Amazon Best Sellers Best Business

Amazon resellers and Amazon top sellers

Partnering with Amazon

Amazon is the undoubted king of e-commerce business. It has an unparalleled reach throughout the world. The whole world uses its services for buying stuff online. But its benefits are not limited to people like us. Amazon also provides a great opportunity for companies to sell their products and market it to a wide audience.

Best Sellers in Amazon

Picture this: you have just started an online business, hoping to make money by selling your products online. But soon you find out that it’s not as easy as companies like Amazon and eBay make it look. You try hard, but fail to get the exposure and the visibility required to get people interested in the products, simply because there’s just too much competition. Now what do you do? Do you just give up? It’s not an option after investing so much time, money and resources into the business.

Amazon is the perfect partner for such businesses. Amazon lets companies use their website to sell their own products. You will have your product showing on Amazon, visible to the whole world’s shoppers. You now become an Amazon reseller. Suddenly you have just eliminated the need for marketing. Just by partnering with Amazon has enabled you to concentrate on your product quality rather than going out there and wasting your time and money again on pointless ads and other methods.

Amazon top Sellers

This method works even if you do not have a website. You can just sell the products through Amazon. Or, if you have a website and would like to sell only through that, you can choose the option of advertising throug

H Amazon. Now people will still see your products on the Amazon website, but the links will redirect to your own website, where people will be able to buy and make payments. This system has worked wonders for a number of start ups looking to get a foothold in the eCommerce segment. The Amazon top sellers always manage to sell all their stuff and make great profits through it.

Amazon doesn’t stop there; it even gives you the option of using Amazon’s system for making payments. People who have Amazon accounts can make their payments through the existing accounts and payment methods while buying from your website. And if you want to partner with Amazon right from the start and build a website, Amazon Webstore makes it easy to get the perfect one that suits your business. With smart use of these services and cooperation, anybody can get their business up and running in no time.

Posted by dddproducts12 on November 24, 2014 in Uncategorized

Everything you need to know about Amazon

Amazon is one of the most trusted online businesses. As leaders in the field of internet retailing, Amazon has the e-commerce technology and the traffic to sell your products to a global market. If you’re new in internet marketing, quickly get acquainted with the features that Amazon offers for product sales.

Today in the world of advance technology called Internet, we cannot neglect the concept of online shopping or buying online. Internet is considered to the best way of promoting your company, its ideas as well as the products which you are manufacturing. If we talk about the web stores which would assist in the promotion of the company over the internet, then the first name which comes into mind is Amazon. Amazon is the most popular and unquestionably the best Web store. In spite of there being so many competitors, why this store is in demand and has achieved the top position. This question might come in your mind.

There are several things that make Amazon different and give top place in web stores. The best Amazon resellers are those who are careful, attentive and have the precise knowledge of products and are able to satisfy the customer with the products’ benefit and usage. Make your product successful by promoting the brand, for this you should remember all the basic knowledge of the products.

Due to the product quality and price, some companies are considered to be one of the Best Amazon sellers. They are able to supply all the products to the customers in a short span. From the customers view, it is one of the best online stores, which has all kinds of products like home based, health and personal care, cell phones and accessories, automotive, toys and games, home and kitchen equipment and utensils, luggage, appliances, clothing, handbag etc in a huge collection and in all designs and sizes.

If you want to become an Amazon top seller, you have to sell maximum products quickly. In today’s highly competitive environment, this is a tough feat and really challenging. Customers should be satisfied with the products and brand which you are selling. Whether you’re selling hand painted mugs, cell phones and accessories or promoting books or any other products, you should have a complete knowledge about individual products.

If you want to be the top seller amongst your competitors, you would need to identify your customers’ needs and to choose the right products and services that fulfill their needs. Building a trustworthy relationship by delivering quality products through quality services, will make your way towards successful Amazon business. Building a trustworthy relationship is the significant factor to become a top seller. Always make sure that your item is well protected and packed that it does not get damaged. Products that are not delivered in a good condition would lead to negative attitude towards your business. In Amazon, sales alone won’t get you the top seller status, but the best customer service is necessary to maintain your level or to reach the next level.

Secrets of a Best Amazon seller

With the growth of Internet and technology, we cannot ignore the concept of online shopping or buying the basic needs and products from online shopping portal shop. Now everyone is considering the online shopping concept as it is very easy to use without wasting a single moment of your time. You can do rest of the other works during that saved time. You can save petrol money of yours as now you don’t have to go for market with your vehicles for purchasing the products which you need for use.

With the technology and online shopping you can do lots of work in a moment without any remembrance of work. Amazon best sellers are the top due to their performance and product quality. They are highly functional towards their work and are very much user friendly in work. From the customers view, it is one of the best online stores, which has all kinds of products like home based, health and personal care, cell phones and accessories, natural and organic, toys and games, home and kitchen equipment and utensils, luggage, appliances, clothing, handbag etc in a vast collection and in all designs and sizes.

