When it comes to selling products online, there are a lot of options available. There are several different sites, each with its own pros and cons. However, one of the most popular sites out there right now is Amazon. It’s the third largest website in the world and has a user base that spans almost every country on Earth.
This makes it an excellent opportunity for e-commerce businesses to sell their products, no matter where their target customer base lives. However, many people shy away from using Amazon as a sales channel because they think it’s too competitive or there aren’t enough potential customers to make it worth their while.
But this couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, as of Q1 2018, Amazon fulfillment services have more than 575 million active users!
See: The Complete Guide on How to Sell and Buy Stuff on Facebook Marketplace
Amazon is a digital marketplace with a variety of services. Amazon sellers can list their products as either individual listings or as a catalogue. You may want to sell your product on Amazon because it has an enormous user base and is known for its trustworthiness. Sellers pay a commission on each sale, but the site has so many users that it can be profitable.
With over 360 million active users and more than 130 million Prime members, the Amazon platform offers e-commerce sellers numerous benefits. From traffic and visibility to ease of selling, operating your own online store through Amazon provides you with numerous advantages you may not get from other websites or marketplaces.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about selling on Amazon as an e-commerce seller, from setting up your account to understanding all the different pricing options available to you as a seller.
What is Amazon Marketing?
Amazon Marketing is an online marketing strategy that can be used to grow your business. It includes all the marketing activities that you use to create awareness and generate leads or sales for your business. Amazon Marketing is focused on increasing your Amazon sales, leads, conversion rates, and ranking.
For e-commerce businesses, marketing usually involves generating traffic to the store. Then, once the visitors are on the site, you want to get them to purchase something from you.
You can use email marketing, PPC (pay-per-click) ads, social media, and more to get people to your site. Once they’re there, you need to keep them engaged and get them to buy something.
How to Sell on Amazon: Step by step instructions
- Sign up for an Amazon Seller Account: The first thing you need to do is sign up for an account on Seller Central. You can do this by clicking the “Become a Seller” button at sellercentral.amazon.com and following the prompts. You can also click the “Sell on Amazon” button on your homepage if you’re already logged in.
- Select a Marketplace Category: Once you’ve set up your Seller Central account, you’ll be prompted to select a marketplace category. This is the same selection process you would go through to create a listing on the Amazon website. You’ll want to select a category that’s relevant to your product, but also one that has a decent demand and low competition.
- Create your Listings: Once you’ve selected your marketplace category, you’ll move on to creating your listings. This is where you’ll enter all the details about your product, like the title, description, images, price, and shipping information.
Should You Sell on Amazon?
Selling on Amazon is a great way to make money from home, but it’s not for everyone. In order to set yourself up for success, you’ll want to make sure that you meet a few prerequisites first. First and foremost, you’ll need to be logged into your Amazon account and logged into Seller Central.
You’ll also need to have created a Seller Central account, which you can do by clicking the “Become a Seller” button at sellercentral.amazon.com and following the prompts. Next, you’ll want to make sure you have a valid credit card and valid bank account.
While Amazon will accept debit cards, they prefer to work with credit cards because they incur fewer fees. Finally, you’ll want to make sure that you have plenty of inventory. You don’t want to start selling something and then run out!
Establishing Your Brand on Amazon
One of the biggest advantages of selling on Amazon is its trustworthiness. Customers are much more likely to purchase from Amazon than from a random website or platform. In order to take advantage of this, you’ll want to brand your Amazon Seller Central account and product listings as much as you can.
First, make sure your Seller Central account name is recognizable and easy to remember. Next, make sure that your product listings are branded as well. Include pictures of your logo on the products, if possible, or otherwise brand your listings as much as you can.
Decide Which Product(s) to Sell
Once you’ve signed up for a Seller Central account and selected a marketplace category, the next step is deciding which product or products to sell. You’ll want to select a product that’s in high demand, with low competition and a good profit margin.
The best way to choose a product is to go to a few different marketplaces, like eBay or Etsy, and browse the top-selling products in your category. Once you’ve found a product that seems like a good fit, take a look at the seller’s reviews and competition to get a better idea of whether it would be a good product to sell.
