Online marketplaces like Amazon have made it easier than ever to sell products online. Once you sign up, you'll have access to millions of customers.
This guide covers everything you need to know about starting an Amazon business. See how to get started.
5 Steps to Starting an Amazon Business
Follow our easy steps below to start your Amazon business today:
- Create an Amazon Seller Account
- Choose your first product
- take your product
- list your products
- start selling
The Easy Parts of Starting an Amazon Business
Starting an Amazon business has never been easier. First, you need an Amazon seller account, which almost anyone can set up with just a few pieces of information. Next, you'll need a bank account, government-issued ID, paid credit card, phone number, and tax information.
The entire seller account setup process is very intuitive. You'll be given directions along the way, so you just need to enter the correct information. You also don't have to worry about creating an e-commerce website to sell on Amazon.
You will get an online store with your Amazon seller account.
Likewise, finding potentially profitable products to sell on Amazon shouldn't be difficult. You can use a sales analysis tool likejungle explorerto determine the best products to sell. The tool also helps you to analyze the earning potential of your selected products.
Finally, you don't have to deal with the headache of following orders when you don't want to. The Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) program picks, packs, and ships products on your behalf. Amazon even takes care of customer service for its products, so you can focus on other essential business functions.
The Hard Parts of Starting an Amazon Business
Setting up an Amazon store is very simple. However, generating enough revenue to ensure cash flow can be challenging. This problem is compounded by the fact that Amazon pays every two weeks. Also, Amazon's checkout system can make it difficult to keep stock if you're relying on your sales to cover costs.
Another potential challenge for an Amazon business is competition. There are over eight million sellers on the Amazon marketplace. Strong competition can make it difficult to enter the market.
Furthermore, this competition often leads to price wars. You may even find competitors who are willing to sell at a loss just to get customer feedback. These sellers then raise their prices. It's a bad strategy that doesn't work and only hurts the market.
After all, starting a business on Amazon means you are at the mercy of the brand. Amazon keeps tight tabs on sellers, which is especially good for retailers and customers. But you can unknowingly violate company rules and get your account suspended.
Amazon can also change its rules and policies at any time, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Despite all this, opening a business on Amazon is worth it. So if you're ready to take the plunge, here's how to start an Amazon business.
Step 1 – Create an Amazon Seller Account
You need a seller account to sell products on Amazon. However, the registration process is very simple and you can set it up in just a few minutes.
choose you plan
Amazon offers two plans, the individual plan and the professional plan. I can highly recommend the latter. The Individual plan charges per sale, while the Professional plan charges a flat annual fee regardless of how much you sell.
So it makes more financial sense to start a business on Amazon.
The individual plan costs $0.99 per sale. The Professional plan costs $39.99 per year.
In addition to the lower referral fee, the Professional plan lets you:
- Use promotional tools on the website
- Run promotions like free shipping
- Add multiple users to your Amazon account
- Use API integration to increase sales efficiency
- create bulk entries
register your account
The registration process is quite easy. Simply enter the requested information at each step. For example, you will be asked to provide identification, a bank account number and sort code, and your credit card information.
Step 2: Choose your first product
Choosing your first product is the most immediate challenge you face when starting an Amazon business. There is an endless range of products to choose from, but only a few have the profit potential to make the venture worthwhile.
So think carefully about your first product as it can make or break your business.
Sign up for Jungle Scout
jungle explorerIt is mandatory for Amazon sellers. This sales analysis tool helps ensure you aren't blindly choosing your first product. Instead, you have all the important data you need to make an informed decision about what to sell.
Jungle Scout offers three pricing plans. These include:
- Basic– Costs $29 per month
- Suite– Costs $49 per month
- professional– Costs $84 per month
The Basic plan is enough to get you started, but I recommend the Suite plan. The reason is that the basic plan can slow your progress. For example, the Opportunity Finder feature is limited to three searches per day. But you get unlimited searches by jumping up to the suite plan.
Additionally, Keyword Scout, Product Database, and Vendor Database are limited to three searches per day with the Basic plan. Again, you can browse all these features endlessly with the suite plan. You can still choose the basic plan if you are ok with the limitations. It's still a great option if you're patient.
Find your first product
Now you can use the Jungle Scout catalog of over 475 million Amazon products. You can find the product database feature in the navigation menu on the left side of the screen. It is under product search.
Please select your preferred product category below. Then filter the results based on the most important factors like price range, sales range, net price, reviews, sales, and rating.
Jungle Scout also shows potential products based on minimum and maximum sales. For example, you can set your target income between $4,000 and $7,000 per month. Jungle Scout shows the products that generate this type of monthly income.
