Topic Wiki

    Selling On Amazon
    When signing up for an account there are two options. If you're just starting out, get the Individual Plan, you can upgrade the account whenever you want.

    Individual Selling PlanProfessional Selling Plan
    $0.99 fee for each item sold. If you sell 40+ items/month, you will need the Professional plan.  Flat fee of $39.99/month and more powerful and flexible tools to manage inventory, reports, feeds and access to web services.

    Amazon is an amazing platform that offers great opportunities for starting a business and making money. However when starting out, take it slow.
    There is much to learn and get used to. Before investing all your savings on a product you hope will quickly turn a profit take the time to familiarize yourself with the system.
    Perhaps start out with a smaller investment just to get your feet wet. Go through the basic guidelines offered by Amazon here.

    Below are tips, clarifications and insights from members of this forum. Feel free to pitch in or ask you questions.

    Some factors to consider before investing in a product to sell:

    1) Price: How much did the item cost you? Have you taken into account shipping costs (both to you and to the customer)? Will you have to pay taxes? Amazon keeps a percentage of every sale (including shipping fees). It’s 15% for most product categories besides a few like electronics that are 8%. You can see the full schedule of fees here. There are several online tools to help you price your products including an FBA Revenue Calculator here and an Amazon built iOS app. A quick way to figure out how much you’d need to charge just to break even after amazon fees is to take the total product cost and then multiply it by 1.1766 (for 15% fees) or 1.087 (for 8% fees).

    2) Velocity:  How fast will the item sell? It's nice to find a product for $10 that you can flip for $100.  But if you’ll only sell 1 a year, it won’t be a very good investment. The best way to determine the velocity of an item is to check the sales rank. Sales rank indicates the popularity of a product compared to other products in its category. The lower the ranking the more popular it is. The iOS app has sales rank baked in too. To get a proper feel for the turnaround time of an item, you'll need to dip your toes in slowly. Note: An item may have a great sales rank due to a recent sale, make sure to check price history on camelcamelcamel.com or keepa.com to get a better picture of the real price and rank of an item.

    3) Return Rate: Even after you sold a few laptops and tablets profitably, you'll have to take into account that a buyer may want to return the item. Certain items have higher rates of return, so make sure to take that into account when deciding whether it's profitable/worth your effort to sell the item.


    Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA):
    The seller sends the items to Amazon warehouse. Amazon takes care of fulfilling the order, and customer service related to the order.

    Pro's Of FBA
    Con's Of FBA
    • Easier to get in the Buy Box
    • You're able to offer Prime shipping
    • For anything above $300, Amazon only charges the standard referral fee. This actually makes FBA cheaper when you take the discounted shipping to Amazon into account.
    • If you have a large or heavy item, shipping the item to the customer can be expensive especially if it is going to a residential address. If you send that item to amazon FBA charges will be much lower than your shipping would have cost. (Including shipping it to FBA)

    • Returns (See this post for a more detailed explanation)
      • Returns are accepted without any restocking fee.
      • Items that are Damaged/missing parts are taken back.
      • Since Amazons is super lax on returns, your return rate will be significantly higher.
      • Refunds may harm your cash flow. When a buyer selects "Return" on his order history, often Amazon will immediately issue him a refund, and debit your account.
    • If the item is not a fast selling item, it will sit in their warehouse. Amazon charges a fee for every 30 Days an item remains their warehouse, it is usually a tiny fee, but it adds up.


    Q: How can I move inventory from one ASIN to another ASIN without having them returned on FBA listings?
    A:
    Before I Teach you guys the method you must keep 2 things in mind:
    1) This Method isn't guaranteed! As we all know how seller support is operating, Since this processes involves them its only about %95 accurate but its still a YMMV!
    2) This is kind of grey whether its in violation of Amazon's policy so i do not take responsibility if you get hit!
    Its a 4 step process make sure to follow them properly! Follow this link

    Q: If I have 3 items to send into FBA and they are splitting me to 3 different locations. Can I ship all 3 items to one location?
    A:
    Yes, you can choose "Inventory Placement Service" in FBA settings to send all your inventory to one nearby warehouse. Amazon charges an additional fee ($.30, CMIIW) per item.
    Note: That even once your inventory reaches Amazon, if Amazon is moving it to a different warehouse, the item will be "back-ordered"

    Q: I'm having a hard time finding a box for a large product, can I just ship with the box the way it came from the store?
    A:
    There might not be a clear cut answer for every scenario. But, some have sold many large printers through FBA, by just putting the shipping label directly on the box and not having an issue.

