How To Be Your Own Boss As An Amazon FBA Seller

HOW TO BE YOUROWN BOSS AS AN

AMAZON FBASELLER

IT'S EVERY DIGITAL WORKERS DESIRE TO GENERATEPASSIVE INCOME STREAMS, AND TO EARN AN INCOME

BY DOING AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.

H O W T O B E Y O U R O W N B O S SA S A N A M A Z O N F B A S E L L E R

The Amazon marketplace is very often overlookedand provides plenty of opportunity for a lucrative

passive income stream.

W h a t I s F u l f i l l m e n t B y A m a z o n ?


Fulfi l lment by Amazon (FBA), is a great way to sell products withouthaving to deal with the sales, the shipping, or the customers. All youhave to do is source a product, l ist it , and send the products over to

Amazon to stock your inventory.

M o s t o f y o u r i n p u t w i l l i n v o l v e r e s e a r c h i n gp r o d u c t s t o s e l l , a n d f i n d i n g s u p p l i e r s w h o c a n g i v e

y o u t h e r i g h t p r i c e .


The FBA service takes care of the rest. Your product is placed in viewof Amazon's astronomical marketplace. The items that you send toAmazon are stored in their warehouses. When a sale is made, they

deliver your item and even take care of customer service.

M o s t o f y o u r i n p u t w i l l i n v o l v e r e s e a r c h i n gp r o d u c t s t o s e l l , a n d f i n d i n g s u p p l i e r s w h o c a n g i v e

y o u t h e r i g h t p r i c e .


An Overview Of The FBA Process

Register for wholesale newsletters and email updates from big

box stores like Walmart, Home Depot, Ikea, Costco, and others.

Wait for them to send you amazing product flyer offers. You can

also be more proactive and scan around their websites too.

Compare the offers available, to the products currently on Amazon.

If you can source a product cheaper than it's current listing price

on Amazon, and it is likely to sell well, then make a bulk order of

wholesale goods and add them to your FBA inventory.

M o s t o f y o u r i n p u t w i l l i n v o l v e r e s e a r c h i n g p r o d u c t st o s e l l , a n d f i n d i n g s u p p l i e r s w h o c a n g i v e y o u t h e

r i g h t p r i c e .


The Formula

1

2

3

Find products that you can profit from

Source and ship products to Amazon distribution

'Sit back' and make sales

B e f o r e y o u s t a r t s e l l i n g o n F B A ,y o u w i l l n e e d t o h a v e s o m e m o n e y t o i n v e s t .

Y o u w i l l h a v e t o d e a l w i t h t h e p u r c h a s e o f a p h y s i c a l i n v e n t o r y , a n dt h e n p a y t o s h i p t h e s e i t e m s t o A m a z o n . B u y i n g f r o m s u p p l i e r s , a n d

t h e n s h i p p i n g t h e p r o d u c t s t o A m a z o n , w i l l b e y o u r m a i n c o s t s .


Cost To Start Sell ing

Amazon's referral fee

Warehouse storage fees

Subscription fees – you can pay $0.99 pertransaction, or $39.99 per month pro plan.

There are also several fees associated with using the FBA service:

I t a l l d e p e n d s o n h o w m a n y t r a n s a c t i o n s y o u m a k e .


Which Subscription Fee Is Best?

$0.99 per transaction

The first plan allows you to sell up to 40 products in a month, at a charge of$0.99 per item transaction. This could be the best option if this is your

first time, or if you sell expensive products but less of them. If you plan tosell less than 40 products in a month, then choose this option.

$39.99 per month pro plan

If you are likely to make more than 40 transactions, then you should pay$39.99 for the monthly sign up. If you want to get serious and sell

hundreds of products, then this is by far the best value. It also comeswith more features, such as the ability to charge sales tax, and generate

business reports.


Benefits Of FBA

FBA items appear more often in the 'buy box', and higher in thesearch rankings. FBA items often take priority, even over cheaperversions of the same item.

The costs of shipping items to customers isincluded in your FBA fees.

Your products become eligible to Amazon Prime member'sbenefits, such as free next-day delivery, making Prime customersfar more likely to buy them over other options.


Signing Up To FBA

Head to sellercentral.amazon.com

Register using your existing Amazon account, or create a new one.

Choose your subscription plan based on how many products you plan tosell.

State the legal name of your company. If you don't have a company name,then use your full name.

