How To Become an Amazon FBA Seller: A Complete Guide

The retail giant Amazon has permanently transformed the ecommerce industry in the US and abroad. With its superior two-day delivery service and affordable items, businesses are jumping onto the platform to gain financial success. One of their popular programs for sellers is Amazon FBA. FBA sellers are presented with several perks, such as access to Prime members and free delivery service.

Start selling and leverage Amazon's vast resources. You just need a small amount of money and a growth mindset to sell on their platform. Better yet, apply for their Amazon FBA program! With Amazon setting up its own shipping service, we are confident that this retail giant has no plans of slowing down.

Do you want to become an Amazon FBA seller? This guide will show you how and the benefits you can receive from enrolling with the fulfillment program.

Overview of the Amazon FBA Business Model

If this is your first time hearing about Amazon FBA, don't worry. We'll cover the basics for you to understand the program clearly. 

FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. This means Amazon handles the picking, packing, and fulfillment of your items—basically everything except supplying the products.

Here's how it works:

1. First, contact Amazon to send and store your products in one of their fulfillment centers. These centers are Amazon's warehouses run by their employees. 
2. Second, the hardworking Amazon employees take over inventory management and store your products.
3. When a customer orders from you, Amazon will pick the item from the shelves, pack it in a box, and ship the product to your customer. 
4. After shipping the package, Amazon will contact the customer to check if they have received it. Amazon's customer service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to answer inquiries on your behalf. 

Amazon handles the packaging, fulfillment, and customer service on your behalf for a fee. These are storage fees, fulfillment fees, and other service costs.

Since Amazon handles the heavy lifting for you, what tasks do you need to do? 

1. Pick the products: It is up to you to pick which products to sell. 
2. Maintain an adequate inventory level: Amazon will contact you about the inventory level of your items. It is up to you to stock up and maintain inventory. 
3. Market the products: You won’t sell your products without promoting them to consumers. It's your job to develop creative marketing campaigns to attract customers to buy from your store. 

How To Sell on Amazon FBA

Now that we've got you excited about this fantastic opportunity offered by Amazon, let's get you started with your Amazon FBA business. Follow these easy steps to get your ecommerce business up and running. 

Step 1. Find a Product To Sell on Amazon

Before creating an Amazon FBA account, you need to know what niche and product line to sell. You may want to sell every product you can think of, but it's best to pick one niche and determine the products to sell under that niche. 

The best way to choose a niche is to consider the areas you are most passionate about, list them down, and narrow that list down to 3 to 5 specific niches you are most interested in. 

After picking your niche, you can start conducting product research. Though you may be passionate about your niche and products, profiting from them can take time and effort. 

You can conduct general product searches to get a better idea about your products. You can start by searching for your products on Google or studying a customer's search query to determine if the products you have in mind will do well in the market.

Another method is to use a keyword tool where you can determine the level of popularity and demand for the product. You can also determine if there is a sizable market for it. Ideally, you want your product to be in high demand with little to no competition on the platform. This way, you can sell it at a higher price and volume.

Once you have picked the niche and the products to sell, you can start looking for a supplier. 

Step 2: Search for Product Suppliers

The next step is to find the right supplier. Without proper product sourcing, you won't have a product to sell.

Below are several ways you can look for a supplier: 

• Overseas: Most sellers on Amazon source their products overseas, such as in China. They look for wholesale suppliers on Alibaba and receive a 25% discount or less for the total purchases. 
• Local Trade Shows: Local trade shows host industry leaders who can provide you with the necessary products. You can check newspapers and magazines to look for trade shows. You can often source these products at a wholesale price. 
• Local Manufacturers: You may look for local manufacturers instead of sourcing your products overseas. Promoting local manufacturers helps boost their business, and they will appreciate your efforts. 

Don’t just look at the price per product—you also have to determine the quality to cost ratio, and if the suppliers themselves are reliable. Once you’ve narrowed this down, you can start testing the product. Take the opportunity of product samples to determine if the supplier in question can give you high-quality products.