    Q: What is considered case pack when sending in items to Amazon FBA?
    A:
    Case pack is when all the items in the box are from the same ASIN.

    Q: I'm doing FBA shipping for the first time. and it says "prep required". What does that mean?
    A:
    Prep Required means there is some preparation for the products that will need to be done before it could be added the the Amazon inventory. Typically, it is either labeling the items, taping the boxes shut, or poly bagging. If you do not prepare the items yourself, Amazon can/will do it for a charge.
    Q: What is the buy box? How do I win the buy box?
    A:
    The Buy Box is the box on a product detail page where customers can begin the purchasing process by adding items to their shopping carts.
    To give customers the best possible shopping experience, Sellers must meet performance-based requirements to be eligible to compete for Buy Box placement. All Buy Box eligible offers are then further evaluated to determine the Buy Box winning offer. One "New" and one "Used" condition offer, as applicable, will receive Buy Box placement.

    Q: What is an A-Z claim?
    A:
    When you buy from third-party sellers on Amazon.com, the condition of the item and its timely delivery are guaranteed under the A-to-z Guarantee.
    Therefore, a buyer may open a claim if the above is not met to his expectations.

    Q: I have an item that is handmade how do I go about selling it on?
    A:
    Create your own listing and buy a UPC code.

    Q: Any advice on packaging and shipping?
    Check the Shipping Master Thread

    Q: Why are some items on Amazon missing the Amazon sales rank number?
    A:
    Go to add a product > sell yours  it should be in the top right corner. If it's not there usually it means no one bought yet.

    Q: How do you compare Ebay/paypal fees to Amazon fees?
    A:
    Depends on the category. For a lot of categories,Please Update Categories it may be cheaper, as with Amazon there is just one fee, but for eBay sales there also is a Paypal fee.

    Does the Amazon sales rank mean a lot when researching a product to sell?
    A:
    Yes





    Q: How do I get customers to leave feedback (I tried emails)? I sold multiple items
    recently and no feedback yet
    Please Update

    Q: I Got an email from a buyer where's my stuff? I have a Fedex/UPS delivery confirmation signature. How should I go about this?
    A:
    Firstly, tell the buyer that UPS/Fedex shows that it was signed for, and they should check if the item was delivered to a neighbor, from desk of building ect... Next open an investigation from your end with UPS/Fedex to have them do research and contact their driver of what may have happened to this item. It all depends on how co-operative the buyer is, on exactly how to precede. If they are trying to scam you, then there is not much as a seller you could do. They may open an A-Z claim (you would have to weigh your options if it is worth having a claim) Amazon may or may not grant it in your favor. I have never had this with Amazon. Such a claim is not typical.
    What is more common is if there was no signature, and tracking shows it was delivered, and the buyer is claiming they have not received it.
    For myself - Fedex has reimbursed me multiple times with such instances

    Scams
    Q: I posted an expensive item on Amazon. Somebody sent me a message, asking to clarify the condition of the item is (it was clearly stated in the description), along with a request to reply to his own email, and he'll pay through PayPal. Is there anything this buyer can so to screw me over, after I send him the item? Anything else I should know?