Amazon, trying its level best for making their work for more and more on IT support and services for their valuable customers to use it. Take some advantage of online shopping in a quick manner without any bother. Amazon deals on quality based products, where giving the high quality products to their customers is the motive and their first priority also. For being Amazon reseller you should be very careful, attentive and precise about each product and should have the capability to make your customer understand of products and their benefits. You should brand your products and should take care of basic sort of things which may make you successful in this field.

You can visit www. dddproducts. org for more information regarding Amazon products and their benefits of using.

Amazon Best Sellers

In today’s internet dominated world, we cannot ignore the concept of online shopping or buying online products. The internet is the strong mechanism of promoting your company, ideas as well as its business products. If we talk about online web stores that would aid in the promotion of company through the internet, then the very first name which strikes in our mind is Amazon. Amazon is one of the most popular web stores. The question arises what makes it so more popular. Why store got placed in a top position, in spite of tough competition.

All the Amazon best sellers are at the top because they are user friendly and functional. These companies are good from the user’s point of view. It is making more and more IT support and services for their user to use it. In order to take full advantage, use it in a better manner. Amazon is more into the quality based product, where the quality of the product is first priority for their customers. Amazon deals or works in following fields, they are: Health & personal care, cell phone & accessories, home & kitchen, toys & games, laptops & tablets, appliances, clothing, luggage, books, beauty products etc. In other words we can say that they sell a complete series of products which one requires on a daily basis for use.

We have all heard about drop shipping, but can it be done on amazon? Yes, Amazon has a large stake in drop shipping. This means you can also acquire Amazon resellers seeking new products from online drop shippers. You can also use Amazon to warehouse your products and drop ship them for you. Amazon provides resellers a chance to market their products to a wide audience. Visit website www. dddproducts. org for more information regarding amazon services.

Best Resources for Amazon Resellers

Best Amazon Sellers

Whether you are an Amazon reseller or an ebay reseller there are certain tips which will help to increase the business profits. The churn up result of sales is increased more than 50 percent if done in a proper manner. Amazon reseller is a good strategy to have potential sales and to avail benefit rates and discounts there are millions of customers who are waiting.

There are various shop websites on internet and getting associated with the famous ones will help the business to boost up the profit margins. While thinking of being a reseller, make sure that firstly you have branded your services or products. Secondly you should have a gateway to accept the payments from PayPal payments. The third phase is to have good set of communication with the clients and the customers and be a good listener.

The fourth point is to have a very clear and a transparent refund policy, so as to avoid any kinds of issues later. Last but not the least is that there should be a link to follow threads, write comments give feedbacks by the clients and the customers. Henceforth, be an Amazon reseller and increase your business.

Be the best Amazon top sellers

To be an icon for being one of the best Amazon top sellers, is not so easy these days. There is loads of information which can be helpful in making a person successful business entity. There are millions of customers who are keen to buy products from safe online portals. Internet these days is the best way to buy or sell the best products. There are number of things which can make a business a success. But there are certain guidelines which are important for a seller to follow so that the business reaches unimaginable profits.

Firstly, understand your product properly, so that you can explain it well to the customers.

Secondly, build a strong brand and maintain the quality of the product always.

Thirdly, make sure that the payments gateways you are using are highly secure infact go for PayPal mode of payment.

Fourthly, give good customer care service to the customer possibly 24 x 7 and also make the options like reverse payment quick and easily accessible.

Fifthly, choose a good and reliable means of delivery so that product can be delivered within the stipulated and committed time period.

Last but not the least is go for survey about your product and your services, so that if in case of any problem you can track the things down.

Thus follow these simple tips and be the best Amazon top sellers

Amazon Seller Registration: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started

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So you want to start an online business but aren’t sure where to begin. Of course there’s tons of options out there, right? There’s eBay and Etsy, blogging and Bitcoin. And of course, my favorite, Amazon. Yet, for new and aspiring entrepreneurs, setting up an online business can be intimidating. That’s why I wanted to take a little time to break down the process of creating an Amazon business. This guide will cover the basics of Amazon as well as show you how to navigate Amazon seller registration.

I’ve broken it down in four parts.

Overview of the material:

First, I’ll cover the Basics of starting an Amazon business. Don’t let the word “business” make you think that you have to go all out and set up a corporation. An Amazon business can be as big or as basic as you want it to be. Next, I talk about What it costs to sell on Amazon. I think you’ll find it’s actually pretty inexpensive, especially if you compare it to the tens of thousands you’ll need for a brick and mortar store. After that, I’ll walk you through the steps of Amazon seller registration and creating an account on Amazon. Finally, I’ll review a few more of the Basics of Amazon selling.

