Amazon is going after a new niche - personalized / customized products. Like the
Amazon Handmade program we told you about last month, Amazon Custom is a pilot program open to a select group of third-party sellers.
It seems now that Amazon has built up confidence in working with third-party merchants, who represent 44% of units sold, it is comfortable going after new opportunities - 3D printing, collectibles, fine art, and wine, for example.
Offering custom products for sale is not as easy as it first sounds, however. Currently Amazon sellers list products for sale - how would a buyer communicate to the seller exactly the information needed to customize a product?
Not only does Amazon not want sellers to require buyers to communicate with them before or after a sale, it wants to ensure there is no miscommunication and that the buyer understands as closely as possible what their custom product will look like.
In Monday's Newsflash we explain some of the logistics, including the form the buyer must complete before being able to add the item to their shopping cart, and a preview widget that helps them visualize the end product during the ordering process.
But even there, it's not easy - sellers must customize the form, and each product may have a different number of customizable fields - font, color, text, for example.
However, Amazon already has experience when it comes to custom orders - it opened its
3D printing store last July that offers shoppers the ability to order custom products such as bobblehead dolls where they can specify attributes such as eye color and facial hair.
With Amazon 3D printing, the "Add to Cart" button is replaced with a "Personalize Now" button. With Amazon Custom, it's a "Customize Now" button.
Some sellers already try to offer personalized items, but
this post by a seller on the Amazon discussion boards explains some of the difficulties faced:
"I sell personalized item. The description states the items are personalized and what information is required to personalize them. People purchase the item and never supply the information needed to personalize their order. I send messages to remind them, they go unanswered. Eventually I have to cancel the order and take a big hit because the order was cancelled. Any advise would be appreciated."
The new program is designed to overcome such challenges.
Look for tomorrow's Newsflash article (
available now), and let us know what you think. Would this be a market you'd be interested in, and what are the risks (returns?) and rewards?
The AuctionBytes Blog has been giving a voice to online merchants since its launch in 2005. Named one of the world's top 30 blogs in 2008 by "Blogging Heroes." Weigh in with your thoughts on the joys and pitfalls of selling online.
Amazon Goes After Another Niche - Customizable Products
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by: Rexford 
by: Leroy