[ckib16]

Yeah these are really good points @petra. Honestly I don't know what the future is. I lean more towards your interpretation about FBA selling being a short-mid term opportunity. Though I don't think it will just evaporate in the next 5 years.

The thing is - sellers should be using this opportunity to build up a brand by borrowing Amazon's audience while they can. AND simultaneously building their own storefront. But I don't see many talking about that.

I do also agree with @sfifs below that many manufacturers don't want to be bothered with marketing and selling, no matter how easy Amazon makes it. They seem to want to stay in their core competency, which is understandable but probably short-sighted on their part.

[petra]

Will brands matter much,long-term ? In most products, once someone has got a few hundred good reviews(including some in reliable blogs and sites) they are good to go.

Or am I missing something ?