Selling on Amazon has become one of the most popular ways to start an online business. With millions of potential customers visiting the platform every day, it provides an unparalleled opportunity for sellers to reach a global audience. However, understanding how to begin selling on Amazon can be difficult for newcomers. Hence, this guide will walk you through the steps you need to take to start your Amazon selling journey successfully.
How to Begin Selling on Amazon
Amazon has revolutionized the way people buy and sell products online. For many entrepreneurs, the platform offers a relatively low-risk way to enter the world of e-commerce. Whether you’re looking to create a new revenue stream or expand an existing business, knowing how to begin selling on Amazon is crucial. This blog post will provide you with the essential steps to get started, from setting up your account to optimizing your listings and managing your inventory.
Steps to Begin Selling on Amazon
Here are the steps involved in selling on Amazon.
Choose Your Selling Plan
Amazon offers two main selling plans: Individual and Professional. The Individual plan charges $0.99 per sale, while the Professional plan charges a monthly subscription fee of $39.99, but offers more tools and benefits.
Remember that each plan includes access to a set of optional programs. You can modify or terminate your selling plan whenever you need to. Amazon also charges a referral fee for each item sold, and additional selling fees may apply in certain situations. Remember that extra costs may be associated with certain optional tools and programs.
Check out Amazon’s selling plan
Set Up Your Amazon Seller Central Account
After selecting your selling plan, you will need to register with Amazon and set up a Seller Central account. You can use the email associated with your Amazon customer account or create a new account using a separate business email address.
Before you create your Seller Central account, ensure you have the following:
- Bank account and routing number
- Internationally chargeable credit card
- Government-issued ID
- Tax information
- Phone number
Create your Amazon seller account here
Configure your Seller Central account
After finishing the seller registration process, you will gain access to your Seller Central account. Seller Central serves as your main platform for selling on Amazon. Through Seller Central, you can list and price your products, oversee your inventory, and fulfill customer orders. Additionally, Seller Central provides various tools for creating promotions and coupons, tracking payments and expenses, and more. If needed, you can also add other users to your account to assist with specific tasks.
Before you start selling, you will have t to configure your Seller Central account for your business. Ensure you review, confirm, or adjust the following:
- Public seller profile
- Payment and business information
- Shipping and returns settings
- Tax information and settings
- Notification preferences
- Login settings
- User permissions
Enroll your brand
It’s a good idea to enroll your eligible brand in Amazon Brand Registry before listing your products. This will make it easier to link your products with your brand name. Brand Registry is free and offers sellers various additional selling benefits and protection tools.
After enrolling your brand:
- You will have increased control over the information displayed on your product detail pages.
- You can access free tools such as A+ Content, Stores, Manage Your Experiments, and Brand Analytics to expand your audience and boost sales.
- Benefit from automated brand protections and additional reporting options.
Click here to enroll your Amazon Brand Registry
List Your Products
Once your account is set up, the next step in how to begin selling on Amazon is to list your products.
Understand the Product Detail Page
When you shop on Amazon, you’ll come across the product detail page, where you can find all the necessary information about an item. If multiple sellers are offering the same product, Amazon consolidates their offers onto a single product detail page to simplify the process of finding, comparing, and purchasing items for customers.
Boost your listings and drive sales
Ensure Your Products Are Safe and Compliant
Customers trust that they can always buy with confidence in the Amazon store. Products offered for sale in the Amazon store must comply with all laws and regulations, as well as Amazon policies. Before you start the listing process, make sure you understand our Product safety and Restricted products policies.
Find or obtain a product ID (GTIN)
To match a seller’s offer with the right product detail page, we primarily rely on a product ID, known as a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN). This ID, often located above or below the product’s barcode on the packaging, helps us accurately link the seller’s offer to the correct product. Amazon sellers most commonly use a UPC as their GTIN, but you may also come across an ISBN, EAN, or JAN on your product.
Sometimes, you may need to get a GTIN for a product from Global Standards 1. In unusual situations, you might need to request a GTIN exemption from Amazon.
Match or create a product listing
You can use the GTIN of a product already listed on Amazon to match your offer to the existing product detail page. If the product is not already on Amazon, you will need to create a new product detail page and add your offer information at the same time.
All sellers can match or create product listings one at a time, while professional sellers have the additional option to match or create listings in bulk. The ability to list a product on Amazon depends on its category, condition, and brand. In some cases, you may need to apply to sell a specific product, category, or brand, and you will be prompted to do so during the listing process.
Price Products
Before establishing prices for your products, it is important to be familiar with the key concepts used to arrange and facilitate pricing in the Amazon store.
- Competitive external price: At major retailers outside of Amazon, we offer the lowest price for an item. We provide competitive external prices to sellers. For your price to be competitive, the total cost of your item, including standard price and shipping, must be equal to or less than the competitive external price.
