Amazon Best Sellers: Best Folk

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"Snowflake Bentley"

By Jacqueline Briggs

Most children are captivated by snow, but how many go on to make it their lifework? The beautiful biography "Snowflake " Bentley," winner of the 1999 Caldecott Medal, tells the true story of a Vermont farm boy who was mesmerised by snowflakes. Wilson Bentley was fascinated by the six-sided frozen phenomena, and once he acquired a microscope with a camera, his childhood preoccupation took on a more scientific leaning. Bentley spent his life taking countless exquisite photographs (many that are still used in nature photography today), examining the tiny crystals and their delicate, mathematical structures. Jacqueline Briggs Martin tells this tale with simple, graceful prose that will engage children's imaginations. Edifying and Snowflake-Scattered sidebars offer more information about Bentley's methods and snowflake science. The artwork of Mary Azarian, whose 19th-century hand-press illustrations decorate the charming "Barn Cat," shines once again in "Snowflake Bentley," with woodcuts that reveal an appreciation for detail as well as for the man who loved snow. The lovely illustrations and equally fresh text will inspire and comfort youngsters (and grownups too) who wish they could capture snowflakes all year long.

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AMAZON. COM SPECIFIC ARTIST - BESTSELLERS

Anakin Skywalker, Queen Amidala, Darth Maul, Jar Jar Binks. love 'em or hate 'em, they're back! The Phantom Menace returns. And this time you won't have to wait in line for days at the theater. Episode I: The Phantom Menace is now available on VHS for pre-order at Amazon. com. If the fanfare surrounding the movie release was any indication, the video release will be a super hit. Gift Ideas

"Soul of the Fire" by Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind unleashes "Soul of the Fire" on April 13. The fifth book in his stunning Sword of Truth saga promises to have all the magic, brutality, and edgy realism we've come to expect from Goodkind. Pre-order your copy now for delivery as soon as it's published.

"Solo Command" by Aaron Allston

Aaron Allston checks in with number seven in his exciting "Star Wars" X-Wing series. "Solo Command" continues the Rogue and Wraith X-Wing squadrons' hunt for the evil Warlord Zsinj and his ship, the Iron Fist. Wedge Antilles is in command of the united force in this action-packed "Star Wars" adventure.

"The Cleric Quintet: Collector's Edition" by R. A. Salvatore

Wildly popular Forgotten Realms storyteller R. A. Salvatore's newly collected "Cleric Quintet" ties great fantasy writing in with role-playing game thrills. Follow the escapades of the cleric Cadderly, a character as memorable in his own way as Salvatore's "other" hero, the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden.

"Everything Grows"

From bath-time and teddy bears to red birds and little white ducks, this Raffi album is filled with an enthusiastic spirit of fun. Kids can dance around the family room to the island sound of "Brown Girl in the Ring," break out the pots and pans to play along with "Let's Make Some Noise," and sing with a "Bath-time" chorus of "bu-bu-bu-bubbly bubbles."

SCI-FI and Fantasy

"Reave the Just"

By Stephen Donaldson

"Reave the Just" marks Stephen Donaldson's return to fantasy. It's been over a decade since his last collection of short fiction, and fans of his Covenant and Gap series have been clamoring for more from their favorite author. This collection includes eight stories and novellas highlighting Donaldson's skill at creating richly defined characters tormented by doubt, pain, and ambition - antiheroes in spectacular and strange dream worlds. Check out this outstanding collection from a master of character and plot.

Amazon Best Seller Ranking: A Gu >

No matter how you slice and dice it, the exact secrets to Amazon’s algorithms will generally remain, well, secret!

One that concerns sellers is that of Best Sellers Rank (BSR). We’re competing to improve that number and to get our products into the buy box, but what does all of this really mean? Should we be worried about it?

Most importantly for sellers, it’s about your bottom line. Will BSR impact how many sales you make and your success overall? Let’s take a look:

What is Best Sellers Rank?

Best Sellers Rank (BSR) is a ranking of how an individual product is doing against other similar items. These rankings form best seller lists for categories and subcategories which give buyers a clearer idea of popularity outside the main Amazon Best Sellers List.

The BSR of a product in its applicable subcategories can be found under “product details” on the product page, as seen below:

How is BSR calculated?

BSR is calculated based on number of sales of the product over a given period of time, as compared to other products in the category or subcategory. Amazon updates rankings hourly as a reflection both of recent and historic sales of the product.

That’s really it.

There seem to be all sorts of myths floating about, suggesting that things like price, reviews or keywords are taken into account with BSR. That’s simply not true, BUT those are all factors which can impact the number of sales you make, therefore they do indirectly affect BSR.

