Several merchants report that Amazon has begun offering free conversions of eCommerce sites to its Amazon Webstore product for qualified online retailers. The email (below) states $400,000 in annual sales as criteria but nothing specific about traffic goals.

“Dear Valued Amazon Merchant,

Your company and Web site information have been passed along to me internally by the Amazon Category Management Team to discuss an extended partnership opportunity.

We are currently looking for strategic partners who would be interested in having an Amazon team redesign their existing eCommerce site on our platform at no cost.

Merchants selected for this project would benefit from an internal Amazon team redesigning their eCommerce site on our technology at no design cost based on meeting certain traffic and revenue thresholds ( usually over ~$400k in annual sales).

Some key benefits of our program:

• Amazon would redesign your site on our technology at no design cost
• Over $1 Billion invested in the Amazon technology platform. This technology powers other web sites such as WarehouseDeals.com and SonyBMGStore.com to name a few.
• Orders are processed via Amazon’s trusted payments system; no merchant account needed. Provides 100% fraud protection for you and added trust and security for your customers.
• Since we use the same underlying platform for WebStore as we do for Amazon.com, sales for products sold that are also listed on Amazon.com could positively impact the sales rank for those products on Amazon.com!
• One simple interface for effectively managing your inventory, product information, and orders from your own Web site and from your Selling on Amazon account
• Merchandising & community features such as top sellers, recently viewed items, customer reviews, and optionally sell items from Amazon and earn Amazon Associate Program referral fees.
• Create multiple stores on multiple domains while paying only one low monthly fee.”

For merchants this seems on the surface like a great deal if the Amazon Webstore fits the bill. The devil is in the detail though:

• Is the conversion of inventory into the Webstore included? I have to assume “yes” since this can be a significant effort (and barrier) for 3P sellers. Products must be converted to Amazon-specific product attributes (using the publicly-available Item Classification and Browse Tree Guides), images must meet Amazon’s standards and you may have to map ASINs.

• Are gated and closed categories excluded from this offer? If you’re a jewelry or apparel seller then you may not be eligible for this offer as Amazon today cannot separate selling on Amazon and the Webstore. It’s tough to get accepted without guidance, so meeting the above sales and traffic criteria may still not do the trick.

• Can you back out if needed? I have heard reports of Webstores getting canceled and at the same time Amazon accounts being terminated accidentally, creating a big headache. It’s also somewhat of a challenge getting all of your inventory and complete product attributes out of Amazon. But then again if the Webstore meets your needs as an eCommerce platform you should be okay — the team is very committed to making this a success and will work with you to help with issues.

• Is it an “all or nothing” deal? How long of a contract is required? It may make sense, if you’re not all that familiar with the Amazon Webstore and its features to give it a spin without committing to a transition. It probably doesn’t make sense for Amazon to design a full-blown custom store without a commitment since this is a significant effort / cost for them. But I assume the answer is “it depends”. For a large online retailer Amazon is very likely going to pull some strings and invest in the opportunity to host a significant brand on its Amazon Webstore platform.

I have managed to put together in five minutes a quick + dirty ChannelAdvisor Amazon Webstore just to try it out, and can attest to how easy it is to set one up. I also work pretty frequently with the team at Amazon and there’s a lot of muscle behind it to address concerns from early adopters. Randy Smythe had a pretty good comparison a while ago about Amazon Webstore vs. Yahoo! vs. eBay’s eCommerce product (and Webstore looked good) that’s worth checking out if you’re considering it.

Would love to get feedback / comments / insights from retailers that have received this offer (and their thoughts on it) and details (how much traffic is required to qualify?), or really any direct experience, good or bad, with Amazon Webstore.

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