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How to Become an Amazon Seller: 7 Essential Steps
When people consider starting a business of their own, many look to selling products online as a proven method to make money from home. Amazon stands out as the top choice, given its e-commerce leadership in the USA. However, for beginners, getting started can feel overwhelming.
In this article, we'll walk you through a step-by-step guide on becoming an Amazon seller, from setting up your account to maximizing your selling potential.
In this article, we'll walk you through a step-by-step guide on becoming an Amazon seller, from setting up your account to maximizing your selling potential.
Amazon Business Models
Starting an Amazon business requires choosing your business model wisely, as this will determine your sourcing strategy, fulfillment method, and how you list your products. There are four main models to consider, each with its own characteristics:
- Private Label: This approach involves launching your own brand so you can stand out with unique products, control your own pricing, and maintain quality standards. However, it also requires a substantial upfront investment due to the need to place bulk orders from suppliers. Building brand recognition also requires ongoing marketing efforts.
- Dropshipping: Here, operating without inventory lowers your initial costs, as you only purchase products after a customer places an order. This model offers quick entry into the market but also presents its own risks and challenges, such as relying on suppliers for order fulfillment and adhering to Amazon's dropshipping policies.
- Online Arbitrage: This method involves sourcing products from other online platforms and reselling them on Amazon at a higher price. Online arbitrage is a budget-friendly option since you can buy individual items, but scalability is challenging due to the time needed to find consistent deals.
- Wholesale: Purchasing products in bulk from manufacturers or distributors offers higher profit margins per sale. It provides the advantage of authorized distribution rights for branded products. However, this model also requires significant upfront investment in inventory and storage space.
Each model has its own pros and cons. To choose the best one for you, you need to consider your budget, how quickly you want to start, and your long-term goals.
How to Become an Amazon Seller
While the process may vary slightly depending on your chosen business model, there are seven universal key steps to starting any successful Amazon business.
Step 1: Find a Profitable Product to Sell
The success of an Amazon business hinges largely on product selection. Trending items already have an established audience, leading to steady sales and larger profits due to high order volume. To help you identify the right products for your business, you need to evaluate several key factors:
- Sales volume: Aim for products with high demand (those that exceed 200 sales/month) to ensure profitability.
- Selling restrictions: Avoid products in gated categories (e.g., baby clothes) or those that contain hazardous materials (e.g., lithium batteries), as these require approval from Amazon, which can be time-consuming.
- Profit margin: Ensure that the price of your product is balanced to cover all expenses while providing a substantial profit margin.
- Weight: Focus on products under 3 lbs to save on shipping costs.
Depending on your particular business model, these criteria will vary:
- Product rating: For reselling, you’ll want to target things with 4- and 5-star ratings to guarantee quality. Conversersely, if you sell private label items, consider products with lower ratings to help you identify areas for improvement.
- Competition: For private label, it's important not to compete with highly-rated sellers or strong brands. For other models, target listings with 2-15 sellers, avoiding those dominated by Amazon.
To ensure that your product ideas meet these criteria, it’s necessary to conduct thorough market research. While performing manual research can be time-consuming and may not result in comprehensive data, utilizing analytical tools can provide precise insights, though they also require a learning curve. If you'd rather not spend time choosing tools and doing research on your own, you can opt for specialized services instead.
Outsourcing Your Product Research
U.S.-based sellers can benefit from Sellerhook's professional product research services. The analysis conducted by Sellerhooks experts ensures that your products are profitable and align with your business needs and requirements.
To receive ideas for profitable products to sell, just follow these steps:
To receive ideas for profitable products to sell, just follow these steps:
1. Place an order on the Sellerhook website. Select how many top products you want to find (one or five) and specify your business model (Online Arbitrage, Wholesale, or Private Label).
2. Provide information about your business. Answer a few questions about which product categories you’re interested in, your preferred price range, and other preferences.
3. Get your product research report. Within 10 business days, you will receive an email containing one or five booming product ideas.
3. Get your product research report. Within 10 business days, you will receive an email containing one or five booming product ideas.
Sellerhook’s experts use only precise data, ensuring that all product ideas are up-to-date and align with your needs. This allows you to find the most promising products effortlessly, saving time on research and maximizing profitability.
