How to sell on Amazon

You may already know that many retailers sell more on Amazon than they do through their own website.

So how do they do that? And how can you do the same?

How can you sell on Amazon?

If you are not already on Amazon, you can take the first steps today:

(1) You will need to sign up for a Professional Account, it's not expensive.

(2) If the items are already listed by others on Amazon then just say how many you have and how much you want to charge.

(3) If your items are not already listed, then add them to the Amazon catalogue.

(4) Wait for the sales to come in!

(5) Fulfil your orders (fast) and then wait for the payment from Amazon. They settle every couple of weeks.

1. The Amazon Catalogue already has millions of listed products in it that you can sell.

Amazon works on a catalogue basis. If your products are already in it then you can be selling in just a day or so in most cases.

You'll find that every product is given an "ASIN" number, it's an Amazon reference number and helps to identify products in conjunction with ISBN and EAN references.

2. Amazon have 12 marketplaces you could be selling on.

Amazon has marketplaces in the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, India, China, Mexico & Australia.

Most of them are very easy to set up, especially the European ones. China and India are a little more involved due to local banking, tax and shipping obligations.

3. FBA or Fulfilled By Amazon can let you ship locally from Amazon Fulfilment Centres.

FBA can be very cost effective and convenient. You ship your items in bulk to the Amazon Fulfilment Centre, Amazon then take care of the fulfilment.

It often reduces the costs of delivery - so it's worth checking out.

4. Restricted and Gated Categories need Amazon's approval.

When you sell on Amazon you may find that the category you list in is restricted. To get access you need to ask Seller Central for permission.

You'll find that areas such as Perfumes are restricted, it's to ensure Amazon can ensure that all their sellers are genuine.

5.  Winning the Amazon Buy Box can be very important.

Winning the Buy Box is a key goal for many retailers. To do so you need a good Amazon trading history, fulfilment reputation and fantastic customer service.

Winning the Buy Box in some categories, such as media, requires you to be using FBA.

6.  Watch your Seller Metrics.

Third party performance gets monitored by Amazon very closely. They don't want poor quality sellers spoiling their reputation.

You need to ensure that your Order Defect Rate is less Than 1%; your Order Cancellation Rate is Less Than 2.5%; and your Late Shipment Rate is Less Than 4%.

7. Don't end up overselling on Amazon.

If you promote and item that you then can't fulfil, you will get penalised heavily.

It is therefore vital that you have excellent stock control processes in place. Real-time stock management is a must for all Amazon Sellers.

8. Keeping your prices competitive.

Unless you have your own specific products then you will find that others are selling the same items as you. In those cases you'll need to reprice automatically to make the sales you need.

Repricing automatically is a must, but it doesn't mean that you can't manage your margin.

9. Amazon SEO & Listing Optimisation.

To get your items found on Amazon you need to create optimised product listings. It's easy to get this wrong if you have not done it before.

If you get it wrong then your sales will be poor. Examine your titles and product descriptions carefully - and look at how the competition are promoting their products.

10. Dealing with Complaints.

You have to deal with feedback from your customers fast, if you don't then your Amazon account could be suspended. You need to provide a customer service that Amazon approve of.

If feedback is unfair you can appeal to Amazon, but remember the customer is king in the eyes of Amazon.

11. Amazon Commissions.

When you sell an item, Amazon will charge a fee based on the category it is listed in. Around 12% or so, is pretty typical.

There is also a fixed Closing Fee in some categories. In the Books Category a 50p closing fee is charged.

You'll fid that commissions from 8% to 15%.

12. Being a supplier to Amazon's Vendor Central.

Manufacturers and distributors can manage their sales to Amazon via Vendor Central.

You still have some control over the listing quality and the SEO - but remember Amazon are the retailer, not you.

Where are you in your online sales journey?

Wherever you are - Amazon is a great sales opportunity.

1. Are you ready to sell more? With 12 country specific sites you really can sell more, a lot more.

2. Are you at product launch? Getting sales established with a new product launch on Amazon can be extremely rewarding.

3. Are you already selling online? Extending your online sales into Amazon makes perfect sense.

4. Are you ready to sell on Amazon? You don't need to be an online expert to get selling on Amazon.

How to start Selling on Amazon

If you want to start selling on Amazon then you have a lot to learn. So it makes sense to get help.  Your online business will make a bigger impact, and make it quicker with the right Amazon experts involved.

