HOW TO SELL ON AMAZON MARKETPLACE

Amazon marketplace makes it easy to become an online seller and start selling your products on Amazon. Although Amazon sells some of its products directly to customers, more than two million third-party sellers worldwide now sell their products through Amazon, making it the largest online retailer in the world.  Amazon has a sizable market for small businesses, as seen by its $31.8 billion in third-party seller service income.

More than a million sellers compete on Amazon Marketplace to get their products noticed, which can be frustrating when you’re trying to find your own niche market and you come across similar products again and again. Almost anything from home decor to toys and games can be sold on Amazon Marketplace, including Amazon-branded goods. A low-risk mean of expanding your business. Without having to spend money on establishing and maintaining your own e-commerce website, you may test selling on Amazon Marketplace for free.

Before you set up your business, it’s important to know how the marketplace works, as well as its pros and cons when compared to other options for selling on Amazon like private label or Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). 

Setting up a seller account, listing your items, and shipping them either straight to customers or to Amazon is all it takes to sell on Amazon. While the main procedure is simple, there are a few crucial aspects and considerations that must be made before you begin.

If you’re interested in making money as an Amazon marketplace seller, then this article has all the tips and tricks you need to know about getting started.

How to Set Up Your Amazon Seller Marketplace Account

Step 1: Decide whether you want to have the individual or professional seller plan

Choose an Amazon Selling Plan according to the products you intend to sell. More than 20 categories are available to both Individual and Professional Sellers. Only Professional Sellers who apply and satisfy qualifications have access to the remaining 10 categories. Amazon's Professional Seller Plan has a number of advantages over the Individual Seller Plan, including:

·      Professional plan: Unless you're selling more than 40 things a month, most established businesses will begin here. There is a $39.99 monthly membership charge, as well as referral fees and variable closing costs, which are all included in the total cost of the subscription (but no fees per item).

·      Individual Seller Plan: The best option if you only want to sell 40 or less goods each month. Selling costs are $0.99 per item, plus referral fees and variable closing fees. There is no monthly charge.

Step 2: Create and account

You'll need the following items for the next step:

·      A credit card that can be used to make foreign purchases.

·      Banking information (including routing and account numbers)

·      Information on tax identification

To begin the registration process, go to the "Sell on Amazon" page and scroll to the bottom.

Step 3: Follow Amazon prompts

Following your selection of a login, Amazon will ask you to complete the following steps:

·      Information / Agreement with Seller: You'll need your business name and address, a phone number, a credit card, and a bank account with a debit card or credit card that may be charged.

·      Billing and deposit information: Decide on your professional selling plan and associated fees.

Tax information: In this section, you'll indicate whether or not you're a sole proprietor or a corporation for the purposes of tax reporting. The major distinction? Instead of an Employer Identification Number (EIN), sole proprietors or individuals utilize their Social Security Number.

·      Detailed information of the product: To sell your items on Amazon, Amazon will ask you a range of questions, including whether or not you produce your products and how many products you would want to list. Amazon is already using the GS1 database to verify the UPC numbers issued to ASINs on its marketplace. Anyone who doesn't have an authentic GS1 UPC code is at danger of having their listings taken down by Amazon.

Following these steps, you'll be able to access your Seller Central dashboard, which features several sections for controlling inventory, pricing, orders, advertising and reporting on your business's progress and success. Fill out the "About Seller" section to describe your business and get your items in front of customers. Incorporate your company's logo, frequently asked questions, and privacy policy onto this page.

What is Amazon Vendor Central?

Manufacturers and distributors can join Amazon Vendor Central via invitation only. Amazon Vendor Central allows you to sell your products to Amazon, who will then advertise and sell them to customers on their e-commerce platform.

The way it works is that retailers and manufacturers sell their stock to Amazon at wholesale pricing. The sellers work is done after they've shipped the products to Amazon. Amazon pays the vendor directly for the inventory and retains ownership of the items. Amazon offers such things on the Marketplace (as Amazon) and sets its own prices and delivery choices for customers to choose from.