Before I jump in, if you’re already pretty smart about Amazon stuff, you might take the time to tune into our free Amazon Selling course. It’s a short video, just 45 minutes, and it walks you through all of the steps for finding and launching a product. Just click on the button below!

How do I start an Amazon business?

What’s great about Amazon, is that there’s no one way to start an Amazon business. Even though it’s been over five years since I went through the Amazon seller registration process, I keep learning cool new ways to do it. The one thing that I can’t express enough, though is how simple it is to sell on Amazon.

How to start an Amazon business in 3 easy steps.

Choose what you plan to sell. You don’t have to go nuts and start your own private label (although, I highly recommend it once you’re comfortable selling on Amazon). A lot of sellers get started selling their used stuff on Amazon. You can also sell books, both used and those you write, wholesale goods, and even discounted products you can buy in department stores. Go through Amazon seller registration. Next, you’ll need to register your “business” on Amazon. Remember, by business they don’t mean that you’re a big corporation. You can sell on Amazon as an individual. List your products. Once you’re registered, you need to list your products. After that, all you have to do is wait for a sale.

It’s really that simple!

Next, I’ll show you how to go through Amazon seller registration process.

How do I create a seller account on Amazon (Amazon seller registration)?

Once you’ve figured out what you plan on selling on Amazon, you’ll need to go through the Amazon seller registration process, which is really quite simple.

1 – Go to https://services. amazon. com

2 – Scroll down the page below the heading “Start Selling on Amazon today.”

On the left side, look for the “Selling on Amazon >” button and click it. Note: this is if you want to sell as an individual seller to avoid the $39.99 a month professional seller subscription. If you want to sell as a professional (sell more than 40 products per month), then just click the orange button at the top.

3 – Choose which kind of seller account you’d like to start with.

If you’re going to sell more than 40 products per month, then sign up as a “professional.” Even if you’re doing it as a hobby and don’t consider yourself a professional, this plan will help you save money. Otherwise, select individual. You might also sell as an individual when you’re starting out, especially if you’re waiting on products to arrive or haven’t yet built up enough inventory to sell 40+ products per month.

4 – Enter your email and select “Create a New Account”

5 – Enter your personal information and create a password.

6 – Amazon seller agreement and business information.

Now you’ll need to enter the name of your business and agree to Amazon’s terms of service. I’ve put LLC in the spot below, but you don’t need to have a legal business entity to sell on Amazon. If you’re registering as an individual seller, you can list it under your given name.

7 – Input your business’s information and verify that you’re not a bot.

Next, you’ll need to put all of your business’s information in. Amazon will also ask for your mobile number so they can send you a text to verify that you’re a real person and not a bot.

8 – Set up your billing and deposit methods.

Amazon will need your credit card on file in case there’s any advertising charges or you’re registering as a professional seller. The bank account information is so they can deposit your funds once you make a sale.

9 – After that, you’re in!

You may need to set up 2-step verification (to help protect your account), but once you’ve got all your ducks in row all you need to do is go to https://sellercentral. amazon. com to log in. Below is the screen that you’ll see… without any sales yet, of course.

Is it free to sell on Amazon?

What’s great about selling on Amazon is that you can get started selling on Amazon without spending any money at all… well, unless, of course, you’re actually buying your own inventory versus selling your used stuff that is.

But to actually go through Amazon seller registration and start an account as an individual seller, you don’t have to spend a dime.

However, once you make sales, there will be some fees. As nice as it would be for Amazon to allow us to use their website and services such as FBA for free, they’re still a business! However, I think you’ll I think you’ll find their fees pretty small, especially when you consider the huge number of customers that your products will be expose to.

What are Amazon’s fees?

Here’s a few of the fees that Amazon adds on to your orders. Note: these fees are after the item sells, not before.

Amazon referral fees. This the fee that Amazon takes as a commission for selling on their platform. It varies from category to category, but ranges between 12-40%. Most products are at 15%. Individual seller fee. This is a flat $0.99 added to each sale you make on top of the referral fee. FBA fees. If you use Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon program, you’ll have to cover the shipping and handling costs for Amazon. This usually works out to roughly $3.00 for small items weighing no more than a pound. The fees go up as the items get heavier or larger. Other fees. In addition to the three basic fees mentioned above, you may also have inventory storage fees (if you use Amazon FBA), media fees (if selling books, DVDs, etc), and advertising costs.

Don’t let the fees scare you off. When you do the math, paying these little fees ends up being much less than creating your own site and handling your own inventory.

What is a Amazon professional seller account?

If you plan on selling more than 40 items a month… which, trust me, is pretty easy to do with Amazon… then you’ll probably want to get an Amazon professional seller account. There’s quite a few benefits to setting up a professional seller account, like dropping the individual seller fee per item. Instead, you pay a flat $39.99 per month.

What else do I need to know about Amazon?

