How to Get Started Selling on Amazon: A Step by Step Guide

Did you know that there are more than six million sellers on Amazon? While competition might be fierce on the ecommerce platform, there are many ways you can be successful. Amazon has over 300 million customers, making it a great place to tap into your target audience. 

Figuring out how to start selling on Amazon can be intimidating and overwhelming. From creating a seller account to listing your products, there is a lot to get done before launching. 

This guide will discuss Amazon tips and tricks for starting and running a successful ecommerce business. 

Understand Amazon’s Fees

Learning about Amazon’s fees and product restrictions is one of the first steps you should take. Knowing the platform’s stipulations will help you decide what products you’ll sell and your overall strategy. 

The products you sell on Amazon have to comply with their policies. Some products you can’t sell include:

• Alcohol
• Lock picking devices
• Recycled electronics

While some products might be okay to sell on the platform, they have stricter restrictions than others. It’s important to review their policies before you get started. 

Amazon also has product and account fees. The account fees come in two different subscription levels that range from $0 to $39.99 each month. 

You’ll also have to decide whether you want to fulfill your orders and ship them out yourself. You can also opt to have Amazon handle that for you. 

Create a Seller Account

You can sign up for an individual or professional seller account on Amazon. The professional accounts provide you with more features than an individual plan. A professional account costs $39.99 per month. 

A professional account is a great option for businesses that plan on selling more than 40 products each month. You can also access high-level placement on your product detail pages. Additionally, you can take advantage of different selling tools. 

Individual accounts are free but charge around 99 cents for each item you sell. This type of seller account is a great option for low-level businesses that sell less than 40 products each month. If you’re starting on the platform, you might want to choose an individual account. 

Most businesses sign up for a professional account to access the sales features. If you decide to start with an individual plan, you can always upgrade in the future. 

Upload Your Product Listings

Amazon businesses can create their product listings in a couple of different ways:

• Creating a new product listing
• Adding an item to an existing product listing

Adding an item to a current listing is the easiest route to take. Most beginner sellers opt for this when selling products. To make your product more competitive than the others on the listing, you can offer free shipping or have a lower price. 

Manage Your Product Inventory

Keeping an accurate inventory of your products is vital when selling on Amazon. If you have an item listed as being “in stock,” but it’s not, your seller rating will get docked. 

Amazon Inventory Management will automatically update your inventory as you sell items. If your products are only listed on Amazon, this is an accurate way to keep track of your inventory. However, if you sell the same items in a physical location or on another platform, you’ll need to keep your inventory up to date manually. 

Set Up Product Fulfillment or Delivery 

There are a few different ways you can ship out your products. They include:

• Shipping your orders yourself
• Third-party fulfillment
• Amazon fulfillment

Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) is when you ship out your products yourself. You can print your orders and shipping labels directly from your seller dashboard. You’ll need to have packing materials on hand, such as:

• Packing tape
• Boxes
• Bubble wrap or paper
• Scale

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is where Amazon keeps your inventory in its warehouse and handles all order fulfillment. It’s one of the most popular ways to sell on Amazon. This form of fulfillment comes with additional fees on top of the seller fees. 

FBA small and light does come with other benefits, such as:

• Free Prime shipping
• Prime-eligible listings
• Buy box listings
• Trust factor with customers
• Amazon customer support

If you choose FBA, it’s important to stay on top of your fees and costs. Partnering with a company that provides Amazon FBA accounting services will help you stay on top of your inventory and profit. 

Stay on Top of Your Performance

Once you have your products listed, you’ll need to track how your store is performing. You’ll also want to promote your products to increase your sales. 

Amazon is committed to providing its customers with exceptional service. The company holds its sellers to a very high standard. 

You need to maintain the below key metrics to stay in Amazon’s good graces:

• Order Defect Rate: <1%
• Late Shipment Rate: <4%
• Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate: <2.5%

Straying outside of these metrics could result in your store getting a negative review. It’ll also cause your products to rank lower. 

You’ll also want to earn positive customer reviews. Reviews benefit both customers and sellers. 

Amazon also offers various advertising solutions for its sellers to engage with customers. You purchase sponsored ad listings for your products. A sponsored listing will increase how many people see your product listing. 

You can also create an Amazon store page. These landing pages are fully customizable. An Amazon store page allows you to share your products in one place, along with your brand story. 

Amazon sellers will also want to consider offering their customers promotions and coupons. You can offer them free shipping or a certain percentage off via digital coupons. 

Learn How to Get Started Selling on Amazon 

Starting an Amazon business can seem like a lot of work, but if you ask for help from a full service Amazon Agency, it’s a venture that quickly pays off.

Check out one of our other blogs to learn more information about how to get started selling on Amazon.