The benefits of using Amazon Vendor Central as follows;

Instead of selling on Amazon, you'll be selling to Amazon as a Vendor. With this approach, promotion, advertising, and even price for direct sellers are all but eliminated.

Selling using Amazon Vendor Central has the following additional advantages:

·     Avoid the headache of dealing with price, shipping, and other logistics for product sales by using a third-party service.

·      Because Amazon buys in volume, inventory forecasting is much easier.

·      Only Amazon has access to the display and detail page functions (e.g.: Subscribe and Save program)

·      Seller Central does not offer inventory forecasting tools.

What is Amazon Seller Central?

Third-party vendors utilize Amazon Seller Central to list and sell their items directly to Amazon shoppers.

You'll list, price, and advertise your items yourself, and you'll utilize the Seller Central dashboard to keep track of inventory, pricing, advertising, and reporting, among other things.

How it Works: Seller Central allows brands to list their products on the Amazon Marketplace and sell them as a third-party seller. Keep in mind that sellers are in charge of all listings, promotions, and other aspects of selling on an online marketplace.

Selling through Amazon Central requires more effort than selling through Amazon Vendor Central, but it provides more control over shipping, pricing, and fulfillment, as well as the possibility of bigger margins.

Selling using Amazon Seller Central has the following additional advantages:

·      Increased Visibility - Take advantage of the millions of unique monthly visitors that your website receives to attract more customers to your shop.

·      Take advantage of the Marketplace benefits - Amazon's Marketplace is noted for its trustworthiness, simplicity of online buying, and wide variety of products. You'll be able to reap the benefits of that recognition if you list your product on the Marketplace.

·      Look for new customers - As the Amazon Marketplace grows, so does the number of potential customers. The Marketplace will expose you to a wide range of new customers, many of whom have never heard of your business before.

·      Increases in sales - Customers on Amazon have a specific desire to buy or at least are eager to browse, which means you can increase sales. Getting in front of a large audience through a web search, advertising, and other means is not a given.

Advertising on Amazon

Before you list a product, you'll need to decide whether you want Amazon to automatically fulfill your orders (FBA) or handle customer service and order fulfillment yourself. If you sell FBA, then Amazon will pick, pack and ship each item (for a fee), while if you opt for listing only items, customers will buy from your seller profile page directly and might expect an individual response from you. 

The former option is much more popular because it allows people to focus more of their time on marketing strategies rather than shopping for items and shipping them out manually. 

What does it cost to sell on Amazon?

Amazon sellers have the option of choosing between Professional and Individual selling plans. Individual sellers on Amazon pay a flat cost of $0.99 for each item sold, plus closing fees ranging from $0.45 to $1.35 for each transaction. Closing costs and referral fees for professional sellers can range from 6% to 25% (an average of 13 percent). It costs $39.99 a month for professional sellers, but they don't have to pay a $0.99 per item fee.

Referral fees and variable closing costs are removed from the transaction price (including selling price, shipping, and other charges such as gift wrap).

The $0.99 per item Amazon Marketplace fee is NOT charged to merchants that pay a $39.99 monthly membership fee to be Pro Merchant Subscriber (good for merchants selling well over 40 products a month). With monthly revenue of at least $40,000, joining the Professional Seller Program is an easy decision.

What is Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)?

An additional service, FBA, is an option that allows Amazon to manage the full order fulfillment process, from warehousing and payment processing to delivery and returns. You, as an Amazon seller, are responsible for shipping and storing your items at an Amazon fulfillment center. Amazon chooses, packs, and sends products directly to customers.

With no minimum inventory or contract restrictions, FBA is a pay-per-use service that requires storage and fulfillment costs. The cost of fulfillment varies according to the type of goods, its size, weight, and the delivery method selected. From January to September, sellers pay £0.30 per cubic foot per month in storage fees, increasing to £0.40 during the peak selling months of October and December.

FBA eliminates the difficulty and expense of storing, packaging, and delivering products to consumers, saving you valuable time, effort, and money. Your small or start-up business can also benefit from fast and free delivery services like as Prime, Super Saver, and Amazon lockers.

