3 Steps To Getting Started As An Amazon Seller

Getting started as an Amazon seller may be a little tricky and therefore, an individual who seeks to embark on this journey needs to be equipped with a Sellers playbook to make the right decisions at every turn. Being an Amazon seller comes with several factors, the pros, and cons. It is important to consider everything before making the commitment to become an Amazon seller. The factors to consider ranges from How to sell your products to where to sell it and of course, all these should be in line with the rules and regulations stipulated by the platform.

When deciding to be a seller on Amazon’s platform, here are some tips from the Sellers Playbook Amazon training which will better your chances as an Amazon seller.

Decide What Kind of Seller You Will Be:

From inception, it is important to set the goal of what type of seller you aim to be as this decision will help you in your business structure and in the way business is conducted. The most important decision to make is to decide on whether or not you choose to ship using the Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA), Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN), or both.

The Sellers Playbook advises that the best way to make a decision on which method to adopt that will work best for your business and effectively is to carefully list out and prioritized all your needs and make sure the option to be chosen is most in line with your needs.

Wondering what the difference between Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) and Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN) is? Sellers who use FBA are required to pay a fee to store their products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. In this case, Amazon serves as the warehouse for these products and receives information for each order, takes stock of the shelves and items and also packs and ships the product orders/. All FBA products are supported by the Amazon customer service whereas the MFN simply requires sellers to ship their own products upon order. Using the MFN places all order responsibilities on the seller.

Choose A Branding Strategy:

There are over 170 million active users on Amazon and as such, it is important to make your business stand out and also appeal to buyers. Branding your business should also be coupled with the right marketing technique in order to appeal to buyers and get your stock moving. There are several options for branding and marketing of your business, the question, however, remains, which is the right platform or option to choose for your business?

To combat the self-marketing obstacle set by Amazon, there are a few marketing tips to employ in the competitive Amazon market, the Sellers Playbook suggests:

The Pro Merchant Subscription: This decreases a seller’s transaction fee and also allows for the seller to make bulk item listings. Additionally, this package enhances reporting and gives sellers more selling options.

Listing unique products: Buyers are most often than not interested in unique products and as such, a seller decrease competition by listing unique products which aren’t too common.

Familiarize Yourself With Amazon’s Restricted Categories:

As much as Amazon appears to be a platform where anything under the sun may be bought and sold, there are certain limits which are set by the platform. Some items are not allowed by the e-commerce platform and these categories are the ones you need to get familiar with. Amazon places restrictions on products which fall under any of the following categories, and any items that fall within them may require pre-approval. Restricted categories include: Alcohol; Animals and Animal Products; Art, Fine Art; Automotive and Powersports; Beauty, Cosmetics, Skin Care, Hair Care, Health and Personal Care; Clothing, Shoes, Handbags, Sunglasses, and Other Accessories; Currency, Coins, Cash Equivalents and Gift Cards; Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia; Gambling and Lottery; Hazardous and Dangerous Items; Stolen Property and Lock Picking Devices; and finally Tobacco and Tobacco-Related Products.