How to sell on Amazon?
22 Oct 2018
Process of starting sales on Amazon
The process of starting sales on Amazon can be divided into several stages. The first and most important is the selection of products and pre-deployment analysis, the second is preparing all the necessary product and formal data, and finally, the third is to open an account, stock products, parameterize and start selling.
What products to sell on Amazon?
It seems obvious, but it is not at all. If we are a manufacturer, brand owner, artisan, or distributor, the choice is simpler – we sell what we currently have in our own offer and what we offer in other sales channels, online or offline.
If we are a distributor and products from our offer are already available in Amazon markets, we can simply become another seller of that product on Amazon (the so-called Piggybacking). If the products are not available, we need to decide whether we will create a new listing for such a product or not.
What should be the basis for such a decision?
The potential of the given product on Amazon. To find out what the potential is, we need to analyze its position on Amazon, using tools available on the market or commissioning us to perform such analysis (here you can find sample results of such analysis).
If your product is unique, exceptional, and has no benchmark on the market, you should create such a product.
If we do not know what products to sell on Amazon, we first need to find such products. There are several possibilities:
Look in your contact list and the surrounding people or companies that are manufacturers or distributors of products, check if such or similar products are already available on Amazon and create an Amazon listing or connect to an existing listing (Piggybacking).
If you do not have such contacts, expand your search range and look for manufacturers, distributors, shops, artisans in the market who can supply such products — both locally and through platforms like AliExpress or Alibaba.
Pre-deployment analysis and decisions to be made
Apart from the products themselves, we need to make a number of other decisions and collect the necessary data, including:
On which Amazon marketplaces our products will be offered – in Europe we have the choice of amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, amazon.it and amazon.es.
In what model we will conduct our sales: FBA, FBM, Vendor.
What pricing policy will we implement in this channel? The decision should be based on the analysis of our total cost of ownership, purchasing, Amazon fees, logistics costs, buffer for returns, damage, or complaints, and our product margin.
In which product categories we will conduct sales.
What internal resources we have within the organization to handle orders, customer service, returns.
Do we have carriers who will be able to deliver our shipments to customers in the given market.
Prepare the necessary documents required to set up a seller account in Seller Central.
If you already have the complete set of the above data, you can move on to the next stage — preparing the product database.
Preparing product data
This is a key element of preparation for selling on Amazon, which is a determinant of success. At this stage, no "shortcuts" should be taken. Product data is the element on which an Amazon customer should decide on a purchase and choose our product rather than a competitive one.
Essential product data that needs to be prepared before listing products on Amazon:
Product name. It should be the calling card of the product, convey the most important information, and encourage a click on the description.
Product photo. The customer first looks at the images on the product page. Amazon allows you to add up to 9 images: one main (main image) and 8 additional. (Check the technical requirements for images). The images should inform and sell — show the product from different angles, features, and benefits. Invest in quality — it pays off.
Bullet points. Concise, most important features (usually up to 5). It is worth including:
What unique selling propositions (USP) we communicate.
Whether we have complete data required to create a listing: names, descriptions (general + bullet points), EAN codes, logistics data (weights, dimensions), images in accordance with Amazon's guidelines.
Product prices and shipping costs.
General product description. Traditional description: features, use, technical data.
Product logistics data, which means weights, dimensions of the product and packaging, and EAN codes (minimum in each category). Depending on the category, the range of data may vary.
Creating an Amazon account
This stage is the culmination of the process of starting sales.
To open an Amazon account, you need:
Account name – this is how customers will see your offer. Let it be easy to remember and consistent with the offer (it does not have to be the name of the company).
Company documents – scan of the document confirming business registration (CEIDG/KRS).
Scan of the identity document of the owner or the manager (if the identity document, both sides in one file).
Scan of documents confirming the address of the company or the manager (e.g., utility bill).
Active credit card.
Having the complete set of the above data, we are ready to register an account. After registration, we must fill in the details in the settings, stock products, and… we are ready to start in the Amazon world.
Contact and support
Do you have questions or doubts? Be part of the Go2Market Community. Let us know in the comment to this article or in our FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/go2market — and we will respond to them. Maybe this information will be useful to someone else :)
Best regards,
Go2Market Crew