The Ultimate Guide to Selling on Amazon

Selling on Amazon can be quite daunting at first. There is so much to learn and figure out, and it can be intimidating if you don’t have a lot of experience. But if you really want to succeed as an online entrepreneur, adapting to this marketplace is something you’ve got to learn. With over 300 million registered subscribers, Amazon is without a doubt one of the biggest online marketplaces in the world. Sellers who have an established presence on this platform will undoubtedly put themselves in a position to succeed.

And if you want to start selling and start growing as a global eCommerce leader, then you are on the right page. Read this comprehensive guide to learn how to start selling on Amazon by finding winning products. In this article, we will also discuss important techniques on how to make your eCommerce business profitable.

Deciding what to sell on Amazon

Product research is the first thing you should learn when you start learning how to start selling on Amazon. Your product is the heart of your business so choosing the right one will make your store productive and profitable. This is why you need to be careful in choosing the right products to sell on Amazon.

Before setting your account details and creating the product listings, it is crucial to decide what assets you are going to sell. 

So, how do you decide what products to sell? When it comes to deciding what to sell, you have endless possibilities available in the market. However, to be successful, consider the following factors:

• Market: First of all, you need to understand your market and connect with your audience. You must find your niche market and make sure that you can dominate as a seller in this space. If you understand what your market wants and you know how to provide it, you already won half the battle. By focusing on your own niche market instead of battling it out with huge retail giants, you are giving yourself a fighting chance to succeed.

• Demand: There is always a demand for a certain product somewhere. All you have to do is find this demand and fill it. By providing solutions to problems that people have, you can create a demand for your products. Check out the loops and find gaps that others are not able to fill. This is how you can create demand for the products that you sell. 

Try everything to find the gap. Google search for your potential product demand in the market, Check out competitors’ listings, or use tools like ZonBase Chrome Extension to see how the product you choose to sell is performing and whether it’s the best fit for you.

• Competition: If you’re still wondering “can I sell things on Amazon?”, chances are that your hesitation is as a result of the stiff competition on the platform. So, the third factor that you have to consider when selling on Amazon is how to beat the competition. You don’t want to sell in a space that is highly competitive. But you also don’t want to sell in a category with no demand. Finding products with high demand and low competition is the best way to fly under the radar and still be profitable. An excellent way to find the right product without any effort is to use ZonBase hot products tool. It provides you with the best products that are selling high with excellent sales metrics.

• Price: For the price, it is very good practice to aim for a product that isn’t either too costly or too cheap. Costly products are very hard to sell, especially if you are not a big brand. On the other hand, products that are too cheap can also turn off some buyers who are on the upside. You have to look for a product that can bring in a fair amount of profit margin, but doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to procure. Once you get acquainted with selling on Amazon, you can definitely change how you target customers.

• Product size: Here’s something you may not know – the size of your products will directly affect your revenue and profit margin. And as a new seller aiming to be profitable, you should always try to reduce your cost. Shipping cost is crucial as a beginner and choosing small, light products can save your cost considerably.

With all the points discussed above, you can choose those products that are best for you to sell. Consider all the factors and analyze them all to come to the right conclusion.

How to Find the Best Suppliers

Once you have decided what to sell, you need to find the right sellers from whom you can source goods to sell. Buying and selling on Amazon is not so difficult, but you must be willing to go through the stress of sourcing quality products for your store. One option is to manufacture your goods yourself but that will not be a good option to start selling in terms of cost reduction. There are plenty of resources like Alibaba to Aliexpress that you can opt to source your product.

To start selling on Amazon, the first thing to do is to find the suppliers that manufacture your products and contact them. Contact about 3-5 suppliers and take more information. Build a cordial relationship with your suppliers and get as much information as you can. 

As we are going through the most critical phase, we need to ensure that the suppliers are not fishy and are reputed to fulfill their promises. To help you out, here are strategies that you can use to help you weed out the good suppliers from the bad ones.

• Get product samples: Every product may not be the same as shown in the image. So, to sell best you need to feel the products physically. For that, you must collect samples from all the suppliers that you have talked to. It will help you in listing your product and advertising it accordingly. Also, you can decide whether the product you have decided is worth selling to the niche market you have chosen. 

• Read reviews: Reading reviews from other buyers will immensely help you to decide if the supplier is a good fit for you. Plenty of negative reviews shows that they already have a dispute with earlier buyers. That may reoccur in your case also.

• Understand their pricing and terms: Spend plenty of time with the suppliers over the internet. Take to them about the overall business and the terms and conditions of the sales. The more information you get, the more beneficial it is for you. As all the suppliers have different policies and terms, it is more beneficial if you can enquire about factors like minimum order quantity, shipping cost, size of the order, and the frequency of the order. 
• Negotiate about the terms that you are not comfortable with: Some of the conditions may be unreasonable and you may have places where you feel to make adjustments in your favor. You have to go for it and negotiate with the suppliers in this context. If you feel the deal is too much for you, don’t hesitate to say no and move to other options.

