How To Sell And Make Money On Amazon

While you can find enough information on internet about how to start selling on amazon, understanding straight from an experienced seller can make a huge difference.

So here is an excellent helpful guide for beginners –

1. Identifying a Product – 

Choose a product wisely, something that you are interested in. Check for current trends on Amazon to know what people are searching and buying for. You can also use Google trend to know about trending products.

Take help of amazon seller calculator to know your profitability as Amazon has different referral fees for different product category.

2. Finding source of the product & deciding the quantity:

Initially, you can start with some local vendor by investing in less quantity to get some idea on how your product is doing so that you do not end up stocking non-moving items.

Once you know what is moving fast, source a reputed manufacturer/wholesaler and invest amount in bulk quantity at good, discounted rates.

You can source suppliers on sites like Indiamart, Justdial, Exporter India, Alibaba etc.

3. Company Formation (Proprietary or Partnership):

For creating a seller account, you will need the following –

• Unique brand name
• GST number
• Pan Number
• Current Bank Account
• Mobile number
• Email id

 All of the above is a one-time activity. Get in touch with a CA for GST & PAN application. Monthly filing of GST is mandatory which can be taken care by your CA with some monthly fee. 

4. Making a seller account

Submit all above necessary documents on amazon seller central and open a seller account. 

Submission of your product invoice is of utmost important for approval of product category, without which listing the product is not possible. In case you wish to add different product, which falls under another product category you need to repeat the approval process.

Some important facts that nobody will tell you –

• If you are selling a branded product (e.g. Adidas, Nike) you need to have a brand approval letter from the brand.
• Secondly, if you have your own brand and selling generic products (e.g., sarees, dresses, shoes etc) then you need to apply as a private label seller on amazon.

5. List your products

Once you have a product category approval, you can now start listing your products.

You can either list your products one by one or use the bulk uploader to add products at once.

Start the title of the listing with your Brand Name followed by keywords that best describes your product & will be helpful for searching a specific product (brand name, color, size, what the product is, and it’s intended use).

Get good images of your product with white background, go for a professional photographer if your budget permits. A good photo, video, product features, specification is very important for a good sale. Fill in all the mandatory sections e.g., country of origin & HSN code, do remember to fill in the other details like product descriptions, keywords and other optional details once you are done with the listing of all your products.

Secondly, if you are selling something that is already available on Amazon, you can list your product by Mapping/Latching it to an existing product with the help of ASIN number

6. Scheduling the order

Schedule your order as per your “Ship by date”, Amazon has two time slots i.e., 10.00 AM – 1.00 PM and 1.00 PM – 4.00 PM. Depending on your number of orders and as per your convenience choose the slot. Try to avoid rescheduling situations as possible as you can as this can have effect on your seller’s performance.

7. Packaging & labeling

Packaging must be presentable & at the same time durable enough to protect your product from any physical damage which is possible during the transit. One must be very careful as improper packaging can result in bad review on the product. In case of plastic, go for only recyclable plastic poly bags. Stick auto generated barcode labels on the parcel. Barcode visibility is very important here.

8. Shipping

There are three ways to ship the product

Easy ship by Amazon – Amazon transportation Service (ATS) will arrange for the pick up of the product from your store and the entire logistics will be taken care by them till it reaches end customer.

Self-Shipment – Seller can ship through any courier company for shipping the parcel. For e.g.: Delhivery, Ecom, India Post etc.

Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) – Seller can choose to keep their inventory at Amazon warehouse at nominal fees, where amazon will take care of shipping, packing, delivery and returns. Seller automatically gets a prime badge on all FBA products that help increases your sale. 

Irrespective of whatever shipment method you choose, dispatching product on time is very important. Missing shipping deadlines can lead to account suspension.

9. Returns & Claims

You can expect returns of your products for various reasons. However, in case the returned product is in damaged condition, has some missing item or a completely different product, you can claim on Amazon’s Safe-t Claim with proper pictures of the returned product. Depending on case to case you will be refunded some percentage of the product price.

10. Revenue

Funds from the completed sales will be transferred in your bank account by Amazon in every 7 days. Know about Amazon charges and fee structure https://sell.amazon.in/fees-and-pricing.html           

Understand thoroughly about various expenses behind selling a single product on amazon to calculate ROI.               

Few tips –

• You can run ad campaigns for your products, offer automated discount coupons to customers, share your listing on social media platforms to promote your products. 
• Ask for a customer review after each sale to increase your product review and seller’s performance too.
• Download Amazon app on your mobile for quick updates on your order or to know anything urgent that needs to be addressed