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 975620 times)

    Offline Jkhein

    • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
    • ********
    • Join Date: Oct 2010
    • Posts: 4586
    • Total likes: 17
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
      • View Profile
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1360 on: October 07, 2014, 12:23:04 PM »
    Best to return the money and let it slide.
    I deal with all different types of buyers; unless you want to risk negative feedback and featured status.
    The price of selling on Amazon..
    looks like there is more money to be made in buying from amazon, then selling on amazon... ;)

    Offline Name Changed

    • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
    • ********
    • Join Date: Sep 2011
    • Posts: 4831
    • Total likes: 6
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 13
      • View Profile
    • Location: Lakewood
    • Programs: Avis Presidents Club, National Executive Elite, Hertz Presidents Circle, Sixt Platinum, SPG Gold, eBay Platinum
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1361 on: October 07, 2014, 01:06:04 PM »
    Best to return the money and let it slide.
    I deal with all different types of buyers; unless you want to risk negative feedback and featured status.
    The price of selling on Amazon..
    Thanks.

    Too late. Buyer already opened an A-Z claim.

    Will keep posted on what outcome is, but I'm not too skeptical...


    Offline yuneeq

    • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
    • *********
    • Join Date: Jan 2013
    • Posts: 8611
    • Total likes: 3999
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 10
    • Gender: Male
      • View Profile
    • Location: NJ
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1362 on: October 07, 2014, 03:36:47 PM »
    Thanks.

    Too late. Buyer already opened an A-Z claim.

    Will keep posted on what outcome is, but I'm not too skeptical...

    Can you at least get Amazon to put a negative mark on the buyer?
    Visibly Jewish

    Offline yossi1

    • DansDeals Copper Elite
    • *
    • Join Date: Jul 2014
    • Posts: 18
    • Total likes: 0
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
      • View Profile
    • Location: brooklyn
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1363 on: October 07, 2014, 04:27:59 PM »
    Thanks.

    Too late. Buyer already opened an A-Z claim.

    Will keep posted on what outcome is, but I'm not too skeptical...

    as i told you
    you have noting to lose now just try to fight it but this buyer knows amazon

    Offline yuneeq

    • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
    • *********
    • Join Date: Jan 2013
    • Posts: 8611
    • Total likes: 3999
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 10
    • Gender: Male
      • View Profile
    • Location: NJ
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1364 on: October 07, 2014, 08:21:54 PM »
    Anyone else having problems with creating shipments?
    I'm getting too many errors and things are just not working.
    Visibly Jewish

    Offline Baruch

    • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
    • ********
    • Join Date: Jan 2013
    • Posts: 2604
    • Total likes: 335
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
      • View Profile
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1365 on: October 07, 2014, 10:10:21 PM »


    If you sell on Amazon over 200 items, or over $20,000 then you will get a 1099k of all payments received.


    "Or"? CMIIW - but I believe it's "and".

    Offline yuneeq

    • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
    • *********
    • Join Date: Jan 2013
    • Posts: 8611
    • Total likes: 3999
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 10
    • Gender: Male
      • View Profile
    • Location: NJ
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1366 on: October 07, 2014, 10:59:22 PM »
    "Or"? CMIIW - but I believe it's "and".

    Yes, it's AND
    Visibly Jewish

    Offline caliheat

    • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
    • *****
    • Join Date: Dec 2008
    • Posts: 604
    • Total likes: 5
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
      • View Profile
    • Location: RDU
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1367 on: October 10, 2014, 10:04:51 AM »
    Thanks.

    Too late. Buyer already opened an A-Z claim.

    Will keep posted on what outcome is, but I'm not too skeptical...



    That sucks!
    Your'e always welcome to call Amazon in the US (aka reps in India), and let them know, don't worry they wont'/can't do anything.
    I would just refund and hope that it can be resolved like that..
    Let us know what happens.

    Offline caliheat

    • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
    • *****
    • Join Date: Dec 2008
    • Posts: 604
    • Total likes: 5
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
      • View Profile
    • Location: RDU
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1368 on: October 10, 2014, 10:08:34 AM »
    looks like there is more money to be made in buying from amazon, then selling on amazon... ;)
    Oh believe me there are many that do that.
    I had a customer buy an item (<$10) and send a pic of "damaged" item, I processed refund.
    They made another account with same address, different name and did it again a few day later (refunded money again).
    I contacted seller support who suggested refunding, they did however mention that these users were flagged and they were going to shut these account. Needless to say, this didn't happen again with said buyer.
    In the past many years that I've been selling on Amazon, I have experienced all types of "advantage taking" buyers.
    I have some crazy/interesting stories..

    Offline Name Changed

    • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
    • ********
    • Join Date: Sep 2011
    • Posts: 4831
    • Total likes: 6
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 13
      • View Profile
    • Location: Lakewood
    • Programs: Avis Presidents Club, National Executive Elite, Hertz Presidents Circle, Sixt Platinum, SPG Gold, eBay Platinum
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1369 on: October 11, 2014, 10:13:19 PM »
    That sucks!
    Your'e always welcome to call Amazon in the US (aka reps in India), and let them know, don't worry they wont'/can't do anything.
    I would just refund and hope that it can be resolved like that..
    Let us know what happens.
    Yup.

    I got an email from the A-Z department that I need to issue a refund, or partial refund.

    I issues a 50% refund. Will see what happens.

    This is a $750 item I am dealing with.

    I mostly sell FBA. I have had plenty of returns that the buyer sends back a different item, and Amazon issues them a refund, but I always have got reimbursed by Amazon.