Is BSR really important?

There are a few ways to approach this question. First of all, let’s start with the customer: will the customer make a purchasing decision based on the BSR of your product? Honestly, it’s unlikely that they’ll even take that into account – would you be focusing on that “product detail” box as a customer? Perhaps they’ll notice if the product is in the high thousands for BSR, but it’s more likely that’s something another seller would notice.

We know that customers will place heavy importance on the reviews for the product, as more than 88% of online shoppers incorporate reviews into their purchase decision. This means they’re probably scrolling right past that BSR and down to the review section.

One thing to also note is that BSR includes all sales, which means that even “free” sales of Kindle books count. Authors commonly use the giveaway tactic to boost their profiles, but that BSR boost in itself certainly isn’t improving their financial gains.

The same could be said for an increase in sales if you run some kind of promotional discount. Your run of extra sales might help to boost that BSR, but the discount may mean that it’s not doing a lot for your bottom line.

BSR might be an indicator of the health of your product, particularly if you see it improve over time. This will usually go along with more reviews, competitive pricing and maintaining an account status in good standing with Amazon, all of which play a role in winning that Buy Box (something important in order to be visible to the customer).

Another thing BSR can be good for is when you’re trying to make decisions about stocking new products. Looking at the BSR of similar products can help give you an indication of how many units they are selling each month, a factor that is used in Jungle Scout’s sales estimator. In this case, though, it’s other people’s sales rank that is of value to you, rather than your own.

What about those offers to improve BSR?

Sometimes we’ll see sellers getting excited about the idea of improving BSR, having received an offer of promotional services for that purpose. If improving BSR is the sole purpose of the promotion, you’re probably wasting your money.

The crux of the deal is usually to run a promotion offering heavy discounts on your product. Of course your BSR should improve by drawing more sales, however, you just offered that product at a discount – you’ve probably made a very small margin, if any at all.

Once the promotion is over, you’ve got a higher BSR, but that in itself is not going to drive future sales.

When might these promotional services be valid? One good reason would be if you want to drive more reviews for your product to improve against competitors. Overall, your sales depend on good reviews and visibility to customers (that is, ranking well in search and/or winning the buy box), neither of which are impacted by BSR.

What is important for sellers?

You could look at BSR as a symptom rather than a cure. It can be a good marker to let you know how you’re doing over time, but what really matters is that you’re improving your overall sales and hitting your financial targets.

BSR is mainly a vanity metric – you might be #1 in a subcategory, but what if it’s a tiny category with very few sales?

An important point for sellers is not to get too caught up in BSR because there are other, better metrics that are more important. For example:

Your organic ranking for keyword searches on Amazon. There are more product searches starting on Amazon than on Google, so it’s important for you to rank well for relevant keywords. Your success rate holding the buy box (buy box percentage). This is important because 82% of sales on Amazon. com go through the buy box, while this figure is even higher on the mobile app. The number and quality of product reviews you are getting. As stated earlier, reviews are important because customers use them to make buying decisions. On Amazon, there’s another good reason that they’re vital and that’s because they help inform the A9 algorithm that is responsible for search results. In other words, positive signs of customer satisfaction help to improve your search ranking. Your performance metrics. These help influence whether or not you hold the buy box. You might be an FBA seller with the cheapest price, but it’s possible for your overall performance to keep you out of the buy box. Your pricing. It’s important to have a handle on your pricing strategy because this is also a known factor in holding the buy box. This means monitoring and adjusting as necessary, possibly using an automated repricing solution if needed. Your financial metrics. Reaching your financial goals and maintaining healthy metrics will be the bottom line that says whether or not you stay in business. Your BSR could be 10,000 or more, but will that really matter if you’re nailing your financial targets?

As you can see, there is plenty of work to be done in managing metrics that matter more than BSR!

Final thoughts

To get back to those questions we asked at the beginning:

What does BSR mean? It’s a measure of your sales velocity compared to others in the same category. Will a boost in BSR also increase your future sales? No. Should we be worried about BSR? Not really!

While BSR is a nice, vanity metric to have (it’s kind of cool to see your product suddenly jump to a much lower number!), it doesn’t give a good indication of overall performance and it certainly doesn’t impact your bottom line.

You might use other seller’s BSR while researching the possibilities of a new product, but this is just a tool to give you an indication of their monthly sales.

Make sure you’re monitoring metrics that really matter to your overall performance and don’t get too caught up in BSR!

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.

How to Get an Amazon #1 Best Seller Badge for Your Product Detail Page

I can write this article in a single sentence, and if you’re pressed for time, you can stop after this: The way to get an Amazon #1 Best Seller badge (that little orange ribbon-like icon) for your product detail page is by selling the greatest number of products within your category over a duration that Amazon does not specify publicly.



