I’ve been selling on eBay now for the past six weeks and feel comfortable with the selling process and how the platforms works. I’m now going to make the move into selling on Amazon for the first time and create a beginners’ guide to selling on Amazon. I’m hoping l can tap into the huge potential customer base. In 2014, Amazon sales of third-party products doubled from 2013 to more than two billion items sold worldwide.
Why sell on Amazon?
- Your products are easier to find and buy on Amazon
- Convenient, trusted shopping experience for customers
- Security and fraud protection for you and your customers
- Access to Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)
- Sell your products on multiple Amazon Marketplaces
- Expose your brand to millions of Amazon shoppers
- Promote the products you sell on Amazon through keyword targeted ads with Amazon Sponsored Products
(Source: Amazon Services Europe)
How to set up an account
The Amazon.co.uk marketplace enables individuals and businesses to sell new, used, collectable and refurbished items alongside Amazon’s new inventory.
The big difference between Amazon and eBay is that there is no auction option on Amazon, the price you set is the price it is sold for. The more competitively you are priced, the more sales you should get.
Once you’ve decided to sell on Amazon, you’ll be presented with two different seller plans, basic and pro.
Basic seller plan
- Fulfilment by Amazon enabled
- Sell in 20 product categories
- £ 0.75 + per-item seller fees (VAT-exclusive)
If you think you’ll sell more than 30 items per month, you may be more interested in the professional seller plan.
Currently (March 5 2015), Amazon.co.uk is offering three months subscription free if you sign up to the Pro Plan.
PRO seller plan
- Fulfilment by Amazon enabled
- Sell in 25 product categories
- £25.00/mth subscription (cancel any-time) + per-item seller fees (VAT exclusive)
- Load & track inventory in bulk
- Eligible for featured seller status
Once you have decided on your seller plan, all you need to do is complete a basic form with some personal details, then agree to Amazon’s terms and conditions.
What can l sell?
You can sell pretty much anything on Amazon!
Product categories include books, music, videos, film & TV, video games, software, electronics & photo, toys & games, kitchen & home, DIY & tools, home & garden and personal care.
The aim is to buy something and sell for a profit on Amazon (after fees). The difficult part is finding a profitable product that will sell and isn’t highly competitive.
Sell your stuff
Selling your stuff on Amazon is easy, fast and it doesn’t cost you a penny until your item sells.
Sellers are presented with the screen below and Amazon lets sellers select the product category.
After you list your item, buyers can find your products through the “new and used” link on product pages. When your item sells, Amazon send an email notifying you that payment has been taken from the buyer.
You must dispatch your item within two days of receiving this email. Then Amazon deposits the funds into your seller account which are transferred to your bank account on a 14-day cycle.
FBA and MFN
What is FBA?
Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) is a pay-per-use logistics solution that will help you increase your sales. FBA provides world-class fulfilment resources, access to Amazon Prime customers and trusted and acclaimed customer service in local languages.
A big plus for some sellers using FBA is that Amazon is responsible for any returns or shipping issues.
Advantages of FBA
- You can sell more
- You can sell for more
- Amazon deals with the customer
What is MFN?
Merchant Fulfilment Network (MFN) is when a seller ships the item directly to the buyer. The buyer pays Amazon and Amazon pay you after deducting its fees.
With MFN, the seller is responsible for any returns or shipping issues.
Advantages of MFN
- You have control over packaging
- You pay less storage fees
- You pay less fulfilment fees
Link: Read more about FBA and MFN in this blog from RepricerExpress.
Conclusion
So there you have it, a beginners’ guide to selling on Amazon—you could have an Amazon account set up and running in a few minutes. You can even use your existing Amazon account to make the process even quicker.
Just decide which seller plan suits you, then list your products and wait for a sale.
There are two fulfilment options and advantages to both so you get to decide which of FBA or MFN works best for you.
Next week, l’ll be looking at ways l can source my inventory and attempting to find products that I can sell on Amazon for a profit.
