Being a one-person unit selling on the Amazon marketplace is no easy feat. Working alone means you need to iron out all the details yourself. There's no shortage of what needs to be done, such as brainstorming what to sell, researching and sourcing your products, creating your product listings, and keeping up with your competitors.

It's easy to get overwhelmed when managing all of these on your own, especially if you're working on areas that aren't your forte. This is why the Amazon FBA Partnership exists. Keep reading for some valuable Amazon FBA advice that will help ease up your day-to-day selling journey.

We'll cover the ins and outs of bringing an Amazon FBA partner into your organization and how it can change your business and life as a seller. Learn the benefits of hiring one and how to find the perfect fit for your business. 

What is an Amazon FBA Partner?

Most Amazon sellers are already familiar with what an Amazon FBA program is. The platform offers this service, enabling sellers to take advantage of Amazon's fulfillment centers. It also means Amazon will handle the fulfillment process, shipping costs, product warehousing, and customer service.

To start with Amazon FBA, sellers must sign up on their Amazon seller account and enroll their products in the program. But what precisely does an Amazon FBA Partner do? 

An Amazon FBA Partner refers to an Amazon specialist or a member of a team of eCommerce experts dedicated to ramping up your FBA business to the next level. Depending on who you hire, they may not be experts in all facets of business operations but specialize in significant parts of the process. 

One of the best parts is that they have mastered the art and science of maximizing profits with minimal resources. With Amazon FBA, Amazon sellers no longer have to learn the ropes of and outsource order fulfillment processes. 

That said, you still have your own responsibilities as an Amazon FBA seller. One is to secure inventory from your supplier to Amazon Fulfillment Centers and optimize product listings to rank on the first page of the search results.

You'll occasionally deal with other matters, such as customer returns and FBA inventory reimbursement. Managing so many tasks on your own can be daunting, so having an FBA Partner is an incredible asset to your business's growth and solution to your day-to-day.

Why Amazon FBA Partnership is Good For Your Amazon Business

Having an Amazon FBA partner can prove to be an excellent strategy for sellers managing their business at any stage. But in what ways, to be exact? Keep reading to learn why having the perfect business partners can significantly benefit your Amazon FBA business.

1. FBA Partners are masters of the craft.

Professional Amazon specialists and agencies thrive because they do what they do best—assist Amazon sellers with various business models at different stages. Their expertise is often developed through courses and experience in Amazon selling, Brand Registry, PPC advertising, copywriting and product listing, basic graphic design, and more. 

To have worked in this industry firsthand, helping Amazon sellers navigate the platform and learning best practices for growth is the best way to build experience and knowledge of this field. 

2. Having an excellent FBA partner helps you avoid wasting time and resources. 

FBA partners deeply understand how Amazon FBA works, which means you can be confident that your business is in great hands. They streamline your FBA operations, optimize logistics, and provide expert guidance throughout the process, preventing wasted time and resources.

Instead of spending thousands of dollars doing the work on your own, an FBA partner can put your resources to better use to reap profits more efficiently.

For example, you don't have to pay separate fulfillment fees if you're running an Amazon FBA business. Your FBA partner will ship your products to Amazon's fulfillment centers instead. Another essential benefit is that you can better allocate your time toward other core business tasks.

3. You will have someone knowledgeable and reliable to answer your questions.

You may feel like you’re lost in a maze when navigating through Amazon Seller Central. This is understandable, particularly if you're new to selling on the platform. But those days will soon be over with a well-established FBA partner who can answer your questions and provide valuable solutions.

They will help you understand complex terminologies and features and suggest the most suitable approaches for specific situations, helping you navigate the platform and implement best practices for your business model.

4. You'll have the exclusive opportunity to learn from your FBA partner.

Having an FBA partner who can answer your questions, do their job well, and constantly innovate strategies will allow you to gain exclusive and invaluable knowledge. This opportunity to learn will enhance your understanding of what's going on with your business and apply different practices moving forward.

5. FBA partners can motivate you to push yourself.

Are you struggling with procrastination and slacking off when things don't go as planned? Having business partners like an Amazon FBA partner can help you get back on track and regain that passion for productivity.

Think of it as a reset and a positive influence on your life as a seller. More motivation, greater productivity!

Things to Do When Hiring An Amazon FBA Partner

You can only enjoy the benefits of having an FBA partner if you find the right collaborator for your business. This is crucial to ensure a smooth-sailing and productive relationship. When choosing your FBA partner, you should consider several things. Here's a list to take note of:

1. Set Criteria For Your Potential FBA Partner

Do some research before hiring an Amazon FBA Partner. It's essential to vet who you bring onto your team. Once you do, set specific expectations on what you need them to deliver. By setting clear expectations upfront, you can avoid misunderstandings and ensure success in building your partnership.

2. Leverage Your Profit Margins

If you plan on hiring an Amazon specialist or a team of Amazon experts to be your FBA partner, ensure your business funds can cover the costs. Hiring can be expensive, but it may be a more cost-effective solution for you in the long run.

3. Build Trust and Communication

Establishing trust and effective communication is paramount in every business partnership. Successful collaborations stem from the confidence each party has in the other, which is to fulfill their duties and deliver good results.

If problems arise, they will be addressed with utmost transparency. This is reinforced by having a dedicated channel for communication where each party can be heard and understood.

Final Thoughts

Having an Amazon FBA Partner has its pros and cons. Finding the perfect match will reap long-term profitability. Conversely, a mismatched FBA partner leads to headaches and wasted efforts. That's where Seller Interactive comes in.

We are geared towards alleviating stress in Amazon FBA business operations. To accomplish this, we offer services in many facets, from full account management to PPC marketing. Our Amazon specialists want nothing but the best results for your business. 
So let's get in touch!

Your Amazon business is running smoothly, and you're ready to take that jump. You want to delve deeper into the large-scale, programmatic type of advertising through Amazon called Amazon Demand Side Platform (DSP) and learn how Amazon DSP works.

We’ve got you covered! Let’s learn the basics of this Amazon advertising type and discover how to maximize its use and potential.

Which Business Types Use DSP?

Amazon DSP is intended for existing sellers with a successful online track record and are now scaling up. However, this feature is not limited to established brands; it’s accessible to Amazon sellers and brands of all sizes and on other platforms looking for new growth opportunities. 

Businesses interested in DSP typically have the budget to scale their businesses by ramping up their brand awareness and reaching wider audiences on and off Amazon. Amazon DSP allows them to go beyond the Amazon platform.

Types of Ads for Amazon DSP

Amazon DSP advertising supports several different options for media advertisements. You can build campaigns using display, video, audio ads, or a combination to promote your brand/products. 

DSP campaigns are typically launched to raise brand awareness or drive traffic on a cost-per-impression (CPM) basis. You can also use Amazon DSP to run video campaigns on a cost-per-view (CPV) basis.

While brands often upload their own media, Amazon also provides creative resources for advertisers. Using these resources, you'll have access to display image ad tools and a free video creative builder with varying styles. 

Sellers can use these features to help align their advertisements with their brand style and image. 

Available Amazon DSP Options

Advertisers have the option of two types of DSP: self-service and managed service. 

In self-service DSP, advertisers manage the campaigns themselves manually. Self-service DSP advertisers run their own advertising, so management fees are waived. However, it’s crucial to note that ad format and placement still take up most of the ad spend. 

On the other hand, managed-service DSP is a service for brands looking to hire agency-level management to handle their accounts. Managed-service Amazon DSP comes with a costly fee of  $50,000 (may vary per country). Established brands typically use this service as part of their marketing strategy. 

How Amazon DSP Works

Amazon's marketplace alone opens up millions of visitors daily. With the variety of online products, sites, apps, and brands Amazon has partnered with for DSP advertising, there are many growth opportunities and possibilities with Amazon DSP, increasing advertisers’ reach and skyrocketing their brands’ potential. 

Here’s how the DSP system works: 

• Audience Targeting - Consider demographics and behavior to capture them and strategically plan your campaigns throughout the buyer's journey. 
• Bidding - To use Amazon DSP, advertisers compete against each other in real-time ad inventory auctions.
• Campaign Monitoring - Monitor your campaigns easily using a neat dashboard displaying metrics.
• Campaign Analysis - Measure your ad and campaign performance using key metrics.

Let’s specify each step further.

How to Use Amazon DSP

The Amazon DSP program process is quite simple. You can create a powerful ad campaign with simple steps to reach millions of potential customers. To get started with Amazon DSP:

1. Create a DSP account, input basic information about your business, and wait for Amazon’s approval. 
2. Start creating your ads using the Amazon Ad Builder tool or upload your HTML code. Pick an objective, targeting option, and ad format.
3. Select the keywords you want to use. Target broad keywords or long-tail keywords. 
4. Set a bid and budget strategy for your campaign.  
5. Add some ad creatives (images or videos) to your campaign.
6. Launch your campaign.
7. Once your campaign is running, track its performance and make necessary adjustments.

How to Create an Impressive Amazon DSP Program

As an Amazon DSP partner, you have access to a powerful tool to help you reach your advertising goals. Ensure to make the most of the Amazon DSP program and bring your business to heights you never thought possible! Here are some pointers to get you started:

Look Closely At Your Data.

Review your campaign performance data and identify areas where you can improve. By understanding the data about your campaign’s performance, you can make more informed decisions about optimizing your campaigns in the future. Consider these questions:

• Are there times of day or days of the week more successful than others? 
• Are there certain targeting criteria that work better than others?

Use Innovative and Creative Materials.

Remember that you only have a few seconds to grab a customer's attention, so ensure your ads are well-designed and relevant to what you're selling. From desktop display ads to video ads, you will surely get a spark of inspiration from the vast selection of ad types available for DSP.

Improve Customer Targeting.

Use data to create targeted ad campaigns that reach customers with the right message. For example, Amazon DSP helps reach Amazon shoppers interested in your products or services whether they are browsing on the Amazon page or not. 

You can target customers based on their demographic information, such as age, gender, location, and interests.

Use Negative Keywords.

Your campaigns should include negative keywords to prevent unrelated searches from displaying your advertising. Using negative keywords will help you avoid wasting money on clicks that don't convert and improve ROAS.

Experiment with Different Ad Formats and Strategies.

Testing what works for you can help you find the DSP ad format and strategy that guarantee desirable results. Amazon DSP offers a variety of advertisements, each of which has its strengths and weaknesses. Try different ad formats and tactics to uncover the winning combination for your advertising campaigns.

Ensure You're Bidding Appropriately.

Review your DSP ad campaigns and ensure you get the most bang for your buck. Ensure you're bidding enough to meet your goals but not so much that you're wasting money on clicks that don’t convert. Don't just set a flat rate for all your ads and adjust your bids based on how likely each customer is to convert. 

Monitor Your Metrics and Make Necessary Marketing Adjustments.

Your Amazon DSP reporting dashboard provides valuable data to help you understand how your Amazon DSP ads perform. Ensure you have access to all the data and information you need to make informed decisions about your campaigns and continue improving the results. Keep tabs on your campaign performance and adjust accordingly.

Mix and Match Multiple Amazon Advertising Strategies and Solutions.

Instead of using one over another, many brands have incorporated combinations of DSP and other Amazon advertising services into their marketing campaigns. Here are some actionable tips to consider:

🎯	Reach wider audiences with DSP and Amazon Sponsored Display ads on mobile apps, websites, and Amazon. DSP boosts awareness with a broader reach, while Sponsored Ads drive conversions through targeted keywords.
📹	When paired with Amazon Live, you can inform interested Amazon shoppers about your products in real time and reach audiences outside Amazon (e.g., IMDB.com, publishing applications and streaming platforms such as Amazon Fire TV Stick, etc.), effectively exposing your business to a broader market.
📊	Leverage data from both advertising programs. Data from DSP can help keyword targeting in PPC/sponsored ads, while data from PPC can improve audience targeting in DSP.
⚙️	Use Amazon Attribution with your DSP campaigns to analyze your campaign performance and enhance your campaigns for optimum results.