- Featured Offer: The “Featured Offer” is prominently displayed at the top of a product detail page and includes options to “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart.” To be eligible for the Featured Offer, sellers need to have a competitive price, a Professional selling plan, and offer products in new condition.
- Lowest Amazon price: We provide the current lowest price offered by a seller in the Amazon store. This allows sellers listing a product the chance to match or even beat the price.
Select Your Fulfillment Method
You will be given two basic options for getting customers their stuff:
- You have the option to handle orders yourself by managing your inventory and shipping directly to customers, which is known as merchant-fulfilled shipping (MFN).
- Alternatively, you can choose to send your inventory to Amazon, and we will take care of picking, packing, and delivering products through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). FBA also manages customer service and returns.
Each method has its advantages, and you can determine which one is best for each product you sell. If you are currently a seller, you can also utilize our Revenue Calculator to compare estimates for FBA and your fulfilment method.
Monitor your Performance
To sell on Amazon, it’s necessary to follow all relevant laws and Amazon’s policies. The Account Health dashboard gives you an overview of how well your account meets these policies and performance targets.
Customer Service Performance
Your performance in customer service is assessed through the Order Defect Rate (ODR), which represents the percentage of your orders that exhibit one or more signs of subpar customer service. These indicators may include negative customer feedback or credit card chargebacks. Sellers must uphold an ODR of less than 1%.
Account Health Rating
We offer sellers a summary of their adherence to important Amazon selling guidelines, such as our intellectual property, authenticity, listing, and restricted-product policies. To uphold a ‘Good’ rating, it’s essential to resolve any policy violations indicated on your Account Health dashboard. If your rating falls to ‘At Risk’ or ‘Critical’, there is a possibility that your account could be deactivated.
Shipping Performance
Here are three metrics to help you evaluate the performance of your MFN shipping:
- Late Shipment Rate (LSR): This is the percentage of your seller-fulfilled orders that have a shipping confirmation after their expected shipping date. You should strive to keep it below 4%.
- Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate (CR): This is the percentage of seller-fulfilled orders you cancel. Your aim should be to keep it below 2.5%.
- Valid Tracking Rate (VTR): This is the percentage of packages from your seller-fulfilled orders with a valid tracking number. You should aim to keep it above 95%.
Promote and Advertise Products
To boost your products and brands’ visibility, take advantage of no-cost promotions and pay-per-click advertising. The following options are available to help you reach more customers:
- Generate coupons to showcase on the Amazon Coupons page, in search results, and on product detail pages.
- Offer percentage-off and buy-one-get-one promotions as part of a Featured Offer.
- Implement Lightning Deals and 7-Day Deals for visibility on the Amazon Deals page, especially during shopping events like Prime Day.
- Utilize Sponsored Products ads to highlight a single product, appearing in, alongside, and above customer search results in the Amazon store.
- Leverage Sponsored Brands ads to showcase up to three products, a logo, and a headline, or create a Sponsored Brands campaign with an auto-playing video featuring a single product. These ads prominently appear above, alongside, and below search results.
- Implement Sponsored Display ads featuring a single product, visible both within and outside the Amazon store after a customer has viewed a product detail page or shown interest through browsing behavior.
Get Product Reviews
Here are some tips to increase the likelihood of receiving positive product reviews and ratings from customers:
- Ensure that the product listing accurately represents the item.
- Pack products securely to prevent damage during shipping.
- If you are fulfilling orders yourself, make sure to ship them on time.
- Offer refunds for products returned within 30 days of purchase.
- Respond to customer messages promptly, within 24 hours.
- Provide valid tracking numbers so customers can monitor their orders.
Eligible brands can utilize tools such as Amazon Vine to create reviews for their products. It’s important to be aware of the right and wrong ways to obtain more product reviews and to avoid violating policies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to sell on Amazon?
The cost to sell on Amazon depends on the selling plan you choose. The Individual plan charges $0.99 per item sold, while the Professional plan costs $39.99 per month. Additionally, referral fees and variable closing fees are depending on the product category.
Do I need a business license to sell on Amazon?
While Amazon does not require a business license to start selling, it’s advisable to check local regulations and consider setting up a business entity to protect your assets and gain credibility.
What are the benefits of using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)?
FBA offers several benefits, including Amazon handling storage, packaging, and shipping. It also provides access to Amazon Prime customers and improves your chances of winning the Buy Box, which can increase sales.
How can I improve my product ranking on Amazon?
Improving your product ranking on Amazon involves optimizing your product listings with relevant keywords, maintaining high seller ratings, and generating positive customer reviews. Additionally, competitive pricing and using FBA can also boost your ranking.
Conclusion
Learning how to begin selling on Amazon can open up new opportunities for your business. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can set up your seller account, list your products, optimize your listings, price products, and so on. Remember, success on Amazon requires ongoing effort and adaptation to market trends.
We hope this guide has provided you with a clear path on how to begin selling on Amazon. If you have any questions or experiences to share, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!
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