5 essential tips for starting selling on Amazon and dominating the market

With over $356 billion in net sales last year, Amazon has solidified its position as the dominant force in the US e-commerce market. Its vast customer base and daily influx of visitors make it an unparalleled platform for merchants looking to expand their reach. If you’re considering starting your online store or wish to scale your existing store onto more channels, selling on Amazon is an opportunity you don’t want to miss.

However, diving into the world of Amazon selling without proper guidance can be daunting. That’s why we’ve crafted an all-inclusive beginner’s guide to help you navigate this lucrative marketplace. We’ll give you practical tips and tricks on how to start selling on Amazon so that you can set your store on the path to success.

Is it worth selling on Amazon in 2023?

Amazon boasts more than 300 million active users across 180 countries. Small and medium-sized businesses in the United States sell approximately 4,000 items every minute. These are just a few numbers to help you understand the massive scale of Amazon’s influence and see Amazon as a worthy place to establish a profitable business. Amazon FBA, a robust system for order fulfillment, also adds to its appeal as a platform.

When selling on Amazon, you don’t need to set up your own site, build a logistics network, or worry about timely product deliveries to buyers. Instead of a complex website, your store on Amazon is primarily represented by your product listing pages. With millions of potential buyers, you’re bound to find an audience for your merchandise on Amazon if you follow the right tips.

Tip 1. Start off on the right foot

Before you sell a product on Amazon, visit their website and create a merchant profile. During the registration process, be ready to provide your business name, address, contact telephone number, a valid credit card for charges, and a verified bank account. To ensure compliance with the rules, carefully review the regulations regarding the Amazon sales tax and other crucial policies like listing requirements, a product page style guide, and a shipping policy.

The next step is to pick the appropriate seller plan: individual or professional. Your decision here may be based on the number of items you anticipate to sell. If your inventory has over 40 items, opt for the professional plan without any doubt. This plan offers a number of features to enhance your overall selling experiences, like advertising and proficient tools (detailed sales reports, APIs, and more).

Tip 2. Identify a lucrative market segment

If you’re looking to build a business on Amazon, you may already know which niche to conquer. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to do extra research and ensure that your items perform well on the marketplace of your choice. Explore Amazon’s bestseller section and see what merchandise is in high buyer demand. Aspiring merchants tend to pick clothes, jewelry, shoes, toys, games, or electronics since these are the most sought-after categories. 

Avoid including seasonal items, for instance, holiday-themed ones, in your inventory. They typically experience unpredictable sales patterns and don’t provide a stable income. Also, steer clear of heavy or fragile items that can present packaging, shipping, and delivery challenges.

Tip 3. Publish your listings

Depending on whether your item is present in the Amazon catalog or not, you have two options for publishing your listing:

Item already exists on the platform. If the item is listed, creating a new listing page isn’t allowed, and Amazon will remove it. Instead, you can add your item to the existing page by specifying the quantity, condition, and shipping options. Amazon provides pre-existing images and item details, so you don’t have to worry about those.

Item isn’t yet available on Amazon. In this case, the process becomes more complex as you’re essentially starting from scratch. It will be your responsibility to provide all the necessary product info. The more effectively you do this, the easier it will be for shoppers to discover your item.

The easiest way to upload a new item is through Seller Central. To speed up the process, you can upload multiple items in bulk via an Excel spreadsheet. To use the spreadsheet option, you must be a Professional merchant and download the appropriate template for your product category from Seller Central.

Tip 4. Determine a fulfillment method

Before your first order comes in, you need to decide who will be responsible for shipping your Amazon orders to buyers. There are two options available:

Ship orders yourself. If you’re only starting your selling journey and don’t have extra money to spend, this variant is for you. As a merchant, you will take over the entire process of fulfilling the order, from sourcing the product to packing and shipping it. This approach allows you to retain control of the fulfillment process and avoid paying Amazon’s storage, packing, and shipping fees.

Even if you take on the shipping responsibilities yourself, Amazon provides convenient tools to simplify the process. You can quickly print order and shipping labels from the Seller Central dashboard. Ensure that the necessary packing materials are readily available to prepare and ship orders efficiently.

Rely on Amazon for fulfillment. If you’re on a Professional plan and have plenty of orders to take care of, Amazon offers you an FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) feature. As a merchant, your only task is to source and send the items to Amazon’s warehouses. Since Amazon handles all the fulfillment, you must pay additional fees for provided storage and services.

But you’re not paying for FBA services solely. Amazon tends to give preference to FBA vendors in search result rankings, makes items eligible for Prime’s free 2-day shipping, takes over all customer interactions related to your orders, including inquiries, returns, and refunds. When Amazon fulfills items, buyers have confidence that packages will be delivered as expected, enhancing their trust in your items.

Tip 5. Use automated software to boost efficiency

Once you establish your Amazon listings and begin receiving orders, think of how to organize the internal processes. As your store grows, your focus should be on its continued expansion. You’ll have less time to manually update listings, manage inventory, and orders yourself.

Many digital sellers rely on automated software solutions to organize their sales operations. M2E Cloud is one of the options to consider. The solution seamlessly integrates with Amazon, eBay, and other prominent channels, allowing you to synchronize your marketplace accounts, shipments, and inventory from a single centralized location 

Connecting your Amazon profile to M2E Cloud is a straightforward process that doesn’t require technical expertise https://m2ecloud.com/amazon-integration
The solution makes it easy to maintain your existing listings and create new ones in several steps on 19 global Amazon marketplaces with the help of smart product type and product identifiers suggestions 

Final thoughts

Entering the world of selling on Amazon is relatively accessible as the platform has minimal entry requirements. Thousands of merchants attempt to achieve success on Amazon but struggle to generate even a single sale. With the tips from our Amazon selling guide, you can now make the right decisions from the outset to launch your sales and firmly establish your Amazon presence.