Step 2: Create an Amazon Seller Account
To become a seller on Amazon, you'll need to create an account. This can be done in seven easy steps:
1. On the Amazon website, sign up for a new account. Choose between two plans:
1. On the Amazon website, sign up for a new account. Choose between two plans:
- Individual: The cost is $0.99/sale, plus a 15% referral fee per order, making this option suitable for smaller sales volumes. You can upgrade to a professional plan later if your sales volume increases, or to gain access to more advanced selling features.
- Professional: This account costs $39.99/month, and is ideal for higher sales volumes. This option gives you access to programs like SFP, and also lets you offer discounts and coupons to attract more customers to your store.
2. Register your Seller Central account, create a password, and verify your email address.
3. Enter your business details, including your seller type (individual or professional), country, and more.
4. Provide personal information such as your address, name and citizenship. You'll receive a verification code via text.
5. Add your billing details, including your bank account and credit card information.
6. Enter your store information, including your store name, and specify if you sell your own products or resell items from other brands.
7. Submit photos of required documentation, such as a bank statement and a photo ID.
Once you’re registered, you will receive a verification video call within minutes. Have your ID and valid credit card ready. Once this is done, your account will be approved, and you can start uploading products.
3. Enter your business details, including your seller type (individual or professional), country, and more.
4. Provide personal information such as your address, name and citizenship. You'll receive a verification code via text.
5. Add your billing details, including your bank account and credit card information.
6. Enter your store information, including your store name, and specify if you sell your own products or resell items from other brands.
7. Submit photos of required documentation, such as a bank statement and a photo ID.
Once you’re registered, you will receive a verification video call within minutes. Have your ID and valid credit card ready. Once this is done, your account will be approved, and you can start uploading products.
Step 3: Source Your Products
Once you've finalized your product selection and sales strategy, the next step is to determine how and where you want to source your goods. Unless you’re selling handmade products, finding a reliable supplier is essential. Here are the main ways to do this:
- Google: Search for suppliers by entering your niche or product type.
- Google Maps: Find local suppliers to save on shipping costs.
- Online marketplaces: Explore platforms for various supplier options tailored to different business models.
- LinkedIn: Search for suppliers through companies or industry-specific groups.
- Facebook groups: Suppliers often post announcements about their services in relevant groups
Alibaba is a popular choice for sourcing products for private label businesses, due to its status as the largest platform offering a wide range of suppliers and competitive prices. Just be sure to verify each supplier’s reliability first.
Choose a Supplier
To avoid getting scammed and other risks like investing in a poor product or overpaying, check the following factors:
- Reviews: Look at user reviews as well as how long the supplier has been in business.
- Payment methods: Avoid suppliers who don’t accept traceable payment methods (like bank transfers or PayPal).
- Court databases: Check court databases for any legal issues.
- Product quality: Request samples to verify quality.
After selecting a supplier, review their minimum order quantities (MOQ), shipping costs, return policy, and other terms. It's advisable to compare 15-20 suppliers to find the best offer. However, dealing with time differences and language barriers can be challenging, and negotiating terms requires awareness of potential pitfalls.
Fortunately, Sellerhook offers professional services to assist you with this process. Their experts will find you a supplier on Alibaba, vet them thoroughly to ensure that they’re trustworthy, and communicate with them directly to obtain detailed quotes.
To use this service when placing an order for a report containing top products to sell, you can also choose to add a supplier check right on the Sellerhook website. This saves you time researching and reaching out to suppliers, ensuring that you avoid scams and secure good purchasing terms and product quality.
Fortunately, Sellerhook offers professional services to assist you with this process. Their experts will find you a supplier on Alibaba, vet them thoroughly to ensure that they’re trustworthy, and communicate with them directly to obtain detailed quotes.
To use this service when placing an order for a report containing top products to sell, you can also choose to add a supplier check right on the Sellerhook website. This saves you time researching and reaching out to suppliers, ensuring that you avoid scams and secure good purchasing terms and product quality.
Step 4: List Your Products on Amazon
To start selling products on Amazon, you need to list them. If you're selling a product that already exists, simply join an existing listing from your Seller Central account. If you’re selling a new product, follow these steps to create a new listing:
1. In your Amazon Seller Central account, go to the “Inventory” section and select “Add Products”.
2. Enter the product details, including the title, description, and bullet points.
3. Set up your offer by specifying your price, product quantity, and other details.
4. Add product images.
To make your listing appear in search results, you need to optimize it. Let's explore a few strategies to help you make your listing stand out from the competition.
