In today’s post, we will go through the best Amazon Seller tips and the most common mistakes to avoid.
What Kind of Products Should You Sell on Amazon?
Identifying the products you want to sell on Amazon is a difficult and important task. To do this, you must undertake a market research carefully and choose a product that has at least half of the following features:
- Excellent margins
- Low/moderate competition
- Small and lightweight
- Has a steady demand throughout the year
- Does not suffer from seasonality
- Can sell at least 10 units every day
Something you should keep in mind is to never chase a product that takes part in a highly saturated market. You will have a tough time fighting the well-established brands and also, it will be hard for you to get enough visibility to drive traffic and sales to your products.
You also need to consider to choose your product with careful consideration and research, other than just randomly entering the market. Every single decision you make in your Amazon account must be backed with logic and research. So, after getting that out of the way, let’s dive into the growing world of Amazon Seller Central.
What is Amazon Seller Central?
Amazon Seller Central is an online platform which allows pretty much anyone to become a retailer on Amazon. By using Seller Central, you can become an online seller without having to go through things like handling payments, the design and maintenance of a personal website, or even having to process returns like most e-commerce stores.
So, if you are planning to sell on Amazon, your journey needs to start with Seller Central. There is no other way to go about it.
On top of that, with the Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) model, becoming an Amazon seller has never been this easy. All you need to do is send your inventory to Amazon and they will take care of the rest.
Therefore, it is recommended that you take some time to understand the complexity of Amazon Seller Central before you start the journey of the seller.
Decide which way To Sell Your Products
Generally speaking, there are two ways to sell your products on Amazon.You can either do it by yourself or go for the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program.
In the first case, you need to list your products on Amazon and whenever you receive an order, you just ship them. Yet, on top of this this, you algo acquire the responsibilities of processing refunds and returns, providing customer service, and making sure that the products are delivered on time.
On the other hand, the FBA model is where you let Amazon do all of the mentioned tasks. Overall, all you need to do is to put a price tag and ship your products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers and let the world’s largest e-commerce union undertake the rest. When you receive an order for a product, Amazon picks, packs, and ships it to the customer with the help of its infrastructure. It also processes refunds and provides customer support, thus allowing you to focus on the important matters of your business.
Amazon FBA Fees
Needles to say, that these features have a price tag on them, which are known as Amazon FBA fees. They are in fact, the fees that you pay per unit and it depends on things like the dimensions and weight of the product. So, before you make any decision, you should definitely check the pros and cons of these two methods.
How much Capital Do You Need to Start an Amazon Business?
This mainly depends on the origin of your products and the shipping method you choose to deliver them. There are three primary ways you can go about selling the inventory for your business:
Manufacturers: You contact the main company itself, buy the products at a wholesale price and then resell it on Amazon for a certain profit. However, this option often requires some investment since companies are usually interested in doing business with those parties who can take on large volumes.
Retail Outlets: This is the utmost popular way to do business on Amazon. You simply need to go to any retail store, buy the items in bulk at a discounted price and then sell it on Amazon.
Starting Your Own Brand: This means you will be designing and developing your own products, and getting them manufactured. You will be responsible for its branding, quality testing, and all other operational aspects before the items enter the market. The good thing here, is that all the profits you make will be yours while leaving the manufacturer with no rights over the brand.
Amazon Seller Central: Dos and Don’ts
We gathered a few “must” Amazon seller tips, while you work on Amazon Seller Central. These will help you become a better seller while also watching out for potential mistakes that other sellers make.
Amazon Seller Central Dos
Work On Your Product Listings
Imagine you have a high-quality product that has the potential to do wonders in the market. However, if the description of your product is not attractive and is poorly written, then the chances of selling those products on Amazon will be fewer. Hence, a major suggestion would be to spend some smart time in filling up the product information fields.
Amazon Seller Central Don’ts:
Do not give Expensive/Late Shipping
Nothing backs up faster a customer more than charging high shipping fees. For online shoppers, shipping is absolutely critical and as a seller, you must not overcharge them for the same. Reports say, that six out of 10 shoppers leave their carts due to shipping fees. On top of that, you should also make sure that your orders are always delivered on time.
Do not Purchase Reviews
While reviews are important to generate future sales, you must not make the mistake of purchasing them. In recent years, Amazon has taken extreme actions to stop these fake reviews and make sure that all the testimonials that follow a product on its marketplace are authentic and honest.Instead, you can use Amazon Early Reviewer Program, PPC ads, and social media promotion to generate traffic to your page and get natural reviews.
Failing to Understand Amazon fees and charges
One of the most common mistakes that sellers make is failing to understand how Amazon charges them for the services provided. When this happens, their cost estimation and margin calculations go out of control. So, before you start your using Seller Central, reckon your costs and margins carefully. Also, consider additional charges like advertising and branding budget, referral fees, and anything else that may play a role in your profits.
Major Takeaways
Overall, the best way to make the optimize your time spend on Amazon Seller Central is by taking into consideration all the Amazon seller tips we mentioned in this post. As you make some progress , you will get to know more features that could or not adapt to your business needs.
We hope you liked this post and as always, leave any question on the comments section below and we’ll kindly answer!