Final Thoughts

The world of advertising is dynamic. What performs well now may not always be a viable strategy later. For this reason, you are responsible for monitoring trends, keeping your brand relevant, maintaining and surpassing your target sales, and exceeding your competitors. 

Although it can get complicated, Amazon DSP offers solutions to help build campaigns that will better give your brand the exposure it deserves by allowing users to advertise on other Amazon sites.

And with Seller Interactive, we can help you achieve the marketing results you set for your brand. By employing industry-standard Amazon KPIs and in-house metrics for advertising performance, you can rest assured that your brand is in good hands.

Work with us for your Amazon DSP campaign, and you'll attain peace of mind knowing that a team of dedicated, expert advertising professionals will manage your campaign confidently down to the smallest detail. 

Let's get in touch. Book a call with us today!

Amazon is a massive online retailer that connects millions of buyers and sellers from around the world. However, as a seller on the platform, you may risk having your account suspended for various reasons, such as receiving too many negative reviews, failing to meet Amazon’s standards, or simply sending the same inquiry multiple times. Fortunately, you can still reinstate your account with an expertly-crafted Amazon appeal letter. 

A suspended seller account can devastate your business, leading to lost revenue and damage to your reputation. In such a case, the Amazon suspension appeal letter is your only way to get your business back. This article will explore the ins and outs of a suspended seller account and provide tips on crafting an effective appeal letter to get your account back up and running. Let’s begin!

Reasons Your Amazon Account is Suspended

There are two types of suspension on Amazon: 

Account Suspension is the complete shutdown of your Amazon seller account. In this case, your account has lost all its seller privileges across the platform. 

Meanwhile, Listing Suspension happens when Amazon suspends particular listings, and not your whole account.

Amazon should provide the complete details regarding the suspension, but their explanation can sometimes be vague or too technical. And as a seller, you’ll want to know exactly what went wrong on your part, so you can dispute it or avoid similar actions in the future if you’re still able to create a new account. 

Below are some possible reasons why Amazon has suspended your account.

Poor Seller Performance

Given its customer-centric reputation, Amazon has strict and specific benchmarks for seller performance.

• More than 1% of order defect rate
• More than 2.5% order cancellation rate
• More than 4% late shipment rate
• Responses to customer queries exceeding 24 hours
• Frequent chargebacks from customers

Amazon's goal is to make shopping more convenient for all customers worldwide. Falling short of these benchmarks puts your business at risk, undermines Amazon’s reputation, and spoils the customer experience.

Amazon Policy Violations

Knowing Amazon policies is prerequisite to creating your seller account. You must have an idea of what and what not to do on the platform before making your page live. If you keep these rules in mind, avoiding possible suspension would be much easier. 

Seeking the advice of an Amazon suspension attorney is essential if you want further knowledge on even the most complex policies and technicalities of Amazon. 

Prohibited Items on Your Page

Some products may be sold legally everywhere else but not on Amazon. Some of these include:

• Alcohol
• Animals and other animal-related products
• Cosmetics and other personal care items
• Currency and gift cards
• Dietary supplements, especially those that are not FDA-approved
• Drugs and drug-related paraphernalia (including tobacco)
• Gambling-related items
• Laser-based items
• Pesticides and other compounds
• Plants and other organic things
• Service plans and warranties

It is often difficult for people to distinguish between products in some categories. But you can get assistance from an Amazon specialist so you don’t accidentally sell prohibited items.

Drafting an Effective Amazon Suspension Letter

After receiving a suspension notification, you first need to calm down and think of a plan of action instead. Account suspensions can hit you hard, especially if it is your first time. However, with the right resources, you can draft an effective appeal letter and reinstate your account quickly.

Step 1: Come Up With a Sound Introduction

Begin your Amazon seller suspension appeal letter with a short introduction about yourself and your business. Afterward, write a paragraph about what happened and what you've learned from your suspension period. Remember to include your seller account name.

Step 2: Enumerate the Issues That Caused Your Suspension

Next, follow up your introduction by enumerating why you were suspended. This is typically included in your Amazon account suspension notice. Stating so will give them the impression that you are aware of why you got suspended. If there are multiple issues, address each one individually in a single appeal.

Some examples of Amazon violations are the following: 

• Inauthentic Products
• Selling Prohibited Items
• Negative Feedback
• Trademark Infringement
• Late Shipment Rate

From there, you can present the problem in more detail: how you determined the main issue, the actions that led to it, and most importantly, own up to your mistakes and take responsibility for what happened.

Step 3: Describe the Actions You Have Made Since Being Suspended

Afterward, specify the actions you have taken post-Amazon account suspension to resolve the main issues you have outlined. Create a detailed narrative of what you and your team have done to prevent recurrences.

Make it easy to read by stating the main issue and then proceeding with bullet points below it. This way, Amazon's team can carefully read and understand it in a breeze, resulting in faster reinstatement.

Step 4: Describe the Actions You Will Take When Reinstated

Include the actions you will begin doing once you become unsuspended. Explain which remedies or regulations will be enforced, so your Amazon seller account can avoid future problems and ensure that you are up to Amazon's and your customer's standards. 

Are you planning to send your apologies or refunds to your disappointed customers? Will you put an additional policy in place to avoid future recurrences? 

Ensure not to make any promises you can't keep or any claims you cannot implement. Amazon will sometimes only reinstate a suspended Amazon Seller Account once they have evidence that the violator has implemented their proposed action plan.

You can also include signing up for a weekly Amazon newsletter in your action steps so you're constantly updated on Amazon news and policies that may affect your selling on the platform. The more informed you are of the policies and any of their changes, the better it is so you keep your listings and business processes updated.

Step 5: End With a Nice Closing Statement

End with a brief closing statement. Sum up all your steps and the preventative measures you plan to enforce. Own up to your mistakes and take accountability. And for a better chance of reinstatement, avoid excuses.

Include a well-written, factual statement with a clear call to action asking for reinstating your Amazon seller account.  

Step 6: Send it Out and Wait Patiently

Submit your statement, watch for any communications, and respond promptly if they request further information. Then, wait patiently for a response or further actions until your seller account is reinstated. 

Tips on Writing an Amazon Appeal Letter

Amazon has 2.3 million active sellers. Can you imagine how many letters they receive every day? For your appeal letter to be noticed in the back of the Amazon email queue, follow these simple guidelines.

Easy to Read

The more straightforward your letter is, the more effective it will be to convey your thoughts to Seller Performance. There's no need for a literary and linguistic exhibition. Instead, prioritize ease of understanding and presentations of the facts. Make sure to write in simple, straightforward language while observing proper grammar and punctuation. 

Effective Presentation

One of the most common mistakes of suspended sellers when drafting their appeal letters is presenting everything in one giant paragraph block. Not only does this discourage readers from reading it, but you also risk saying more than you need.

One of the most common formats encouraged by other Amazon Sellers who've experienced success in writing appeals is to write your main points in simple sentences supported by bullet points. This will ensure brevity and conciseness, delivering your message clear and concise.

Coherent Formatting

Clear facts are the most critical factor of the Amazon Seller suspension appeal letter. Once you've outlined and gathered what needs to be put in the appeal letter, you can begin to write it. Just make sure to follow coherent and easy-to-follow formatting. 

Good formatting helps more than you think. If your letter is easy to read, it will help the Seller Performance team quickly understand your main issue and action plan. You can highlight a few things in your letter that are most important with generous spacing.

Begin your appeal letter with a salutation. Opt to use any of the following suggestions:

• Dear Amazon
• Dear Sir/Madam
• Dear Seller Performance
• To Whom It May Concern

For the first paragraph, introduce yourself, your business, and why you think it is the root cause of the Amazon account suspension.

Afterward, open your first notable point with a single, simple sentence. It can be any of the examples below:

We recognize the issue may have arisen from several occurrences.

After careful review of our group, we have determined these be the root of the problem.

You can then proceed to enumerate the problems in bullet points.

The second point should be written similarly to the preceding number. Example:

We have taken the following actions to ensure that this will not happen again: 

The following steps have been taken to ensure that this will not happen again:

Then proceed to discuss your plan of action in bullet points. 

Close everything up with a proposal of what you will do after you get reinstated, an assurance that the problem will not occur, and a request for Amazon to reinstate your seller account. And, of course, remember to include a closing salutation. 

Mention Amazon’s Customers

To create a letter that appeals to Amazon, you must understand what they always have on their mind: the customers. Because, in the end, it’s all about satisfying their customers. Here’s something that you can add to your letter: 

I understand that Amazon customers deserve the level of service that your company strives to provide. By not meeting the performance standards, we are directly responsible. 

I have found that these solutions are proactive measures that enable our account to meet the expectations of Amazon’s customers.

By indicating to Amazon that your primary concern is its customers, you’re making yourself responsible for their customers’ satisfaction. Who can say no to that, right?

Be as Detailed as You Can in Your Amazon Appeal

Amazon’s Seller Performance Team has been known to respond to sellers requesting more concrete action plans. Detailed plans are clearly what they want. Before writing your letter:

• Research how many people have encountered your issue and their action plans to prevent incurring the same violations.
• Decide on what you plan to do.
• Include this action plan in your letter for a better chance of a favorable response. 

Amazon Plan of Action Appeal Example

Below is an example of an Amazon plan of action, specifically tailored to address multiple selling account violation. While this sample letter can serve as a valuable resource for guidance and inspiration, it is important to use it with caution. Remember to consider the specific reasons for your own account suspension and ensure that your appeal letter addresses those issues directly.

Seller Interactive_Example of a Plan of Action for Amazon by Outgive on Scribd

Seller Interactive Account Suspension Appeal and Reinstatement

In conclusion, having your Amazon seller account suspended can be a frustrating experience that can cause you to lose a significant amount of revenue. However, with the right steps, it is possible to get your account reinstated quickly. 

Understanding the ins and outs of Amazon suspensions is essential, and it’s imperative to identify the root cause of the suspension. Addressing the issues promptly and with an effective appeal letter can help you mitigate the problem. An effective appeal letter should be easy to read, coherently formatted, and present the necessary details comprehensively. 

By following the actionable steps to draft an effective appeal letter and taking the necessary preventive measures, you can avoid suspension in the future and enjoy continued growth on Amazon.And if you ever experience account suspension, know that you can always seek help. We, here at Seller Interactive, offer Amazon account suspension appeal and reinstatement. We can assist you in reinstating your account the most efficient way possible. Call us now to know more of our services!

As a new seller, it's normal to become overwhelmed as you venture into selling on Amazon—it’s the biggest online retail platform to date, after all. Yet the best way to lessen those doubts and fears is to face them. And one of the crucial parts you need to face is Amazon Seller Central.

Learning it all on your own might be confusing, but we're here to make it digestible for you. In this blog post, we will share how to set up your seller account and the key features that await you on the Seller Central dashboard.

What Is Amazon Seller Central: An Overview

Seller Central is a platform developed by Amazon catering to entrepreneurs, business owners, and brand managers. It's a marketplace to sell products to Amazon's pool of customers directly.

This arrangement allows Amazon sellers and account managers to oversee their selling activities. 

For example, sellers can list their products, track sales, provide customer service, monitor customer feedback, manage inventory, and even ship their products (subject to Amazon's regulations.) Businesses are drawn to Seller Central because it allows them to use their management and marketing strategies to influence performance and profit. 

However, your projected sales volume depends on the type of selling plan you have. Check out the differences between the two types below:

1. Individual Selling Plan

An individual selling plan allows sellers to sell their products without the hassle of a paid subscription plan. This selling plan suits beginner Amazon sellers or those with low sales volume. You will be charged only $0.99 per product sold, making it affordable for sellers just starting out.

2. Professional Selling Plan

A professional selling plan offers bulk upload, inventory control, management features, Amazon advertising, and more. You can't find these features in the Individual selling plan. This type of plan also offers product categories not available with the individual selling plan. 

However, Amazon charges a $39.99 monthly selling fee for the professional selling plan, which makes it suitable for those with established businesses or decent sales volume.