Here’s a few more Amazon selling basics that you should know about.

What is the best seller ranking?

Amazon organizes all of its products with a Best Seller Ranking (BSR). The more popular an item is and the more its sold, the higher the best seller ranking for the product is. Each department on Amazon has its own taxonomy of BSRs, as do the sub-categories.

What is FBA?

FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. It is a service offered by Amazon where they store your inventory for you in one of their fulfillment centers. Then, when you make a sale on Amazon, Amazon’s staff (and robots!) actually pick, pack, ship, and handle customer service on your behalf.

How do I sell on Amazon Prime?

If you sell through the Amazon FBA program and you have enough inventory to spread around through its fulfillment network, then your product will qualify for Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime items ship 2-3 days to customers. Plus, you get the “Amazon Prime” badge on your listing, which means you’ll have a better chance of selling your product.

What is private label?

Private label is a method of selling your own branded products on Amazon. It is, in my humble opinion, the most profitable way to make money on Amazon.

Is there free training for new Amazon sellers?

Absolutely. Here at Jungle Scout, we offer a ton of free information for people who are interested in selling products on Amazon. Our own Lenny Smith has a training video and article to show you how to get started with selling your own branded products on Amazon. Just click the link below.

Conclusion

And that’s pretty much the Amazon seller registration process in a nut shell. Pretty simple, right? Hopefully you now have a pretty strong handle on how it works. Don’t forget, here at Jungle Scout we offer tons of free resources for those looking to start an Amazon business.

If you have any questions or want to know a little bit more about how to start an Amazon business, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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Founder at Jungle Scout. Loves all things FBA. Amazon Data Nerd. Caffeine Enthusiast. Happiness Fanatic. Tweet him @mercer_greg

63 coments on “ Amazon Seller Registration: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started ”

Hey Amazon & Jungle Scout Team,

I am completely new to this and really want to try myself out! I am set an ready to go, got the plan, got the cash….got the jitters! I understand it’s real hard work, but I am so ready for it! Ready to change my life, and my vision of the future! Please get back to me as I really need someone to walk me through it..

Although we cannot personally walk you through each step, our Customer Success team is always on standby to help you out! You can reach out to [email protected] with your specific questions and concerns.

Good luck!

Melissa

How does amazon receive my product that I want to sell? Do I send amazon inventory or just one product and they continue to make it? Eg. a book or keychain ect

Amazon is just a sales channel and fulfillment network. You would need to produce your own products and sell it, so yes, you’d send inventory.

Please i would love to sell books on amozon, but i am from nigeria how do i go about it. please enlighten me

The biggest difficulty you’ll face is transporting the goods from where you are to Amazon. However, you might consider writing your own books to sell on Amazon, too, which wouldn’t cost you any money. You could publish through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing system.

Hi

I wanna ask if the “registered business” is essential for amazon. de account? anybody would help me?

How do I ship from my country, Trinidad and Tobago-WI, to US or other customers? do I hire a local shipping company to ship to amazon and from there my products is then shipped to customers or do I ship directly? shipping from my country will increase the cost of every product.

You can choose to manufacture your product in another country, like China, and have your products shipped directly to Amazon warehouses in the US. This would certainly be the most cost-effective option instead of shipping from your home country.

We have several resources on finding suppliers and planning the shipping details.

I hope those help!

I tried to open an account according to your instructions, but Amazon asked me to verify my identity. I sent them a statement but they emailed me back that they can not verify the document and as a result I am not allowed to sell on Amazon.

What can I do?

I don’t have credit card how can I start

Unfortunately, a credit card is absolutely necessary in order to set up an Amazon seller account. It can’t be a prepaid card or debit card. If it’s possible, check with your bank or research online banks to see if you can be approved.

Hi there I have created new account and it’s suspended immediately after deduction of my fee 39$ … I replied all email which is received from amazon. I can’t understand why my account suspended and what amazon actually need from me… if amazon guide me what they need I can provide everything which they desire.. but I’m very disappointed because I am nit getting any help and any response.. plz help and guide

We’re not suspension specialists here, but you might try contacting Chris McCabe at ecommercechris. com for guidance.

Hope that’s helpful!

I am not a business owner but would like to start selling my own brand with Amazon and intend to sell 40 items per month. Hence individual seller should not be an option for me. However, upon registering on the website, I’ve learned that the business type drop down button is limited only to the following categories: privately-owned business, individual, charity, state-owned and publicly listed business. Should I first then register a business before selling on Amazon? Thank you.

I believe “individual” would be what you filed as. You’d have to put in your SSN for sole proprietor.

Some states may require that you fill out a do-business-as (DBA), too.

