The online retailer, Amazon, needs no introduction. At this point, the majority of the civilized world has heard of, if not purchased from, the website. However, if you run a business, you should be considering selling on Amazon too. It doesn’t mean you have to shut down your current ecommerce application. Selling on Amazon can simply provide you another revenue stream. However, before you can sell on the world’s largest online retailer, you must first list your items. Here is some helpful advice for doing so.
Start with Research
If you simply try uploading your entire inventory to Amazon, you may be in for a number of rude surprises. For one thing, Amazon prohibits the sale of a number of different items and, no, they’re just those with an adult theme. For other items, their sale is restricted by Amazon. You’ll want to check out Seller Central, however, to find out if Amazon only lets the manufacturer sell the product or if you can apply to become an approved seller. That’s a conversation you’ll have to have with Amazon Support.
Respect the Manufacturer’s Pricing
As a smaller outfit, it can be tempting to price certain items far below what their manufacturer advertises them at. If you bought them in bulk, for example, it may be worth selling some products for just a dollar or two in profit. Some sellers even operate at a loss, solely so they can collect information about their buyers.
However, if you’re not cognizant of the MAP (Minimum Advertised Price), you could be stepping on some very important toes. You don’t want to go too far below it or the manufacturer could get your ability to sell their items taken away by Amazon.
For those of you who use re-pricing software to gain a competitive edge, be sure your preferred application also makes it possible to input a lowest possible price and then just ensure it’s respectful of the MAP.
Mind Your Ts and Cs
In real life, we’re often reminded to mind our Ps and Qs. However, when it comes to listing your items on Amazon, be sure you’re minding your Ts and Cs or terms and conditions, if you’re selling someone else’s products.
Don’t take for granted that a manufacturer will be ok with you selling on Amazon even if the website doesn’t have any restrictions on that particular brand. The manufacturer may be explicit in their Terms and Conditions about using the site. This also goes for any distributors or wholesalers you may rely on as well.
List on Other Sites
Although we’re talking about Amazon here, it’s important to point out that you should also list products on other sites too. For one thing, this will help you keep abreast of trends in the market. Even though they’re both equally accessible online, you’ll sometimes find that one site is actually better for a certain product than Amazon, at least for a time.
The other advantage to listing elsewhere is that it makes it easy for you to shift a product to another site if one of the aforementioned reasons makes it impossible to sell on Amazon.
Use Fulfillment Software
Obviously, no matter how well you follow the above advice, listing only gets you so far. Be sure you’re leveraging fulfillment software too. This software ensures you get your customers’ orders out the door as soon as possible. However, it can also update your account on Amazon, so your inventory is correctly reflected and you’re not getting orders for products you don’t have.
Although there’s no doubt that Amazon is a great website for selling products, it’s not as easy as many people think. Listing your products is half the battle and augmenting your operation with fulfillment software will go a long way too.
Source:
https://www.amazonstrategies.com/2014/07/will-you-be-allowed-to-sell-your-next-new-product-line-on-amazon-part-ii-of-ii.html
