For Amazon sellers, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service. You can manage the business and sell your product while Amazon takes care of the logistics and shipping.
The popularity of starting an Amazon FBA business is rising. There are few obstacles to entry, you can get started on a small budget, and there is room for expansion. Planning ahead and being prepared will increase your chances of success, just like in any other business.
This post will help you in learning how to launch an Amazon FBA business.
Create An Amazon FBA Account.
You’ll need an account if you want to sell on Amazon. If you don’t already have one, you need to create a selling account on Amazon before you can become an Amazon FBA seller.
If you don’t already have one, you need to create a selling account on Amazon before you can become an Amazon FBA seller.
You can pick between two different types of Amazon seller accounts: Individual and Professional.
- There is no monthly fee for the individual plan, but there is a fixed sales fee per item.
- The professional plan has a fixed amount of monthly fee, no matter how much it sells.
The Professional plan is generally better if you sell more than 40 items per month. On top of this, both accounts charge the same sales commissions.
You can sell things on Amazon once you have an account. A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) like a UPC, ISBN, or EAN is used for this. This lets listings from different sellers be the same. Then you type in your product names, prices, and inventory.
It is easy to switch to Amazon FBA. You sign up with Amazon for the service and decide which items you want to move to FBA (you can maintain some as seller fulfilled).
These FBA items need to be labeled, packed and sent to an Amazon facility correctly. You are still in charge of marketing, stock, and prices.
Amazon will store, ship, and help with customer service. There is an extra charge for these services.
Do Thorough Market Research
Good market research is important before starting any business. You want to find out what to sell, how much it costs now, and how to get the word out about your products.
When researching the current market, here are some important things to keep in mind:
- You might want to choose products that match your skills or interests. Many people find it easier to sell something they know a lot about or are interested in. But you might want to find a good niche opportunity instead.
- Amazon Best Seller Rank (BSR). There’s more competition for higher-ranked items. Compare prices of similar products. Getting into a category with only one or two products may be difficult.
- Consider your budget. Items under $10 will need more inventory and sales to be profitable. Items over $50 may take longer to sell because fewer people will buy them immediately. A new seller might start midway. Add more products later.
- Find out about your competitors. Just as it’s easy for you to sell on Amazon, it’s easy for others to do the same. Don’t forget about the competition.
- Come up with a unique selling position (USP) to set yourself apart from the competition. Could you change a product, combine products, or market it differently?
- You may want to skip products with a lot of competition, like big-name brands. But you can look at the bad reviews to see where other sellers are having trouble. This could be your USP or a place where you can improve.
- Think of ways to market your products besides using Amazon descriptions well. You could pay for ads, link to other websites or blogs, or make your blog to get the word out about your products.
- Don’t forget that there are many other places to shop besides Amazon. You should compare yourself to other Amazon FBA sellers, but you can also use other platforms to learn about the market.
Set up a clear business plan for Amazon FBA
Every business needs to have a plan. The same goes for an Amazon FBA business.
Planning will help you make a budget, plan for the future, and deal with problems that might come up.
A good business plan for FBA should have:
- A full profile and description of the business. This should include the business’s goals, the products it sells, and what the business has to offer.
- Making plans for the money. Costs, sales, and returns that are expected should be covered. How much money is expected to be made?
- A description of the people you want to reach. Whom do you want to sell something to?
- Business budget. Plan for both the short and long term.
- How much money, space, and people will the business need? You might start with just one employee, but as your business grows, will you be able to get by without adding more people to your team?
- Plans for marketing and advertising and costs for them.
- A plan for running the business. This shows how the business will work, including getting supplies, shipping them, and using Amazon FBA and amazon marketing services.
Choosing and locating products for sale
After you decide what you want to sell, you need to find a supplier. Most things will have more than one possible source.
Amazon won’t assist FBA sellers with sourcing; this remains the seller’s duty.
You can find a supplier in many different ways. The Internet, trade magazines, and trade shows are all good places to look. Some items could even be bought from Amazon. Look at online wholesalers like Tundra or Alibaba. These have a wide range of wholesale goods and can help you find suppliers in other countries.
Direct supplier relationships have benefits. This makes discussing new items or order adjustments easier. You can change providers later.
Choose a local, US, or international source. Local suppliers are easy to ship from. You may find more selections and lower pricing internationally.
Send Amazon your packages.
Under FBA, Amazon will store and ship your goods on an ongoing basis.
But first, you’ll need to get your goods to an Amazon warehouse. Once you’ve set up FBA, this is an easy thing to do.
You can send things from your stock to FBA. Amazon will then send you shipping labels and instructions on how to pack your items. In general, all items must be marked with a barcode that Amazon gives (covering any existing barcodes).
These are then put into boxes and, for bigger deliveries, onto pallets. Then, each of these is labeled so it can be sent.
Amazon will set up a pickup depending on the shipment size and where you live. You should keep in mind that products can take time to package and label, even more so if you have a lot of different things. When deciding if Amazon FBA is right for your business, you should think about this.
Product promotion
Amazon FBA handles fulfillment and customer service, but you sell your items. Products and markets affect marketing tactics and expenses.
Marketing planning elements include:
- Maximize Amazon listings. This helps your items appear in relevant searches. Use keywords to describe the object.
- Use high-quality photos in listings. Images boost brand and reputation. Show product information in photographs.
- Do the research and be unique? Many merchants sell the same items. Identify strategies to improve your market research and promote these changes.
- Consider keywords. Keywords are crucial for searchability. Google Keyword Planner is one tool. These tools show keyword popularity and alternatives.
- Buy targeted ads. Amazon and Google offer ads. Set funds and try different campaigns to discover what works.
- Create product-related online content. Consider strategies to advertise your items outside Amazon. Blogs and social media are low-cost options. Link to existing sources or create your own.
Conclusion:
Starting a business on Amazon is a big step. But in this guide, we have shown that it is possible to do well in that. If you follow the steps above carefully, you’ll get to start your Amazon FBA business.