What are the Selling Fees on Amazon?

Here are some selling fees that you might need to pay as you start selling on Amazon:

• Referral fees. This refers to the commission charged by Amazon for selling items on its platform. The fee varies depending on the product category. It typically falls within the range of 12-40%. Amazon charges a referral fee of approximately 15% for the majority of products.
• Seller plan fees. All Amazon sellers pay seller plan fees whether they avail of individual or professional plans.
• FBA fees. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service that allows sellers to outsource order fulfillment to Amazon. You'll send products to Amazon's fulfillment centers, where they pick, pack, and ship orders. There are fees associated with fulfillment, storage, and additional services on Amazon FBA.

How to Create an Amazon Seller Central Account

1. Go to https://sell.amazon.com/.
2. Click Sign up.
3. Click the Create your Amazon account button.
4. Input your name, email, and password.
5. Input the six-digit One-Time Password (OTP) code sent to your email address.
6. From the drop-down menu under Business information, choose the location of your business.
7. After clicking the Sign-Up button, it will prompt you to enter essential information about you and your business. Here are some information that may be asked from you:

• Business location
• Business Type
  • State-owned business
  • Publicly-owned business
  • Privately-owned business
  • Charity
  • None, I am an individual

• Full name
• Mobile or telephone number
• Bank account number
• Chargeable credit card identity details

8. Input information about your product/s and store. This includes whether you have Universal Product Codes (UPCs), diversity certifications, and if you're a manufacturer or a brand owner. Fill out the store name, tick the appropriate buttons for each question, and click Next.
9. You'll be asked to upload identity documents (i.e., a photo of your ID) and additional documents (i.e., a bank or credit card statement).
10. After uploading your documents, you must complete an Identity Verification via video call with an Amazon associate who will verify your documents and the personal information you submitted. 
11. Once you're verified, you can start selling!

Key Features of the Seller Central Dashboard

Now that you already have a seller account, let's explore the heavily used section of the Seller Central interface: the top bar menu. This is where you can manage your account or ask for help from the Amazon seller support team.

Each tab on the Seller Central dashboard has a drop-down list that gives you relevant options:

Catalog

The catalog manages your entire product selection. The Catalog menu also allows you to:

• Add Products. If you want to add and list new products on the Amazon marketplace, navigate here.
• Complete Your Drafts. If you didn't complete the process, you could go back to this sub-menu. This is an excellent way to pre-plan your product additions.

Inventory

This option lets you manage, plan, and evaluate the number of products stored and ready for use. Some of the critical sub-menus are:

• Manage Inventory. This is where you can see all your store's product listings and details, including name, image status, price, sales rank, and shipping options.
• Sell Globally. You can list your products on Amazon marketplace countries using this option. It also lets you view sales data for each country you participate in. 
• FBA Inventory. This is where you can monitor your FBA inventory. You can also prepare the shipments to be sent to fulfillment centers through this tab. 
• Inventory Planning. This is where you can download the analytics of your listings. You'll have reports for all your active, inactive, sold, or canceled listings.

Pricing

This option allows you to manage your listings' price points to give you a competitive edge against other buyers. Some of the crucial options under this tab are:

• Pricing Health. This will show you if your price point is competitive, too low, or too high compared to the competition. Pricing health also gives insights into whether you're competitive enough for Buy Box placement.
• Buy Box. This is the white box on the right side of the Amazon product detail page, making it easier for customers to purchase items in their cart. According to RepricerExpress, 83% of all Amazon sales happen through the Buy Box, which could be why many sellers wish to have it.
• Automate Pricing. It lets you create specific pricing rules that trigger an automatic price change. 

Orders

The orders section is where you manage and monitor customer orders, returns, and claims you've made for your products. But if you have signed up on Amazon FBA, Amazon will take care of your orders.

• Manage Orders. This sub-menu lets you view pending, canceled, or all order statuses among different sales channels.
• Order Reports. This lets you download orders with different statuses (i.e., new, unshipped, archived). It also lets you schedule reports and manage them effectively.
• Manage Returns. This applies to seller-fulfilled products that require manual authorization of product returns. This permits you to track product returns from pre-authorization to closure.
• Manage SAFE-T Claims. Seller Assurance for Ecommerce Transactions (SAFE-T) allows you to process reimbursements for damaged or mishandled products you can no longer sell.

Advertising

If you want to initiate, manage, and monitor advertising efforts for your product listing to boost sales, the Advertising section is where you go. Only the Professional Amazon account plan gets this feature.

• Campaign Manager. It lets you create an advertising campaign for your product listing with different goals targeting specific consumers. You're also going to be able to set budgets to spend on your advertising efforts. You can use Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display ads if you're enrolled in the Amazon brand registry program.
• A+ Content Manager. This is used by brand owners and managers who are part of the Amazon brand registry. It lets you tell your brand's story and value proposition using multimedia content.
• Vine. This Amazon program lets you tap on Amazon's list of credible people to post reviews and opinions about your product listing. You can send your product to a maximum of 30 people to obtain reviews.
• Deals. This tab allows you to create promotional discounts for your product listings, such as Amazon Lightning Deals.
• Coupons. You can create a coupon for one or several of your products. You can also track the performance of your coupons in this section.
• Promotions. Create three kinds of promotions for your prospective customers. Free shipping, Percentage Off, and Buy One, Get One. You can use one or combine several on one or multiple product listings.

Stores

The store manager option is for Amazon brand-registered sellers. It lets you create a brand landing page sponsored by Amazon and drive traffic to your branded product listings.

Reports

This section gives a detailed breakdown of important account information to analyze your Amazon business operations better.

• Payments. This tab provides an expense statement showing how much you paid Amazon in a given date range, transactions, or all statements.
• Amazon Selling Coach. This tab produces reports that suggest how to improve your Amazon business. Among them are recommendations for your product listings, inventory management, and search recommendations.
• Business Reports. If you want to see sales traffic and performance reports, this is the section where you can view historical data for your products. 
• Fulfillment. This section allows you to view information related to fulfilled shipments. Reports include inventory, sales, inventory and storage fees, customer returns and replacements, order removals, and more.
• Return Reports. This reports on all customer returns along with the reason for the returns on an account level.
• Tax Document Library. The Tax Document Library Generates reports involving tax payments and exemptions imposed on your Amazon seller account. This can be used as a reference for tax filing purposes.

Performance

This section gives you a quick overview of your Amazon account's performance. This will likely be your go-to section if you're hands-on with account management.

• Account Health. It provides an overview of your customer service performance, product compliance, and shipping service performance.
• Feedback. It shows you the overall buyer satisfaction or dissatisfaction that ranges from 30 days, six months, one year, or a lifetime. It allows you to track customer sentiment and negative reviews and manage them via a removal request.
• Chargeback Claims. It lets you view and manage charge disputes if you've filed a claim for an incorrect charge due to unauthorized payment or non-receipt of items.
• Performance Notifications. In this section, you'll find Amazon's critical communications for your accounts, such as product listing suspension or takedown.
• Voice of the Customer. This shows your buyer's sentiment on a listing level and categorizes the listing from very poor to excellent. This way, you can manage your poor-performing listings.
• Seller University. It acts as a knowledge base for beginner sellers looking to improve their seller process knowledge.

Manage and Grow Your Business with Seller Interactive

Navigating the Amazon marketplace as a beginner seller can be daunting, but by learning the ins and outs of tools like Seller Central, you can reach your online business goals sooner than later. 

Remember, Seller Central is like your command center on Amazon, offering options and resources to streamline your selling operations. Aside from having a comprehensive understanding of Seller Central, you should also keep your seller account healthy and avoid possible Amazon policy violations. 

Still find everything a little confusing? No worries! Consider employing an Amazon account manager as a new seller. Professional account management can be a game-changer for your fledgling business, as it can provide you with the support you need in optimizing your account, handling customer service, and navigating Amazon’s policies.
Book a call with us today to get a free consultation.

When selling on Amazon, winning the Buy Box is essential for maximizing sales and profitability. The Buy Box is the section to the right of the Amazon interface which customers can’t miss. It has an easy “Add to Cart” button which greatly increases the likelihood of a sale.

However, winning the Buy Box is not a straightforward process and is influenced by various factors, including pricing. A solid Amazon pricing strategy is critical to winning the Buy Box and essential for staying competitive and maintaining profitability.

In this article, we’ll explore different Amazon pricing strategies that online sellers like you can use to win the Buy Box and grow your Amazon business.

Situations That Call for Price Changes

Have you ever been to a store where the prices of certain items dropped significantly towards the end of the day? Or have you noticed how stores raise prices during certain seasons?

This is manual pricing, a dynamic pricing strategy. There are several strategies in dynamic pricing to make sales as market demand fluctuates, or as perishables near their expiration dates. Dynamic pricing also happens on Amazon, especially in situations like these two.

Adjusting Amazon's Pricing Model for In-Demand Products

If products are in high demand, the right Amazon pricing strategy may be to increase. By increasing the prices of the products in demand, businesses can capitalize on the demand and maximize profits. 

This tactic can also create a sense of exclusivity and desirability for the products. The perceived product value increases, strengthening brand loyalty and sales. Alternatively, lower prices can communicate urgency and persuade customers to buy before the prices return to normal. 

It's essential for Amazon sellers to carefully consider the potential consequences of changing prices, as it can affect customer loyalty and brand reputation. However, if implemented strategically, this Amazon pricing model can be a successful tactic.

Offering Competitive Prices on Par With Competitors

To remain competitive in a market where customer demand is high, compare prices with competitors. Then, it may be necessary to adjust. This is because your current pricing strategy may not be relevant when compared to competitors' prices.

If you charge a higher price than your competitors, you may lose customers, as choosing better and lower prices is instinctive. This can ultimately result in a loss of market share and revenue.

Similarly, if a business charges a significantly lower retail price than its competitors, it may undervalue its products and services and ultimately sacrifice profit margins. Find the sweet spot and adjust prices according to competitor prices to allow your business to remain competitive and attract new customers while maintaining a healthy profit margin.

In all these situations, sellers should evaluate the demand for a product during different times and utilize Amazon’s dynamic pricing strategy. This is so they can adjust pricing decisions accordingly. Sellers can then optimize their opportunities, go through their inventory, and boost profits. 

Craft an Amazon Pricing Strategy and Win the Buy Box

On Amazon, the more sales a store makes, the higher the chance for the store to get the "Buy Box" button. The Buy Box is a critical part of the Amazon marketplace that is highly coveted among sellers. The reason is simple: this is where Amazon recommends sellers to potential customers. 

The Buy Box is hard to miss for a customer. When you search for an item, it's usually on the right side of the screen with an "Add to cart" button. If you have the Buy Box, customers are more likely to click on your product, discover your store, and buy from you.

So how do you get the Buy Box? Here’s how!

Keep Your Pricing on Amazon Reasonable 

Keeping product prices reasonable is an intelligent strategy to secure the Amazon Buy Box, and the price is an important factor in determining who wins the Buy Box, with the lowest-priced item typically being the top contender. However, pricing too low can also hurt your bottom line.

By keeping prices reasonable, you can avoid losing money and stay competitive. This also ensures that you maintain healthy margins while customers enjoy great deals. An optimal price is significant for sellers with a high volume of products, as small margins can add up and help them maximize profits.

Check Out Your Competitors’ Pricing Model

Another effective pricing strategy to increase the chances of winning the Amazon Buy Box is to stay competitive and regularly check your competitors' pricing models. 

Additionally, keeping an eye on your competitors' prices can help you identify trends in the market, allowing you to pivot your strategy and utilize Amazon dynamic pricing accordingly.

Experiment With Dynamic Pricing To Test Amazon’s Pricing Algorithm

Since Amazon's algorithm prioritizes sellers with competitive prices, experimenting with the most competitive prices is a premium strategy used by Amazon sellers to improve their chances of winning the Buy Box. 