On the other hand, if your company sells and ships a lot of things each month, then it can be a good fit for you. You can determine if Amazon's FBA is cost-effective for your business by examining the expenses of labor, warehousing, packing, postage, customer care, and returns processing.

Amazon FBA Cost

Seller fees on Amazon are based on a percentage of the overall profit made by the seller. Additionally, FBA imposes fees based on the following:

·      Pick & pack

·      Item weight

·      Storage costs (sq ft.)

·      Handling fees

Amazon's Fulfillment by Amazon service (FBA) may appear expensive to some sellers, but keep in mind that FBA fees cover all fulfillment expenses, including warehousing and delivery. Using Amazon's Revenue Calculator, you can see if selling your items through FBA is worthwhile.

Individual product margins are affected by Amazon Fulfillment, which may restrict profitability. FBA, on the other hand, is likely to be a worthwhile investment for your online business as sales volume and visibility expand. Altogether, you may lose money on a specific product like a water bottle, but if you sell more bottles overall, you'll make more money on the whole.

Remember that you don't have to utilize FBA for all of your items, so figure out which ones are most cost-effective to fulfill through FBA. Because of factors such as the level of competition for your items, what kind of things you offer, where your business is based, and your profit margins, FBA may not be a choice for your store.

What is Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP)?

You can store, pack, and ship your own items using the Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) option from Amazon, which allows your products to be listed as Prime.

Basically, if you have a robust fulfillment strategy, Seller Fulfilled Prime is the best of both worlds. Products and listings are managed in the same way as with FBM, but you'll have access to Prime consumers as well.

However, you must meet the SFP eligibility requirements. And it's not simple.

A trial term of at least 300 orders is required before you can become a full-fledged member. You must meet all of Amazon's requirements throughout the trial time.

There must be a 1% cancellation rate, a 99.9% on-time shipment rate, and a minimum of 95.5% use of Buy Shipping Services for all orders.

What is Amazon Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)?

When you use Amazon Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM), you are in charge of product selection, packing, and delivery on the Amazon Marketplace. Product "Prime" listing is not an option in FBM.

FBM Pros and Cons

While you won't have to pay as much as you would with FBA, you will have to follow all of Amazon's requirements for sellers (i.e. replying to customer support issues within 24 hours, provide tracking info, and ship within your stated time frame). Doable, but not simple, if you have the necessary infrastructure in place to deal with all the above.

Due to FBM's lack of access to Amazon Prime (unless you are selling with Seller Fulfillment Prime), your sales will be lower than with a similar FBA product.

Setting up your price

There are a number of factors to take into account when settling on a price for your items, including age, condition, and the cost of delivery. Competitive pricing can be determined using Amazon's Pricing Tools. The Low Price function, for example, compares your goods to similar products and displays a green checkmark if your listing is the cheapest. If you click on the item's listing ID, you will be sent to a single page with all of your listing details. Look for the 'This Item Also Available To Buy' box, which displays the lowest-priced items from other vendors in each condition.

Importance of inventory management on Amazon

If you're an Amazon seller, inventory management is more critical than ever. It's been a year since Amazon implemented monthly long-term storage costs for sluggish stock, raised FBA prices, and announced the new Inventory Performance Index (IPI) statistic.

Seller Central's fundamental inventory management tools have also been enhanced. These modifications all have one thing in common: a desire to make it easier for Amazon sellers to manage their inventory.

Listing Optimization

Keywords are probably your most important ranking factor because they’re easy for search engines to digest and they also help define a product or service. For example, if you’re trying to rank a lawnmower, make sure that you have keywords like mower and lawnmower in your title and description. You should also add those keywords in your listing tags – those are metadata attributes that are stuffed right into each individual product listing. So, when somebody is browsing through Amazon, they can actually see those keywords within that product tag. In some cases, it can be as simple as updating images or even descriptions.

Conclusion

As a business, it's important to expand your retail activities as much as possible. There are instances when a review of successful sales methods might be the ideal first step to selling on Amazon.

Once you've decided on a plan, you may use Amazon to sell your products all across the country. Setting up an account on the Marketplace can also be a good way to connect with Amazon's Storefronts initiative, which aims to support small businesses.