How to Start an Amazon Store
Amazon has become a popular platform for both shoppers and sellers. Now, the platform has introduced the FBA service to cope with the rising demands of sellers. Sellers can leverage Amazon’s customer base and robust distribution network to realize their business dreams through this service. These developments have made Amazon the most popular choice for retailers.
What is FBA on Amazon?
FBA stands for “Fulfillment by Amazon,” a service policy allowing Amazon to offer customer service, fulfill your orders and store your products in their inventory. Sellers must first create an Amazon seller account to use the FBA service.
Register An Amazon Account
The first step in having an Amazon store is registering an account. Usually, there are two types of accounts, namely; Professional and Individual. You can think of the two as premium and standard plans. The individual plan only charges you $1 on every sale you make, while the Professional plan charges $40 every month regardless of the number of sales you make. You can decide the best plan for you depending on your budget, but the Professional program seems to make a lot of sense, especially if you’re already an established seller. However, you don’t’ have to worry about the type of plan you already chose as you can make changes anytime you want. Also, note that additional selling fees may apply to both programs.
Requirements to Create an Amazon Store
Your Amazon store registration will be successful only if you have the following;
- An accessible phone number
- Chargeable credit card
- Tax information
- Bank account number
- Bank routing number
- National identification document
Costs Related to Amazon Sales
The costs you incur when selling on Amazon vary depending on your chosen selling plan and the products you sell. Also, there are shipping fees that apply when you fulfill your orders yourself. Amazon charges the shipping fees based on the buyer’s preferred shipping service and the product category. If you choose to opt-in for FBA? Amazon charges fees for order storage, fulfillment, and optional services.
Familiarize With Seller Central
Once you reach this point, it means you have already registered your seller account with Amazon. Essentially, Seller Central is a portal to manage your Amazon store by updating product information, manage payments, find resources, and make inventory updates. The Seller Central also enables you to list all the products you sell.
How To List Products on Amazon Store
Creating a product listing is mandatory for selling a product on Amazon. You can use a listing from other sellers dealing with similar products or create a new one when selling unique products. If you’re using the professional selling plan, you can use inventory management with third-party systems or bulk uploading to list numerous products at once. For the individual plan, you can only list each product at a time. Note that all the products you list on your Amazon store must have a unique ID, a stock-keeping unit (SKU), a title, product description, and image.
Your Amazon Listing Impacts your Business Success
It’s crucial to follow best practices when listing items on your Amazon store. Addressing variation issues is one of the critical aspects in the product listing that could make your business a success. Ensure you separately list products with different sizes, scents, and colors as customers wouldn’t expect to find them on the same page. The imaging also has to be high quality with at least 500 x 500 pixels and fitting against a white background. Moreover, the product detail page should provide relevant information about each item. Take the step that will make you a successful Amazon FBA business leader check out kevin king amazon course here.
In most cases, Amazon will use data from all the offers to create a standard detail page for the best experience. However, if you think the information provided about a product you’re selling is incorrect, you can propose product information on a detail page and request a detail page review. The best way to persuade customers to purchase your product is to discover answers to their questions and make the listing accurate and concise.
Different Fulfillment Options on Amazon Store
As an Amazon seller, you have two options to deliver items. You can run the inventory yourself or let Amazon take full responsibility through the FBA. By deciding to fulfill your own orders, you store and ship items directly to customers without Amazon’s help. However, you can use Amazon’s Buy Shipping tool that connects you with the company’s trusted shipping partners. Alternatively, you can enroll in the company’s FBA plan that utilizes more than 170 fulfillment centers worldwide. Amazon’s FBA provides sufficient space for your items, and you also receive the company’s world-class customers service, not to mention Free Super Saver Shipping and automatic Prime Eligibility.
Manage Your Amazon Store Inventory
One of the critical aspects of keeping your Amazon store afloat is managing your inventory effectively. Simply ensure that you have enough items to sell and keep the inventory level available for your sales and market. Notably, inventory levels decrease with the increase of placed orders. Therefore, it’s crucial to regularly update your inventory level to keep the available items visible on the product listing page. If you’re yet to master the best organizational practices, Amazon provides help to keep you on top of everything. Some of the best Amazon inventory management tools that could guide your decisions include Sellbrite, Orderhive, and Sellics. You can also adjust your marketing plan whenever you realize that you’re running out of stock. This may involve placing orders from suppliers to replenish the inventory level.
If you’re an Amazon beginner, starting your own Amazon store may be challenging, but we’ve covered crucial points to guide you through the entire process. You can incorporate ideas provided here, especially when you’re stuck in registration, product listing, or sales.