1. In your Amazon Seller Central account, go to the “Inventory” section and select “Add Products”.
2. Enter the product details, including the title, description, and bullet points.
3. Set up your offer by specifying your price, product quantity, and other details.
4. Add product images.
To make your listing appear in search results, you need to optimize it. Let's explore a few strategies to help you make your listing stand out from the competition.
Optimize Your Listing
To get more sales, it's essential to appear on the first search page, as most customers rarely scroll beyond that. Here are three tips from top sellers to help you achieve this:
- Include high-quality photos: Use high-resolution images that showcase your product from multiple angles, helping customers visualize its use. Ensure consistency in style for a professional look.
- Research effective keywords: Identify top-performing keywords for your niche and product. Incorporate them into your product title, description, and bullet points. Use friendly language to make it easy for customers to read.
- Follow Amazon’s guidelines: Adhere to Amazon’s requirements on text length, restricted symbols, and words. Follow Amazon's suggested structure for titles, product descriptions, and bullet points to boost your discoverability.
It’s also important to conduct thorough keyword research and check Amazon's guidelines regularly, as they can change over time. This process can be complex, especially for beginners. Fortunately, you can outsource this task as well.
Get a Perfect Listing
If you'd like to save time and get a highly effective listing, consider using Sellerhook's professional services. Their experts will create a compelling product listing that’s enriched with the most relevant keywords.
For an SEO-optimized listing, place an order on the SellerHook website and answer a few questions about your business. Within 10 business days, you'll receive your optimized product listing via email. This personalized service is tailored to meet your specific needs.
Outsourcing your listing creation to Sellerhook’s experts is worth it, as you can save time on research and writing content. Additionally, well-crafted listings can improve your product's visibility and boost your chances of making a sale significantly.
For an SEO-optimized listing, place an order on the SellerHook website and answer a few questions about your business. Within 10 business days, you'll receive your optimized product listing via email. This personalized service is tailored to meet your specific needs.
Outsourcing your listing creation to Sellerhook’s experts is worth it, as you can save time on research and writing content. Additionally, well-crafted listings can improve your product's visibility and boost your chances of making a sale significantly.
Step 5: Choose Your Fulfillment Method
When listing a product, you also need to decide which fulfillment method you want to use. It is crucial to select the right one, as this will directly impact your costs and revenue. The two main options are Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM).
FBA is a service provided by Amazon to help sellers streamline logistics. With this method, you send your products to Amazon's fulfillment centers, and they handle all aspects of storage, packing, and shipping each time an order is received. This method has advantages, such as access to Prime customers, higher sales due to increased visibility, and hassle-free fulfillment. However, higher fees make FBA less ideal for low-volume sellers, so dropshipping and online arbitrage sellers tend to avoid this option.
With FBM, you handle all storage, packing, and shipping yourself, or through a third-party logistics provider. The benefits of this method are greater inventory control, especially for delicate or high-value items, and potential cost savings on storage. However, managing everything on your own can be inconvenient with high-volume orders or large inventories. You also need to consider where you store products, as this can result in additional costs if you’re renting a warehouse.
If you choose FBM, think about which courier you want to use for sending orders to the final customer. The key criteria for selecting a shipping courier are:
FBA is a service provided by Amazon to help sellers streamline logistics. With this method, you send your products to Amazon's fulfillment centers, and they handle all aspects of storage, packing, and shipping each time an order is received. This method has advantages, such as access to Prime customers, higher sales due to increased visibility, and hassle-free fulfillment. However, higher fees make FBA less ideal for low-volume sellers, so dropshipping and online arbitrage sellers tend to avoid this option.
With FBM, you handle all storage, packing, and shipping yourself, or through a third-party logistics provider. The benefits of this method are greater inventory control, especially for delicate or high-value items, and potential cost savings on storage. However, managing everything on your own can be inconvenient with high-volume orders or large inventories. You also need to consider where you store products, as this can result in additional costs if you’re renting a warehouse.
If you choose FBM, think about which courier you want to use for sending orders to the final customer. The key criteria for selecting a shipping courier are:
- Speed: Ensure competitive delivery times that are comparable to FBA and Amazon's two-day service.
