When Really SIMPLE Things Become Really COMPLICATED!

One of the many "hats" I wear in life — as part of scraping together a living without having to deal with the stress of a "real" job — is that of artist.

As part of that, I offer my work for sale through several of the major online sales platforms, including eBay, Etsy, Amazon Handmade and Facebook.

The "problem" with using these large marketplaces is dealing with ever-increasing rules and regulations and restrictions... including the other day when Amazon let me know — in spite of just having made a couple of sales! — that my account had been temporarily "suspended" because of... inactivity.

And to get it reinstated — which I would have to if I actually wanted to see the money from the sales I just made(!) — I had to go through the entire process of re-qualifying as a seller.

And that only came to the forefront as a result of following their request to update my payment information.

Meanwhile, Several Days Later...

If you think crypto exchanges have rigorous "KYC" protocols, try becoming a seller on Amazon. Ironically, I have actually been a seller on Amazon for eight years... and the fact that I typically only sell something once every 2-3 months has never been an issue before!

Whether this is the result of some new law, or "pandemic fallout," or something completely different... the long and the short of it is that now that I have updated my information and been "re-instated" Amazon now treats me as a "new seller" again (remember... after EIGHT YEARS), the primary result of which is that they get to hold onto my money for anything sold for several weeks before disbursing it to me!

More than a little annoying...

Of course, the obvious answer to all this — and one of the points I wanted to make — is that "just don't do business with them" is pretty much a non-option.

These big selling marketplaces have the distinct advantage that that stuff sells when I use their sites. Using a small independent marketplace — or even my own web site — is basically a one way trip to invisibility and obscurity and non-sales. So they basically have everyone "by the short hairs."

Can't say I like it, but for now I don't see a lot of options. Oh well, such is life and then you move on!

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

How about YOU? Do you sell anything online? Do you use any of the big marketplaces? What sort of success have you had? Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20220429 11:45 PDT
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