Then, research shipping companies and costs. This is important, especially if you are sourcing products from overseas. 

Your shipping costs can affect your profit margin, so be sure to factor in the shipping fee in your product pricing. Remember to ask how fast the product can be delivered to you. A product can quickly run out of stock, and you need to be able to restock your inventory quickly. 

Step 3: Establish Your Brand

After choosing a supplier and a shipping provider, your next goal is to develop your business name and brand. When you create a brand, you need it to be recognizable and identifiable. Below are the steps to create a unique brand.

1. Name Your Brand: When naming your brand, you need to consider what your business will look like in the future. It will help if you create a brand name that will cover your current and future business plans. To do so, brainstorm and list all the brand names you can think of for your business. Do a quick search to see if the names are available.
2. Create Your Brand Logo: Your brand logo is important because it will be attached to your product images and items. Make sure to keep it simple yet creative so customers can recognize your brand easily. You can hire a freelancer to create a logo for your Amazon store.
3. Choose Your Brand Colors: Aside from your brand name and logo, you must pick your brand colors and tagline. The brand colors distinguish your brand from other businesses, while the tagline helps identify your brand and message. 
4. Register Your Brand Name and Logo: Once everything is solid, register under your brand name and logo to ensure that no one copies your business. 

Step 4: Set Up Amazon FBA 

Before applying for the program, you must have an Amazon seller account. Below are the steps to create an account. 

1. Visit services.amazon.com
2. Click Sell on Amazon and follow the directions.
3. Select between "Sell as an Individual" or "Sell as a Professional." An individual account has no monthly subscription fee, but they will charge you $0.99 per sale. A professional account has a monthly subscription fee of $39.99, but you won't be charged for your first month. A professional account also doesn't come with any other additional fees. 
4. After setting up your Amazon seller account, add your Amazon FBA seller account. 
5. You can now start selling on the online platform!

Step 5: Create Your Product Listings 

To add your products on Amazon and create a product listing, follow these steps:

1. Visit Amazon Seller Central Account and click Add Product under the inventory drop-down menu. 
2. Select Create a New Product Listing and select the category of the products you will be selling. 
3. Fill in the required information, such as product title, description, brand, manufacturer, price, and Universal Product Code (UPC). If you don't have a UPC, buy one before creating a product listing. 
4. Click on Save and Finish. 

Optimizing your product listing is essential to help you boost sales, rank high on Amazon, and encourage organic traffic. 

Step 6: Prepare Your Products 

After creating a product listing, you can now prepare your items for shipment to the Amazon fulfillment center. Properly package and label your items to ensure they are safe and can be appropriately transported to the fulfillment centers. You can hire the help of shipping services to ensure your products are safely transported to Amazon's warehouse. 

Step 7: Start Shipping Products to the Amazon Warehouse 

After packing your products, your next step is to create your shipping plan, print Amazon shipment I.D. labels, and send your shipments to Amazon fulfillment centers. Once you have created a shipping plan, Amazon will decide which warehouse you will send your products to. 

Once the fulfillment center has received your items, you can start marketing your products and raking in those sales. 

Step 8: Market Your Products

Market your products using social media, PPC advertising, and paid advertisements.

• Social Media: Social media platforms are powerful tools for marketing your products. This is where most of your potential customers are, and sharing information on social media is easier. To market your products on social media, build up your brand profile by making it fun and exciting. You can utilize influencers and ads to help spread the word. Keep in mind that social media can be fickle, so don't rely on it as your sole platform for advertising. 
• Discount Codes and Coupons: Offer discounts and coupons to your first customers. This will help spread the word about your products and encourage consumers to purchase an item from you. 
• PPC Advertising: A pay-per-click program (PPC) allows you to gain a broader audience because every time a person searches for a product on search engine sites, your sponsored content will pop up. Once they click this pop-up ad, they will be redirected to your product listing. 
• Hire a Professional: Amazon FBA consultants can help you navigate Amazon FBA. They are professionals who know the ins and outs of the business and will help you make sales. 

Why Should Professional Amazon Sellers Sell on Amazon FBA?

