AMAZON is the worst selling platform for small vendors and custom products

If you ever wondered what it was like to be a small 3rd party vendor on Amazon, read on. The below is one of a few situations that I will share with you all over time. In short, if you have a custom product and you want to provide personalized service and communicate with your customers - don't even bother thinking of selling on Amazon. Start your own site or look at Etsy. Etsy has been wonderful, but again you still lack control over the product and customer experience - but you do have more flexibility that Amazon allows. One of the many reasons I am leaving ecommerce platforms like Amazon and eBay.

I am without words, or am I? As I type this I realize that maybe I have a few things to say. I am beyond frustrated with Amazon Seller Support. I have been selling my products on Amazon for over 3 years. I had a pretty good run of it. It wasn't crazy active like eBay was, but it offered another shopping platform for my products. I have been self sufficient, requiring very little, if any support from them. Received a 5 star seller rating and good ratings on my products. UNITL - out of nowhere, I get an email message notifying me that a customer has been refunded! I watched 2 messages come in at the same time - with no time in between. One message that states a claim was opened for an order ,with no indication as to why, and a 2nd message stating that Amazon 'found' for the buyer and refunded him. WTH?!? I didn't even a get chance to reply. review, understand the situation. Not sure what the hell is going on, I contacted the buyer who promptly replied stating that they never got the item - (though it arrived via USPS with status delivered 12 days ago).  Also the buyer never contacted me to help or find out what was going on.  Regardless, shit happens and the pandemic has not been making the situation any easier. Packages are going to get lost. BUT at this point I want to find out more about the claim as I smell some theft or fraud here and I want to see what Amazon knows about this claim. So I open a support ticket with Amazon Seller Central - asking what this was about? Specifically asking pointed questions. They replied and completely ignored everything I asked and provided me with this BS copy and paste reply basically claiming that I need to visit their help pages and read the provided links. God forbid I get an actual answer from their reps. There isn't any human element at Amazon. You are just a number. There is no care, compassion or consideration. 

Was I satisfied? You didn't even answer my question! Hell no I am not satisfied.<SIGH> so I visit the links and it shows I can open an appeal. I go to my seller central console and I see there is an area marked A to Z claims. I click the link expecting to see the filed claim - and THERE ARENT ANY CLAIMS to APPEAL?!?!??!  WTF!!!! So I reopen the case explaining this, that I don't see any claims open or closed. Keeping in mind that the links they sent me, guided me to select the claim so I can open an appeal. You know what they respond with - the same friggin reply as before!

Thank you for contacting us regarding A-to-z Guarantee claim.

All questions and actions related to A-to-z Guarantee claims can be resolved by visiting:
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/27951?referral=A1ZZQQTNUX12SA_AJ4CFXJ0R33P3.

Selling Partner Support is not able to provide any additional information, or change outcomes other than what is available on Seller Central. This case has been marked as 'Answered' and cannot be responded to.

Were you satisfied with the support provided?

Are you kidding me? So at this point I am fuming. My product was sold, delivered and Amazon refunds them without any explanation why, nor any help trying to understand the situation. I reach out on Twitter to @AmazonHelp and someone from their social team provides me with a link - where you can fill in your information for a call back. Let's see how that goes. To be continued....