Hey can we use debit mastercard instead of credit card. And if we cant can you suggest me any other platform just like amazon to sale products

Thanks

Hi Dave! very informative article, but I have some questions about setting up our Amazon US account as International seller outside USA:

1. if I lived in Indonesia and opened amazon US account, in this case I have set up my LLC and EIN using PO BOX address in USA, in the section point NO.7 on your article input business information which we need to input our business address, what address that I need to input? I think it should be our PO BOX USA address isn’t? since I am doing dropshipping in this case. Regarding the verification process using phone, I will use my Indonesia number to receive the PIN.

2. In the section “Tax Information Interview”, I will choose non US citizen, after that Amazon will need us to fill the form about our permanent address, in this case, it will be my Indonesia address, isn’t?

Just confused about the address part that we need to set as International seller especially doing dropshipping, looking forward to hear from you, CMIIW in setting up procedure, thank you 🙂

Great questions! And possibly a little out of my league. My recommendation would be to speak directly with one of Amazon’s seller support representatives or to someone who does legal/accounting advice for international sellers in the US.

There may be one available on our https://www. junglemarket. com or you might be able to find one somewhere on Google.

You could also try hitting up our Customer Success team. They usually have pretty good insights on this type of thing.

Let me know the procedure to get amazon registration done

I have heard that some people set up a separate amazon business account to do buying. How do you set up that type of business account as an individual without licenses etc, since it requires business verification?

I personally have two LLCs myself, one for purchasing and one for the retail side. But you won’t have to register the secondary business with Amazon, only the one you use to do through the retail.

I am not a usa resident, after click my own country, the amozon ask me me to sign up for hyperwallet. com to receive payment. After successfully done in hyperwallet, I cannot click the next step. Why? any remedy to this problem.? thank

Thanks for writing in!

I’m not sure what you mean. Have you tried contacting seller support?

I have a question regarding selling tooth brushs that are produced outside USA on Amazon. com while I live in Canada. Are there any restrictions on such a business?

You can probably do that no problem, however, toothbrushes, I believe will fall into Health/Beauty category which is a restricted category and requires ungating. I think to ungate H/B you need to supply Amazon with an invoice from your manufacturer to prove that you are a legitimate reseller of that product. If you are the manufacturer, you have to prove and show proper paperwork.

Hope that’s helpful!

Gr8, thanks ur info. That helps meh to get some info. in this field.

I’m also beginner in this Amazon vast Jungle. Thanks ur info.

Is it easier to get documents approved on Amazon if you are an individual or professional seller? I am having a hard time getting my documents approved but I have no idea why. I am signed up as a professional right now and am trying to sell used books.

Thanks

Was this ever answered?

Fia

11.21.2018 AT 2:50 PM

Great guide Greg!

Important question: Does Amazon accept seller if Business/LLC address is different from Credit card address? Do bank accounts/credit cards also have to be registered at the official business address?

Thanks, don’t want to muck up my chances of getting approved!

I have an LLC (filing squared away) but d not want a hard inquiry on my personal name to open a new internationally chargeable credit card. Can I use personal internationally chargeable credit card until I build up business credit?

Amazon asks you to verify your account like send documents, your passport details and bank statement. Now i have provided this information to get my account activated but they rejected the application saying your bank statement does not show any customer transactions.

I never been in business I am starting from scratch and uploaded my personal upto date bank statement.

How do I get round this

Hi, thanks very much for this information. I am a distributor of edible pet treats in the UK and I want to begin selling on Amazon. I will be using FBA and was hoping you have some more information on inventory management under FBA?

Under FBA is it correct to say that the seller only has to ensure that the amazon warehouse is sufficiently stocked to meet customer orders and that any distribution from the warehouse is left to the amazon distribution function to deal with? How would one ensure the amazon warehouse is sufficiently stocked with inventory and how do you ensure that your stock is held at a number of distribution warehouses across the UK region.

If we do not use credit card for deposit, any other option? thanks

Hi

I have garments manufacturing unit. And i was making kitchen approns for a client, who export those goods to amazon. Now i want to export direct. How? Please guide me

You would need to set up an Amazon account and prepare a shipment. You can learn how to do that in our Million Dollar Case Study (it’s free)

When using the Amazon fab program, does Amazon handles defective products return by customers? And, how does it work? One thing that I would not like be part of is having to deal with products cominto me or my home address.

You have two options. You can either have it sent directly to you or you can have Amazon dispose of it for you. Both have an associated cost.

Sometimes, though, the “defective” product is nothing more than a dinged up box.

It seems you forgot a liiiiiiiittle detail, amazon now asks for a SS#! (TIN) I just tried to set up a new selling account and I found out that (even to sell a few things) they want “Tax Information”.

This is what it says:

If you are a U. S. tax payer, by completing the tax interview in your seller account, you will be providing Amazon the appropriate tax identity in the form of a W-9 or W-8BEN form. For U. S. taxpayers, a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is required by the IRS for the administration of tax laws. In most cases, your TIN is either an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or a Social Security Number (SSN).

