E418: Elite Seller and RebateKey Shutdown: Is Amazon Still "New Seller Friendly"?

Mike, Dave, and Steve take a break from attending the Indian Wells to talk about the future of Amazon and how the ecommerce landscape is changing.   Greetings from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden!   On this rare occasion that Dave, Steve Chou, and myself got together, we decided to sit down and talk about all the things that have been going on in the world of Amazon and what it means to be an ecommerce seller today.    In this episode, we talk about Amazon's huge policy drops on rebates and giveaways. We also give our personal takes on the current review and ranking system and why sellers and brands use rebates in the first place.    We then move on to discuss Amazon's future direction in broad strokes, particularly with regards to it being both a marketplace and a seller at the same time, and how it tends to give itself an unfair advantage over third-party sellers on the platform.    If you're looking to just relax and listen to a fireside chat between three ecommerce sellers who've been in the game for a while now, this is the episode for you.    Timestamps:   Why Amazon shut down Elite Seller and RebateKey - 7:42 The current review and rating system on the Amazon marketplace - 19:48 How Amazon creates an unfair advantage for itself over third-party sellers - 22:36 What the landscape looks like for new Amazon sellers moving forward - 32:03 The perks of having your own website - 37:25 How we deal with Amazon issues and seller support - 45:48   I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Dave and Steve as much as I have. Be sure to check out Steve's other awesome content over on My Wife Quit Her Job, and we'll definitely have him back on the podcast soon.   On the topic of Amazon, we're still giving away free copies of our book, Amazon Domination, which is a non-nonsense, step-by-step guide to launching your next #1 Amazon Best Seller. Again, the book is free (just pay for shipping and handling). Grab yours here.   If you haven't already, leave us a review over on iTunes and let us know what you think of this episode. As always, happy selling and we'll talk to you soon!