Marketplaces Satire
Amazon Gives Sellers 24 More Days To Prepare For Black Friday; Sellers Spend First 23 Panicking
The deal submission deadline moved from Oct. 20 to Nov. 13. Sellers who missed the first deadline now have a second one to miss.
SEATTLE—Amazon has extended the deadline for sellers to submit Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals from Oct. 20 to Nov. 13, giving merchants 24 extra days, which sellers said was exactly enough time to realize how much they had not done.
The change appeared in a Seller Central update, according to an agency that tracks the platform. Black Friday falls on Nov. 27 and Cyber Monday on Nov. 30, leaving two weeks between the new deadline and the event, a period known in the industry as "the fourth quarter of the fourth quarter."
Before submitting, sellers must clear several checks, including resolving account health warnings and fixing deals flagged as suppressed or at risk. "I have three deals flagged at risk," said Tamsin Oyelaran, who sells silicone baking mats from a garage in Fort Wayne, Ind. "It doesn't say at risk of what. I think it's me."
Ms. Oyelaran said she spent the first week of the extension reading the requirements, the second week rereading them and the third week opening a support case titled "Re: Re: Re: deal."
- Panic
- Relief
| Period | Panic | Relief |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 20 | 96 | 2 |
| Oct 23 | 41 | 60 |
| Oct 27 | 38 | 52 |
| Oct 31 | 44 | 40 |
| Nov 4 | 61 | 22 |
| Nov 8 | 83 | 9 |
| Nov 13 | 100 | 0 |
Source: The Daily SKU Seller Wellness Desk; 412 sellers, self-reported, most after 2 a.m.
"An extension is a gift, the way a second dentist appointment is a gift."
Sellers who missed October's warehouse inbound cutoffs face a second question: whether the inventory behind their deal is in Amazon's warehouses or merely in a truck that believes in them. Agencies advised confirming stock before promising 30 percent off a product that is currently somewhere in Ohio.
Agencies have also urged sellers to start advertising early so deal listings gain traction. One seller said he began advertising his Black Friday deal in July, before he had a deal, a product or a company, and that the early results were "directionally encouraging."
Ms. Oyelaran submitted her deal at 11:58 p.m. and received an automated reply thanking her for her patience, which she said she had not offered.
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Riffing on: Amazon Black Friday deals deadline extended to November 13, My Amazon Guy