Amazon vendors often find themselves feeling like small fish in the enormous marketplace ocean. There's a startling statistic that explains why: a single Amazon Vendor Manager can be responsible for up to 3,000 accounts simultaneously. This isn't a typo—it's the reality of Amazon's operational scale that creates significant challenges for brands selling through the Vendor Central platform.
To put this in perspective, most specialized Amazon agencies don't assign more than 20 clients per account manager. The contrast is stark and illuminates why so many Amazon vendors feel their concerns fall on deaf ears. When you do the math, it's not hard to understand the communication breakdown. If each of those 3,000 vendors emails their manager just once a week, that's approximately 600 emails landing in the manager's inbox every single working day—all from brands desperately seeking a sliver of attention.
The Reality of Amazon Vendor Management: A Numbers Game
Understanding Amazon's Vendor Manager Workload
The Amazon Vendor Central relationship was once considered the gold standard for brands selling on the platform. Being invited to become a vendor—where Amazon purchases your products wholesale and sells them directly—was seen as validation of your brand's potential. However, the reality behind the scenes tells a different story.
With the 3,000:1 ratio of vendors to managers, personalized attention becomes mathematically impossible. Even if a Vendor Manager worked non-stop for eight hours handling only vendor communications, they would have less than a minute to dedicate to each account per day. This creates an environment where only the largest, most profitable vendors receive meaningful human interaction.
For context, specialized Amazon agencies typically maintain a ratio of 20 clients per manager, allowing for several hours of dedicated attention per client each week. This stark contrast explains why vendors often feel like they're shouting into the void when trying to communicate through Amazon Vendor Central channels.
What is "The Ice Machine"? Amazon's Automated Negotiation Process
How "The Ice Machine" Processes Small Vendors
Former Amazon Vendor Manager Kara Babb (白绮君) revealed an internal process that perfectly encapsulates the vendor experience—something Amazon employees call "The Ice Machine." This term refers to the automated negotiation system that processes smaller vendors (typically brands with annual sales under $10 million) without significant human oversight.
Much like an actual ice machine churns out identical cubes, this automated system processes vendor negotiations in a standardized, impersonal manner. Each vendor becomes just another "cube of ice" moving through the system, with little regard for their unique circumstances or challenges. The algorithm-driven approach focuses primarily on maximizing Amazon's margins while minimizing the need for human intervention.
From Amazon's perspective, automation isn't just efficient—it's necessary. When managing 600 simultaneous negotiations, no team could possibly provide personalized attention to each one. However, this efficiency comes at a significant cost to vendor relationships and satisfaction.
Why Amazon Vendors Feel Ignored: The Consequences
The CRAP Designation: When Amazon Won't Buy Your Products
The frustration vendors experience is palpable and sometimes boils over in concerning ways. Kara Babb shared that she even received death threats from vendors—likely extreme attempts to confirm whether an actual human was involved in their negotiations at all. While such reactions are inexcusable, they highlight the deep frustration many vendors feel when trapped in "The Ice Machine."
Beyond emotional responses, the business consequences are substantial. Automated negotiations often fail to account for seasonal fluctuations, product-specific considerations, or market changes that might warrant flexibility. This rigid approach can lead to vendors being designated as "CRAP"—Amazon's internal acronym for "Cannot Realize A Profit"—which effectively means Amazon will no longer purchase certain products because they don't meet profitability thresholds.
For vendors, this designation can be devastating, especially when it affects core products or comes without warning or explanation. The lack of communication channels to appeal or discuss these decisions further compounds the feeling of powerlessness many Amazon vendors experience.
1P vs 3P: Understanding Your Options on Amazon
Benefits of the Amazon 3P Seller Model
The challenges of the vendor relationship have led many brands to reconsider their Amazon strategy, with many migrating from the Vendor (1P) model to the Seller (3P) model. As a third-party seller, brands maintain more control over pricing, inventory, and customer relationships, albeit with increased operational responsibilities.
The 3P model allows brands to set their own prices, manage their inventory directly, and communicate with customers through Amazon's messaging system. Perhaps most importantly, it gives brands access to valuable data that isn't typically shared with vendors. This information can be crucial for making informed business decisions and optimizing product listings.
