Important to know

  • QUALITY PRODCUT

            (Knowledge or service to sell should be High quality)

  • Internet Access
  • Computer or a good smartphone
  • Knowledge or have the ability to learn
  • Have a minimum of budget (you may need to pay subscription)
  • Mindset or ability to work alone
  • Credit card / PayPal account. payoneer account / bank account
  • Understand and write English well.

Top training for Amazon FBA

What is the Amazon FBA program?

Let Amazon pick, pack, and ship your orders

You sell it, we ship it. ... With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you store your products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. FBA can help you scale your business and reach more customers.

  • You send your products to Amazon.
  • They store them in their warehouses.
  • When a customer orders one of your products, Amazon picks, packs, ships and tracks the order for you.
  • They also handle returns and refunds.
  • You get paid (Every two weeks, Amazon totals up all your sales, deducts your seller fees and deposits your profits directly into your bank account).

How do I start Amazon FBA?

Let's quickly recap the steps to setting up an Amazon FBA business:

  • Decide on a product idea.
  • Find and open communication with relevant factories on Alibaba that manufacture similar items.
  • Request samples and then commission prototypes to be made.
  • Purchase a barcode.

AMAZON FBA

What You Are Responsible For When Using Amazon FBA

Here’s what you’re responsible for:

  1.  Choosing which products to sell.

You can sell just about anything you like, but if you want to avoid storage fees, make sure you choose products that will sell quickly.


  1. Keeping your inventory in stock.

You’ll need to check your inventory levels on Amazon regularly to make sure your products stay in stock.


  1.  Marketing and advertising your products.

If you’re selling highly-ranked brand name products, you may not have to do this. But if you’re selling your own custom products, you’ll need to make sure people can find them. There are over 350 million products in Amazon’s catalog, so marketing is vital if you want yours to be found.


What to sell on Amazon FBA

Another thing that’s amazing about this business model is that there’s no one way how to sell on Amazon FBA. Here’s a few of the most popular methods:

  1. Arbitrage Find low-priced items in retail stores or other online marketplaces to resell on Amazon at a higher value.
  2. Wholesale Buy bulk discount branded goods to resell on Amazon at a higher value.
  3. Used Book Sales Purchase used books at book sales, yard sales, or other places to resell on Amazon at a higher value.
  4. Private Label Research and manufacture your own branded products to sell on Amazon FBA where you control every aspect of the product.
    *This is my preferred method how to sell on Amazon FBA.


What does it cost to sell on Amazon FBA?

Selling on Amazon FBA is very reasonable to get started with. In fact, if you’re selling products that you already own (like unwanted items around the house), you can virtually do it for free!


Individual and professional seller accounts

There are two types of Amazon FBA seller accounts: individual and professional. Individual seller accounts are free, but have higher sales fees. And professional accounts have a monthly subscription fee of $39.95, but lower fees. We recommend you get a professional account if you plan on selling more than 40 items per month. But if you want to start slow with only a few items, then individual may be better for you.


Amazon fees

Like many online marketplaces, Amazon takes out fees for their services, usually after a sale has been made. Here’s the quick version of those fees:


  • Amazon takes a 15% referral fee on all sales for most categories.
  • If you use Amazon’s FBA service, they take out fees to cover the shipping and handling costs for your products. However, these tend to be less than what it would cost to ship it yourself.
  • Some categories, like books and DVDs, have an additional flat fee.
  • If you sell on an individual seller plan (no subscription fee), Amazon charges an additional $1.00 flat fee. Hence why we recommend going professional if you’re going to sell 40 or more products per month.
  • Keeping your inventory at Amazon fulfillment centers too long can result in long term storage fees.


Inventory costs

Depending on the type products you choose to sell on Amazon, your inventory costs will vary. We recommend the private label method which does come with a moderate investment upfront, but you might choose to start with just a few things around the house to get a feel for how to sell on Amazon FBA. It’s totally up to you!


Which is better to sell on: Amazon or Ebay?

This is a question that’s as old as ecommerce itself. And ultimately, it depends on you and what you want out of your business. Some people swear by Ebay. While others, like myself, think Amazon is the best place to start an online business. I think the best way to sum up the difference between the two marketplaces is like this:

  • Ebay is like the world’s biggest flea market. You set up your “stand”, offer your products, handle transactions, shipping, and everything else. It’s 100% your responsibility. Therefore, you may end up putting more work into it for less profits.