Choose your product
Jungle Scout is a great tool for exploring potential products. First, create a list of all products that match your criteria. Then select what interests you most. It's hard to sell a product you don't know about. In either case, customers may be looking to you to offer advice or solutions with your products.
The other thing to keep in mind is the competition. The Amazon marketplace is already saturated with merchants. So you want to have a good chance of breaking into an already crowded market.
For that, stay away from the products that Amazon sells. They will beat you on price every time.
Fortunately, Jungle Scout lets you see what products Amazon sells. Simply apply the vendor type filter to get this information. You can also see what other product vendors are selling in your category.
Finally, pay attention to seasonal products. You want products that sell reliably year round. Seasonal products reduce the consistency of your monthly sales. They also cap your profitable months. Cash flow will likely be an issue, especially in the beginning. So choose a product you can count on for consistent sales.
Step 3 - Purchase your product
Finding a product to sell is only part of the puzzle. Now you have to figure out where to get it. Fortunately, this step shouldn't be too difficult.
Find providers with Jungle Scout
You may want to start with a national supplier when starting your Amazon business. This route may even be cheaper than international providers at this stage of your business. You can also get products to your customers faster and not have to deal with the complexities of international suppliers.
Jungle Scout can also help you find suppliers. The tool features a global supplier database, complete with confirmed shipments and customer volumes. Jungle Scout also allows you to find niche suppliers and those that can fulfill small order volumes.
Learn more about shipping
You also need to figure out how to get products to your customers. The first option is to do it yourself. This option is known in Amazon circles as Merchant Fulfillment. This is where you must store and ship your own products.
In addition, the customer chooses the delivery time. You are expected to ship the product based on this deadline.
Alternatively, you can choose Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). With this option you send your inventory to Amazon. The company scans its products and puts them up for sale. Amazon then packs and ships your products directly to customers.
The service also collects payments on your behalf and even takes care of customer service.
The last option is more attractive, but it can take some time to set up. FBA may also not be an option for many new sellers who don't have a high sales history. Either way, it's an option worth exploring for your Amazon business.
One last thing to consider is the size of the product. Ideally, your products should be easy to handle and ship. You might want to stay away from breakable items, especially for a new business. Consider starting small and light to reduce shipping costs.
Get product samples
Be sure to ask for product samples before committing to a vendor. Product samples are inexpensive and confirm that you are selling quality items.
If you qualify for FBA, consider having your supplier deliver products directly to Amazon's warehouse
Step 4 - List your products
It's time to put your products up for sale. When you list your products on Amazon, they are immediately available for purchase. Amazon offers a wide audience, so there's a decent chance of building a profitable business, but it still takes work.
list your products
OrSeller Central > Inventory > Add Item. While Amazon does offer the option to list your products in bulk, I recommend doing it individually. This gives you a detailed view and understanding of the products you are selling, which is crucial for a new business.
You must enter three pieces of information: the price, the quantity of the item and the condition. Then upload high quality images of your product.
If you don't have good photos from your vendor, take the time to use the samples you ordered to take photos from multiple angles and under different lighting.
Price your products
The first consideration when pricing your product is your desired profit margin. To do this, take into account all your expenses. Don't forget to factor in FBA fees, Amazon referral fees, storage fees, and any other costs you may have incurred.
You should aim for a profit margin between 25% and 30% to make your business profitable.
You can use Jungle Scout to see the average selling price of your product on Amazon. You can use this number to determine your maximum price. Finally, consider your reserve price. That number should be the amount you need to break even after factoring in all of your expenses.
Step 5 - Start selling
You are now ready to launch your Amazon business and start selling. However, there is still work to be done to increase your chances of having a successful business.
think of the brand
Many manufacturers offer private label options. This means you can brand the products with your logo or label. This is an excellent opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Also, consider adding your logo to the package. Again, many manufacturers offer this flexibility for little or no additional cost.
market your business
The best place to start marketing your business on Amazon is withamazon ads. They offer decent conversion rates. It's okay if you don't have a lot of money to spend on advertising. Start small and scale your ad campaigns as your business and revenue grows.
Other advertising options to consider are pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns and social media advertising.
Collect product reviews
Product reviews are a great way to increase your credibility in the Amazon marketplace. You can add product inserts that politely ask customers to rate your products, or include them in the confirmation email when people place an order. However, you may need to figure out how to make feedback worthwhile for your customers, for example. B. offering a small discount on a future purchase.
You can also use social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to solicit product reviews from users.