    A: SCAM SCAM SCAM. There is NO reason you should EVER do this. There is a reason why Amazon has this policy. This is how the scams works.
    The guy sends a FAKE email from an email account such as paypal1@realpaypal.com. In reality no money was sent to your account and its bogus. The scammers are hoping that you will think that you got the money and will send the item.
    You should report it to paypal each time. beware! always check your paypal account if the money came.
    Another reason not do this-you will get kicked off amazon for good,sometimes competitors set this up.[/list]



    Commonly used resources

    A List of lots of links to resources commonly used in Amazon selling
    http://www.asgtg.com/amazon-services/


    « Last edited by mgarfin on January 02, 2018, 09:07:51 PM »

    Author Topic: Selling on Amazon Master Thread  (Read 975374 times)

    Offline ilherman

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #480 on: December 24, 2013, 02:36:58 PM »
    I asked this earlier but didn't explain it well so ill rewrite it.


    I changed my pricing structure to free shipping ( and higherd the prices)
    but since then in my inventory list its showing me in the column for lowest price that it is available for cheaper
    when thats not the case as those prices are without shipping

    This is driving me crazy as I need to open up every product to see where i'm standing

    What did I set up wrong?
    Think I answered this before. This is how they work, they will write the lowest price excluding shipping.
    You can say what you think when you think what you say.

    Offline mgarfin

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #481 on: December 24, 2013, 04:08:36 PM »
    Think I answered this before. This is how they work, they will write the lowest price excluding shipping.


    Thank you sooooooooo

    Do you have any advice should I include shipping and sell as free shipping on my non FBA products or defer the price to shipping?

    And
    Do you know of any good book on amazon selling tips and techniques all I see are from 2008 and thats old in amazon time? (on ebay there are plenty)

    Offline ilherman

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #482 on: December 24, 2013, 04:14:00 PM »

    Thank you sooooooooo

    Do you have any advice should I include shipping and sell as free shipping on my non FBA products or defer the price to shipping?

    And
    Do you know of any good book on amazon selling tips and techniques all I see are from 2008 and thats old in amazon time? (on ebay there are plenty)
    I would try to get the buy box. Otherwise it does not matter IMHO, because whoever clicks in to actually see more offers would usually calculate who is the cheapest, so free shipping wouldn't help much if a different sellers total (after shipping) is less then your even you are FS. So if you wanna make sure you are the cheapest you will have to click in to see if you are the cheapest after all the calculations.
    You can say what you think when you think what you say.

    Offline metziah

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #483 on: December 24, 2013, 04:53:39 PM »
    Does it pay to try to sell something that is number 110k on amazon?

    Offline lifetimedeals

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #484 on: December 24, 2013, 11:02:34 PM »
    anybody ever had amazon block a listing with a story that customers complained? the story is more like amazon does not want me to sell this product on same page because we always had lowered the price and so they also lowered and now they blocked our listing and they can charge $7 more because we are blocked from selling this item, bottom line beware if amazon decides one day they had enough of you and they want to take over all the sales they will kick you out like a dog.

    Offline metziah

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #485 on: December 24, 2013, 11:20:57 PM »

    anybody ever had amazon block a listing with a story that customers complained? the story is more like amazon does not want me to sell this product on same page because we always had lowered the price and so they also lowered and now they blocked our listing and they can charge $7 more because we are blocked from selling this item, bottom line beware if amazon decides one day they had enough of you and they want to take over all the sales they will kick you out like a dog.
    Not sure what you mean. But actually just saw that amazon froze their own listing because people complained.

    Offline lifetimedeals

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #486 on: December 24, 2013, 11:51:41 PM »
    Not sure what you mean. But actually just saw that amazon froze their own listing because people complained.
    they froze our listing on same page they sell and giving us a baloney reason that people complained to them, if that's true they would leave us bad feedback which is not the case.

    Offline ilherman

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #487 on: December 24, 2013, 11:54:14 PM »
    anybody ever had amazon block a listing with a story that customers complained? the story is more like amazon does not want me to sell this product on same page because we always had lowered the price and so they also lowered and now they blocked our listing and they can charge $7 more because we are blocked from selling this item, bottom line beware if amazon decides one day they had enough of you and they want to take over all the sales they will kick you out like a dog.
    Sometimes people report counterfeit etc.... Even it's really not.
    You can say what you think when you think what you say.