  • Amazon FBA is like owning a shelf at a very large department store. Your biggest job is to make sure that your shelf stays stocked and that it’s visible. Unlike ebay, however, the department store handles the transactions, shipping, and all the tough work. In my experience that equals less work and more profits.


Benefits of Using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

  • Effortless logistics and shipping.

If you’ve ever managed your own fulfillment, you know it can be quite time-consuming. Higher sales mean more time spent packing and shipping, or more money spent hiring someone to handle it. FBA allows you to outsource the entire process, taking advantage of their expertise and experience.


  • Discounted shipping rates.

Amazon’s contracts with the major shipping carriers give those steep discounts on shipping costs. They pass those discounts on to sellers in the form of reduced shipping prices when sending your inventory to Amazon. Customers also benefit because many orders on Amazon are eligible for free shipping. And Prime members get free two-day shipping on all FBA products – a huge incentive that leads to higher sales.


  • Management of returns.

Processing returns is a pain. From dealing with upset customers to inspecting returns and handling all of the administrative aspects, Amazon takes care of all of that for you. They manage customer inquiries, return shipping labels and reverse logistics. They do charge a returns processing fee, but it’s worth it for the amount of work they take off your shoulders.


  • Customer service management.

Amazon has a reputation for providing excellent customer service. They offer 24/7 support via phone, chat and email. That eases customer’s minds, and takes a huge load off your plate.


  • Potentially unlimited storage space.

Using FBA means you don’t have to worry about how much or how little storage space you need for your products. You don’t have to pay for a warehouse or worry about what size warehouse you need. There are no inventory minimums, so you can send in as little as just one product. Plus, sellers with high inventory performance scores (meaning your products sell quickly) get unlimited storage.


  • Quick delivery.

Amazon has hundreds of fulfillment centers all over the world. So no matter where your customers are, they can reliably get products delivered to them within just a couple of days. Once an order is placed, Amazon automatically figures out which fulfillment center is closest to the customer and ships their order from there.


  • Fulfillment of orders from other channels.

Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) service allows you to sell products on other channels (like BigCommerce) while still getting Amazon to fulfill those orders. You can even automate the process for free by using the FBA Shipping app. It automatically sends orders from your BigCommerce store to Amazon for fulfillment. It also pulls order updates and tracking information from Amazon, sending that data to your customers from your BigCommerce store.


Disadvantages of Using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

  • 1. FBA costs money.

Amazon charges both storage fees and fulfillment fees. You’ll need to understand how quickly your inventory moves in order to minimize storage fees. And you’ll want to make sure your products are still profitable after paying Amazon’s fulfillment fees.


  • Long-term storage fees.

Storage fees aren’t too bad unless your items sit for over six months. Amazon is in the business of selling products, not storing them. So they make sure you pay if your products aren’t selling. If you let your inventory sit too long, you could be faced with sky-high storage fees.


  • You may see more returns.

The flip side of having an easy returns process is that customers are more likely to make returns. You may see more impulse and test buys from customers, which can result in higher rates of returns.


  • Product prep can be difficult.

Amazon has strict guidelines on how to prepare and ship your items to them. Products must be correctly entered into Amazon’s database, properly labeled and then shipped to the right warehouses. It takes time to get the hang of all the details when you’re first starting out.


  • Tracking inventory can be difficult.

It can be challenging to stay on top of what products you have available, what you need to order, and what’s not selling when everything is out of view. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s especially difficult to keep inventory changes in sync if you sell on multiple channels. Fortunately, the ByteStand app can automate inventory management between BigCommerce and Amazon.


  • Sales tax can be difficult.

Tax partners like Avalara can help automate complicated tax rules for different regions.


  • Commingling merchandise can be scary.

To increase efficiency, Amazon gives you the option of commingling, or pooling, your products with the same products from other buyers. If you accept, you save time on labeling and prepping your products. But some unscrupulous sellers have been known to send in counterfeit or damaged products. There have been instances of legitimate sellers receiving negative reviews and even being banned from selling on Amazon due to this.


Tactics to Successfully Sell on Amazon FBA

  • Research competitors to find profitable products.

Start by looking at Amazon’s best sellers. It’s best not to go head-to-head with the highest sellers as a newbie, but you can get an idea of what kinds of products are popular. Plug those products into a service like Unicorn Smasher or AMZ Scout, and you’ll get all kinds of juicy data like estimated monthly sales, competitor intel and fee calculators.


  • Be smart about what products you sell.

Always consider the sales rank. High ranking products sell fast, but there’s a lot more competition. Low ranking or even non-existent products can be slow sellers that result in long term storage fees. But since there’s little to no competition, it’s easier to become the dominant seller for those listings. If you know the sales rank, you’ll know what you’re up against.