- Reliability: Opt for a courier that guarantees customer signatures and has a track record of order security.
- Costs: Consider hidden expenses, such as packaging fees and surcharges.
Choosing between FBA and FBM depends on your business model and product nature. Amazon top sellers often opt for Amazon FBA due to its streamlined logistics and higher sales potential. With the right product selection, you can offset FBA fees and achieve significant profits through increased sales volume.
Set Up Shipping
Depending on your fulfillment method, you’ll need to organize product delivery from your supplier to either your warehouse or home (FBM), or Amazon FBA centers for further shipment to customers.
If you're delivering products to FBA centers, you must create FBA ID labels for your boxes through your Amazon Seller Central account. Here’s how:
1. In your account, click “Inventory” and select the products that need to be shipped with Amazon FBA.
2. Choose the FBA center for delivery.
3. Download your FBA Box ID labels.
Send these labels to your supplier so they can attach them to the boxes before shipping to Amazon FBA centers.
Regardless of the fulfillment method you choose, be sure to select a reliable logistics company to deliver products from your supplier. If you’re ordering from abroad, make sure your supplier is aware of any customs regulations. Once the products are received, you can start selling them in your store.
If you're delivering products to FBA centers, you must create FBA ID labels for your boxes through your Amazon Seller Central account. Here’s how:
1. In your account, click “Inventory” and select the products that need to be shipped with Amazon FBA.
2. Choose the FBA center for delivery.
3. Download your FBA Box ID labels.
Send these labels to your supplier so they can attach them to the boxes before shipping to Amazon FBA centers.
Regardless of the fulfillment method you choose, be sure to select a reliable logistics company to deliver products from your supplier. If you’re ordering from abroad, make sure your supplier is aware of any customs regulations. Once the products are received, you can start selling them in your store.
Step 6: Launch and Promote Your Products
To quickly drive traffic to your store, consider using Amazon PPC (Pay-per-Click). With this method, you advertise your products and only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Statistics show that these ads can increase product awareness by nearly three times. This is especially beneficial for new products or during promotional campaigns, as you can target the right audience members who are more likely to make a purchase.
To ensure that your campaign is effective:
To ensure that your campaign is effective:
- Use relevant keywords: Research the best-performing keywords for your niche and products.
- Add negative keywords: Exclude irrelevant search terms (e.g., if you sell electric coffee machines, exclude the keyword "mechanical coffee maker" ) to save money.
- Track performance: Monitor clicks, costs, and sales through Amazon reports. Adjust your budget and keywords based on the data.
There are a few additional ways to promote your products, including:
- Enhancing your social media presence: Create accounts on Instagram and TikTok to reach more potential customers.
- Participating in Amazon Affiliate Programs: Partner with Amazon bloggers or influencers to promote your products.
- Collecting reviews: Products with strong ratings and multiple reviews are prioritized by Amazon. Consider including a review request with a gift or joining the Amazon Vine program, where Voices get free products for their feedback.
This can boost your product's visibility, leading to increased sales. However, to sustain this performance, you need to carefully monitor your metrics and make any necessary adjustments.
Step 7: Monitor and Optimize Your Performance
To stay competitive, it's essential to monitor your performance constantly and adjust your strategy accordingly. Here are a few key aspects to consider:
- Competitor analysis: Analyze your competitors' actions regularly, especially their pricing strategies, to ensure that your prices remain competitive.
- Customer feedback: Pay close attention to customer reviews and feedback. Use this information to help you identify areas for potential product improvement or enhance your customer service.
- Market trends: Stay updated on market trends to ensure that your product selection appeals to current customer preferences.
- Experiment with strategies: Implement new strategies to boost sales, such as offering discounts or bundling products.
- Time and budget optimization: Delegate tasks to specialized services like SellerHook to help you save time on labor-intensive tasks and avoid wasting money on inappropriate investments or tools that only offer partially automated processes.
By gaining insights in these areas, you can remain responsive to market shifts and customer demand. This proactive approach ensures sustained long-term growth and profitability.
Conclusion
Becoming an Amazon seller involves managing various aspects of your business, such as marketing, sourcing, and more. Use Sellerhook’s services to get professional help with key areas, like product selection and listing optimization. This enables you to save time to focus on other tasks, while ensuring that your products generate sales and gain visibility.
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