Amazon Thanks Sellers for 25 Years of Partnership

Amazon thanked sellers on the 25th anniversary of opening its marketplace to independent sellers, but those who might have expected the company to express its gratitude with a promotion or reward were in for a disappointment. One seller left a comment underneath the announcement, "Wow great to know we mean so much to Amazon we just get a generic email as an anniversary gift... and an equally generic forum post. eBay sent me a gift for my 20 years of selling with my company name on it. Amazon...zilch...nada....just waiting for the fee increase notification as "thanks."

However, six Vice Presidents and a Director echoed the sentiments in Amazon's announcement board post in a special video where they thanked sellers and told them they looked forward to "writing the next chapter in retail history together." Dharmesh Mehta, Vice President, Worldwide Selling Partner Services, narrated the video, which featured the following executives:

- Mary Beth Westmoreland, Vice President, Selling Partner Experience

- Jenna Owens, Vice President, Selling Partner Support

- Michael Terkowitz, Vice President and Distinguished Engineer, Selling Partner Services

- Sunny Jain, Vice President, Worldwide Fulfillment by Amazon

- Eric Broussard, Vice President, International Seller Services

- Natalie Angelillo, Director, Seller External Relations

In its announcement board post, Amazon told sellers:

"Your achievements tell an extraordinary story of transformation and success. You now account for more than 60% of all sales in Amazon's store. In 2024 alone, you employed over 2 million people in the U.S. - creating jobs, supporting families, and strengthening communities across the country. You've generated more than $2.5 trillion in cumulative sales since 2000, and remarkably, you continue to set new milestones as your sales in the first ten months of 2025 are already outpacing your sales during our partnership's first 10 years combined.

"The creativity, resilience, and innovation of our selling partners have shaped Amazon into what it is today, fueling choice, value, and convenience for customers around the world. From the entrepreneur who started making products in their home to the established brand expanding globally, you've proven what's possible when innovation meets opportunity."

Those who commented under the full post and who left comments underneath the video on YouTube described specific challenges they faced, as shown in the following excerpts:

"but you also actively try to become our competitor either direct or by inviting foreign entities to duplicate our product and undercut us as the original creator."

"Building product that customers want & then get copied by Chinese sellers and Amazon ignoring your IP rights yay."

"how about providing us some real support when we get hosed by your hostile and inept algorithms?"

"Show us your gratitude by helping us. Show us by eliminating the junk fees you added like Low-Inventory and Inventory Placement fees. Show us by bring back US based Seller Support that is actually able to help, not just pick up the phone. Show us by reimbursing us in full when you steal, lose, damage our inventory."

"Please reconsider Amazon's REIMBURSEMENT policy where they only pay half or less than half for a product DAMAGED or LOST in their Warehouses (in Amazon warehouses). THIS IS VERY UNFAIR, WE SELLERS DO NOT EVEN GET BACK OUR PROPER COST AT THE END leaving out the shipping, labeling, barcodes etc. that we have already invested in this product."

"My FBA inbound costs have quintupled in the last 2 years while check in times have tripled, 10% of my ASINs have been blocked from sending in sufficient inventory in to FBA, and you've cut my FBA capacity down so much that I can't keep products in stock so...you're welcome...?"

One commentor referred to recent policy changes such as ones we reported on in September when Amazon said it was banning used and collectible-condition toys and requiring annual testing or document verification for children's toys:

"Getting rid of all the USED products and many collectible products and any no longer manufactured products on your site is going to cost you tens of millions of dollars in the upcoming months (maybe hundreds of millions). The Toy Category fiasco is # 1. Run a report and see how many vintage Lego sets, Barbie Dolls, GI Joes, Board Games, Plush Animals, Hot Wheels, Matchbox cars, Pokemon and more that we sellers sell in a month. No individual seller is going to pay $500 and send in a collectible item to be safety tested. So you might as well remove the used and collectible categories now from your site. Also you cannot possibly get a manufacturers invoice for a used or collectible item.

"Many of us have also been victims of you purging pages that were not created by the brand owner. 20 years ago I was invited to add products to your catalog. I added thousands of cd's and dvd's back in the day. I assume all that work I did will be deleted since I am not the brand owner. It seems if you put half the effort into finding and kicking off scam sellers from the site that you do in messing with your good sellers, then you wouldn't have to make all these changes and your profits would soar even higher."

A few sellers commented more positively, such as one who wrote the following:

"Message to my fellow sellers: If you can't stop blaming Amazon, no wonder you're still struggling on the platform. Take full responsibility - that's how things actually change.

"And maybe say thank you, without Amazon, most of us wouldn't even have a business.

"Big thanks to Amazon from me - grateful for the partnership and opportunities over the years."

Amazon ended its message to sellers with the following:

"As we look ahead, we are confident that our partnership's biggest achievements are still to come. We continue to innovate on ways to create new and bigger opportunities for you to reach customers around the world while removing barriers and simplifying how you sell. As we like to say, it's still Day 1 - and there is still so much yet to invent and accomplish together in the future.

"To every seller reading this: thank you! Your success is - and will continue to be - at the heart of this story, and we will continue to work to help drive your success. Your partnership has made this 25-year journey possible, and we're deeply grateful for your trust, creativity, and commitment to excellence. Here's to many more years of your success."

You can view Amazon's thank-you video on YouTube:

Comments (0) | Permalink