My question is why do they want it now and they did not need it before (same with the credit card)? The way it is going, it would not be surprised if amazon soon will ask for a urine, stool, DNA, etc. sample (and maybe request to have a “chip” implanted to be able to sell).

I looks I will be an eBay seller after all.

Thank you very much for your information. Could you tell me please, Can i change my individual account into pro. after some time?

Great guide Greg!

Important question: Does Amazon accept seller if Business/LLC address is different from Credit card address? Do bank accounts/credit cards also have to be registered at the official business address?

Thanks, don’t want to muck up my chances of getting approved!

Fia, Did you ever get an answer to this question regarding LLC entity name and use of personal internationally chargeable credit card? If you would please reply if you have an answer that would be amazing.

Thank you in advance, Brittany

Hi Dave excellent blog on Amazon thanks for all the ideas shared.

Im based in India but the tools referred to seemed to be of US origin so how do i use this if i were to start my venture in India

Hope you have some details for the same

Thanks a lot in advance

The process is still the same as it would be in the US, just a smaller market overall. In my experience, it’s a little harder to profit on Amazon India as most of the items cost very few rupees.

I want sales my rugs product on amazon..com so you tel me which type i do.

Which type of what? Seller account?

I want to provide a simple solution to distributing a family genealogical book to about 40 family members, 7 of whom live outside the US–England, Holland, Germany, Australia and Israel. There will be a charge for the cost of the book. My concern is the cost of shipping to these non-US addresses. Through any international air carrier, it can run $70-100 per location per book. Do you know if Amazon has a different shipping cost structure?-it can go by ship. I have tried to talk to an Amazon agent, but have not found any department that is willing to explain this. Thanks very much.

You might ask a logistics company the easiest and most cost-effective way to do this. I’m not sure doing it through Amazon will work.

DHL might have good rates for foreign carriers.

Please, how if a product has a private label potential? And if there are multiple sellers for the product and how I can know if the product is patented or patent pending without going through the rigours of patent search that I don’t really understand.

If you need to register VAT in Europe, do you have to have an entity?

Can’t decide if i need to register a company or not? (prefer not to in the beginning)

We have a comprehensive guide to VAT from our European Million Dollar Case Study that you can read through here. It should answer your questions and help you get started!

Great and informative blog. I have learn a lot.

I am planning to start amazon fba selling used books and I have some clarifications below;

1. Which one do you recommend for a newbie when starting in amazon fba (individual or pro merchant seller)?

2. As an international seller, Is EIN required if I choose a pro merchant account?

3. As for the shipping of goods, when do you recommend to use air or sea freight (is it base on weight)?

Thanks in advance.

1. Depends on how many you think you’re going to sell. If you’re going to sell 40+, go Pro. Otherwise, stick with individual.

2. That I’m not sure of. You may contact Amazon direct to see what’s necessary for your country.

3. For private label, if that’s what you’re talking about, go with whichever is cheapest haha! Sea freight isn’t tough, just requires a bit more prep. And you can outsource with a third party logistics company if you need to.

Yes, I had the same issue trying to get verified ultimately being told that I may not sell on Amazon. I have a LLC in California, business bank account and credit card etc… and without a utility bill no dice. I use a managed mail service for my business location so getting a utility bill (cell doesn’t count) is impossible. The verification group is not transparent or approachable either as they assume you are a fraudulent scammer so there is no one to talk to and the responses are just templated emails with the same request. I spent a lot of time following the Jungle Scout case studies and other resources so this was was a bit upsetting and quite a let down. Jungle Scout is a great company with awesome resources just make sure you do a little research on the Amazon verification process beforehand so you aren’t blindsided. In particular make sure you make the correct decisions on the structuring of your business.

You don’t mention anything about the verification process. This is turning out to be the biggest hassle in setting up an account. You make it look so easy here but it’s been nothing but a headache trying to get our documents verified to set up the account. I wish it was this easy!!

We actually wrote a piece earlier this year on the registration process for products. For this piece, we just wanted to introduce things.

But for those interested, some categories are harder than others. In my opinion, the easiest ones are Kitchen/Dining, Sports/Outdoors, and Garden.

Hi. Thanks for the content.

Question about the professional Amazon acct.

It is stated if one wants to to sell over 40 products to opt for the pro account of $39.99 a month. Now does this mean selling 40 different products or SKU’s such as a bigger store if you will, or does this mean 40 sales in general per month of any one item (40 monthly sales in general)?

Good question. It’s just a math thing.

Selling individual, you’re charged an extra dollar by Amazon for every sale you make. Doesn’t matter if it’s one or many SKUs. Therefore, if you sell 40 items, you’ll get charged an extra $40 in fees.