The FBA program will help you become a more profitable Amazon business. Selling on Amazon FBA includes enhanced marketing features that can make you a successful Amazon seller. If you still need to think about this strategy, here are eight reasons to join Amazon FBA.

Saves Storage Space

It can be difficult to store everything privately without an organized system. You may misplace an item or place it on the wrong shelf. With Amazon FBA, you don't need to stack your products in your garage or room, nor will you need to rent a space in a warehouse because Amazon's warehouse will offer you space to store your items.

You can think of FBA as outsourcing inventory management to Amazon. With minimal storage fees, you won't need to worry about storing your products. 

No Worries About Customer Service

Amazon FBA doesn't only provide fulfillment services, they also handle customer service for you. Amazon will handle customer inquiries such as missing packages, updates on shipping, and return requests. They will inspect the returned items, issue refunds, and create reports for you to replenish inventory. Furthermore, they will reimburse you for damaged or missing items. 

It can be challenging to grow your business while taking care of orders and customer returns. You may experience delays if you do it on your own, or you can be stuck on the computer for hours answering questions. Amazon removes the need for you to hire a customer service representative, and they remove the challenging process of fulfilling orders on your part.

Access to Prime Members

One of the best perks of Amazon FBA is the access to Amazon Prime members. Did you know that Amazon Prime members spend an average of $1,400 on the online shopping platform every year? Imagine how many sales you can make with the FBA program! An FBA business will mean more sales and greater income for Amazon sellers. 

More and more customers are also enrolling under the Amazon Prime membership program because they enjoy Amazon Free Shipping or Two-Day Shipping Service. 

Put yourself in the shopper's shoes. Will you pick a store that offers you free shipping or one you must pay for? Of course, you'll pick the one that offers free shipping. 

Buyers can also get tons of discounts with Prime. Hence, it's not surprising to see the growing number of Amazon Prime members. So, before you think of backing out of Amazon FBA, consider the sales you can get from this segment.

Higher Chances of Getting the Buy Box

FBA products have a higher chance of winning the Buy Box. Why? Because FBA offers a fast and free delivery service that affects the number of visitors and sales. Your customers will likely pick your store to purchase items from. This affects your ranking, which can lead to you winning the Buy Box button. 

Don’t Stress About Lost and Damaged Items

Lost, stolen, or damaged products are a big pain to sellers. It affects customer reviews and relationships with customers. One of the neat things about FBA is they take care of lost, damaged, or stolen items. They will coordinate with the customer regarding the item and send them a new one, or they will reimburse the money while the customer returns the damaged item.

Sell Anywhere in the World

Sellers can sell on Amazon to and from anywhere in the world. Since you don't have to ship directly to customers, you can manage your store even when you're on the road. Send your items to Amazon, and they will handle the shipping and customer service on your behalf.

Sell Private Label Products

Selling private label products on Amazon FBA offers several advantages to entrepreneurs looking to launch their own brands. First and foremost, by offering private label products, sellers can differentiate themselves from competitors and build brand recognition, leading to increased sales and higher profit margins. Additionally, leveraging the reach and credibility of Amazon can help sellers access a vast customer base that they might not be able to reach on their own.

Access to Customer Success Metrics

Amazon FBA sellers can access customer metrics and performance data through their Amazon Seller Central account. Within the Seller Central dashboard, sellers can view their performance metrics—such as order defect rate, late shipment rate, and pre-fulfillment cancel rate—as well as customer feedback and reviews.

Amazon provides sellers with a range of tools and resources to help them monitor and optimize their metrics, including automated alerts, performance dashboards, and detailed reports. 

By monitoring and optimizing these metrics, sellers can improve their performance and provide a better customer experience, ultimately leading to increased sales and profits.

In Conclusion

Becoming a seller on Amazon has its benefits and disadvantages. To eliminate your worries and streamline your business, we at Seller Interactive will handle everything from warehousing to fulfillment and logistics. We will help you grow your brand by working closely with your team to manage your Amazon account. If you wish to know more about our services, book an appointment today!