  • Consider bundling products.

If there are dozens of sellers on the same listing, it can be hard to win the buy box. You can get around this by creating a new bundled listing. For example, combine a popular board game with an extra dice bag. That allows you to create a unique listing that still shows up when people search for the main product. Everyone who clicks on your listing buys from you, so no more competition. Plus, you can charge more since you’re offering an added bonus.


  • Start small.

You don’t have to have hundreds of products to get started. Learn the ropes by adding just a few products initially. It’s much simpler to create an organized, streamlined process when you just have a handful of products. Once the process is in place, it’s easier to scale up and add more products as you grow.


  • Build a brand.

If you want to stand out from the sea of Amazon sellers, you’ll need your own unique brand. That means having a deep understanding of your target buyers, knowing how to position your brand, and creating consistently styled product images, titles and descriptions. Creating your own online store where you control the customer experience to complement Amazon sales is the best way to do this. You can also use unique packaging and inserts to make sure your brand personality stands out upon delivery. Packaging that encourages customers to sign up for your email list or follow social accounts is a good starting place as well.


  • Use good SEO practices.

Amazon is a massive, highly competitive marketplace, so it can be difficult to get your products discovered. But just like Google, Amazon is a search engine with ranking factors that determine which products to display for any given product search. You can get higher in the search results by researching which keywords people use when searching for your products and using those keywords throughout your product listings.


  • Get excellent product photos.

Amazon requires that the main product image show only the product (no people, text, etc.) against a white background. You can then add up to eight more photos (depending on the product category). Since your images are a customer’s first impression of your products, make sure they are perfect. Remember, people can’t hold your products when you’re selling online, so you need your photos to be as detailed as possible. Show the product from different angles, show it in action, show close-ups of various features, and show a person holding it for scale. Consider getting 360-degree images and videos created to make product pages that more engaging.


  • Optimize your product titles.

Ever notice how a lot of Amazon products have really long, detailed titles? That’s sellers trying to stuff their keywords in. Amazon allows up to 250 characters for titles, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to use all 250 characters. In fact, Amazon has been known to suppress product listings with excessively long titles. So the goal is to be descriptive and to the point while still getting your main keyword into the title. Try following this format: Brand name, product name, important features like color or size. Here’s a good example: OXO Flexible 3-Piece Silicone Spatula Set, Heat Resistant And BPA Free (Green). It includes the important information without going overboard.


  • Optimize your bullet points.

Once a customer clicks through to your product, one of the first things they’re looking for are your bullet points. If those bullets don’t answer their questions or contain the details they need, they’re likely to bounce. So make sure to give customers all the information necessary to make a purchase decision. Address common questions, focus on your product’s benefits and include important product details. Just like with your title, you want to get those keywords in without going overboard.


  • Create an in-depth product description.

Here’s your chance to go overboard. Provide comprehensive instructions, add more product photos, throw in some videos and tell your brand story. You want customers to understand exactly what they’re getting and who they’re getting it from when they purchase your product.


  • Answer questions.

One of Amazon’s unique features is the question and answer section. Anyone can submit a question about a product, whether they’ve purchased it or not, and anyone can submit an answer, whether they’ve purchased the product or not. Most sellers think they have to wait for customers to ask questions. But you can increase engagement by getting the ball rolling yourself. Ask a friend to post a question that’s commonly asked about your product. Then you post the answer, and customers see that you’re an involved and helpful seller.


  • Get reviews.

If you do nothing else on this list, do this. It’s been proven time and time again that people are more likely to buy products when they have positive reviews. When people are unsure about something, they look around to see what other people are doing or saying. If 100 people say Product A is great, and no one’s saying anything about Product B, guess which one people are going to buy?


  • Choose the right repricing program.

Prices change constantly on Amazon. And although the lowest price doesn’t always win the buy box, it often does. Most Amazon sellers use repricing software to automatically change their prices throughout the day. If you’ve only got a handful of products, you may be able to keep up with repricing manually. But you’ll see more success if you automate the process. Many sellers use rule-based repricers, but that often ends up in a race to the bottom, with prices eventually going so low that there’s no profit left. Algorithmic repricers are more advanced, and typically lead to higher profits.


  • Use Amazon Marketing Services (AMS).

You know the “Sponsored products related to this item” section? Those are ads created through AMS. This marketing tool allows you to create ads for your products and target them based on keywords or similar products. It also provides performance analytics so you can optimize your ads.