Therefore, it makes sense to sell Pro if you’re going to do more than 40 sales. Otherwise, you’ll end spending more in fees than you really need to.

Thanks so much for this!

One thing I’m not seeing is how you know the exact address of where to ship to? How does amazon know to expect the packages?

Once you create your fulfillment order through Amazon seller central, they’ll autocreate labels to send your products to.

I am new seller, and my products will ship to FBA warehouse next month. trying to learn on Amazon. When click manage inventory, then click preference, there are lots of boxes we can check. would you give us idea what to do with each of them?

There is also buy box price. Do you normally check it? What does it do when check it on?

Thank you so much,

George

Hi Greg! Love this blog! Tons of info that helps…I wanted to ask in your experience, for those who do not live in the US, what do you recommend to start selling in Amazon (private label, wholesales, books)?

Thanks, E

Great question. Lots of sellers come from different backgrounds. Greg started with wholesaling and I started with books. A lot of folks just start with private label. And even more try out arbitrage first. It really comes down to what you feel most comfortable with and what works with your budget.

Amazon Seller Best Practices: 4 Habits of the Best Sellers

Don’t assume that selling on the world’s largest online marketplace is an instant ticket to riches. If you don’t follow rules and adopt Amazon seller best practices, the road to success will be long and uphill.

But have no fear: We’re here to empower you to make the smartest possible decisions with your Amazon store.

That’s why we’ve put together a short list of Amazon seller best practices that you can start using today.

These aren’t the same as the in-depth Seller Best Practices that Amazon published on its site. The image below is just a small sample of Amazon’s own seller best practices, and you should definitely get to know those, too!

The best practices that follow come directly from top Amazon sellers.

The beauty of the habits we highlighted is that if you adopt just one, you’ll see positive effects right away.

Read on to see which Amazon seller best practices you already follow and which ones you should start using today.

1. Plan ahead and stay organized

Planning and organization are vital best practices for Amazon sellers because there’s so much to think about every day.

If you’re just starting out, this could mean organizing your inventory into the most logical categories on Amazon. It could also mean planning your sourcing process and organizing your supplier network.

If you’ve been selling for a while, it could mean planning logistics for shipping and inventory replenishment. For some sellers, it could also entail researching and testing third-party tools and services that can make planning and organization easier to handle in the future.

Certain times of the year, planning and organizing may involve researching products to see what’s trending for different holidays.

And all sellers should plan how to attain (and maintain) Amazon Featured Merchant status.

Sellers should also decide whether to use FBA or MFN. And, if they use FBA, they should organize a budget and plan for shipping to Amazon’s fulfillment centers.

2. Crunch numbers and analyze them carefully

Selling is a numbers game, so if you’re not a math person, you may want to hire someone who is that you trust. Without someone to calculate and analyze your costs, prices, sales figures, and profits, you risk overspending, underpricing, and leaving money on the table.

Amazon also changes its fee structure often, and you aren’t paying close attention to how it affects your inventory and pricing, your sales and profits may suffer.

One goal should be to offer free shipping if your costs allow for it, as doing so could lead to a huge increase in sales. And, if you can speed up your shipping times on top of offering it for free, your sales have the potential to skyrocket.

Use Amazon’s FBA fee calculator to see what minimum prices you need to charge in order to profit on each SKU you list.

3. Embrace new tools and technology to streamline and automate operations

Like many sellers, you may have thought you could handle every aspect of running your Amazon store.

If you’re like the majority, though, you hit a wall after a while and realize you need help.

But that’s okay: there are plenty of tools you can use to automate your workload and make it lighter. Not only can these tools free up time from your schedule, they can also handle tasks more efficiently and effectively than you or your employees could ever do because they work non-stop.

There are plenty of Amazon selling tools you can use to automate parts of your business, from your inventory management to your feedback requests and much more. And, when you crunch the numbers and compare the cost of automation with the cost of human labor to accomplish the same work, you realize just how great a deal these tools are.

In terms of Amazon seller best practices, there’s no consensus on what order you add these tools to your arsenal. For a good place to start, consider what your biggest pain points are as an Amazon seller. Then, figure out what tools will make the biggest bottom line impact in the shortest period of time.

Many sellers opt for an automated repricing tool first to handle the management and optimization of their prices. That way, they won’t have to spend hours making manual price changes, and their prices get optimized continuously 24/7.

It’s perfect for Amazon sellers looking to eliminate a tedious and time-consuming part of running their business and, at the same time, drive their listings into the Buy Box and boost sales and profits.

Take advantage of automation tools that offer a free trial to get a feel for their functionality and power before you commit to a monthly payment.

4. Cultivate deeper relationships with customers

It’s easy to blend in with other sellers on Amazon since there aren’t many ways to stand out. But that doesn’t mean there are no ways to distinguish yourself among sellers.