The information we provide here is pitched as an Amazon for Beginners type guide, with answers to frequently asked questions. So have a look over. If you can do it all yourself, great! But we always find that our hands on help approach makes a huge difference.

We offer a range of Amazon consultancy services to get you started. Perhaps you have your own product that you want to launch, or perhaps you have access to a great stock list from a supplier.

We can guide you through how to get up and running whatever your exact circumstances.

Setting up an Amazon account is straightforward, they'll need some basic business information from you, such as Bank Account details, VAT number, Company Registration etc. Nothing onerous so don't delay, it's easy to take the first step.

There are a number of easy steps, like this one, that we can guide you through, step by step.

The best thing to do initially is to carry out some Amazon product research.

Are your items already on Amazon? Or are there items that are a similar to your new product?

If there are existing listings on Amazon that you can see, ask yourself: How well are they ranking, and what sort of sales are they generating?

First you'll need an Amazon Sellers account

In particular you'll need to sign up for a Pro Sellers or Professional Seller account with Amazon.

A Professional Seller Account is only £25 per month (ex VAT), so it's not going to break the bank.

If you are not setting up a business, or have a business already, then you can sign up for an individual account.

Amazon Sellers, using Individual Seller Accounts, get charged 75p per item, plus commission.

You will see that individual accounts are only for very modest sales levels.

An individual account is fine if you are still unsure about getting started properly. But, you are much better advised to opt for a professional seller account.

Once you register with Amazon you'll get access to Amazon Seller Central and this is where you control the Amazon Global Selling marketplace, and where you manage your Amazon listings.

In short: to get your Amazon business moving you'll need an Amazon seller account, so what are you waiting for?

Amazon have taken away a great many barriers for retailers who want to build an online business, so for the modest cost of just £25 per month you can give it a try - and we're here to help as required.

Should you consider Amazon's FBA?

Fulfilled By Amazon is worth considering.

Basically you ship to an Amazon FBA Warehouse, or Amazon Fulfilment Centre.

That means you have the option to have your products located much more closely to your potential customers.

There is a storage fee, but the costs of the subsequent postage and delivery can be much reduced.

Selling on Amazon FBA can be a pre-requisite to winning the Amazon Buy Box in certain categories, especially fast moving consumer goods.

FBA shipping can seem a little confusing at first and you will need to think through a FBA shipping plan.

An Amazon FBA shipping plan is required to ensure you ship and deliver your items in time to meet the requirements of the Amazon FBA warehouses you are shipping to.

FBA sellers who ship to Amazon late, or early, will get financially penalised. So you need to be organised and book a delivery slot with the Amazon warehouse.

You'll also want to monitor stock levels so that you can replenish when required.

Fulfilment by Amazon FBA requires a bit of number crunching. You have to factor in how much it will cost to move your product to Amazon.

And if your items don't sell it can be costly to have them returned to you, or to have them destroyed. So make sure you start slowly and test the FBA water first.

You'll also find that using an FBA warehouse, or Fulfilment Centre, in a foreign territory, will oblige you to meet local taxes in that country.

On the upside, any delivery problems do not penalise your seller rating. Instead those issues go directly to Amazon instead.

When to use Amazon's Brand Registry

Amazon's Brand Registry was relaunched in early 2018.

This is where you can take some steps to protect your products brand, if you have one.

Once you have registered your brand within Amazon's Brand Registry it can give you greater control over your product listing's quality and accuracy.

We can help with the process of registering your branded items with Amazon, if required.

Private labels can work really well, perhaps you could investigate plastic garden furniture, home furnishings, or kitchen items.

The product select decision should not be rushed, and perhaps buying a small quantity first to see how they sell is a sensible approach.

We'd always recommend you purchase a bar code for each of your private labelled products.

A UPC code or EAN barcode can make things a lot simpler to manage, and it's an increasing requirement to have one on the marketplaces. It will cost a little bit, but it's an important investment for your online business and online store.

Finding the perfect profitable product to sell

Finding the perfect profitable product to sell on Amazon is tricky.

Many successful retailers source products and product from China, opting to brand the items they find as their own, via the Amazon Brand Registry. Such products are often referred to as Private Labelled Product.

