function similarly. However, my experience with Wayfair's Asia consolidation has been more in-depth and streamlined. This is because with Wayfair, you have a more relationship-based experience with the account manager, supply chain personnel, and traffic. So, it's easier to get things done even if they're not necessarily outlined in a mechanical way in their portal. You can talk to someone and get it done. On the other hand, with Amazon, you're at the mercy of their system and Seller Central to figure out all the steps and ensure you're not going to incur some overage charge or you're not setting it up the right way. For instance, with our last shipment, we had to cancel it two or three times because we kept catching mistakes, like forgetting to add something, or the dimensions not being quite right, or needing to push the pickup day out. It's much more complex under the Amazon lens.

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How much would it cost you to transport the same container from LA to your own warehouse in Massachusetts?

I don't have the exact figure, but I know it would be less than what you'd pay for the white glove service provided by CastleGate or Amazon. The cost would be lower given your established relationship and freight rates with the carrier.

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At what point would you enter the inventory on Seller Central?

From Amazon's perspective, we don't want to ship using the fulfillment by merchant method because it doesn't provide the speed badging. Customers come to Amazon for a fast shopping experience. They expect goods within 24 to 48 hours. This can only be achieved by shipping through FBA. We would never ship fulfillment by merchant because it doesn't serve the end user well.

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