. . . And while that sentence is indeed true, it isn’t the whole story nor does it address the value (or possible lack thereof) of the badge nor does it address what I call the Best-Seller 3C: Competition, Calculation, and Category.

The Amazon #1 Best Seller badge is precisely that: an icon displayed on the product detail page (detail page, not search results though I have noticed a few exceptions where it shows in results for an incredibly specific search) of the item that is the #1 bestseller in a category. In general, there are 100 best sellers in any category. The higher level the category (e. g., a department such as “Pet Supplies”), the more diversity and competition in the 100 best sellers; the lower level the sub-category (e. g., “Knots, Macrame & Rope Work Craft Books,” which is more specific and with a smaller audience), the less diversity and competition.

In some sub-categories, there may not even be 100 best sellers because the category is so slender. Needless to say, getting your product to be a best seller in “Toys and Games” is a different endeavor (and achievement) than getting your product to be a best seller in “Traditional British & Celtic Digital Folk Songs.” However, being the top spot in either can get you a #1 Best Seller badge.

Some Facts about Amazon Best Sellers and the Amazon #1 Best Seller Badge

Straight from Amazon: “The Amazon Best Sellers calculation is based on Amazon. com sales and is updated hourly to reflect recent and historical sales of every item sold on Amazon. com.” As is the case with the A9 search algorithm, Amazon does not publicize the formula for calculating best sellers though we do have some sense of factors involved. Bestsellers are updated hourly (sometimes there is a lag of an hour or two), which means that the top spots and the #1 badge are up for grabs hourly. When a product loses that status and badge, be it after an hour or a month, it’s gone from the detail page for good unless the product regains the spot. Ranking #1 means that a product has recently sold more than all other products in that category (or subcategory) within that marketplace. A book that ranks #1 on Amazon India but is #3557 on Amazon US will not display the badge on the American marketplace. Not all categories display the badge at all times, which is to say, if the best-seller algorithm isn’t satisfied with enough data, there will be no badge displayed in that category for that hour. Best-seller status and The #1 Best Seller badge are available to all merchants, so you’re eligible whether you are a 1P vendor on Vendor Central or a 3P seller on Seller Central (regardless of whether or not you use Fulfillment by Amazon). And remember: The badge doesn’t show up in search results, only on detail pages, so it’s not going to be there when a shopper is initially choosing your product or a competitor’s.

The Best-Seller 3C: Competition, Calculation, and Category

C1: Competition

I think that it’s clear to all sellers by now that you are likely to sell more—and to sell more at a faster pace (sales velocity)—by being a 1P wholesale vendor who sells large quantities directly to Amazon (where, in turn, Amazon is able to sell to consumers at low prices) or by being a 3P brand-registered seller using FBA. In a nutshell, Amazon rewards you when you do all of the things that make business for them easier and more profitable.

If you are in one of these brackets and your numbers (price, feedback, account health, etc.) are in good shape and your listings optimized, you are well positioned to compete and to prosper. Lower prices and “Sold by Amazon” or “Fulfilled by Amazon” are all green lights and confidence boosters for buyers, and all increase your chances of winning the Buy Box as well as ranking higher in search results and thus selling more and having a better shot at your product becoming a best seller.

There is one seller with whom you cannot really compete and win: Amazon itself. If Amazon has a private-label offering, that product will be “Amazon’s Choice” in the category and it will get some extra love in terms of placement. It will also likely be low priced and it will certainly be sold and fulfilled by Amazon. That is the recipe for a best seller and one with which you cannot compete.

But that scenario is not applicable to all categories (yet), which means that competing hard can win you best-seller status and placement and even the badge. If you do win the badge, congratulations! Do take notice (and perhaps a screenshot) because best sellers are updated hourly (via a mystery algorithm) and the badge goes away once another product in the category usurps yours.

In short, yes, you can have a best seller for an hour and lose it—all without even knowing it happened. And once the badge is gone, it’s gone unless your product reclaims the position (sadly, there is no badge for “Once was the #1 Best Seller”). So there’s getting it and there’s keeping it, which, much like the getting and keeping the Buy Box, are entirely different things.

C2: Calculation

As I wrote, the Amazon algorithm for calculating a best seller is not made public and is thus somewhat mysterious. While I can’t give you the formula, I can tell you that there seems to be industry consensus about C2: Calculation.