• Compare multiple suppliers: As we have already discussed that you have to go for multiple suppliers to find the best deal for you. Go for it and you will have price comparison, feasible terms, and conditions.

How much does it cost to start selling on Amazon?

Before you can start selling on Amazon, there are a variety of fees that you have to pay. Due to the uncertain nature of some of the fees, exact numbers are hard to pin down. However, you can still accurately guess the estimate of these fees. It’s important to understand the structure of fees and the maximum cost that you have to incur.

Let’s take a look into the following fees structure that can help you decide whether selling on this platform is worthy of your time or effort to start:

• Seller Fees: This is the most important cost that you have to incur while selling. If you are an individual seller you have to pay $0.99 per product and if you are a professional seller you have to pay $39.99 per month to start selling on Amazon.

• Referral Fees: Referral fees are product-specific and depend upon the category of the product you sell. That’s why you have to consider what product category to sell. Generally, referral fees range from 8% to 15% of the selling price.

• Shipping Costs: If you sell products on Amazon and want to get positive reviews, you will have to ship orders promptly. So, the shipping fee is one of the most important things you need to take into consideration, especially if you are selling through Amazon FBA. You have to analyze the different shipping plans and compare them with the FBA cost and go for the favorable option. And if you do not sell through FBA, you should still ship orders on time, so factor in shipping fees when fixing product prices. If you sell to prime members, you will have to offer free same-day shipping, so you should also create room for this in your prices.

• Inventory Cost: There are two options that you have to evaluate to calculate what can save your inventory cost. You have to calculate the inventory cost whether you want to store the products yourself or opt for FBA. Anyway, you must ensure that you earn more than you pay for the cost of your product.

• Picking and packing: This is another fee that you have to pay for the picking, packing, and shipping of your products. It can cost you as low as $2.41 per product and the fees go on increasing as the size and weight of your products go on increasing.

• Returns Processing Fees: In some product categories, AMZ charges fees if the customer returns your products.

In addition, AMZ also charges stock removal fees if you want your products to be disposed of or returned back to you and FBA export fees if you want to sell internationally. FBM sellers will only incur seller fees and referral fees but if you decide to sell through Amazon FBA, then you will incur shipping and inventory storage fees alongside all other costs.

You can take a look here for a detailed explanation of how much exactly you get charged for your products to start selling on Amazon.

How to Start Selling on Amazon: 5 Easy Steps 

Learning how to sell stuff on Amazon is described as a tough job, it’s easy to be a seller on Amazon if you follow the exact procedure and methodology. Here are five easy steps that almost all successful sellers follow: 

Step 1: Sign up for a Seller Account

While going for the account setup, you need to choose a seller plan. This is a prerequisite if you want to be a seller on Amazon. There are two seller plans.  

• Individual Seller: You can opt for the individual seller plan if you wish to sell less than 40 items per month. You have to pay a fee of $0.99 per item sold plus other few transaction fees.

• Professional Seller: If you want to sell more than 40 items per month, you must go for the professional seller plan and pay $39.99 per month as seller fees.

Also, make sure that you are familiar with the restricted items. If you are registered in an Individual Selling Account, you won’t be allowed to sell restricted items. It would be advisable to register as a Professional Seller in order to get access to the restricted category.

Step 2: Choose a Business Model

After creating a seller account, the next step to selling on AMZ is to choose a suitable business model. AMZ offers different business models and there’s one for every seller so you’ll definitely find one that suits you. Here’s are the different business models you can choose from.

1. Retail arbitrage: This business model involves sourcing products from physical or online retail stores and then reselling them on Amazon at a markup price. Selling retail arbitrage on Amazon requires very minimal start-up costs and if you’re on a budget, it’s a great option for you.
2. Dropshipping: This is not a regular business model that requires you to carry out product research or product sourcing. As a dropshipper, all you have to do is to get customers to place orders while you forward the orders to suppliers and have them ship directly to the customers.
3. Private Label: Would you rather leverage AMZ’s vast customer base to build your own brand? If yes, then this model is perfect for you. Here. you’ll have to find a profitable product or product category, then send the product details to a trusted manufacturer to manufacture them in your name.
4. Handmade: If you have creative abilities and do not want to put them on hold, you can consider making money from them instead. Sign up for Amazon Handmade to create handcrafted items and sell them on AMZ for a profit. No fees or capital are required, time is the only investment you’ll have to make.
5. Wholesale: This business model is the opposite of the retail arbitrage model. It involves purchasing products in bulk from suppliers and selling them in smaller quantities to retailers or retail arbitrage sellers.

