Successful Entrepreneurs: What to Know as an Amazon Seller

Diving headfirst into the e-commerce world is no easy feat., but if you're ready to start your own business, risks are all part of the process. 

Numerous platforms and marketplaces exist to list your products online, but selecting the right one will give your brand the best chance for success. Because of its broad audience and variety in selection, Amazon is often considered the best platform giving you access to global marketplaces - it's no wonder why many Amazon sellers have become successful entrepreneurs throughout the years. 

So whether you are an entrepreneur looking for a new challenge or someone who has been struggling to find success in your current venture, selling on Amazon could be the perfect opportunity for you. This post will give you some insight into what it takes to be successful as an Amazon seller.

Things You Should Know to Become an Amazon Seller

To begin your journey with Amazon, you’ll first need to set up an Amazon seller account. Get started by selecting a selling plan best fitted to your business. Two options exist; they are called the Individual Plan and the Professional Plan.

What are the differences between the two selling plans on Amazon?

• Individual Selling Plan

This selling plan is the best option for sellers selling less than 40 items a month. Additionally, using this plan is more convenient for Amazon sellers who are only getting started, making it more affordable and efficient for their business progress. The cost of the Individual Selling Plan is $0.99 per sale.

• Professional Selling Plan

The Professional Selling Plan is what larger Amazon sellers typically opt-in for when it comes to their business plan and management. Choosing this selling plan will give you access to other helpful, advanced tools for more selling functionality and reports. In addition, you will have more comprehensive selling options such as assigning your products to additional categories, adding bulk product listing more efficiently, and adding multiple users to your Amazon account. The cost of this particular selling plan is $39.99 a month.

You don’t need to be too concerned about which to select first because you can change your plans anytime.

To complete setting up your Amazon account, you will need the following documents:

• Government-issued National ID
• Phone number
• Bank account number
• Chargeable credit cared
• Tax information

After you’ve pushed through with this process, you are all set.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Being an Amazon Seller?

It’s undeniable that investing in any online marketplace platform takes a lot of risks, especially for small to mid-sized businesses. But then again, the reward with the right platform and strategy can skyrocket your overall business growth. By choosing Amazon as your trusted marketplace and fulfillment platform, you have the opportunity to access the many resources available, giving your brand a higher chance for success. 

Pros and cons of Selling on Amazon:

Pros

• A great way to gain traction for a new e-commerce business.
• Opportunity for a lot of growth and success
• Ability to reach millions of active and potential customers.
• Ability to achieve international expansion.

Cons

• Defrauding sellers can take over your product listings.
• Amazon owns customer relationships
• High level of competition with other sellers
• Selling plan and FBA fees

How to Avoid Common Mistakes When Selling on Amazon

There are numerous challenges when selling on Amazon; however, many resources and workarounds exist to overcome them. When it comes to selling, making mistakes is inevitable, especially when you’re just getting started. Consider these tips to help you through your Amazon seller journey and avoid common selling mistakes.

Build your own website

Building a website for your business helps secure your identity and reputation as an Amazon seller. Doing this will reassure your customers that they are buying from a certified Amazon seller and reputable brand. Additionally, you increase customer-seller trust by securing your business a website as a reliable source.

Trademarking and branding your products

By trademarking and branding your products, you’re preventing your product listing from unscrupulous hijackers in the online marketplace platform, especially when you have wholesale products to sell on Amazon. In addition, branding protects your products by sealing your logo, making it difficult for fraudulent sellers to take over your product catalog.

Bundle your products to prevent product hijacking and counterfeiting.

Bundling your products makes it difficult for hijackers to imitate the products you offer. It’s critical to avoid getting hijacked on Amazon as it can negatively affect your reputation and ruin your opportunity to make sales.

Check out this page to learn more about Amazon suspension appeal service.

These tips above are only some of the lines of defense you can use to protect your business. Taking the additional precautions your brand needs to be covered is essential for Amazon businesses - that’s where Amazon FBA seller central comes in.

What Is Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)?

So now you’re all set - your products are assigned to their specific categories, secured through trademarking and branding, and maybe you’re even advertising your product. Now is a great time to learn the most valuable features of Amazon services for sellers. 

Fulfillment by Amazon, also known as FBA, is a seller’s partnership with Amazon’s warehouse capabilities. This partnership offers shipping and storage services to help Amazon sellers with delivering their products to their customers. By using these services available to you, you’ll be able to provide a more streamlined process for your e-commerce business on this platform and widen your chances for success as an Amazon FBA seller.

How FBA Can Help You With Your E-commerce Business

Additional Resources and Support

Suppose you don’t have enough workforce to manage your products and handle orders. In that case, you might end up delaying any transaction for your customers, especially when your product is in high demand. Amazon FBA provides packing and delivery services for your orders, which can ultimately improve your customer-seller relationship through speedy delivery services.

Storage and Shipping

When you’re flooded with orders, it can get overwhelming to the point of neglecting your inventory needs. Amazon FBA provides you with the data and resources you need to stay on top of your stock’s status and warehouse inventory movement. In addition, Amazon FBA services help you centralize your shipping and storage processes while having a dedicated team of professionals who will handle your products.

FBA Fulfillment

Amazon FBA fulfills your orders for you, so you don’t have to be concerned with the entire process for each sale. By adding FBA to your seller account, you avoid high shipping rates, especially if you have multiple orders in a row.

The Fulfillment Process:

• Select which products you want to sell on your account and create a shipping plan to send them to an Amazon fulfillment center. Once received by Amazon, they will store the products in preparation for future orders. Additionally, you can add Amazon APIs to market your products worldwide.
• You can enjoy lesser shipping rates with a next-day delivery option to select areas. This increases your chances for better product reviews from your Amazon shoppers.
• Amazon FBA will store, prepare, and process your product transactions for you, meaning shipping to different parts of the country or bulk orders within the state will be one less thing to worry about.

Become an Amazon Seller

Starting your journey with Amazon provides you with an excellent foundation for becoming an entrepreneur. So, if you’re considering expanding your business channel, taking the Amazon route might just be a solution for you!

If you have any business-related questions or concerns regarding your Amazon seller account, you can reach us through our Seller Interactive page. We’re ready to help!