The algorithm for calculating a best seller seems to be historical but also takes into account predictive elements. Amazon is really good at prediction. The sales-period durations are neither fully historical (all sales since start) nor are they so brief as to account for a spike like in a product launch where the item is super-cheap and new. The emphasis is on recency within reason. Amazon Best Sellers are precisely that: the items that sell the most according to the algorithm. What will not push you toward the top spot is reviews. The Amazon #1 Best Seller badge is awarded according to sales and only to sales. Of course, reviews are indirectly correlated as without good ones (or worse, with bad ones or none at all), your sales will suffer. This is Amazon. As a seller, you can do things to increase volume and accelerate velocity (running a huge sale or promotion, aggressively running Sponsored Products Ads or Sponsored Brands Ads), but you’re not going to outsmart the algorithm in a way that is ethical or sustainable or without repercussions. Be cool and play the game as Amazon intends.

C3: Category

Not all categories are created equal as touched upon early in this article. There’s definitely more prestige, placement, and sales power in having the best seller in “Books” versus having the best seller in “Industrial & Scientific Lab Autoradiography Supplies.” That said, competition comes back into the picture as it is infinitely easier to achieve best-seller status in a small-niche super-specific subcategory such as “Cat Leashes” than it is to achieve such in a larger subcategory of “Cat Collars, Harnesses & Leashes” or the even-larger category “Cats” and the much-larger (and infinitely more populated with competition products) department of “Pet Supplies.”

So in this case (as in all product listings), if you are the purveyor of a cat leash and you are pursuing that best-seller spot, you would definitely want to list your product in “Cat Leashes” as it is the most-targeted category (shoppers looking for cat leashes who ended up here would be more likely to convert than other shoppers) and also the least-populated category. You would also want to list in more-general categories so that your product might be found more easily by someone browsing at a higher level of the category tree (rather, the CATegory tree—rimshot!)

Since most shoppers do not browse by category but instead search by inputting keywords, it behooves sellers to get granular with their categories if they want to achieve best-seller status but not necessarily if they wish to be found by browsers.

Don’t List a Product in a Loosely-Connected Category: An Example

And with that comes the temptation to pursue best-seller status or the #1 Best Seller badge by listing a product in a “loosely connected” category. For example, a pair of Bluetooth headphones (high-interest items generally) showing as the #1 Best Seller in the subcategory of “Two-Way Radio Headsets & Microphones.” It’s a stretch to say that the product is a right fit there, but the seller put it there and got the top spot and the badge in that category—but not by selling to browsers of that category, rather by selling the product generally and crushing sales of other items in the lower-interest subcategory of “Two-Way Radio Headsets & Microphones.” The item is also listed in “Bluetooth Headphones,” but it faces much more competition there.

Needless to say, I don’t advocate category reaching. I don’t advocate it for a few reasons:

It’s misleading and it’s not in the spirit of fair play. Consider a shopper who is legitimately browsing for two-way radio headsets and microphones. His or her shopping experience becomes frustrating when he or she encounters top-level products that simply are not relevant. Don’t be that seller. A frustrated shopper leaving a product detail page after not buying can actually be a strike against a product in the big-picture ranking algorithm. If users leave Amazon (without making a purchase) at a high rate after being on your page, Amazon notices that and considers it a high exit rate, a negative. Amazon also measures time on the page and picks up on incredibly short durations such as what might occur if a user is steered to a detail page that is not at all what he or she sought. So those are red flags to Amazon. No conversion for you, no conversion for Amazon, Amazon counts that against your product. Trying to game the Amazon system eventually catches up with sellers. If you are consistently taking liberties in order to stuff your products into lower-competition categories, Amazon will eventually find out. Getting best-seller status or even The #1 Best Seller Badge is not worth risking your ranking or selling privileges. If you find yourself tempted to manipulate the categories, ask yourself “Is being a best seller or having the badge for an hour (maybe longer) worth the risk?”

Don’t Confuse Legit Best Sellers with the #1 Best Seller Badge

There is no doubt that the badge has visual appeal and carries weight with customers. But it is buried on the detail page rather than in search results and it is fleeting. I’ve heard sellers refer to the Amazon #1 Best Seller badge as more appealing to ego and vanity than to buyers.

But Is the Badge Worth It?

Don’t be distracted by shiny objects. You’re not a raccoon or a magpie, you’re an Amazon seller trying to run a successful business. Work on doing the things that make your product a legitimate bestseller in its legitimate categories and don’t sweat getting the badge or holding onto it.

Focus on keywords and listing optimization and ranking in search results, focus on advertising and conversion, focus on shoppers who know what they are looking for and who choose your product because it best meets their needs and wants, and focus on customer service all the way through the sale and in the follow-up communications. Keep your eyes on the real prizes: sales, brand recognition, and customer satisfaction and loyalty. If the badge follows, all the better, but it’s not what really matters.

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