    I sell enough that this A-Z shouldn't harm my metrics by much... But as always an A-Z is frowned upon on sellers for no good reason :(

    Offline metziah

    • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
    • ******
    • Join Date: Apr 2012
    • Posts: 915
    • Total likes: 2
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
      • View Profile
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1370 on: October 11, 2014, 11:10:29 PM »
    Just got my account shut down...
    Because some of my listings didn't match the product detail page..(long story...)

    Anyone have any luck getting an account reopened ?
    How long does the process take?

    Offline caliheat

    • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
    • *****
    • Join Date: Dec 2008
    • Posts: 604
    • Total likes: 5
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
      • View Profile
    • Location: RDU
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1371 on: October 12, 2014, 02:59:03 AM »
    Just got my account shut down...
    Because some of my listings didn't match the product detail page..(long story...)

    Anyone have any luck getting an account reopened ?
    How long does the process take?
    I would die/kill if that happened to me!
    Good luck and keep us posted.

    Offline metziah

    • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
    • ******
    • Join Date: Apr 2012
    • Posts: 915
    • Total likes: 2
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
      • View Profile
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1372 on: October 12, 2014, 11:37:38 AM »

    I would die/kill if that happened to me!
    Good luck and keep us posted.
    Thanx
    You're a help!!:-)
    Quite the inspiration!!

    Offline caliheat

    • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
    • *****
    • Join Date: Dec 2008
    • Posts: 604
    • Total likes: 5
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
      • View Profile
    • Location: RDU
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1373 on: October 12, 2014, 11:39:28 AM »
    Thanx
    You're a help!!:-)
    Quite the inspiration!!
    Showing my sympathy.
    I did say good luck!

    Offline ilherman

    • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
    • *********
    • Join Date: Jun 2013
    • Posts: 8935
    • Total likes: 227
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 35
      • View Profile
    • Location: Brooklyn
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1374 on: October 12, 2014, 11:52:49 AM »
    I would die/kill if that happened to me!
    Good luck and keep us posted.
    If you don't make mistakes you wont get your account shut down.
    You can say what you think when you think what you say.

    Offline The Guy

    • Dansdeals Gold Elite
    • ***
    • Join Date: Apr 2014
    • Posts: 237
    • Total likes: 0
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
      • View Profile
    • Location: Yerushalayim
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1375 on: October 12, 2014, 03:28:34 PM »
    If you don't make mistakes you wont get your account shut down.

    Not exactly,I had my account closed because I upload my listings auto with the UPC and in the title it said 'used' what a different seller wrote ,on amazon we share pages not like on ebay.

    And the things I sell are not allowed in used condition.

    So I was kicked off for good my appeal didn't help, they said it's for life because I couldn't guess what I did wrong,so I didn't mention it in my plan of action.

    But B"H I got back on,but I wouldn't wish those feelings I went through to anyone.

    Offline Newcc

    • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
    • ****
    • Join Date: May 2012
    • Posts: 398
    • Total likes: 1
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • Gender: Male
      • View Profile
    • Location: Brooklyn, NY
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1376 on: October 12, 2014, 11:16:45 PM »
    How long is the longest any of you are selling for without getting closes by Amazon? I'm asking because B"H so far so good but from reading seller central it seems like almost everyone gets shut down at some point for something. I'm curious to know what your experiences are.

    Thanks in advance.

    A Guten Moed.

    Offline yuneeq

    • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
    • *********
    • Join Date: Jan 2013
    • Posts: 8611
    • Total likes: 3999
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 10
    • Gender: Male
      • View Profile
    • Location: NJ
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1377 on: October 13, 2014, 12:08:14 AM »
    How long is the longest any of you are selling for without getting closes by Amazon? I'm asking because B"H so far so good but from reading seller central it seems like almost everyone gets shut down at some point for something. I'm curious to know what your experiences are.

    Thanks in advance.

    A Guten Moed.

    I got shut down after my first sale, before even getting notified that I sold anything.
    Apparently there's some seller limits for new sellers and I passed it on my first sale, so my account was closed.

    2 weeks later and a few emails, I finally got my account reopened and since then I've been fine.
    Visibly Jewish

    Offline ilherman

    • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
    • *********
    • Join Date: Jun 2013
    • Posts: 8935
    • Total likes: 227
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 35
      • View Profile
    • Location: Brooklyn
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1378 on: October 13, 2014, 01:38:43 AM »
    Not exactly,I had my account closed because I upload my listings auto with the UPC and in the title it said 'used' what a different seller wrote ,on amazon we share pages not like on ebay.

    And the things I sell are not allowed in used condition.

    So I was kicked off for good my appeal didn't help, they said it's for life because I couldn't guess what I did wrong,so I didn't mention it in my plan of action.

    But B"H I got back on,but I wouldn't wish those feelings I went through to anyone.
    So you shouldn't have sold it as used. What does it matter that you didn't create the listing?
    You can say what you think when you think what you say.

    Offline The Guy

    • Dansdeals Gold Elite
    • ***
    • Join Date: Apr 2014
    • Posts: 237
    • Total likes: 0
    • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
      • View Profile
    • Location: Yerushalayim
    Re: Selling on Amazon Master Thread
    « Reply #1379 on: October 13, 2014, 03:33:18 AM »
    So you shouldn't have sold it as used. What does it matter that you didn't create the listing?

    When I received an order for this item I sent it in NEW condition. But they saw me listing as USED.
    I didn't really understand what you are asking now.