Hi everyone,

I’m a relatively new seller on Amazon, and I wanted to share my early experiences and challenges so far. I started small just to understand how the platform works before committing fully, and a few issues stood out to me that I feel are worth discussing.

1. Ads vs. Organic Selling

As a new seller, I experimented with both running ads and selling without them. What I’ve noticed is that the algorithm heavily favors sellers who pay for ads. For someone trying to sell organically, it becomes almost impossible to gain visibility unless you reduce your margins significantly — to the point where it’s hard to even break even, let alone make a sustainable income.

2. Delivery & Pickup Experience

Not all delivery partners are the same — some are genuinely professional and punctual, while others don’t even attempt to reach your location, especially if they have never delivered there before. This becomes even more common during weekend pickups (Saturday and Sunday), and if your Pickup is scheduled at 2pm-4pm. It’s quite funny when you think about it, but for serious sellers, missing a pickup affects business directly.

3. The Worst Part: Returns & Product Swapping

I fully understand that customer returns and rejections are part of running a business. But receiving a completely different product than the one I shipped is extremely frustrating.

Recently, I had three returns that were marked as “customer rejected.” But when the products came back, one of them was literally a sushi roll instead of my item. I laughed at the absurdity, but the situation is serious.

When I tried to raise a SAFE-T claim, I was told I cannot file one for 50 days.

50 days to raise a claim for a product I never got back?

There is also no way for a seller to know where the product switch happened — before reaching the customer or after the return. This is a major vulnerability in the system.

I genuinely feel Amazon needs stricter monitoring and sanitization of warehouse handling, with proper cameras and accountability for all items, regardless of whether the seller is small or big.

These are my honest inputs as a new seller trying to understand and work with the platform.

I hope this helps shed some light on the challenges small sellers face.