If you fulfill orders yourself and run into issues with customers, keep an open line of communication with them. And, always treat customers in a friendly way to build rapport and add a human element to your business.

You should also pepper your customer communications with language and imagery that distinguishes your “brand” from other Amazon sellers. Invoices, emails, and any other customer touch points you send out should have a consistent look and feel.

That will get customers to remember you in the future. And when you’re selling the same items as many other sellers, any advantage you can get is important.

Secrets of the Amazon best-seller list

A not-so-pretty peek ins >x

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It's almost a philosophical riddle: Do sales drive the best-seller list, or do best-sellers get all the sales because buyers see them on the list? As much as we'd like to believe that the crowd picks the best books, a strong presence in retail locations — front-of-store positioning and tempting discounts — still counts a great deal in determining how well a title sells.

Nonetheless, authors are in it for the glory, and the visibility and bragging rights of being a "best-seller" retains the glamour of years past.

In the old days, the New York Times best-seller list meant everything. But it doesn't come out until weeks after the sales take place, and it only updates on Sunday. Today's author needs a better, faster sounding board. And she's found it in Amazon's unblinking sales rank, the 24-hour barometer of book sales. Indeed, it's a rare author with self-control who, as soon as the book is published, doesn't obsessively check the list these days, which is updated every hour.

Yet for all that, few people understand how the Amazon list works or its relative importance in the publishing industry. Amazon's method of ranking books remains something of a black box with the fancy word algorithm used to describe it.

Let's look at an extreme version of what a writer can be today. The best writers take an active, entrepreneurial role in their book sales. Publishing is filled with success stories that began as self-publishing miracles. Many of those are novels, but let me introduce you to a friend of mine, Andy Kessler, who did it in nonfiction.

Andy's a bit of an annoying guy. He's got that gene that just won't let him take anything at face value. So when he's presented with a challenge like publishing a book, he just keeps picking it apart until he feels he can do it better.

That worked to his advantage in the 1990s when he moved to the Bay Area and opened a hedge fund that invested in early stage technology companies: real engineering-geek stuff like chipsets and drivers. Andy did well as an investor. He did so well during the tech boom from 1998 to 2000 that he found himself with plenty of free time for writing afterward. In 2002, when Wall Street was getting pilloried in the press, he realized he had worked with some of the most notorious names from the dot-com bubble, like Mary Meeker, Frank Quattrone, Henry Blodget, and Jack Grubman (remember him?).

So Andy sat down and wrote up his experiences in a book called Wall Street Meat. He published it himself because traditional publishers were too slow and kept him too far from the action. His experience outlines just about everything we know about the Amazon list.

Authors' obsession

Like dozens of other writers, the Amazon sales rank became his daily, even hourly thermometer of success.

"The Amazon rankings are a blessing for authors because you can really figure out how your marketing is working," Andy says. "Just do Fox News? No change. Maybe that wasn't a good use of my time. A positive Wall Street Journal review? Wow, look at it spike. I went up 150 today. Woohoo!

"Radio interviews feel like echo chambers, ‘Hello Cleveland.' " he recalls. "I wonder if anyone is even listening to WZIP—they sure haven't budged the rankings."

Smart authors try to goose the list

"After countless hours watching the timing and delivery of PR for my books—radio, NPR, cable TV, broadcast TV, newspapers, magazines, blogs, newsletters—I have picked up on the rhythm of Amazon rankings," Kessler says. "I've done the best after a week or two of decent PR followed by an e-mail newsletter (from a third party with a big, big following) with a link to click. The former sets up a base, and the latter spikes the sales within a few short hours or over the course of the day."

"My best?" Andy asks rhetorically.

"I once hit No. 4 and stayed there almost all day. It was a Sunday. An e-mail newsletter had dropped on Friday night with a direct link, and I could almost hear mouses clicking all weekend. By Monday morning, I was back in the 20s and 30s; by Wednesday I was back to around 100.

“It was exhilarating."

The list seems to be a series of weighted averages

"I'm not sure the exact number," Kessler says of the weightings, "but my guess is 40 percent hour, 30 percent day, 20 percent week, and 10 percent month. So if you have a huge spike in sales, you don't completely dislodge books that have been in the top 10 or top 100 for months and months. Though you might pass them for a very fun hour."

An Amazon spokeswoman essentially confirms his hunch when she says, "We base rankings on all-time sales, as well as recent sales that are weighted more heavily than older sales, so that our lists are timely and aren't always dominated by all-time best-sellers like Harry Potter."

Gaming the system is not worth it

The desire to manipulate one's Amazon ranking has given birth to a cottage industry of fixers and fudgers who will help you increase your sales through multitiered marketing schemes or rentable e-mail lists.

The simplest way to game the Amazon list is to gather credit card numbers directly at speaking engagements or through an e-mail offer, then turn around and plug the names and addresses into Amazon by hand.