Limitations for Strategic Vendors
However, not all vendors have the luxury of choice. Larger vendors or those with strategically important products often find themselves locked into the 1P relationship. Amazon has been known to threaten to shut down seller accounts if these vendors attempt to transition to the 3P model. This creates a paradoxical situation where Amazon may simultaneously deem certain products as "CRAP" while preventing the brand from selling those same products as a third-party seller.
The Hybrid Model: Combining 1P and 3P for Maximum Advantage
For vendors seeking the best of both worlds, a hybrid selling model has emerged as a potential solution. This strategy involves maintaining a vendor relationship for certain products while selling others as a third-party seller. According to Jed Rawson, who has been advocating for this approach since 2016, the hybrid model allows brands to leverage the advantages of both systems.
Through the hybrid model, brands can maintain the prestige and visibility of the vendor relationship for their core products while enjoying the flexibility and control of the seller platform for seasonal items, new product launches, or lower-margin offerings. This approach requires careful management and a deep understanding of Amazon's policies, but it can provide significant advantages for brands that can successfully implement it.
The hybrid strategy also offers a buffer against the unpredictability of vendor negotiations. If certain products are deemed unprofitable by Amazon's algorithms, having an established seller account provides an alternative channel to continue selling those items without interruption.
3 Expert-Backed Strategies for Amazon Vendors
Navigating the complexities of Amazon's vendor system requires expertise and strategic thinking. Here are three approaches recommended by industry experts:
Expert Insight: Kara Babb on Amazon Vendor Relations
Understanding the full picture is essential for vendors trying to make sense of Amazon's decisions. Kara Babb, with her experience as a former Vendor Manager, helps brands understand the internal logic behind Amazon's actions. By gaining insight into how decisions are made, vendors can better position themselves for successful negotiations and avoid common pitfalls that trigger automated rejections.
Expert Insight: Martin Heubel on Navigating AVN Challenges
For vendors struggling in what Kara calls "AVN hell"—being processed through "The Ice Machine"—Martin Heubel offers specialized guidance. His expertise focuses on helping smaller vendors maximize their potential within the constraints of automated systems. This includes strategies for improving product profitability metrics, enhancing content to increase conversion rates, and structuring offers in ways that are more likely to receive favorable algorithmic treatment.
Expert Insight: Jed Rawson on Hybrid Selling Models
Jed Rawson specializes in helping brands leverage the hybrid model effectively. With years of experience dating back to 2016, he provides insights into balancing 1P and 3P operations to maximize visibility, profitability, and control. His approach helps brands maintain the benefits of the vendor relationship while mitigating its limitations through strategic use of the seller platform.
Where to Find Support: Communities for Amazon Vendors
One of the most valuable Amazon vendor resources is the collective wisdom of peers facing similar challenges. Two communities stand out as particularly valuable for vendors seeking support and information:
The Amazon Vendor Central Group (AVCG) on LinkedIn has emerged as a vibrant community where vendors share experiences, strategies, and updates about Amazon's ever-changing policies. This professional network provides opportunities to connect with both current vendors and former Amazon employees who can offer insider perspectives.
For those who prefer anonymity or a more casual discussion format, the VendorCentral community on Reddit offers a space to ask questions, share frustrations, and discuss strategies without corporate oversight. The platform's anonymity often leads to more candid discussions about the challenges and workarounds vendors have discovered.
These communities provide more than just emotional support—they serve as early warning systems for policy changes, sources of tactical advice, and networking opportunities with potential partners or service providers who understand the unique challenges vendors face.
Conclusion: Don't Navigate Amazon Vendor Challenges Alone
The Amazon vendor landscape is filled with unique challenges that can make even experienced e-commerce professionals feel overwhelmed. From "The Ice Machine" that processes smaller vendors with algorithmic efficiency to the complex dynamics of hybrid selling models, success requires both strategic thinking and specialized knowledge.
The most important takeaway for Amazon vendors is simple: don't go at it alone. Whether you're a small brand being churned through automated negotiations or a larger vendor trying to optimize your relationship with Amazon, seeking expert guidance and community Amazon vendor support can make the difference between frustration and success.
By understanding the structural limitations of Amazon's vendor management system, exploring alternative selling models when appropriate, and connecting with knowledgeable resources, vendors can transform their Amazon business from a source of frustration to a growth engine for their brand.
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