How to start selling on Amazon

Welcome to the Ryder Hub guide on how to sell on Amazon FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) or FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon).

Amazon’s unstoppable platform is set-up as  level playing field where individuals and business can launch products into an online catalogue, so if you’re looking to build a profitable online business that generates an extra, alternative or passive income, then Amazon provides many fantastic opportunities for the average person to get started and Boyztoys are here to help you.

The following guide is designed to walk you through the steps of how to sell on Amazon FBM/FBA so that you get an overview and solid understanding of how the process works.

The biggest difference between FBM and FBA is, with FBA Amazon hold your stock in their warehouses, pick, pack and dispatch your products to customers, they claim to handle customer service but you are best doing this yourself.  Amazon do change for this and it varies based on product dimensions, weight and where it is going, that said it’s probably cheaper than you will get and much less hassle.  There is also the added benefit that because Amazon hold the stock they will elevate your products over other listing, however that does not mean you will be top of their listing but it will help you achieve this.

The Fulfillment by Amazon Revenue Calculator can give you a clearer idea of FBA fulfillment costs and allows you to carry out cost comparisons between your own fulfillment and Amazons.  It is worth pointing out that it is not a platform for selling cheap or low end products and FBA is more suited but high priced products.

Selecting products for Amazon success

The first step is to select the products or ranges you’re going to sell on Amazon. Boyztoys offers fitness with our Phoenix Fitness brand which incorporates Protein and Supplements and a very on trend Yoga segment, within travel and Licensed we provide some very sort after and innovative products including 3d Stackers and 3d Lunch Bagsall of which sell well on Amazon and all have different peak selling periods.

It can be easier initially to supply an existing market rather than try to create a buzz for a new product, but better still is to capitalise on an emerging trend before the market becomes saturated. You can find out what is currently selling well on Amazon by visiting the Amazon Bestsellers (use the links on the left to narrow categories down).

While Amazon does not reveal actual sales numbers of products it will give you a good idea of what’s currently popular, there are paid for tools that will give you this information but they can be expensive if you are just starting out.

Setting up a listing

Creating an Amazon product listing for a Boyztoys product could not be easier as we list all the products (don’t worry we inflate our retail pricing so wont be competing with you), all you need to do is click create new listing enter the EAN (which we provide you with) and you will be asked for price and quantity and you are done as we have done all the hard work for you, including uploading images.

Shipping your inventory to Amazon Fulfillment Centres

If you choose to use FBA when creating your listing you opt in for Fulfillment by Amazon, so that Amazon will handle all of the storage and shipping for you and deliver your product to your customers.

Amazon will give you the details and locations of where to send your inventory. You then need to just arrange for a carrier to collect your product and deliver them to an Amazon distribution centre.

Depending on the products that you chose to sell and the category the product is going to be listing in, Amazon may require you to provide them with further information in order to list your product in that category as some categories are gated. 

You’re selling on Amazon!

Once your listing is up on FBM you are live, if however you are going the FBA route once Amazon have received your inventory, your product will be available for sale!

It’s now time to market and promote your new product. There are many factors involved with generating sales on Amazon. Here are a couple of top tips to help improve your Amazon positions, we have done the listing so you can concentrate on additional strategies:

Customer reviews. It probably doesn’t need to be said that the quantity and positivity (over 3.5) of your customer reviews is one of the most important ranking factors in Amazon’s A9 algorithm.  Be careful here because you get product reviews and merchant reviews and they are both treated separately and customers can leave both reviews but should not mix product content with how well it was packed and if it arrived on time.  You can email customer asking for them to leave feedback via the Amazon control panel and you should keep an eye on reviews asking for any negative feedback to be removed if it violates Amazon guidelines, use it to improve your service and never let just slide by you need to be on these and do everything in your power to turn these reviews around, a word of warning Amazon customers know the game and will play you to try and get free products so be careful, it's a fine line.

Answer Questions. Potential customers may ask questions on your listing about your product. Try and answer these as quickly and comprehensively as you can, as they can act as trust indicators and may help make the buying decision easier for future potential customers who have the same questions.

Promotions. We all love promotions because they offer ways to save them money. You can use promotional offers as an incentive for a customer to make a buying decision.

Drive External Traffic to your listing

Don’t forget Amazon is a shop, a very competitive shop and if you want to succeed sending traffic traffic to your Amazon product listing is a great place to start and wont hurt, just make sure your are linking to the product you are selling not the general listing page. You can use websites, blogs, social media, email marketing, online press releases, various paid search channels like Facebook ads, Google AdWords or Bing ads. 

Of course the first place to start for sourcing product wholesale either straight from our UK warehouse, FOB or private lable direct from our sourcing department in China is to set up an account there's no obligation to use it.