Give your credit card details. This is incase your account experiences adeficit. This would happen if you didn't sell any items but still had to paysubscription and warehouse fees.


Signing Up To FBA

Choose your display name. This name is a part of your brand. Yourcustomers need to relate to it, or at least not be offended by it. Pickcarefully. If you plan to sell in a particular niche, choose a relevant name.

Next you will be asked to verify your identity. This can be done via a quickphone call, or by text message.

Now you can enter your bank account details, so that Amazon candeposit your profits straight into your account. Go to 'Settings' > 'AccountInfo' and then scroll down to add a deposit method.

You will have to verify your banking information before you can receivepayments.


Finding The Right ProductMethod 1 - Wholesalers

The first method is the 'product first' approach. You will hunt for bargainproducts, and then compare them to the Amazon listings to see how well

they are likely to sell, and how much they will sell for.

This is a very simple method, but not necessarily the one that can givethe highest profit margins. Effectively, you are on the lookout for

opportunities to buy products at a reduced wholesale value, and then listthem on Amazon FBA.


Finding The Right ProductMethod 2 – Suppliers

This method is much more full-on, and requires a greater amount ofinput from you, but if done right you can source products at a much

lower cost, leaving you a lot more room for profit.

You are going to research Amazon's existing products, and then gostraight to suppliers to see if you can source your own version.

To maximize potential, you can private label products, and sell them asyour own.



Step 1 – Take To The Bestsellers List

The best starting point for your research, is the Amazon Best Sellers list. Itmakes life really easy. The best sellers list is designed for customers to be ableto see what is popular, but it also gives you the opportunity to see at a glance

what already sells well.

A ranking of below #1000 in a broad category is generally considered to bepretty good, and it means a particular product is selling well.



Step 2 – Narrow Down Your Options

First of all, it would help if the product can be lightweight. This can make postage, packaging,and storage less costly. Small light objects that fetch a decent price, offer the best value on

shipping costs and storage.

Bigger objects should not be ruled out, but they should be valuable and profitable enough thatthe extra shipping and storage costs will be worth it. Your best bet, for the sake of practicalityand for sales, is to find a product that sells well for the actual product itself, and one that could

be branded and sold by you.



Step 3 - Research Your CompetitionFor each of your potential products, make a note of the following, using a spreadsheet:

Product – The name of the product.

Best Seller rank – Should be below #1000

Price of listing – If a bestselling item looks expensive, then you might beable to match or undercut the price by finding the right supplier.

Number of reviews – If a product is a 'Best Seller', but has a low number ofreviews, then this suggests that the market is not yet saturated, and youmay be able to slip in therewith your product.

Any negative user reviews – Reviews could reveal product flaws.Could yougive the customer what they want with your product?

The quality of the listing – f a high ranking product has an average or poor productdescription, then you may be able to provide the same product, but use an enhancedand more engaging sales pitch to drive home some sales.



Step 4 – Contact Suppliers

You don't have to stick to suppliers within your own country. Actually, if you live in the US,then it is probably more cost effective to source your products from abroad, from a country

such as China.

If you have local suppliers, friends in high places, or any other tricks up your sleeve, then goahead and work with what you have. For everyone else, there is no better place than Alibaba, a

global platform for connecting buyers with suppliers.



Step 5 – Design & Packaging (Private Label Only)

If you are buying produce from a supplier who allows private label, then you will need to sendyour designs for packaging, logos, and labels.

If you can afford it, try to splash out a little on this initial design phases, as professionalbranding could really set you apart as a seller.

Once you have the finished design files you can go ahead and send them over to your supplier,with clear instructions on how to proceed.


Adding Your ProductsTo Your Inventory

Log in to your Seller Central account.

Click 'Inventory' → 'Manage Inventory'

Choose the 'Add a product' option.

Search for your product in the Amazon listings, using the product name or the UPC,

ISBN, EAN, or ASIN.

Make sure you choose the correct product, style, and color to match the product

that you found in the Best Sellers list.

Next, click 'I want Amazon to ship and provide customer service', to make sure your

products are covered by FBA.

When you are finished, click the 'Save and Finish' option.

Repeat this for all products that you plan to sell on Amazon.


Inventory Placement Options

The first, DIP, asks you to send your items

to several Amazon warehouses ready for

delivery. This is the default option, but not

always the best choice for sellers.