When it comes to starting an eCommerce business, it never follows a one-size-fits-all approach. So, of course, you can choose any of these business models and still make good money on AMZ. But before choosing a business model, you should consider your budget and business goals.

Step 3: List Your Products

Once you get your seller account ready, you now officially get into the real deal. Now you have to make your store ready and list your products to make them sellable.

You can’t go wrong selling clothes on Amazon and the same goes for other categories that appear in the list above. If you dedicate time to product research and use effective product research tools, you can find the best products in each product category in no time. Before listing a product for sale in any category, ensure you check out product reviews and trends. For instance, if you decide to start selling clothes on Amazon, take some time out to see what buyers are searching for and what kind of clothes are trending.

Regardless of the products you decide to sell, ensure you include important product details in your listings and optimize them by including clear titles, descriptions, and bullet points.

If you are an individual seller you have to list each item individually while professional accounts have the privilege to list products in batches. You can list your products under two categories: New products that you are the first one to list and products that are already listed.

Step 3: Manage Your Inventory

After you set up your seller account and list your products, you can check for all aspects of your business on the seller central account. Check for your product orders, update your inventory, and many more.

Every time a customer returns back without being able to order your product being out of stock is a lost opportunity for you. You must take this aspect seriously and manage your inventory properly. Replenish your stock once it is going to be out of stock, mark the margin of safety and find out effective ways to order goods from your supplier so that not a single customer returns empty-handed. 

If your inventory is not moving fast, you can always choose the sponsored ad that can move your product listing above the others and can sell fast.

Step 4: Fulfill Your Order and Ship Them to Your Customers

Once you are done with the toughest part of selling i.e. listing your products and managing your inventory, you have another challenging task to make the product available for the customers. 

There are two options a seller can choose for the fulfillment of the customers’ orders. These fulfillment options are listed below:

• Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM): Under this option, you have to manage all the services like maintaining inventory, packaging, labeling, and shipping products to individual customers. It will cost you a lot and you have to prepare for the warehouse or godown for the products to be stored.

• Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): This is the best method for beginner sellers. With this, you can store your products in AMZ’s fulfillment centers. After that, they will pick, pack, and ship orders on your behalf. They’ll also handle return and refund processing for you. If you would like to increase your reach by selling to Amazon prime members, then you should consider using FBA. This is because only sellers who use FBA are considered prime-eligible.

Step 5: Optimize Your Processes

Now that you have a fully functional business setup, it’s time to chill. Is it??

No, Never.

Most sellers fail due to this mentality. Your work is only half done!

There are certain steps that you have to take to ensure that the sales figures are ever-increasing and the customers purchase your product frequently.

The online marketplace is ever-changing and you have to change as per the market condition. Optimization should be your daily work. Optimizing your product detail pages and creating a pricing strategy can make a huge difference in your business. 

In addition, you have to work on making your customer service strong, building your brand, looking for ways to increase your chances to win the Buy Box, and building a strong customer base.

Step 6: Run Promotional Campaigns

Once you start selling on Amazon, dedicate time to creating a visibility strategy. As part of your visibility strategy, you should consider running promotional ads and campaigns. You can use Amazon marketing services for all your advertising needs.

With ads, you can show up in between search results and increase your chances of converting visitors to buyers.

Learn more about Amazon marketing services

Also, buying and selling on Amazon is easier when you optimize your processes and invest in software for better results. So, consider investing in AMZ software to automate your product research process and find profitable product options in the shortest possible time.

Conclusion

Starting an eCommerce business is certainly not a walk in the park. It involves tons of back-breaking processes like product research and keyword research. You’ll also have to create and optimize your product detail pages or listings. Plus, initially, you will not have the advantage of brand recognition and all the favorable conditions while selling and it will take some time and effort to start selling on Amazon. But, the benefits you are going to enjoy are much higher than the cost you are going to pay.

The costs are nominal and you don’t have to sacrifice your entire profit to cover up all the costs. You can surely rise and shine if you develop a proper strategy to optimize your product detail pages, manage your inventory and follow all the seller guidelines to sell successfully.

However, the most important part is still finding the best products to sell. Even the most sophisticated Amazon marketing strategies will not work if there is no demand for your product in the first place. When it comes to finding the best products to sell, having access to powerful software such as Zonbase can be a game-changer. Zonbase specializes in many different tasks such as product research, keyword research, and listing optimization. With just a click of a button, you can quickly find products that are in demand.

For example, Zonbase has a tool known as the Hot Products tool. What this tool does is that it helps sellers find the trending most-gifted products that have very low competition. With this tool, you can quickly find a trending product that you can sell for a profit before the other sellers catch up on it.

To see what else Zonbase can do for you and your business, try Zonbase today.