Sellers can conduct A/B testing as a part of their Amazon pricing strategy to find the sweet spot that maximizes profit margins while still offering competitive prices. By analyzing sales trends and tailoring prices to the needs of their customers, sellers can improve their visibility on Amazon and achieve greater sales.

Sell a Variety of Products

Selling only new products to get the Buy Box can be a risky Amazon pricing strategy. This approach can limit your product selection and potentially lead to missed sales opportunities.

Additionally, new products don’t necessarily guarantee the Buy Box, as Amazon considers factors such as pricing, fulfillment performance, and customer feedback when determining Buy Box eligibility.

Sellers must use various high-quality products, competitive pricing, and excellent customer service to increase their chances of earning the Buy Box and maintain a successful Amazon selling business.

Make Sure You Have Enough Stock 

Amazon's pricing strategy isn't just about pricing rules. To stand out in the competitive platform, your dynamic pricing model should be paired with having enough stock.

Ensure that your stock levels are sufficient to win the Buy Box. Amazon wants to provide its customers with a reliable and consistent experience, requiring reliable and consistent inventory.

If a seller continually runs out of stock, Amazon may see them as unreliable and instead opt for another seller who can meet the demand. The seller who always has products in stock will most likely win the Buy Box.

Inventory management should be on top of your must-knows to ensure you always have enough products when demands are high. Maintaining accurate stock levels, setting up alerts to restock inventory when needed, and regularly reviewing sales data can all help sellers stay ahead of demand and increase their chances of winning the coveted Buy Box.

Take Care of Your Customers

Even taking care of customers should be included in your Amazon pricing strategy. A product's perceived value is seen not only in its price but also in the feedback and rating of customers.

To secure the Amazon Buy Box, a seller must prioritize customer satisfaction, respond quickly to queries, resolve complaints, and provide an exceptional shopping experience. Excellent customer service and positive feedback lead to loyalty and repeat customers, which increases the chances of winning the Buy Box.

Match Your Amazon Pricing Strategy With the Platform’s Goals

Since its conception, Amazon has always been focused on giving its customers the best quality products at a minimum price, including affordable or free shipping prices. Amazon's success can be attributed to how much they cater to their customers.

Amazon wants sellers to think this way, too, and the Buy Box reflects that. If you satisfy the metrics set by the platform, it awards you with the Buy Box as a form of recommendation to buyers. As a seller, you must align your pricing strategy to ensure that you are helping Amazon give the best experience to customers.

With these rules set by the platform, both sellers and customers benefit. Sellers get more sales, while customers get the best deals.

Get Assistance From Seller Interactive

A solid pricing strategy is essential for winning the Amazon Buy Box, maximizing sales, and maintaining profitability. Amazon's unique pricing strategy is based on the law of supply and demand and competitor prices, and sellers need to plan their prices in response to these factors.

Does managing your Amazon store and everything in between sound overwhelming?Amazon listing experts can help you formulate a dynamic pricing strategy for your products. 

These professionals have valuable experience with pricing on Amazon. They are experienced in ecommerce, automated pricing, utilizing pricing tools, and Amazon’s repricing tools, among others.

Seller Interactive is the team you are looking for. We have experts trained in the areas mentioned above who can help you automate pricing, ensure value-based pricing, and utilize pricing tools to ensure you attract more customers and get them to convert.We offer Amazon full account management, which covers strategizing on pricing and more.

Book a call with us today to discuss our offers!

It’s natural to feel overwhelmed with everything you need to learn, especially if you’ve only recently started selling on Amazon. But don’t worry; you’re not alone in this endeavor. Countless Amazon sellers, just like you, are struggling with the intricacies of this platform.

Fortunately, Amazon sales consultants exist to help alleviate these issues. These professionals help you gain access to invaluable knowledge and experience that can make a significant difference in your journey as an Amazon seller. 

But what exactly do these consultants bring to the table? How do they shed light on the inner workings of the ecommerce market? How can they help you dominate the market and boost your Amazon sales effortlessly?

This article delves into the answers to these questions and explores the remarkable benefits of working with Amazon consultants. Discover how they can maximize your sales potential and attain unrivaled success.

9 Things Amazon Consultants Can Help You With

If you're considering partnering with an Amazon seller management service, you've arrived at the perfect destination. You might initially have reservations or hesitations about hiring such a service, but rest assured that the advantages they bring to your Amazon business are substantial and worth exploring.

Working with online experts can significantly enhance your business's performance and success on the platform. These services streamline and build up various facets of your Amazon operations, allowing you to focus on core activities while leaving the intricate ones to the seasoned professionals. 

Here are some of the things you can expect from teaming up with an Amazon expert team.

1. Optimized Amazon Listings

In a vast marketplace where potential customers actively search for products, a compelling product listing becomes imperative to ensure your products are noticed. And what better way to make it more effective than listing optimization?

This process is crucial in securing higher rankings on the search engine results pages (SERPs), ultimately leading to more sales and buyers. You can improve your listings through relevant keywords, compelling product titles, informative descriptions, and high-quality product images.

But if you feel like it’s too much on your end, an Amazon consultant comes in handy. They conduct comprehensive keyword research, refine product content, and offer valuable insights to enhance listing performance and align your listings with Amazon’s search engine algorithms.

2. Feedback on Product Design and Packaging

Product development also falls within the expertise of Amazon consultants. They conduct market research, analyze user preferences, and review industry standards to keep your product’s design and packaging aligned with the needs of your target audience.

As part of the feedback, consultants may advise enhancing the product’s visual appeal. This recommendation can include changing the aesthetics, integrating eye-catching elements, or creating a more cohesive branding design.

They may also help you modify the functionality and usability of your product’s design and packaging. These ideas might involve expanding ergonomics, upgrading user experience, or adding features that add value to more shoppers.

3. Fine-Tuned Marketing Campaigns

Amazon is a hot pot of online sellers. The level of competition is staggering, making it essential to put in more effort if you want your store and products to shine amidst the crowd. Simply focusing on your Amazon product display ads or passively hoping for sales won't work. You can get a competitive edge over other sellers by improving your marketing strategy. 

You can choose from various ad campaigns to align with your goals. But if you aim to display your products to your target market efficiently, Amazon PPC campaigns are a wise choice.

This advertising program is accessible to every seller with a professional selling account.

The process can be daunting, so you might need some time to learn how to build your campaigns and understand the technicalities of bidding. This is something Amazon consultants are well-versed in. From setting up campaigns to monitoring ad performance, these pros can help you achieve better marketing results, boost sales on Amazon, and gain buyer visibility.

4. Excellent Customer Service

Many customers encounter issues when making purchases on Amazon. As a seller, it’s your job to address these concerns to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Managing customer issues starts with a powerful approach known as LEAST: listen, empathize, acknowledge, solve, and thank. This tactic is vital, as customers often experience frustration when facing problems. These dissatisfactions may come from failed shipments, customer returns, poor inventory management, and more.

Remember, customer reviews are everything. These can make or break your sales, so having a good handle on these is necessary. Working with a knowledgeable Amazon consultant will prove invaluable. They are competent in tackling customer inquiries, mitigating potential hiccups, and protecting your brand’s reputation.

5. Answers to Your Amazon Seller Account Concerns

Sellers face various issues when managing their Amazon Seller Central account. From Amazon inventory management to product listings, each area has its ins and outs that sellers must grasp to maximize their online success.

Amazon's policies and guidelines also constantly evolve, emphasizing the importance of staying up-to-date with the latest changes and requirements. To retain their good account health status, sellers must comply with Amazon's requirements, such as product categorization, pricing policies, and performance metrics.

You can't expect everything to be smooth sailing in ecommerce. Luckily, you can find peace of mind in the presence of Amazon consultants. They possess deep knowledge of Amazon's ecosystem, supporting sellers in sustaining their operations, strengthening performance, and overcoming hurdles.

6. Mastering the Buy Box

The Buy Box is a prominent and highly sought-after feature on the product details page of Amazon. It’s a section where customers can directly add an item to their cart and purchase with a single click. The Buy Box is usually located on the right-hand side of the page, showing the product’s price, seller information, and the “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” button.

Winning the Buy Box signifies that a seller has met specific criteria set by Amazon, including competitive pricing, excellent fulfillment options, reliable shipping, and superior customer service. This recognition boosts visibility and instills trust and confidence in customers.

Amazon consultants understand the vital factors contributing to Buy Box eligibility, including pricing, availability, and seller performance metrics. With these aspects, they can present recommendations to sellers, enabling them to establish competitive and appealing prices that align with buyer expectations.

7. Help in Understanding the Amazon FBA Process

If you find yourself juggling multiple tasks on Amazon and looking for a way to simplify your operations, consider signing up for the Amazon FBA program. FBA allows you to offload the logistic tasks to Amazon so you can focus on other areas of your business.

Amazon's fulfillment service begins by sending your inventory to their fulfillment centers. Once your products are received and checked for quality, Amazon handles the storage, packaging, and shipping. In other words, they are your reliable partners in managing the entire fulfillment process.

You might think jumping into the program is unwise, but don’t worry! Amazon consultants are here to determine the best FBA strategy for your store. They can help you understand the cost structure associated with FBA, including storage, fulfillment, and return fees. They can guide you in making informed decisions about FBA that will help you increase sales on Amazon.

8. Lightning Deals on Amazon

Lightning Deals are limited-time promotions that offer significant discounts on select products, aiming to create a sense of urgency and drive increased sales. Amazon consultants can be instrumental in successfully running these flash sales on your account.

How do they do it? To begin with, they select the most appropriate products for Lightning Deals. They analyze sales data, market trends, and customer behavior to identify high-demand items likely to boost product sales.

These consultants also guide you on pricing and promotion strategies. They assess the data and metrics associated with your promotions—such as sales volume, conversion rates, and customer feedback—to identify areas for improvement and fine-tune your strategies for future Lightning Deals.

9. A Protected Brand 

Brand infringements, such as counterfeit products and unauthorized sellers, can be frustrating and damaging to your brand image. They can confuse customers, harm sales, and erode the hard-earned trust you've built over time.

Addressing these brand-related issues in the vast Amazon marketplace can be arduous. But collaborating with Amazon consultants can make all the difference.

These experienced professionals take charge of comprehensive brand monitoring and enforcement activities on your behalf. Equipped with advanced tools and software, they can proactively identify black hat tactics used against your store and swiftly take action.

Best of all, they can register your brand on Amazon's Brand Registry program. This registration allows you to easily report and remove infringing content, giving you greater control over your brand's presence on the platform.

Drive Online Success With an Amazon Sales Consultant

If you've never worked with an Amazon consultant before, consider this as your sign. Along with making your life easier, experts will help you understand how to maintain best practices through this sales channel. Working with someone well-versed on Amazon will help boost your sales and help avoid any account-threatening obstacles. 

At Seller Interactive, we take pride in our team of experts who would love to help you run your business and render their consultancy services. So are you ready to grow your Amazon store? 

Send us an email at [email protected], and we'll schedule a call with you!

Customer reviews play a critical role in building buyer-seller relationships. But the prevalence of deceptive product reviews has been rampant on Amazon. Unlucky sellers get spammed with plenty of negative reviews, filled with adjectives like “scam” or “fake,” which are unjustified and misleading. This is where an Amazon review manipulation appeal can help rectify the situation. 

Amazon is constantly working on maintaining the integrity of customer reviews by cracking down on prohibited seller activities. They take strict measures against false, misleading, or inauthentic content.

You are subject to the same policies and guidelines. So, it’s important to understand the steps required to successfully appeal and regain your account standing. This article will help you learn more about effective strategies for obtaining authentic customer feedback.

The Essence of Product Reviews on Amazon

Product reviews are a vital aspect of brand reputation management, serving the needs of both sellers and buyers. Sellers benefit from these reviews by identifying areas for improvement, while customers rely on them as a guide for making informed purchase decisions. 

Studies have shown that around 95% of buyers trust online reviews. Positive reviews establish credibility and instill confidence, leading to increased sales and brand loyalty. Negative reviews, on the other hand, help potential buyers identify potential drawbacks or shortcomings associated with a particular product or service.

