But the issue here seems to be that even if you order directly from Amazon or a reputable seller, you could still end up with a product coming from a less reputable seller if it has the same barcode.
Amazon says that by default they are comingled: "Important: Items in your inventory that are identified and tracked using manufacturer barcodes are commingled with items of the same products from other sellers who also use manufacturer barcodes for those items."
> For inventory tracked with the manufacturer barcode, each seller’s sourced inventory of the same ASIN is stored separately in our fulfillment centers. We can also track the original seller of each unit.
> To fulfill your orders exclusively with your inventory, you can switch to the Amazon barcode at any time (see Changing your barcode setting below).
It seems vendors can choose to have their items commingled or not. Commingling allows them to possibly offer faster deliveries, and they don't need to add extra barcodes to their products.
Even if comingling is enabled, it seems it's not exactly what HN had made me believe. Amazon still tracks and separately manage each seller's inventory, but might choose to ship you another's seller item if it is closer to you for faster delivery. Again, sellers can opt out of this if they don't want it.
It seems some products aren't allowed to be commingled:
> To qualify, products must: Be in new condition. Have only one scannable barcode that is matched to one ASIN in the Amazon catalog. Have no expiration date. Not be consumable or topical products such as skin creams, shampoos, or cosmetics. Not be dangerous goods.
I think beyond offering sellers the option to opt out of comingling, I'd like to see it offered to buyers as well. At checkout, it could let me know that I have the choice to get it from my chosen vendor's stock which would result in X days delivery time. Or to get it from alternate vendor Y for Z faster days delivery.
Amazon does not universally comingle. There are many exempt product categories in addition to the seller's ability to opt in/out. If you buy a product from a specific seller which arrives with a stuck-on barcode in addition to the UPC, that product probably wasn't commingled.
(The fact that this information is so important and hidden is of course inexcusable)
They don't commingle inventory. They know exactly which supplier/seller sent in which units. Here is a quote from their seller support article about the topic:
"Used by default for eligible products, manufacturer barcodes use virtual tracking to trace the source of the products throughout the fulfillment process. Identical items from different suppliers are not physically stored together in a fulfillment center. However, Virtual tracking allows Amazon to fulfill orders using identical products from different suppliers. This enables us to process a customer order more efficiently and expedite its delivery from the fulfillment center closest to the customer."
So they will use inventory from different sellers/suppliers to fulfill an order, but they can trace counterfeit/incorrect inventory back to the source if there's an issue.
They could select the "Amazon barcode" option (instead of the default "Manufacturer barcode") under "Barcode preference" which prevents commingling (but requires the seller to apply seller-specific barcode labels to all units).
Except go read the seller's forums. Sellers who (claim to) opt out are constantly complaining that their product still gets mixed in. Even sellers who do their own asin / personal barcodes have problems with it.
Amazon is either ignoring the preference when it suits them, or has significant flaws in how they're implementing the policy.
Either way, they're destroying their brand reputation.
You can choose not to comingle your items. In this case you must relabel them with custom bar codes.
Amazon will only then use your items for your sales and not for anyone elses. Possible longer shipping times, etc. But I s always been possible to ensure correct items on the seller side with FBA.
Not true. Commingled inventory does not get a unique barcode for each seller, it just uses the default UPC. So there's no way for Amazon to even tell who sent it. This is why many sellers avoid commingled inventory altogether, because you end up selling something that's counterfeit and getting a hit to your account when you didn't even send it to Amazon. Over time, I think this probably means that commingled is really becoming a market for lemons, with counterfeits making up a higher and higher percentage.
I believe this has been done by setting up a SKU-Variant. The same-SKU technique is definitely correct - I was contracted to work on an inventory management system about 2 years ago and there were some requirements about how there might be different products with the same SKU barcode for this (unless it has changed since then).
I'm not saying it's the right thing to do - but it's also just how being a large Amazon seller works. If you sell LiPo batteries on Amazon and have worked for 5 years to get lots of reviews and the top spot on the listings, and then your supplier discontinues your best-selling range, starting again with fresh listings can completely destroy your business. So you change suppliers and keep the same SKU and change the description. I'm not saying it's 'right', but unfortunately if you want to be an Amazon seller it's just what you have to do.
There might be different techniques to do the same thing too though.
You are wrong. Though I'm not sure how common it is. You can get a free Amazon seller account and see for yourself. Many common items that you might want to sell have the option to commingle inventory. The benefit to the seller is that you can print out multiple copies of a single barcode and stick it on all of your items and just send them in. Whereas non-commingled will need a unique barcode on each item.
Even when something by is sold by amazon, you could get something shipped to them by a third party seller. They keep all products with the same ID in one area, and pick whatever is on top.
If I started using FBA and supplying an item, it’ll go in the same box and chances are more likely an “sold by amazon.com” will sell my product, and I’ll sell an “amazon.com” product.
It's called stickerless, commingled inventory[1], and it's where they commingle inventory from multiple sources based on the manufacturer barcode instead of a unique seller-item-specific barcode label, and will use any product with the same barcode in their distribution network to fulfill the purchase regardless of which source/seller provided that individual piece of inventory originally.
From reading [1] it looks like they've tightened up the requirements for it, and put some mitigations in place around counterfeits.
But it's also an opt-in process, so would be nice if they made it visible when you are or aren't purchasing from a seller utilizing it so you can decide yourself on a given purchase whether to go with the cheapest option or potentially opt for a more expensive listing but knowing that a product isn't commingled and was provided by the seller you're purchasing from.
Actually not if the item is in commingled inventory. When the item is commingled, the seller does not place any identifying markings, such as their unique asin bar code, on the product. Nor does Amazon place seller identifying information on commingled items. They rely on the UPC at that point for automation.
>Some products come from AFN/FBA with an ASIN-formatted number on a barcode on the product bag, but which starts with "X" instead of "B". I believe this to be some kind of inventory tracking code that relates the product to the vendor who shipped it into the Amazon fulfillment network.
Correct. It is an FNSKU (Fulfillment Network SKU), which is both product- and seller-specific.
Amazon listing for item with ASIN B1234567:
* Seller 1 sells on the listing. His inventory of B1234567 is assigned FNSKU X8675409. When he sends inventory to Amazon, each unit must have a sticker with X8675409 covering the UPC code, or the seller can pay a fee for Amazon to affix the sticker.
* Seller 2 sells on the listing. His inventory of B1234567 is assigned FNSKU X4894608. When he sends inventory to Amazon, each unit must have a sticker with X4894608 covering the UPC code, or the seller can pay a fee for Amazon to affix the sticker.
For most listings, the seller can choose to use the UPC code instead of Amazon assigning an FNSKU. Called "commingling", this is unwise because there is no way for Amazon to distinguish between its own inventory, your genuine inventory, and another seller's counterfeits. Amazon says that its inventory procedures still differentiate between sellers, but a) no one believes this and b) all the stated procedures would do in a case of, say, Seller 2's counterfeit item being shipped when Seller 1 makes a sale would be to potentially identify that Seller 2 is the source of the counterfeit, as opposed to avoiding shipping it in the first place.
You don't know whose units were used to fill an order for your listing. You can't blacklist scammers. You don't know how many of your units remain in stock, and you can't get just those back.
If every lot of units were individually tracked, why would barcodes even matter?
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