Finding the Right Suppliers
Once you’ve determined which products to sell, you’ll want to find the right suppliers. Suppliers are the companies from which you’ll be purchasing your product. You’ll want to find suppliers that meet your quality standards and adhere to your price requirements.
There are a few different ways to find suppliers, including cold calling, searching online, and using a directory like the ones provided by the Sourcing at Amazon Seller Central account.
Once you’ve found a supplier that meets your requirements, you’ll want to sign a supplier agreement with them. This way, both you and the supplier are protected.
Launching and Managing Your Products on Amazon
Once you’ve signed a supplier agreement and received your first shipment of products, it’s time to get them listed on Amazon and in front of customers. You can do this in one of two ways: Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) or Managed Shipping.
FBA allows you to send your products to Amazon’s fulfillment center and have them handle shipping, customer service, and everything in between. Managed Shipping, on the other hand, allows you to ship products to your customers yourself.
Once your products have been listed, you’ll want to market those listings as much as possible. You can do this by creating a marketing budget and using PPC ads, social media, and email marketing campaigns to drive traffic to your products.
Conditions for Selling on Amazon
Once you’ve set up your Seller Central account and launched your product listings, you’ll be ready to start making sales. However, before you can do that, you’ll need to make sure that your account is in good standing. Here are a few things you’ll want to be aware of before selling on Amazon.
Amazon reserves the right to remove your account at any time. In order to prevent this, you’ll want to make sure that you’re following the Amazon policies and selling guidelines. You can check your account health on the Amazon account health page. If you see any issues, you can click “Improve Your Account Health” to get back on track.
Key Things to Know as an Amazon Seller
Once you’ve set up your Seller Central account and are ready to start selling, there are a few key things you’ll want to keep in mind as an Amazon seller. Amazon may decide to remove your account.
This can happen if your account doesn’t meet their policies or guidelines, or if you’re selling products that pose a risk to customers. Make sure that you’re always following the rules, and if you aren’t, try to correct the problem as soon as possible.
Once you’ve set up your account and started selling, it’s important to maintain good customer relationships and keep your product listings up to date. This will help you retain customers, and keep them coming back for more.
Is Amazon Marketing Worth It?
Amazon is the world’s largest online marketplace, and its user base is growing every day. That makes it a great place to sell your products and generate sales. But before you dive in headfirst, you’ll want to make sure that you’re prepared for the work that selling on Amazon entails.
What Does Selling on Amazon Look Like?
The selling process on Amazon is entirely online, so you don’t have a storefront or a physical location to which customers can come and shop. Amazon customers will use the website to search for products they’re interested in buying using a number of filters, including price range, brand, colour, and specific product features like size and number of USB ports.
If a customer clicks on your product, they’ll be brought to a page that shows what it looks like and what other customers have said about it. That page will also include information about the product, including its size, material, and colour.
Customers can also click “add to cart” to purchase the item, at which point they will be redirected to a checkout page where they can enter their payment information and confirm the purchase.
How to Set Up an Amazon Seller Account
In order to sell on Amazon, you’ll need to set up an seller account. Amazon will verify your identity before you can start selling products on the site, so you’ll need to have a verifiable address, a valid Social Security number, and the necessary tax information.
There are two different types of seller accounts you can create on Amazon: a professional seller account and an individual seller account.
The main difference between the two accounts is that professional sellers can charge sales tax to customers in any state, whereas individual sellers are only required to charge sales tax in the state in which they’re located.
Amazon FBA: What it is and How it Works
FBA stands for “Fulfillment by Amazon,” which refers to a service that lets you send products to an Amazon warehouse and have the company ship them out on your behalf.
It’s an excellent option for those selling large quantities of products or who are selling heavy or fragile items that are inappropriate for delivery via regular post. For smaller scale sellers, the service comes at a cost.
