Hi ffctas,
Well, you are really on the ball, aren't you? The stores you are
looking at aren't storefronts but rather Amazon Instant Websites. It's
a new program that hasn't even been officially launched yet, it's
still in beta. The good news is that you can sign up for a free Amazon
hosted website now (regular Amazon fees apply). If you are familiar
with eBay Stores, it's the same idea but without the monthly fee.
Briefly:
1. what are these stores known as
Amazon Instant Website Program
2. what is the cost structure
Free to set up, then regular Amazon fees (see link below)
3. how does it get set up.
Click on "Learn How to Get Started" on the Amazon link below
Amazon Instant Website Program Beta launches
"Amazon has launched a Beta program where you can create your own
ecommerce site for FREE. They collect payments, provide the backend,
everything."
"Actually isn?t totally free? you still have to deal with their
commission fees, etc."
http://www.googlelady.com/242/amazon-instant-website-program-beta-launches/
"Amazon is offering free Web hosting of your e-commerce bookstore. Or
you can sell any other kind of merchandise except the usual prohibited
stuff like firearms and pornography."
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?threadid=260585
?Amazon Instant Website Program? Amazon invites sellers for a free
e-commerce website.
http://www.egyaan.syedabbas.com/2006/06/amazon-instant-website-program-amazon.html
Amazon Instant Website Program
Build your own eCommerce Web site using Amazon Instant Website technology
By joining the Amazon Instant Website Program, merchants selling
through Amazon Seller Central can use our eCommerce technology to
quickly set up their own Web site:
* Use your Seller Central listings to create a Web site using your own URL.
* Use the product descriptions and images you already uploaded to Amazon.
* Customize your Web Site with your own branding and design layout.
Build your Amazon Instant Website in three simple steps:
1. Provide basic store information - Your company name and the URL
you want to use
2. Upload your company logo and select your Web site color scheme
3. Choose product categories and optionally cross-sell Amazon items
on your site
[click "Learn How to Get Started"]
http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sc_fe_c_2_3309511_3/103-3107090-1170236?ie=UTF8&node=16269941&no=3309511&me=A36L942TSJ2AJA%2Fref%3Diws%5Fmain%5F%2F%24%7B0%7D
Amazon Fees
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=1161240
All Stores
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/home/all-stores.html/ref=topnav_dir_hp/103-3107090-1170236
Thanks for the very interesting question, I had no idea! If you have
any questions, please post a clarification request and wait for me to
respond before closing/rating my answer.
Thank you,
hummer
I investigated the Amazon links that you posted. |
Request for Answer Clarification by
ffctas-ga
on
18 Aug 2006 06:55 PDT
Hi,
I believe the amazon instant website is not what I am referring to.
More likely it is something called "amazon merchant". I am trying to
get included with this.
|
Clarification of Answer by
hummer-ga
on
18 Aug 2006 08:13 PDT
Hi ffctas,
Thank you for your clarification, you are correct, the links you
posted are not Amazon Instant Websites but rather Associate members'
storefronts, probably built using Associate-O-Matic (look at their
demo stores).
Associate-O-Matic
"Build a custom Amazon.com Associate Store with 1000's of items in minutes"
http://www.associate-o-matic.com/
More options -
ASM2
"Version 2 of our popular Amazon Store Manager. Still easy to use, but
much more powerful. Installs in minutes and lets you run your Amazon
sites easily."
http://www.freekrai.net/article/ASM2/
How to Create an Amazon Store Front
"A simple guide of how to create an Amazon store front without knowing
how to code around the Amazon Developers Kit. Everything referred to
in this HowTo is completely free to download and setup."
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Amazon-Store-Front
Create an Amazon storefront using PHP, Part 1: Getting content with Amazon ECS
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-os-amazon1-i.html
My apologies for probably confusing the issue for you with my Websites
answer but I'm confident we're finally on the right track. I wanted
to get this to you now but I must quit and I will be gone for the rest
of the day. If you have any other questions, I'll get back to you as
soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience with me :)
hummer
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
ffctas-ga
on
18 Aug 2006 19:34 PDT
still think you are off track. Again, I believe it is "Amazon
Merchant". It is not open to the general public, you need to be
invited. Thats what I am trying to figure out.
|
Clarification of Answer by
hummer-ga
on
19 Aug 2006 10:53 PDT
Hi ffctas,
Ok, don't despair, we are on the right track! I agree, I've worked on
this for you most of the day today and coming up with clear-cut
answers is not an easy task. However, I've made progress and can tell
you that the first step is to request a Seller Central Account. You
do this by contacting an Amazon Sales Rep using one of the following
forms. It's not too critical which link you choose, the form on the
next page is the same.
Amazon Service Request Info
http://www.amazonservices.com/site/
How can my company sign up to use Seller Central?
If your company has not signed up to use Seller Central, please visit
http://www.amazonservices.com to find out how you can get started.
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/merchant_documents/text/sign-in.html
INTRODUCTION TO AMAZON.COM INTEGRATION
There are two ways to integrate your site onto Amazon.com.
* Small Stores:
Manually use Amazon's Seller Central web interface to manage your
inventory and orders.
* Large Stores:
Build automation scripts that will automatically post your
inventory to Amazon and retrieve order and report details using XML
'feeds'.
Small Stores:
If your product list is small enough to manage manually via Seller
Central (one to a hundred or so depending on how much time daily you
are willing / able to spend building and uploading the files necessary
to maintain your storefront), then Seller Central is an ideal way to
get your storefront up and running fast.
This is usually the most cost-effective approach for small businesses
and startups just getting started with Amazon. A simple interface
provided by Amazon is all that is needed to manage small inventories.
http://www.sagecomputerservices.com/amazon.htm
The following website is of the same type that you originally enquired about.
Carabella Amazon Storefront
http://www.amazon.com/b/103-3107090-1170236?ie=UTF8&me=A22351LO8EM0T5
Carabella uses "Wash" to manage their Amazon store.
Who Uses WASH?
"Several Amazon.com merchants (including Urban Outfitters and
Carabella) currently rely on WASH."
http://www.stoneedge.com/store/washsoftwareforamazoncomorderprocessing.html
Other management software -
Stone Edge
Importing Orders from Amazon Seller Central via XML (WASH)
http://www.stoneedge.com/help/default.htm#http://www.stoneedge.com/help/OM_DOC/Shopping_Carts/importing_orders_from_amazon_seller_central_via_xml.htm
Monsoon Works
Seller Central accounts need to be approved by Amazon.com prior to
launch. If you do not have a Seller Central account and need help
setting one up, please contact the Monsoon sales department for
assistance.
http://www.monsoonworks.com/partners/marketplace/amazon_seller_central
Right track, right?
hummer
|