A10, Amazon's current algorithm, also includes product reviews as part of its criteria. This emphasizes the substantial influence reviews have on search rankings, visibility, and overall success on the platform. 

Given the importance of product reviews, your job as an Amazon seller prioritizes brand reputation and ensures that honest reviews are maintained on your product pages. You can start by knowing the different methods of product review manipulation.

The Seller’s Challenge: Product Review Manipulation

As the importance of online reviews continues to grow, so does the temptation for sellers to engage in manipulative practices. Here's a table summarizing the different methods related to product review manipulation.

Different Methods of Product Review Manipulation
💰 Paid Reviews	Sellers pay individuals to write fake reviews that will help them gain a competitive advantage. This unethical habit creates an inflated sense of quality or popularity for the sold items.
🔄 Review Swapping	Sellers engage in the exchange of free or discounted products in return for favorable reviews.  Although Amazon has taken measures to address this action, it still persists in various forms.
🎁Incentivized Reviews	Amazon prohibits sellers from offering incentives like gifts, discounts, or money in exchange for a positive review.  But some sellers attempt to manipulate reviews by using more concealed methods of offering rewards.
👥 Fake Customer Accounts	Sellers create or purchase fake customer accounts to post positive reviews for their products or negative reviews for their competitors.  This tactic distorts overall ratings and creates a false perception of a product's quality and reliability.

The consequences of review manipulation are far-reaching. It undermines the credibility of customer feedback and distorts the marketplace, making it difficult for genuine sellers to compete on a level playing field. 

Misleading reviews can also misguide buyers, leading to unsatisfactory purchases and eroding customer trust in the platform.

Amazon’s Solution: Anti-Manipulation Policy

Recognizing the severity of the issue, Amazon is continuously working to prevent product review manipulation. The platform employs sophisticated algorithms, artificial intelligence, and manual reviews to detect and take action against offenders.

A strong commitment to customer satisfaction lies at the heart of Amazon’s policies. They have implemented an anti-manipulation policy to ensure authenticity and reliability in product reviews. This policy establishes a trustworthy marketplace environment, far from unfair sellers and buyers.

In their own words, Amazon states their stance on sellers who persistently post prohibited reviews just to gain an advantage:

“We take the integrity of our reviews platform very seriously. If we determine that you have attempted to manipulate reviews or violated our guidelines in any other manner, we may immediately suspend or terminate your Amazon privileges, remove reviews, and delist related products. Misconduct may also violate state and federal laws, including the Federal Trade Commission Act, and can lead to legal action and civil and criminal penalties.” - Anti-Manipulation Policy for Customer Reviews

Amazon encourages you to sustain an authentic review system and notify them if you spot any manipulations. 

How Sellers Can Improve Their Product Reviews

You don't want an Amazon seller account suspension or a lawsuit coming your way because of review manipulation. If you want genuine feedback for your business, take these tips to heart:

1. Don’t Force Customers

Encouraging reviews isn't equal to telling people what they should write. Asking for positive reviews, providing incentives, or bombarding customers in exchange for a good comment is strongly discouraged. 

Genuine reviews should be voluntarily provided by customers based on their own experiences, thoughts, and opinions. If you want customers to leave reviews, use low-key ways to nudge them.

• Send an email that politely asks for feedback.
• Run giveaways that push feedback after the session.
• Share and feature reviews on your social sites to increase exposure.
• Encourage content variety in reviews (e.g., adding a photo or video of the product.)

2. Enhance Product Quality

Focus on bringing high-quality products that meet or exceed customers’ expectations. An honest review starts with durable, reliable, and well-designed products that align with the promises made in your product listings.

Invest in quality control measures and conduct thorough testing during the manufacturing process. Implement rigorous checks to ensure your products are consistently of the highest standard and perform as intended.

3. Address Negative Reviews

Instead of dismissing or ignoring negative reviews, embrace them as opportunities for growth. Show empathy and understanding toward the customer's experience. Let them know that you appreciate their comments and take their concerns seriously.

Offer a genuine solution or propose steps to resolve the customer's problem. Depending on the situation, this could involve replacing the product, offering a refund, or providing additional support.

In the Case of Suspension: Amazon Review Manipulation Appeals

As mentioned earlier, Amazon suspends seller accounts or privileges upon notification of review manipulation activities. But not all sellers who face this situation are intentional violators. Some may have unknowingly fallen victim to fraudulent practices.

If you’re one of these people and think it’s the end of the world for you, don’t. There’s still a solution, which is an Amazon appeal. Here are things you must remember if you want to appeal.

1. Know the Reason Behind Suspension

Carefully review the notification or communication from Amazon regarding the suspension. Understand the specific violation or reason cited for the penalty.

Again, Amazon’s policies don’t want you to directly ask for positive reviews or give incentives for the sake of your brand reputation. Ignoring these guidelines can lead to account suspension or other sanctions.

2. Outline All Important Details in Your POA 

Include all pertinent information in your plan of action (POA). These may include:

• Contact Information: Add names, email addresses, and websites used to manipulate reviews or obtain prohibited reviews.

• Customer Accounts: Gather usernames or any other relevant details that can aid in identifying the specific accounts involved.

• Documentation: Support your appeal with emails and receipts validating your engagement with their services or third parties.

• Detailed Descriptions: List any prohibited reviews remaining on Amazon and describe the steps you used to obtain customer reviews that violate Amazon policies.

Amazon will review your information and determine whether reviews can be reinstated for your product. However, please note that previously removed reviews will not be restored.

3. Be Professional and Polite

Avoid using confrontational or emotional language. Focus on presenting the facts and providing a well-structured and logical argument for your case.

4. Proofread and Revise

Check for any grammatical or spelling errors. Revise as needed to ensure that your appeal effectively communicates your position.

5. Be Patient

Submit your appeal through the designated platform or email address provided. Keep a record of your appeal for future reference. 

Be patient. Allow Amazon the necessary time to review and evaluate your appeal thoroughly. Avoid bombarding Amazon with inquiries regarding the status of your appeal.

Build a Positive Brand Image on Amazon

It's not easy to get positive reviews, especially if you're a newbie Amazon seller. Because of this, some people attempt black hat tricks like review manipulation—manipulating people to leave positive feedback, spamming their inboxes, or paying people to create fake reviews. 

If you're caught, you can get suspended by Amazon. Stay on the safe and genuine side for your brand reputation. Encourage reviews without force and practice transparency at all costs. Most importantly, always thank the reviewer when they leave feedback. In the long run, it establishes trust between you and your customers. Seller Interactive is here if you need help with Amazon review manipulation appeals or protection against fake reviews. Contact us today.

Imagine browsing Amazon products and coming across a cookie product housed in clever packaging resembling a stove. Curiosity compels you to look closer, even if you are unfamiliar with the brand. This is a common reaction for many, and such an experience may inspire you to create exceptional Amazon product packaging design for your own offerings. 

With the massive competition in and out of the eCommerce marketplace, you may find it challenging to stand out, especially as a newbie Amazon seller. But don’t worry about it. In this article, we’ll share tips on creating brilliant product packaging to drive more sales to your store.

Why Amazon Packaging Matters in Amazon Product Launching

A brand always sells two things: the packaging and the product. Customers see the package first, so Amazon sellers need to make sure that it makes the best impression. The product packaging should persuade a customer to take action, preferably a purchase. 

But aside from the first impression, there are more benefits to creating smart Amazon product packaging.

A Quick Look at Amazon’s Product Packaging Design Requirements

We look forward to your brilliant product packaging ideas. But don’t be in a hurry! You must first understand Amazon product packaging requirements so your efforts won’t go to waste. 

Product packaging options vary depending on the means of order fulfillment. If you’re using Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA), you must follow general shipping requirements to various fulfillment centers. Failure to comply may result in refusal, return, repackage, and noncompliance fees.

Generally, your product packages should have the following:

• Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit (FNSKU) - FNSKU is a barcode Amazon uses to manage inventory in fulfillment centers. Each FNSKU corresponds to one product and has unique variations (size, color, and shape). 
• Tracking Code - Your package must contain a printed and scannable label or barcode that you use to track the item. It should be clear and readable enough to access. 

Your product packaging should also include your company contact information. Other requirements may differ depending on the item you’re selling and its category. These include boxed units, expiration dates, and additional legal requirements.

Ensure you go through this process carefully and meet Amazon’s requirements before officially launching your product. You can research online and go to Amazon Seller Central’s Help page or through Amazon Seller University to learn more about specific packaging requirements.

5 Amazon Packaging Tips to Launch With Wit and Purpose

When preparing for a product launch, think of giving an awesome customer experience from beginning to end. Start from when they would stumble upon your brand logo and product packaging. How can you pique their interest with just the cover itself? What can you do to influence their buying decision and convince them to take action? 

Are you ready to drive more sales on Amazon through creative and purposeful product packaging? Now that you understand the importance of Amazon product packaging, it’s time to learn the unique ways through it.

1. Draft As Many Ideas As You Can

Some cool ideas may randomly appear in your head while dining out or passing by a TV ad from an electronics store. Don’t ignore them! Who knows? One of these could become the key to your success. 

You only need one packaging concept for your product, but coming up with a final decision takes a cluster of many ideas. So don’t restrict yourself to just one vision— take as many ideas as possible. You can also consider brainstorming with an Amazon expert. 

2. Keep It Simple and Convenient

Avoid stuffing your package with irrelevant information. Make the design minimal where key information is readable and accessible. Use colors that sit comfortably in the eyes, avoid fonts that are difficult to read, and use high-quality images or graphics. 

While it’s good to try out-of-the-box ideas, always consider consumer convenience. It is best if the customer doesn’t have to unpack too many unnecessary layers when opening the package. Instead, give them a simple and enjoyable unboxing experience. 

3. Know Whom You’re Selling To

Amazon sellers like you should note that the target audience is an important part of every marketing phase. Understanding your target customers’ preferences can help you appeal to them better. 

People have different tastes, so having an ideal customer in mind gives your Amazon brand a place in the market. It is important to consider your buyer’s preferences when creating your packaging design concept (e.g., brighter colors for kids). 

4. Send Customized Product Inserts 

Get closer to your customers with customized product inserts. These cards or pamphlets in the package send important messages to the customer. It’s a great way to send your gratitude for the purchase or request feedback. 

Highlighting the product’s best features is also a benefit. There are many ways to use a product insert, but don’t use manipulative language or offer incentives in exchange for a positive review. Amazon has a rule discouraging sellers from asking customers for a positive product review.

5. Go Green

A report from Trivium Packaging states that sustainability remains at the forefront of consumers’ minds. This means people find environmentally conscious package design more attractive than those that are not. Additionally, this type of packaging can help you save on shipping costs.

Learn how to use recyclable and reusable packaging like cardboard boxes, shipping containers, glass bottles, organic fabrics, and more. Showcasing sustainable package design during your product launch is sure to turn heads. The best part is that you might get the attention of buyers out of your target market, too!

Seeking Smart Packaging Ideas For Amazon Sellers? Work With Seller Interactive

Smart packaging is one of the best product launch strategies in business. An eye-catching and purposeful Amazon packaging design can help you enter the Amazon marketplace with a bang!

If you find proper product packaging difficult to grasp, consider the help of Amazon web services for a product launch. Seller Interactive will assist you in making the best out of product launching with strategic planning and effective Amazon marketing techniques. If you want to elevate your Amazon product packaging design, book a call today.

Picture this: Everything is operating smoothly in your Amazon business until, one day, you receive a dreaded email about account suspension. Panic sets in, and you wonder what went wrong. One possible answer may be attributed to poor Amazon seller metrics. 

These scorecards are vital indicators of your performance and reputation as an online seller. It can directly and directly impact the fate of your Amazon business, so let's learn how to keep them in optimal condition.

This blog post delves into poor Seller Performance metrics and their connection with account suspension. We’ll uncover the reasons behind these metrics slipping below par, discuss the consequences of account suspension, and offer valuable insights to help you improve your performance.

