Selling on Amazon is something of a mystery to most people. Heck, I only realized that it was
mostly 3rd party retailers in 2014! It’s no secret that Amazon FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) is not only powerful but a quick route to financial freedom as well as time freedom. The first initial step to begin selling on this aforementioned platform is to come up with a fantastic idea, which an Amazon consultant can help with. This can be something you are passionate about
or just a great opportunity. At the end of the day, you need to be solving a customer need and truly delighting your future customers. One simple strategy is to look at competitor reviews and research the common complaints that their customers make about their product. If you can solve the issues, you might soon find yourself being the #1 seller in a product category.
Once you have landed on a solid item idea, you need to perform some simple math to evaluate whether or not it’s worth your time financially to keep going down the road of sourcing. It doesn’t matter how nice an item looks. You need to have a healthy net profit before you even retail. This is so, so important! I see too many new Amazon businesses launch new merchandise and very quickly find themselves in the red because there is no profit to speak of! Something we don’t want happening and is why we as the Amazon FBA expert are here to assist.
Assuming your math is strong, and you have validated your product idea, next up is sourcing. The king of sourcing is still Alibaba.com. This is where I found each of my factories over many years and it’s where I would go tomorrow for finding a new factory. The key is to find a reputable factory that already sells your product idea or similar items. Next, you will go through a sequence of sourcing questions with the factory and test their knowledge and skillsets. The last thing you want is to start working with a grade F factory and be screwed from day one of your launch.
Once you have found a solid factory to work with. The next step is deciding the number of units you want to order for your first batch. Typically, I recommend between 250 and 500 for any new item. Yes, you may run out of stock, but this is low risk in case you have a dud product. And trust me, it can happen. You’ll negotiate the unit costs and shipping prices next. Then you will make a down payment of 20% and your factory will start production of your order. A few weeks will go by and during this time, you will set up your listing, insert the proper keywords in the backend and wrap up photography. The key is to have an amazing listing from day 1 of your launch.
Next is boxing up and labeling your units to ship to the correct warehouse found under you seller account. Since this first order is so small, you will be shipping via air. They will provide you with SKU labels for each unit and carton labels for the factory to apply. Your factory should be a total pro with this stuff and know exactly how to apply these labels. If not, feel free to remind them of the rules Amazon has laid out on their website. It’s very important to box and pack according to their standards to ensure your goods are not rejected at the warehouse.
Once your units are packed and labeled, the factory will organize air shipping and send your merchandise to the designated warehouse. This air shipping takes between 5 and 7 days typically. The moment your units arrive at the warehouse, you will want to turn on PPC advertising and start getting in front of eyeballs. Before you know it, you will have your first sale and be an official seller on the incredible Amazon central marketplace!
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