This can work well, and it can give you a unique product set to offer.

To bring items into the country you'll need to consider import duty and taxes of course. And you need to look at Freight Forwarders to help manage the process of shipping.

Selling products that have established brand names

Selling products on Amazon isn't a free for all.

You'll find that certain brands do not want third party sellers selling their items on Amazon. They want to protect brand values and the prices closely.

If you are selling established brand names you should check your terms, you might find you are restricted from selling on Amazon, or in some of the countries that Amazon makes it so easy to sell into.

Working out the costs of selling on Amazon

Finding a profitable product will require you to understand Amazon's seller fees.

Amazon provide all the costs that you will incur on their site, but it can be hard to see all of Amazons fees clearly.

You'll find a useful revenue calculator on the Seller Dynamics web pages. It allows you to see net profits for the items you are selling, and to see the Amazon profit you can expect based on your margin requirements.

The Amazon Profit Calculator on the Seller Dynamics pages does not include the monthly subscription fee. But as these monthly fees are pretty modest that isn't a big problem.

It does allow you to factor in sales taxes, such as VAT, and seller fees, as well as the shipping cost.

To calculate Amazon fees you need to know the category the item is in, the final selling price (including taxes and shipping), and you'll also need to know if the item is also subject to a closing fee.

Unlike eBay, there is no listing fee, just a selling fee and the monthly fee.

Getting your Amazon product listing right

Once you have carried out your product research and decided on the items to sell you have some work to do.

You'll need to pull together the product details so that you can create a listing. And you'll want to optimise that listing so that it can be seen when potential customers search for it on Amazon. We can advise, and do the work, to ensure that Amazon SEO activities result in great sales.

Amazon listing optimisation requires that the product categories your items are listed in are correct.

Products on Amazon need to be listed where other similar items are, so don't list in the wrong place.

If the category is restricted, then apply for permission from Seller Central. Don't try to circumvent the process, it won't work, and it is likely to backfire on you.

To get your products listed so that they are fully optimised, you'll need to think about the keywords. Use these keywords to create your Amazon Product title, Your Amazon Product Description and the bullet points.

And of course Amazon product photography is important. Your product needs to be on a white background and be greater than 1000 px wide.

To get your Amazon product listing so that it can be found, and so you can be sure of selling your product, will require a little hard work and a lot of detail. We help a lot of retailers sell more on Amazon by doing exactly that for them.

Your feedback is critical

Once you have established sales you'll find that your Amazon revenue becomes a valuable income stream to your overall business. In many cases it becomes the vast majority of your online business income.

When that becomes the case, you will want to protect it.

That is why watching the number of negative feedbacks is vital. Get too many, or fail to deal properly with the few you do get, will result in an Amazon Suspension or outright ban.

Amazon's brand is important to them, not surprisingly. If you as a Third Party Seller on Amazon are damaging that brand, then they will get rid of you fast.

If you are an Amazon Seller that has been suspended we can help with the Amazon Appeal process. But it is vital that you are able to put in the steps to make sure you don't get suspended again. Typically stock control is the number one culprit - so make sure you have an Amazon Seller App to manage your marketplace sales. Check out Seller Dynamics if you don't have something that is properly managing your listings, sales, stock and fulfilment.

When to use Amazon Sponsored Ads

When it comes to selling online many retailers are already familiar with Pay Per Click (PPC).

You can also use PPC on Amazon.

If you want to advertise on Amazon make sure you do it with a strategy in mind.

Is it to establish sales of a new product or product line? Do you need to move stock that is languishing at the back of an Amazon warehouse somewhere?

If you need help in running your Amazon Ad campaign let us know. We have experience in running Amazon Sponsored Ads and can ensure that you take a sensible approach.

Retail arbitrage - working on the margins

You might here about retail arbitrage. This is the technique of watching for any price ambiguities across online marketplaces. Basically buying an item at a cheaper price at the point of fulfilling an order.

Typically you buy in a hyper market, or possibly eBay etc, and then fulfill your Amazon order with it. Depending on your nerves, you only buy the product once an order is placed.

For us that is a little too risky, and it is not something we normally get involved in advising on.

There are easier ways to find products to sell online than continually managing a retail arbitrage business. That said we are sure many make a successful career out of it.