Why Monitor Your Amazon Seller Performance Metrics?

The Account Health page in your Seller Central account is your gateway to understanding how you’re doing as an Amazon seller. It's like a school report card, providing a complete performance summary.

Just as a report card consists of different subjects, the Account Health page contains various Amazon performance metrics, each playing a pivotal role in analyzing your overall accomplishment.

But why do these Amazon seller metrics matter? It’s simple: compliance. 

By consistently meeting or surpassing the prescribed criteria, you demonstrate unwavering dedication to becoming a reliable seller.  Buyers, in turn, gain confidence in your brand as you deliver an exceptional customer experience.

4 Critical Seller Metrics on Amazon You Should Monitor

Having understood the significance of monitoring Amazon metrics, let’s dive into the five key metrics on Amazon that demand your utmost attention. By diligently tracking these metrics, you can make informed, data-driven decisions while expertly complying with Amazon’s requirements.

1. Order Defect Rate (ODR)

The ODR measures how good you are in terms of customer experience. Amazon sets a target ODR below 1% for sellers to maintain. This metric comprises three types of defects:

• Negative Feedback Rate: Measures the percentage of negative customer feedback a seller receives concerning their total orders.

• A-to-Z Guarantee Claim Rate: Measures the percentage of A-to-Z Guarantee Claims opened by customers against a seller’s orders. Claims can be initiated when customers encounter late deliveries, damaged items, or misleading product descriptions. 

• Credit Card Chargeback Rate: Measures the percentage of chargebacks or disputes established by customers for orders fulfilled by a seller. It can be through unauthorized transactions, non-receipt of items, or billing discrepancies.

2. Cancellation Rate (CR)

The CR refers to the percentage of transactions sellers cancel before shipping or fulfillment, often due to item unavailability or issues during delivery.

Below are other things to note about the pre-fulfillment cancellation rate.

• CR metric does not apply to orders fulfilled through Amazon FBA. Under this service, Amazon handles the fulfillment process, including shipping, customer service, and returns. Sellers have no control over canceling the orders, as the responsibility solely rests with Amazon.

• Amazon updates the CR metric every week, calculating the number of canceled orders to the total number of orders fulfilled by the seller during that specific timeframe.

• Amazon expects sellers to maintain a cancellation rate below 2.5% to ensure high customer satisfaction. High cancellation rates can harm your account and may result in severe consequences.

3. Late Shipment Rate (LSR)

As the name suggests, LSR is the number of orders not shipped by the expected ship date promised to the customer. This Amazon seller metric evaluates your ability to fulfill orders promptly and meet the agreed-upon delivery timelines.

Amazon sellers need to remember the following:

• The LSR calculation considers the number of late seller-fulfilled orders within either a 10-day or 30-day duration. According to Amazon’s policy, keeping your LSR below 4% is recommended to maintain a positive seller rating.

• Challenges in meeting shipping deadlines often arise during peak seasons like Prime Day or Black Friday. Prioritizing shipping orders on time or considering sending them in advance to mitigate potential delays is crucial.

4. Valid Tracking Rate (VTR)

The VTR reflects the number of shipments for which valid tracking numbers are correctly provided to customers. It indicates the seller's ability to offer transparency and visibility throughout the shipping and delivery.

Consider the following information to strengthen your valid tracking rate:

• The absence of reliable tracking systems often leads to abandoned purchases. As an Amazon seller, you must know buyers prioritize transparency in their buying experience. They want assurance about their orders and expect these to be trackable.

• Amazon verifies the validity of tracking information if the number has at least one physical carrier scan recorded. Otherwise, it is considered invalid.

• Amazon expects sellers to maintain a VTR greater than 95%. It includes all shipments with a valid tracking number over 30 days.

In Case of Amazon Suspension

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqQo0xiTTlA&t=11s

What if you’re not hitting the target of each seller performance metric? Then, you must understand the specific risk involved.

Failing to meet the performance standards set by Amazon puts your account at risk of suspension. This means your selling privileges are temporarily or, worse, permanently revoked. You can’t conduct business on the platform, your product listings become inactive, and you can no longer process new orders or access seller tools and services.

Amazon account suspension can have consequences for your business, including loss of revenue, damage to your reputation, and potential challenges in reinstating your account. Thus, taking immediate action is important. 

But in what ways, to be precise?

You can start by writing an Amazon suspension appeal. Here are the steps you should take to reinstate your Amazon account.

Step 1: Approach the Situation Calmly

Don't do the following:

• Rant in Amazon's forums and social media accounts.
• Blame Amazon and the buyer who complained.
• Get stuck in the fight or flight mode.
• Ignore the suspension notification from Amazon.
• Submit a half-baked Amazon suspension appeal.
• Act in haste and lose your cool over the matter.

When calm and composed enough to take the next step, thoroughly read the Amazon seller account suspension notification.

Step 2: Understand the Root Cause of Suspension

Once you read the notification, find out the root cause of the suspension. Amazon gives you a limited timeframe of 17 days to gain clarity and take appropriate action. Here’s what you can do:

• Pay close attention to the language and any specific references to policy violations or performance issues. Look for clues that can help you understand the underlying reason for the suspension.

• Review any recent warnings or notifications you may have received from Amazon. 

• Dig into your records, including orders, returns, and buyer-seller communications. Look for any indications of customer complaints, product quality issues, late shipments, poor inventory management, or policy violations.

These tips will help you address the specific issues in your appeal and present a well-structured case to Amazon within the given time.

Step 3: Address Issues Reflected on Your Account Health Page

Resolve all issues you see on your Account Health page and try to bring back the metrics to "green." These issues could be related to your order defect rate, late shipment rate, cancellation rate, inventory performance index, or other indicators.

Do address them before sending an Amazon suspension appeal to show Amazon how serious you are about getting your Seller account back.

Step 4: Craft a Compelling Plan of Action (POA)

The next step is to create a well-crafted Plan of Action (POA). Your letter should be clear, factual, direct, and concise. It should demonstrate your understanding of the situation, outline corrective and preventive measures, and provide supporting evidence.

Show this by:

• Avoiding verbose terms and emotive language. Write in an apologetic but firm tone. 
• Writing corrective and preventive measures. These prove that you've implemented the solutions (corrective) or plan to implement them (preventive). 
• As much as possible, attach supporting documents to solidify your appeal.

Step 5: Review Your POA

Proofread your POA before submitting it. Focus on the following:

• Loopholes and Clarity: Identify any potential loopholes or areas requiring further clarification. Ensure your explanations are clear and concise, leaving no room for ambiguity.

• Grammar and Spelling: Check for mistakes, misspellings, or typographical errors. These can undermine the professionalism of your appeal, so it's essential to present a polished and error-free document.

• Formatting: Use bullet points or numbers to organize your points and make the document easier to read and understand. A well-structured and visually appealing appeal can leave a positive impression.

• Authenticity of Supporting Documents: Fabricated or edited documents can have severe consequences and may lead to the rejection of your appeal.

Step 6: Be Patient

Understand that the review process takes time. It may require several days or even weeks to receive a response from Amazon. Always remain patient and mentally prepared for any outcome.

Don't ask for status updates. It can delay the review process and hinder your chances of a timely reinstatement. Trust that Amazon will thoroughly assess your appeal and provide a response in due course.

While waiting for Amazon's reply, continue to focus on improving your business operations and addressing any areas that led to the suspension. Implement the measurements outlined in your POA to show your dedication to long-term compliance and customer satisfaction.

How to Improve Your Seller Performance Metrics

If you wish to prevent reaching the point of having to write an Amazon suspension appeal, proactively work on improving your Seller Performance Metrics. By enhancing your performance, you can maintain compliance with Amazon's standards and minimize the risk of account suspension. 

Consider the following tips:

Minimize Claims and Chargebacks

• Handle Return Requests Responsively: Respond quickly to return requests. Refund buyers if appropriate.
• Provide Accurate Product Information: Create accurate content for your product detail page. It will help manage customer expectations, reducing the chance of disputes arising from misunderstandings.
• Stay Vigilant With Inventory: Update and monitor your inventory regularly. Accurate inventory tracking helps prevent overselling or running out of stock, which can lead to order cancellations and negative customer experience.

Unfortunately, chargeback claims are increasing at record levels, and not all are made in good faith. Sometimes, customers intentionally try to defraud merchants, which may be a practice called chargeback fraud (similar to digital shoplifting). Thus, learning about chargeback fraud and how to protect your brand against it is essential.

Mitigate Negative Reviews

• Maintain a Minimal Inventory Level: Regularly monitor stock levels and replenish inventory to meet customer demand.
• Provide Updated Details: Post an updated email address and service contact number on your Amazon help pages. This allows customers to contact you, conveniently minimizing communication hurdles and potential frustrations.
• Learn from Feedback: Take negative reviews as an opportunity for improvement. Focus on the feedback provided by Amazon customers. Use it constructively to enhance your products, services, or processes.

Respond to Buyer Messages

• Respond Promptly: Aim to reply to buyer messages within 24 hours. Timely responses show that you value their inquiries and concerns.
• Check Spam Filters: Unblock buyers' messages included in your email program's spam filter if there are any.
• Provide Clear Timeframes: If you can't solve a buyer's concern immediately, give them a definite date when you will follow up with them.
• Express Gratitude: Even if it doesn't require a response, message them a simple "thank you" out of courtesy.

Avoid Late Shipments

• Confirm an Immediate Shipment: Confirm each shipment to notify the buyer and Amazon that the order is being processed. This step ensures transparency and keeps customers informed about the progress of their orders.
• Resolve Shipment Problems: Talk to buyers about any issues or delays. Provide alternative solutions or options to mitigate the impact on their experience.
• Adjust Handling Times: Provide customers with realistic and attainable delivery estimates. Be proactive about order volume, shipping carrier capabilities, and possible delays during peak sales or holidays.

Achieve Your Performance Goals With Seller Interactive

Amazon is a customer-centric company with rigid marketplace rules and policies in place. As a seller, you must follow each policy and ensure your Seller Performance metrics meet their strict standards. 

When met with the unfortunate event of a suspension, don’t panic. Simply follow the outlined steps above to navigate your path toward a successful reinstatement process. 

But if decoding Amazon’s suspension notification leaves you uncertain, don’t worry! You can always get an Amazon reinstatement service to help you with your appeal and thrive in meeting all the required seller metrics. Reach out to Seller Interactive for professional support. 

Our dedicated team is committed to helping you explore the challenging landscape of Amazon selling and achieve your goals. Book a call now to get started on your path to reinstatement and metric success.

Amazon PPC optimization happens after you start running your sponsored ads campaign. It’s when you realize you’re not meeting your objectives and your ACoS (Average Cost of Sale) is too high. 

When that happens, it’s time you backpedal a bit and revisit your live Amazon PPC campaigns. Take this opportunity to determine the root of the problem, find cost-effective solutions, and develop the best Amazon PPC strategy.

We’ve listed some common and costly sponsored ad mistakes Amazon sellers encounter and how to apply the right PPC optimization technique to each. We will also share some best practices to ensure successful PPC campaigns. 

9 Amazon PPC Optimization Mistakes That Affect Your Ad Spend

Amazon advertising allows you to introduce your brand and products to the public, especially if you are new in the industry. As this strategy involves spending money, you must be more cautious in running your PPC ad campaign to avoid costly mistakes. 

Here are nine common mistakes that can affect your advertising cost: 

Mistake #1: Treating Amazon Ads Like Facebook Ads

Amazon ads work differently from Facebook ads, but you may not be aware of it and treat them similarly, leading to significantly costly mistakes. The consumer behavior, targeting and intent, placement, and ad format and design are unique in each platform. 

For example, Facebook ads are quite similar to intrusive pop-up ads that appear unexpectedly on various parts of the screen. Amazon PPC ads don’t work this way. They only appear when they are relevant to the customer’s needs. One of the factors contributing to this behavior is the keyword the buyer enters in Amazon’s search box. 