    Offline ilherman

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #488 on: December 24, 2013, 11:55:45 PM »
    they froze our listing on same page they sell and giving us a baloney reason that people complained to them, if that's true they would leave us bad feedback which is not the case.
    I hear... Yeah that's Amazon they think they own the world so they can do whatever they want.  :(
    You can say what you think when you think what you say.

    Offline churnbabychurn

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #489 on: December 25, 2013, 12:04:06 AM »
    Sometimes people report counterfeit etc.... Even it's really not.
    Could competitors potentially do this?

    Offline lifetimedeals

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #490 on: December 25, 2013, 12:15:41 AM »
    Sometimes people report counterfeit etc.... Even it's really not.
    I think they were only able to block this listing because it was FBA listed, any ideas how to get them to unblock or they just want it all for themselves?

    Offline ilherman

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #491 on: December 25, 2013, 12:20:27 AM »
    Could competitors potentially do this?
    I believe they can, but saying this is the case, Amazon can get on to it..... Usually a seller wouldn't do such think - I believe.

    For example I sold something that is hand made, and people were complaining counterfeit, why because they don't look the same.... How in the world can something that is hand made look the same? I told this to Amazon but they wouldn't budge... I even sent them my receipt from the manufacturer that the product is coming from, but nothing helped, they blocked the listing. They get very tough when it comes to this kind of things. (even though I believe that when they themselves sell something and a buyer complains counterfeit, they don't block the listing... they just tell the costumer we bought this from the manufacturer and it's not counterfeit, period. Oh well..   
    You can say what you think when you think what you say.

    Offline ilherman

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #492 on: December 25, 2013, 12:21:46 AM »
    I think they were only able to block this listing because it was FBA listed, any ideas how to get them to unblock or they just want it all for themselves?
    Do you have a rep in Amazon that you personally know? 
    You can say what you think when you think what you say.

    Offline yid

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #493 on: December 25, 2013, 12:26:53 AM »
    Does it pay to try to sell something that is number 110k on amazon?
    it might, it depends which category its in, just dont buy too many because it may take a very long time to sell even one.

    Offline Tzadik Nistar

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #494 on: December 25, 2013, 12:35:29 AM »
    (even though I believe that when they themselves sell something and a buyer complains counterfeit, they don't block the listing... they just tell the costumer we bought this from the manufacturer and it's not counterfeit, period. Oh well..
    Amazon itself could do whatever they want, I know of some cases that Amazon sold copied goods, when on the listing is a different brand.
     They used to buy from that company then they started to produce the item by themself and sold it on the same listing as before.

    Offline ya

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #495 on: December 25, 2013, 08:46:42 AM »
    I hear... Yeah that's Amazon they think they own the world so they can do whatever they want.  :(
    they do own amazon.com

    Offline smurf

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #496 on: December 25, 2013, 10:23:43 AM »
    Anybody have experience formatting images for Amazon?
    Trying to get a new seller approved but they rejected the images
    They were all high quality on white background ?

    Offline lifetimedeals

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #497 on: December 25, 2013, 11:46:27 AM »
    Do you have a rep in Amazon that you personally know?
    not really

    Offline marko

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    Re: selling on amazon
    « Reply #498 on: December 25, 2013, 12:17:09 PM »
    Hey question for anyone with experience selling on Amazon.
     I recently sold a book on Amazon and shortly after I sent the book, the buyer sent me a message complaining that the book was slightly damaged and he wanted $20 off. I was in middle of my finals and decided I would deal with the issue after I finished my finals.
    Just last night, I received an email from Amazon that they closed the case and they are refunding the money back to the buyer bec. I failed to respond to the message. Further, after I spoke to an Amazon agent on the phone I was told that Amazon refunds the money and they Do Not require the buyer to send back my book. So basically, I lost the commission from the sale and the book itself (which is worth $100) simply bec. I failed to respond to the message from the buyer? and no where in the email do they write anything about the requirement to respond to the message within 7 days.

    Can anyone shed some light on this. Thanks 

    Offline metziah

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    selling on amazon
    « Reply #499 on: December 25, 2013, 03:44:51 PM »
    Never mind
    « Last Edit: December 25, 2013, 04:40:31 PM by metziah »