You pay a monthly fee to use the Amazon FBA service, and you’re also responsible for paying a small fee per item (based on your product’s weight) whenever you sell something. When you sell items through Amazon FBA, the company pays for all shipping costs.
Is Selling on Amazon Right for You?
Before you decide to sell your product on Amazon, it’s important to consider a few factors. First, you’ll need to be able to produce the product and ship it quickly. If you’re unable to fulfill orders in a timely manner, Amazon will penalize your seller account and may even remove you from their system.
You’ll also need to be able to accurately forecast demand for your product to ensure you have enough to meet customer demand. Finally, you’ll need to have the resources and capital to stock your product in Amazon’s warehouses.
Promote and Advertise Your Product
It’s important to make sure customers know about your products. You can do this by including relevant keywords on your product listing pages. You can also create and run advertisements through Amazon, and you can use Amazon’s advertising platform to promote your products to customers who visit your page.
Amazon’s advertising tool is called Amazon Marketing Services (AMS), and it allows advertisers to promote their products across Amazon’s websites and apps, as well as on external websites.
Amazon’s ad platform is flexible and powerful, and with a little bit of know-how, you can create targeted ads to help promote your products to the right customers. Amazon also offers ad credits to new advertisers, so you can test out their platform with no initial investment.
Amazon’s Selling Options
- Fulfilled by Merchant: This is the most basic option; it allows you to sell your products from your own warehouse through Amazon’s platform. Customers will see your company name, shipping address, and other details when they buy from your store.
- Fulfilled by Amazon: This is similar to FBM, except you store your inventory at an Amazon fulfilment centre. This option is only for the largest sellers and is designed for large-scale sellers who have millions in annual sales.
- Seller Fulfilled Prime: If you have Amazon Prime products, you can opt to extend them to non-Prime members by enrolling them in Seller Fulfilled Prime. This allows you to set your own price and ship products to customers using your own terms.
- Professional Seller: This is the highest level of Amazon seller account, and it is available to sellers with over $100,000 in annual sales on Amazon.
- Seller-Fulfilled Shipping: If you don’t want to use FBA, you can opt to ship your products using Amazon’s Seller-Fulfilled Shipping. You’ll be responsible for delivering your products to an Amazon fulfilment centre and paying for the shipping costs associated with sending your products to customers.
Why Sell on Amazon?
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, and it is home to millions of customers who browse the website daily. If you’re considering selling on Amazon, you’ll need to understand a few key factors that will help you decide whether it’s the right platform for your business.
- Traffic: Amazon attracts more than 360 million visitors each month, and it’s one of the largest search engines in the world. This means that you’ll have access to millions of potential customers if you sell your products on Amazon.
- Trust: Eighty-eight percent of Americans trust Amazon to provide accurate product information, and Amazon has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. This means that customers are far more likely to trust your products if they buy them through Amazon.
- Visibility: Amazon’s search algorithm prioritizes products that are Prime-eligible, and it also pushes products that have been most successful. This means that by selling on Amazon, you have access to Amazon’s algorithms, allowing you to be one of the top products for your chosen keywords.
Price Your Products
There are a few factors to consider when pricing your products. First, you’ll want to consider the product category and competitive landscape. Second, you should know your costs and how much you need to make profit.
Finally, you’ll want to consider Amazon’s pricing rules, including items that are in violation of their policies.
- Product Category and Competitive Landscape: Before deciding how much to charge for a product, it’s important to consider how much other products in your category are selling for. The best way to learn this information is by looking at the product listings of your competitors. When you price your products too high, it can hurt your sales.
- Costs and Profit: The first thing you’ll need to do is determine your cost of production for each product. Next, you’ll need to tally up all of your expenses, including your cost of goods, marketing expenses, and labour costs. You’ll also want to include a profit margin in your calculations.
What You Need to Know About Selling on Amazon
- Shipping: When you sell products on Amazon, you’re responsible for shipping the products to customers. If you use Amazon’s FBA service, you’ll have to store your products in an Amazon fulfilment centre, but if you use Seller-Fulfilled Shipping, you’ll need to find a way to ship products to customers.
- Taxes