How to optimize it: 

Amazon uses an auction-based cost-per-click (CPC) inventory model. Sometimes the seller with the highest bid grabs first place in Amazon’s search results, followed by the second, and so forth.

Consider several factors, like your bid price and the product’s relevance. Also, try tweaking your keywords by doing the following:

• Use relevant keywords. If you’re selling pillowcases, avoid keywords associated with electronics.
• Add relevant keywords. It is pretty rare for shoppers to use exact-match keywords. Utilize other keyword match types like phrase match and broad match to maximize your chances.

Mistake #2: Poor Structure of Amazon PPC Campaigns

All your efforts will be futile if you fail to structure your PPC campaigns properly. It will be impossible to scale up your advertising campaign over time. 

While it's tempting to cleanse, repeat, or delete your current ad to create a new one, doing so can affect the performance of your product listings and sales. This ultimately leads to wasting the allocated ad campaign budget.

How to optimize it:

Avoid adding several related products in a single ad group. For starters, use this basic structure:

Mistake #3: Unsystematic Naming Convention

If not done right the first time, the naming convention may affect your PPC optimization in the future. Imagine labeling an Amazon PPC campaign “Test 123,” “Test ABC,” “XYZ ad,” or “Amazon Campaign no.1.” when you’re A/B testing. Then, after running several tests over the week, you launched it without making changes. 

This makes it difficult to track and analyze your campaign performance effectively. It also leads to inefficiencies, confusion, and wasted resources, hindering your ability to allocate ad budget wisely. 

How to optimize it:

Before creating an advertising campaign, plan a logical and easy-to-understand naming format. For example, use the template “Campaign name: wireless headphones.” Be sure to put the product you will promote on the label so you won’t have trouble monitoring it.

Mistake #4: Excluding Misspelled Keywords

Wrong spelling is wrong, right? Keyword typos in your campaigns can cause irrelevant clicks, low conversion rates, limited reach, and high competition. This leads to higher bid pricing and CPC. But they can benefit your PPC strategy, which we reveal below.

How to optimize it:

On the contrary, Amazon’s A10 algorithm considers and evaluates misspelled search queries when ranking product listings. It has a bearing on your PPC campaigns’ visibility. If a customer enters “headfones,” it will not show ads with “headphones” as its keyword. So, don’t skimp on the opportunity and add misspelled words to your keyword list.

Add some negative keywords and close variations, such as “shoes” and “shoe.” On the other hand, Amazon ignores words like “the,” “when,” “of,” and “if.” But while it’s good to expand your keyword coverage and maximize your reach with these variants, learn to exclude irrelevant terms to avoid hurting your account's performance.

Mistake #5: Using Automatic PPC Campaigns Only

Running your Amazon PPC in auto-campaign mode helps you match your ads to relevant search queries and products. However, you might overspend your ad budget if you only use automatic campaigns and always follow Amazon's recommended bid. 

On the other hand, manual campaigns give you more control to customize and optimize Amazon PPC campaigns. 

How to optimize it:

We recommend using both types of Amazon PPC campaigns to widen your targeting opportunities and have more control over your budget. You may use the keywords from the automatic campaign’s ‘Search Term Report’ and add these to your manual campaign. In this way, you won’t have to conduct exhaustive keyword research.

Here’s an additional, more in-depth tip for utilizing effective automatic and manual campaigns, according to our team’s experts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKHGNHI5gBQ

Mistake #6: Monitoring ACoS Only

In PPC optimization, one of the metrics you should continuously check is ACoS or Advertising Cost of Sales. ACoS is computed by the total amount you’ve spent divided by the total sales on a single campaign. 

The lower your ACoS, the better. But ACoS is not the only barometer of an efficient PPC campaign. If you monitor ACoS only, you risk spending more on your ad spend without knowing if your ads rank or attract more clicks.  

How to fix this mindset:

Besides ACoS, measure other metrics like conversion rate (CR) and click-through rate (CTR). If you score high in both indicators, you can win a bid better. CR gauges your sales, and CTR determines how relevant a product is to customers. 

As a standard, a good CR is around 10%, CTR is 0.5% and above, and ACoS is about 15% to 30%. These rates, however, are only general estimations. The perfect rates for your metrics still depend on your niche, product type, profit margins, and advertising goals.

Mistake #7: Mixing Brand and Non-Brand Keywords

Branded keywords and non-branded keywords offer different functions and intent. Brand keywords target customers with a high intent to search for your products. Meanwhile, non-branded keywords focus on people who are unaware of your business but looking for similar products.

Using brand and non-brand keywords within a single PPC campaign is not advisable. It can lead to lower ad relevance and fewer CTR because of the confusing targeting and intent of the ad. Naturally, this results in inefficient budget allocation. 

How to optimize it:

Better put each keyword in separate PPC campaigns to maximize targeting outreach. According to the Search Engine Journal, this strategy gives you transparency to monitor your PPC ads well and optimize them easily. It also prevents competitors from using your brand keywords to sabotage your Amazon PPC campaigns.

Mistake #8: Running Out of Stock

You’re so focused on the technical aspects of your PPC optimization that you forget about your inventory. That is not good; what if you run out of stock? That would mean you will continue to run PPC campaigns without available products, resulting in wasted costs.

Product stock availability is also part of Amazon's Retail Readiness Checklist. It's your duty to ensure your items are available. Otherwise, it creates a wrong impression that you're unable to fulfill your customer's needs. Amazon will stop showing your PPC ads, affecting conversions, organic search ranking, and overall listing performance.

How to optimize it:

Ensure proper inventory management and devise restocking strategies to maintain product availability and prevent stockouts. Don’t know how to start with inventory management? 

Amazon can help you with multi-channel inventory management if you sell across multiple marketplace platforms. Amazon offers free software called Veeqo, which syncs and monitors your inventory across channels, locations, and FBA. This will help you avoid overselling. 

If you're an Amazon FBA seller, you can access the tools under the FBA program to help you monitor your inventory in Amazon's warehouses. You can view these tools through your Seller Central dashboard and mobile app. 

Aside from the tools, you can also practice proper inventory management by

• monitoring your inventory levels, 
• restocking popular products quickly, and 
• running promotions to avoid spoilage and free up your storage space. 

Mistake #9: Developing a Habit of “Set-it-and-Forget-it” Approach

Do you continuously optimize your Amazon PPC campaign? Or did you simply launch it and expect your ad campaign to do its magic? Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a “magic pill” when managing Amazon PPC campaigns. 

Devising the best Amazon PPC strategy requires hard work, dedication, and an analytical mind. If you treat your campaigns as a one-time task, you are wasting every penny you spend on every ad.

How to fix this mindset:

Whether you’re busy or simply forgetful, make it a habit to monitor and optimize Amazon PPC campaigns regularly. For example, set a fixed schedule at least once a week. The ecommerce world is constantly evolving, so it is best to consistently check on your advertising efforts and ensure they align with your current goals.

To do this:

1. Put your campaign objective on top of your mind as you review your ad, and check out metrics like CR, CTR, ACoS, etc.
2. Analyze if you need to adjust your bid or optimize your keywords.
3. Try applying the right PPC strategy to get on top of Amazon's search results.

Best Amazon PPC Optimization Practices for Your Ad Campaigns

Now that you know the common mistakes in Amazon campaign optimization, learning more about how to optimize PPC campaigns better would be helpful. In this section, we listed some of the best Amazon PPC tips you can do to achieve great heights for your business.

1. Research High Performing Keywords

Even though you will receive important keyword data once you have started Amazon advertising, it would still be best to do your keyword research. For keyword optimization, gather the highest converting keywords to get the most out of your ad spend.

Doing this will help you get more insights into what customers are searching for and trends you should watch out for before implementing your next ad campaigns. You can use online keyword generator tools to help you find the right keywords. 

But if you need professional help for this task, you can reach out to Amazon SEO or PPC managers instead.

2. Identify Your Budget for Amazon PPC Campaign

As mentioned above, Amazon’s PPC ads are convenient even for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because they are affordable but effective. But as an Amazon seller, you must also be wise about how much you must spend on running your Amazon campaigns.

So, calculate your ACoS first because it will influence your advertising budget. Also, avoid putting all your resources immediately. Study consumer behavior and trends and consider your overall advertising budget. 

By doing these, you can run your Amazon ads longer, leading to more visibility. 

3. Apply Strategy Testing

Once you start running your Amazon PPC ad campaigns, you have control over which keywords to bid on, how much you want to spend, and how long you want the ads running. Of course, you will also encounter changes in the weekly data you gather. 

So it’s important to review the ad reports and use them to modify your strategies on keyword selection and bidding amount. Mix and match all possible options and check which ones would work best for your advertising campaigns. 

Some sellers manage this, while new sellers often refer to professional opinions from reputable Amazon PPC marketing agencies. 

4. Study the Results

Key metrics can be used to study your advertising campaigns’ results, such as RoAS and ACoS. Examine these results and ask yourself which ad campaigns successfully generated sales with minimal ad spend. 

You can boost these campaigns and turn off those not performing as well. Monitoring your results should be conducted at least once a week to allow Amazon to reflect your Campaign Manager’s exact data.

5. Create Eye-Catching Amazon Ads

Aside from optimizing your keywords and other aspects of your ad campaigns, don’t forget to improve your product descriptions and photos. People can already judge your brand based on what they see in the ad. 

If they like what they see, they will likely click your ad and look at your product listing. For example, your product listing copy should be compelling to persuade your target customers to buy your items. 

Even if they click your ad, it’s not guaranteed that they will purchase from you unless you convince them through compelling product descriptions and pictures. So while PPC strategies are necessary, don’t forget to craft a compelling product listing.

Final Thoughts

Don’t be disheartened if you make a mistake with your sponsored ads. You can apply the best PPC optimization tips mentioned above until Amazon deems your product relevant. An optimized PPC campaign is your way to outsmart your competitors, increase brand awareness, and improve your sales.
Do you want to have the best Amazon PPC strategy? Seller Interactive has a team of expert Amazon consultants knowledgeable in Amazon PPC optimization. Send us an email at [email protected] to get started.

Are you a new seller planning to enroll your products in the Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) program? If you’re looking for tips to start your business right and prevent making Amazon FBA mistakes, you are reading the right article!  

Being a new seller makes you prone to making miscalculations. While this is completely understandable, avoiding these errors before selling is crucial due to the platform’s strict regulations. You don’t want to suffer the costly consequences of policy violations.

This blog post will discuss the most common mistakes new sellers encounter and provide effective Amazon selling tips to avoid them. 

Amazon FBA Selling Explained

Before you begin selling, let’s understand what Amazon FBA is. This program benefits both Amazon sellers and customers. Amazon FBA helps sellers handle the order fulfillment side of their Amazon business. Meanwhile, customers are allowed to receive their products faster. 

Establishing an Amazon FBA business benefits new sellers mainly because of its convenience. Your inventory will be sent over to Amazon’s warehouses, and they will be the ones to send it out to your customers. The program removes the hassle of packing and shipping your products on time. 

5 Amazon FBA Mistakes New Sellers Must Avoid

When starting a business at the retail giant, you may feel that making mistakes is almost inevitable. But many of these slips were not done deliberately or had anything to do with breaking the rules. Usually, they stem from a lack of thorough research.

Most new sellers on the platform are unfamiliar with how Amazon works. Overcoming the learning curves takes some time, so you must be patient. But, it will be more beneficial for you to be proactive and stay one step ahead by familiarizing yourself with common mistakes to avoid. 

This will help you navigate the Amazon marketplace more effectively and increase your chances of success. Check out five of these common errors below:

1. Using the Wrong Account Type

The first step in Amazon selling is registering an Amazon account for your business. You can register it either under a Professional or Individual Amazon seller account. Many Amazon FBA sellers fail to recognize and research the significant difference between these accounts.

For example, new Amazon FBA sellers are often lured by the lesser risk that the Individual seller account provides but may not realize it has a monthly selling limit of 40 products. If you are targeting to sell more than 40 products, it is best to register for a Professional seller account instead. 

