2.4 million sellers place their goods on Amazon and generate a virtually countless number of sales every day. While Amazon collects a fee for every sale generated on its platform, given how much market share the company owns in the eCommerce space, it’s a great place for small business owners to engage with customers.
If you’ve thought about creating an Amazon business in the past, you’ve probably mulled over the question of how to sell products on Amazon.
The easy answer to that question is to create an account, write a listing, and start selling. The answer that’ll help you build a revenue-driving machine on Amazon is more nuanced.
Below, our team walks you through that nuanced answer so you can get the most out of your foray into eCommerce!
1. Pick Your Product
You don’t want to be all things to all people when you’re opening any kind of store. Opening an Amazon store is no different.
To get the most out of your eCommerce business, we recommend picking one or two core products you’ll bring to market and expanding from there if needed. When coming up with a handful of product ideas, focus on things that you’re familiar with.
Are you an avid camper? If you are, maybe camping mats are a good product line to explore. Do you game regularly? Then perhaps selling gaming accessories could make sense.
Whatever it is that you’re considering, write down your top picks before moving onto our next step.
2. Conduct Market Research
Demand matters when you’re trying to build an Amazon business. Therein lies the value of market research.
By using tools like IBIS World, exploring Amazon’s top-selling products, and paying attention to consumer trends in your community, you can land on products that people are buying en-masse, giving you the best shot of turning a profit.
Conducting market research is a step many people going through the how to sell products on Amazon process skip. Don’t be like them and regret it later!
Be patient and ask yourself tough questions as you explore your product possibilities.
3. Find Your Supplier
How are you going to get your hands on the products you’re selling? For most of you, the answer to that question will be to engage a supplier/manufacturer.
For example, if you’re selling camping mats, you’d find a manufacturer that specializes in making them. You’d then negotiate a price per unit with that manufacturer that’s lower than the price you’re going to be charging consumers downstream.
Remember, not all suppliers/manufacturers are created equally. Sample their products before investing in them as you’ll want to make sure that product quality aligns with your expectations and the brand you’re trying to build.
4. Create an Amazon Seller Account
With your product pipeline mostly figured out, your next step is to craft your Amazon seller account. You can get started with that process by clicking here.
Creating an Amazon seller account is simple. Follow the prompts you’re shown, enter any tax information Amazon requests so they can report back to the IRS, and fix your consumer-facing profile to align with whatever your seller brand will be.
Amazon has ample FAQ materials available to sellers so explore them if you run into snags during your account creation process.
5. Get Set up Through FBA
For anyone that’s planning on selling on Amazon in bulk, FBA is a must. FBA enables you to send your products to an Amazon warehouse where they will be stored and shipped once orders are placed.
That prevents you from needing to house your products and run to the post office every time you receive an order.
FBA does have additional fees attached to it but believe us when we say that the ease it enables is well worth its cost.
6. Optimize Your Listing
How you write your product listing will have a profound impact on how easily consumers will be able to discover it. To get started writing an effective listing, explore similar product listings in your space, and take note of how they are structured.
Without plagiarizing, similarly structure your listing, paying attention to keywords that consumers may associate with your product. If you’re not sure how to target keywords in your listing, take a moment to learn more about search optimization.
7. Place Orders and Start Selling
Your account is set up, your listings are ready to go, all that’s left to do now is to place orders with your manufacturer and start selling your inventory.
Typically, you’d have your manufacturer send items to you at your wholesale price and then, after checking the inventory, you’d re-ship those items to Amazon FBA warehouses for distribution and sale. If you’re confident in your manufacturer, you could have them ship directly to FBA.
Once FBA confirms the receipt of your shipments, your listing can go live on Amazon and you can start making sales!
You Now Know How to Sell Products on Amazon Successfully
Knowing how to sell products on Amazon is one thing. Knowing how to do it successfully is another.
We’re glad to have given you an education that will allow you to build a consistently impactful business around the biggest eCommerce platform in the world.
Amazon is always changing as are eCommerce habits. If you find yourself lost amidst that change, we welcome you to explore more content on our blog for additional tips on creating an Amazon business plan, reshaping your eCommerce presence, and more!