If you choose this option, you will have to

split your stock and make several

different shipments of your products, to

reach multiple warehouses.

You have two choices:Distributed Inventory Placement (DIP), or Inventory Placement Service (IPS).

DIP

With IPS, you can send all of your items to

a single warehouse, the location of which

is determined by Amazon. They will then

distribute your items from that single

warehouse.

For this, you pay a per-unit service fee

according to the size and weight of

products – anything from $0.30 for a

small 1lb product to $1.30+ for a 5lb large

item.

IPS


Shipping Your Products

Go to your inventory list.

Select one or more of your products that you want to ship to Amazon.

Click 'Actions', and then select 'Send/Replenish Inventory' from the drop-down

menu.

Create a new shipment plan, confirm your address, and tell Amazon whether your

products are individual or cased. Unless you got them from a manufacturer, you will

probably select 'individual'.

Next, print your item labels. They match your seller ID with your products, and

should be placed over the top of the original barcode. This is a requirement of FBA,

so make sure you oblige. You can print them out on most types of printer using

special sticky label paper.


Shipping Your Products

Confirm, and you will see your shipping details. Check and approve

Choose your courier. Unless you work with your own courier, you can use Amazon's

partner UPS for domestic deliveries. You will need to find your own service for

international sales.

After confirming, you will be prompted to enter the number of boxes you are

sending, and the weight and dimensions of the packages. You will find out the price

of your shipment at this point.

Finally, you will need to print your box labels. Again, these match your shipment

packages with your Seller ID. One needs to be placed on the top of each box.

If you are working with your own courier, then enter their tracking number.

Confirm the shipment, and wait for the parcels to be collected. That's it! Job done.


How To Make SalesCreating A Compelling Listing

First up, create your product listing. This is what your potential customers will see when theyclick on your item, so it needs to be spot on. You should add plenty of high quality images to

attract buyers.

The key to a compelling product description is to demonstrate what the product does, how itworks, why it is valuable, what sets it apart from others like it, and why it should be purchasedimmediately. Try to cover all of these points in an engaging tone, and a voice that speaks to the

product's target audience.


How To Make SalesMarketing & Promotion 101

One of the best ways to give your product the push it needs is to start off with a promotion,which could include a discount rate.

If you offer a discount, you will reduce this perceived risk, and increase the chance of makingthose crucial first few sales. If your product proves to be good, then you can expect delighted

reviews from customers.


How To Make SalesAdvertising / PPC

Amazon offers a flexible internal advertising system that will keep your product high inrelevant searches, and increase your visibility dramatically. You can choose whatever budget

you want for the campaign, from $100 upwards.

You can also use Google Adwords in a similar way, in order to gain visibility and sales. Thistends to be more expensive, but you can reach an audience outside of Amazon, and this can be

extremely effective.


How To Make SalesSocial Media Marketing

If you plan on creating a long-term brand that specializes in a certain type of product, then youshould consider putting together a social media campaign that targets your niche. Create

profiles and pages for your business, or for individual products, and do what you can to sharethem around.

You can also pay for social media advertising, like Facebook and Twitter, in order that yourposts reach more people.

Post your product on relevant groups, forums, blogs, and anywhere you can online.


How To Make Sales

Take the profit that you make from your first inventory stock, and reinvest it. Buy

more of the same item and restock with a greater amount.

If a certain product seems to work well for you, and turns a consistent profit quickly,

stick with it. If any of your products struggle, or don't make as much money as you

expected, then drop them from your stock list.

If you started out with really cheap products, you could start to stock moreexpensive options as your business grows. This might allow you to nab more profit

per sale and relatively lower shipping costs. When adding products, you should

always repeat the research phases fully.

Consider selling your product outside of Amazon. Once your brand is established on

the Amazon seller circuit, why not take it further with your own website, extensive

social media channels, videos, images, and e-stores? The online world is your oyster!

Scaling Your Business


In Conclusion

Amazon FBA selling is no a get-quick rich scheme. You know that by now. You also know howmuch potential there is to make a profit. This is the real deal for those who are willing to put the

work in.

The process is fairly straightforward. Your main concern should be researching and finding theright products. If you are willing to do that and do it well, then you will likely be rewarded

nicely.

What's great about Amazon FBA, is the opportunity it provides, no matter how much or littleyou want to make and invest.

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Small Business & Entrepreneurship

How To Be Your Own Boss As An Amazon FBA Seller