While changing the account type can be a relatively simple solution for other sellers, it still requires time and effort. So, as a seller, it’s essential to understand how Amazon FBA business works if you intend to use it as your fulfillment method. Doing so helps you avoid unnecessary complications in the future.

2. Product Pricing is Incorrect

Another common Amazon mistake most sellers make is incorrectly pricing products on Amazon. It can either be a case of underpricing or overpricing, which can negatively affect your profit margin. To avoid this, do the following: 

• Research your market and competitors comprehensively. 
• Know who your target customers are. 
• Add a unique feature to increase the profitability of products.
• Consider competitive pricing. This is where you base your product prices on what your competitors offer. 
• Consider the Amazon FBA fees you must shoulder, such as storage fees, order processing, and shipping costs when pricing your products.

As a new Amazon FBA seller, you might be tempted to price your products as cheaply as possible. This move is where most Amazon sellers fail, as it costs them substantial money in return for a few sales.

3. Amazon Business is Non-Compliant

Amazon’s Terms and Conditions exist for a reason. Since there are a lot of sellers on the platform, the retail giant maintains strict compliance in ensuring every FBA seller adheres to the rules. You must NOT simply skim these pages; take time to read and understand what is on them. 

Violating anything written on the Amazon FBA Terms and Conditions page can have huge and costly consequences. Even seemingly minor infractions can result in Seller Central account suspension, jeopardizing your inventory, production, and staff training investments. So ensure you are keen on abiding by them. 

💡 One of the rules Amazon FBA sellers often break is selling prohibited products on the platform. Thoroughly browse the complete list of products sellers can and cannot sell within Amazon’s Terms and Conditions page.

4. Ordering More Than What You’re Capable of Selling

Before you order your inventory, ensure you can sell all of these within a specific time frame. Many sellers make a costly Amazon FBA mistake by letting their inventory sit in the warehouse, which is how they lose money.

For example, books on Amazon are one of the best-selling products that you can consider selling. If you are going in as a new Amazon seller, you will want to target the same sales velocity and volume that current products in this niche are already doing. However, if you sell in a different niche, you must order your inventory conservatively.

If you are getting your inventory from an offshore manufacturer, you can order the recommended minimum amount of inventory, which is 500 units. This number may be a good start, but  it is crucial to consider if you can manage to stock 500 units all at once.  

Since you also do not have enough data to support your products’ demands on the platform, it can be challenging to determine the ideal inventory level. 

5. Not Optimizing Your Amazon FBA Business’s Listings 

Relying on effective product listings to get sales on Amazon is non-negotiable. If not optimized, you won’t close the deals you’re anticipating. This is why learning how to make your product listings conversion-ready is important. But many new FBA sellers overlook this aspect or feel uncertain about the right techniques to apply.

Optimizing a product listing is not as simple as creating a catchy title and adding a few details about the item. A thriving product relies on enhancing all the different aspects of your listing, and that’s where these expert tips come in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Rnqb9idjM

You may also utilize tools like Helium 10 and other Amazon resources to help you with keyword research, marketing, inventory management, and more. Give your products the best opportunity on the platform by making the most of available optimization tools and techniques.

Tips for New Amazon FBA Sellers

Now that you know the common Amazon mistakes you must avoid, you might wonder how to become an even better Amazon FBA seller. Check out these tips below:

1. Find the Right Suppliers

Aside from choosing the right products to sell, how you choose your suppliers can also affect how much sales you get from the Amazon marketplace. Your suppliers should manufacture products consistently, welcome third-party inspection to check product quality and comply with the rules and regulations of Amazon and local authorities.

2. Use High-Quality Product Photos

When customers purchase a product, product images are pivotal in influencing their decision-making process. 

You can invest in professional product photography services to improve your product photos. Still, it might not be cost-effective if you're a new seller on Amazon. Start with the basics of product photography. Ensure your photos are genuine and clutter-free, so customers can see your product clearly. 

3. Gather Customer Feedback

To become a better Amazon seller, always pay attention to customer feedback, whether positive or negative reviews. Listen attentively to their valid concerns, promptly and appropriately address them, and strive for improvement.

Utilize the Amazon Early Reviewer Program to collect organic reviews. If you can't pay for the program, use the "Request a Review " button and gently ask your customers to write their thoughts.

How about negative reviews? Can I remove them? They can also be helpful (albeit valid and not too many). To deal with these ratings, understand the issues first and work on your product for improvement. But if you feel these ratings violated the policies, you can have them removed. 

Never resort to black hat strategies like paying or offering incentives in exchange for positive reviews. If you do this, Amazon will take your seller account down and may prevent you from selling on the platform in the future.

4. Answer Customer Queries Within a Day

In the world of eCommerce, customer satisfaction is paramount. They can make or break the sales touchpoint. To ensure you provide a satisfying experience for buyers, promptly address their inquiries and comments within a day of receiving them. 

Establish yourself as a reliable and responsive seller by prioritizing timely and appropriate responses. This demonstrates your commitment to meeting your customer’s needs. 

Key Takeaway

Selling on Amazon is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It requires hard work. Many new sellers make costly mistakes because they lack the knowledge about the platform and the proper methods to make it there successfully.

With that in mind, we hope you were able to familiarize yourself with the common errors, ways to avoid them, and how to drive actual sales right at the early stages of your selling journey. Remember, every mistake can be an opportunity to grow and improve your business!

Are you ready to start selling on Amazon, or do you need further help with your Amazon seller FBA account? Work with a reputable Amazon Seller account specialist today! Contact us and we will get you started with your dream business in no time. 

Are you looking for wholesale products to sell on Amazon? Or are you planning on selling smaller quantities? Before you decide on your business model, it’s important to learn how to outsource products to sell on Amazon and weigh your options.

You can choose from retail arbitrage, wholesaling, dropshipping, or private labeling. Amazon sellers have different ways of finding products to sell on Amazon. If you're a new Amazon seller or looking forward to changing the way you outsource, there are many ways to do this.

In this blog post, you'll learn how to find profitable product ideas and where to outsource products to sell on your Amazon business.

Tips for Finding the Best Products to Sell on Amazon

Before you sell a particular product on your Amazon store, ensure you've researched it extensively. Through this, you can see the best products to sell on Amazon.

Check out these tips on how to come up with profitable product ideas:

1. Establish a Criteria

Other sellers on ecommerce websites know what they want to sell on the platform. Meanwhile, some online sellers continuously search for trending products and outsource them through wholesale or a private label.

To help you evaluate if a product idea is something that will sell well on the Amazon marketplace, take a look at this list.

• Product cost. Find out how much your costs will be in manufacturing or buying a wholesale product.
• Product quality. Can you secure a reputable supplier that can give you high-quality products to sell?
• Challenges in shipping products. Will you need specialty fulfillment support like Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to ship products? Check if your products are easy to ship and how much the possible shipping costs will be.
• Competition. Who are your current competitors on your chosen niche product? Look at their prices and customer reviews.
• Ideal customers. Determine who your ideal customers are and how to reach them on Amazon.

2. Evaluate Product Ideas

Once you understand how product cost and fulfillment significantly impact profitability, you can discover items that meet your criteria. Here are some ways to find best-selling products to sell:

• Type in a search term on Amazon and select "Sort By: Best Sellers." Check how popular the product is compared to others in that product category.
• Use Product Opportunity Explorer in Amazon Seller Central to determine the number of users searching for specific keywords on Amazon.
• Check the trending products on Amazon's Hot New Releases, Movers and Shakers, or Gift Ideas.

3. Avoid a Product Category Dominated by Big Brands

Big brands dominate a lot of consumer goods. These brands leverage their big names, marketing, and budget to surpass their competitors, including beginner Amazon sellers.

If you want to sell a product, it's essential to identify a niche market where you can still sell products, and big brands will not overpower your presence.

6 Ways Amazon Sellers Can Outsource Products to Sell

After doing your product research, you must look for manufacturers or suppliers that can supply your own products. You can order the products from a direct supplier or outsource them differently. 

Here are some ways to get wholesale products to sell on Amazon as your inventory. 

1. Products on Clearance

Who says you can't buy products on clearance aisles and sell them on Amazon? There are a lot of sellers who do it this way. Usually, they find a product on the clearance aisle, or it's heavily discounted in thrift stores or local and online auctions and sell it on Amazon. This is a good stepping stone, especially if you're learning the ropes of selling on the platform.

This way of product acquisition is perfect for beginners because you won't need a large investment. You can sell what you have in the meantime and profit from it. If you'd like to invest the money you've earned from selling products, you can do it again and buy it in bulk. 

You can also opt for higher-priced items like electronics and home appliances. To succeed, remember you must be able to profit off at least 20 percent for every item. This way, your efforts in finding the items and uploading all of these on Amazon will at least be paid off.

2. Liquidation Stores

There are numerous liquidation and surplus stores all over the country. So, if you have one near you, you can make the best of it by buying items from these stores and selling them on Amazon. You can usually find discontinued products in these stores. 

The health and beauty product category is big on these products. Take advantage of this particular market by scourging through liquidation stores. The reason behind this is that discontinued items are treated like rare finds. 

If your customer sees that you're selling their favorite item that's not being offered in physical stores or by any other Amazon sellers anymore, then you can expect that person to buy from you. 

You can even sell these products at a higher price because of their decreased supplies.

It's a win-win situation - your customers are happy because you have their favorite products, and your profits for each product sold are higher, too!

3. Retail Arbitrage

This is one of the most common ways of outsourcing products to be sold on Amazon. This involves buying products from retail stores and selling these on Amazon for a profit. You can implement two ways so you can maximize your profits. You can buy from retailers in bulk or price it way higher than the others.

Buying in bulk is the best way to keep your pricing competitive without sacrificing your profits. The only difference with retail arbitrage is that you're outsourcing from retailers, not wholesalers. Due to this, you might not be able to get a substantial discount from buying in bulk. 

However, retail arbitrage on Amazon doesn't require a large upfront investment. It lowers your risk, so you can do this if you're starting out but want to work on more inventory than usual. 

4. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is one way to easily sell your products without having to go through the hassle of storing these in your warehouse. If you're working with a large volume of products, this can bring in more sales for you. However, it will also mean that you have to spend more money on storage costs or investing in inventory management software.

You can either address this in two ways. You can either start selling as many products as you can in a short time or opt to choose dropshipping instead. This type of inventory sourcing is best, especially for small to medium-sized companies looking to scale their businesses but don't have the money yet to invest in their own storage. 

5. Private Labeling

Private labeling is a form of outsourcing tactic wherein you purchase products directly from a manufacturer. It's similar to direct sourcing in that you source your products straight from the manufacturers. But in this case, suppliers manufacture generic products and then add your labels so you can sell them under your brand.

This approach also involves wholesaling to acquire the materials for your private label products at a reduced cost.

6. Wholesale Suppliers

If you're looking forward to further scaling your business, you can source your inventory through wholesaling. This method involves getting a lot of bulk inventory that you can sell and profit off. Since you're buying it at wholesale price and in bulk, you can get higher profit margins for it. 

For wholesaling, you will spend more on product acquisition. Before you fully immerse yourself into getting wholesale, you should ensure you have enough following and demand. It's risky if you don't have the demand for higher quantities of products yet. But if you already do, then this might be a great match for your business.

Key Takeaway

These are the six easiest and most reliable ways to outsource your products. But of course, deciding on the best selling method should depend on the nature and demand for your business.

Doing product research and stocking your inventory are the first and second steps—the next is to list these products on Amazon. This might be a little tricky, especially for new sellers, but we have the right people for that!

Be an Effective Amazon Seller With Seller Interactive

If you want your products to be noticed on Amazon, you must hit the ground running and ensure you’re doing the best practices from the very start. This is where an Amazon agency like Seller Interactive comes in. These are the professionals you should turn to if you want to sell effectively on the platform. Do you need help in managing your product listings? Book a call with us today. Let us do wonders for your business!