Compared with other e-commerce platforms, the most distinctive feature of Amazon is FBA. That is, sellers deliver the inventory of products they sell on Amazon directly to the warehouse in Amazon's local market. When customers place an order, the Amazon system automatically completes the subsequent delivery. Although Amazon has unique advantages in logistics, it also has many problems.
First, Amazon’s customer service feedback is not timely, and communication can only be done in English. Due to the time difference between China and the United States, Amazon merchants may not receive timely feedback when communicating with customer service, which brings a lot of inconvenience to the merchants.
Second, the cost is relatively expensive. If you choose FBA, Amazon will charge merchants two fees, one is the sale fee, which is approximately 15%-26% of the value of the goods, and the other is the FBA storage fee.
Third, the same label barcode cannot be returned within six months after being returned. Once a return or exchange occurs, the goods can only be destroyed on the spot.
The emergence of third-party overseas warehouses effectively solves the above problems. So, what is an overseas warehouse?
Overseas warehouse refers to a cross-border logistics situation in which an enterprise exports goods in batches to overseas warehouses in accordance with general trade methods to achieve local sales and local distribution. For Amazon merchants, overseas warehouses have become an increasingly important link. Currently, 75% of sellers are using third-party overseas warehouses, and 85% of sellers are using FBA. It can be seen how powerful overseas warehouses are for sellers.
First of all, overseas warehouses can reduce logistics costs, and sellers can transport some goods in bulk to third-party overseas warehouses by sea. When sellers need to replenish stocks to the FBA warehouse in a timely manner, they can ship directly from the overseas warehouse. This saves the shipping cost of shipping again from domestic sources.
Secondly, overseas warehouses can help merchants reduce storage costs. The storage fee for FBA warehouses is very cheap in the first six months of goods storage. However, after six months, the storage fee will skyrocket 10 times, which will incur huge expenses for Amazon merchants. At this time, merchants can choose to transfer the goods to a third-party overseas warehouse. After changing the label, return the product to the FBA warehouse as a new one. FBA warehouses will also charge storage fees according to the charging method for newly-stocked goods. Effectively reduces merchants' storage costs.
Again, using overseas warehouses can improve the shopping experience and shorten delivery time. Sellers ship and replenish stocks directly from overseas warehouses, saving the time for packages to travel from domestic to foreign countries and the process of going through customs. So that efficiency is improved.
Then, using overseas warehouses can manage goods efficiently. After the goods are sent to a third-party overseas warehouse, they will be directly managed by the overseas warehouse. Label affixing, label replacement, drop shipping, etc. are all handled directly by the overseas warehouse. It is more convenient for sellers.
Finally, when Amazon merchants encounter return or exchange issues, they can contact a third-party freight forwarding company to complete the return and labeling of FBA goods. Overseas warehouses can help customers change labels, pack, and re-enter the FBA warehouse for resale.
Today, overseas warehouses are no longer simply "warehouses", but have achieved "de-warehouse" and provide localized and diversified overseas services. Third-party overseas warehouses have become the sellers’ real tentacles overseas, allowing sellers to achieve localization without leaving the country.
