Having seen a tip off from a Tamebay reader, it looks like Amazon Lending has taken a great leap forward that’s available to Amazon merchants in the UK.
You’ll be familiar with Amazon Lending: it’s where Amazon will offer you a loan directly in Seller Central. They base what they offer, and the terms, on what they know about you. And if you’re an Amazon seller with even a modest trading track-record they know you pretty well. They should also have a very clear idea of what’s prudent to lend you. Amazon loans, you see, are repaid directly from your Amazon sales with instalments taken before your regular disbursements.
As our seller says, as of this week, he’s been given a great many more options when it comes to what he can borrow. Previously he had a credit limit maximum he could draw on and 6 months to pay it back. When he logged in this week he saw many more flexible options on what he could borrow and also different repayment periods too. As we understand it, interest rates too can vary depending on borrower.
Needless to say, other services out there offer similar facilities, notably iwoca and PayPal. But in many ways Amazon’s offering is the most interesting because it knits merchants ever more closely into the Amazon ecosystem.
So who might use such a service? Well, it will depend on the terms of the loan but it’s ideal for a large bit of capital investment in growing your business or its capacity. It can also be vital for a business to be able to draw on well priced credit at a moment’s notice to take advantage of an opportunity arising. When sourcing stock, it can be some time between buying it in and selling it on. A loan in these circumstances can bridge the gap.
Have you used any of these lending services? And were they useful.
One Response
Have previously used amazon lending a few times. Decent amount offered, low interest rate far below what the bank would charge.
And the repayment meaning a month after due date to come up with the money from sales.
A growing business has little to fear.
Not been offered a new loan for a while, last one paid off in time early this year.
Perhaps could get a new one offered and buy new stock for Christmas.