Start Selling on Amazon

This guide will help you set up your account on Amazon and start selling online. You have probably started your journey as an outcome of any course or discussion on a webinar conducted by Amjid Ali. This guide will help you to continue your journey.

You must not miss the Article about Introduction to Business.

How to start selling on Amazon

In order to start selling on Amazon you must register to sell on Amazon as a seller, but before we start we need to ensure that you are ready to register yourself as a seller. Therefore, read below to understand if you meet all the requirements to register yourself as a seller.

Eligibility Check before signing up

• Age 18 Years
• Email ID
• Government ID (Photo ID / Passport)
• Internationally Credit Card / Visa Debit Card 
• Bank Statement – Address Verification (Latest one month)
• Physical Address Verification (Electricity Bill – Needed sometimes)
• Tax Information
• Valid government-issued ID or passport 
• Recent bank account or credit card statement 
• Chargeable credit card 
• Mobile phone / PC
• Bank Account where Amazon can send Payment * (not required for sign up)

Once you are ready with the above then the next step is to register yourself as a seller. The mode of business can be chosen later.

Though Bank Account is not required initially, it is a good idea to first get the Bank Account online before moving to the next step.

How to get a Bank Account online for Amazon

You will need to sign up for a Bank Account Online I have provided full detail of How to open a Bank Account online

Now you must be ready to set up your Seller Account.

Sign Up for Seller Account

Once you have everything ready, you can now sign up for Amazon Seller Account. You will initially need to choose an Individual Account instead of a professional one. Professional Account comes with various features, but the cost is the US $ 39.99 per month and an Individual account has no cost monthly, but when you sell you will be charged US $ .99 per month. It is better to register as an individual and once your sale is more than 40 pcs per month then you can convert to a professional Account which is easy.

The final step in registration will be to schedule the interview for your seller account verification. You will need to keep your Original ID/ Passport ready. Make sure that your PC/Smart Phone is available for this verification process.

At the time of setup, you might automatically get signed up for Professional Account, you can downgrade the account.

You can also ask for a refund and mention to them that you have not yet started selling. Amazon is kind to refund you that money.

What to Sell on Amazon?

The question is simple but the answer is complex. Before selling you must decide whether you want to sell the Branded products, your own products, or drop shopping. The most profitable is your own products that you can develop through private Label (PL) I have explained that in the youtube video the link is provided at the end of this article.

How to do the Research?

This is the only place where people get stuck, you can use manual methods of doing product and keyword research that I have explained in the course. But the proven methods are tools. I have listed here my preferred tools using links you can get a better offer.

JungleScout

Jungle Scout is a web-based software where you can find features for product research, keywords, listings, and supplier. JungleScout is one of the best tools for doing product research it will help you to start immediately. I have a special offer for my students.

AMZScout

AMZScout is a must-have if you want to be successful in your Amazon business. AMZScout has all of the tools you need in order to find and source the right products.

Models of Business

Whether you want to start your own brand or you want to sell existing brands, it will all depend on various factors that we have discussed in the training, so the choice is yours. You can also sell generic brands too. We mainly talk about the long-term plan, whether you do Private Labeling or Amazon Wholesale or both. I have explained the below steps for both.

Private Label

If you develop your own private brand and create your own label for the products that are available with the manufacturer. You will not need to register your brand if you sell your product under the generic category, but if you want to ensure that no one else sells your product then you must register the brand. Which I have explained in the course.

For private labeling let us talk about the sourcing;

Product Sourcing

Depending upon the type of product and selected product that you have chosen as an outcome of the product research, the next step is to source the product. For private labels below are the sources recommended;

Alibaba

For private Labeling or selling as a generic brand, the best source is AliBaba my recommended products on Alibaba are below

• Kitchen Tools
• Consumer Electronics
• Luggage Bags and Cases
• Beauty and Personal Care

A source in your home Country

You might have some factories locally available in your country, which you find is the best source to supply your products, then you can contact that company. A few examples are below;

• Textile Articles & Apparel- Pakistan
• Football and sports – Pakistan
• Leather Products – Pakistan
• Stationery Items – India
• Everything else – China

Logo Designing

The next step after designing and selecting the product will be to make the Logo for your own brand, You can either try Canva Pro or you can take the freelancer service on Fiverr our recommended Logo Design Service is below;

Brand Box

This process involves developing entire brand-related items for rising your brands, we have discussed this in detail in the course.

Photography

Once you get the product from the manufacturer or from the source, then you will need to get proper photography. You can again take the services.

Listing Products on Amazon

In this step you will list the products on Amazon, you will add these as a totally new product where you have to get the UPC for your product and then based on keyword research you will add all the details of products including the pictures. You have to choose the category to sell, gated category requirs approval. The detailed process is explained in the course.

Shipping the Products

Shipping is explained in the mode of fulfillment.

Marketing your Products

Marketing is the key to success, you can use various channels to do the marketing of your new brand/products;

• PPC on Amazon
• Brand Website
• Brand Social Media Pages
• Join related groups and forums
• Social Media Influencer
• Others…

Start Small Grow Big

When you see your product has started generating income, you can get your company registered, get the brand registered under the company, and start selling the products as a brand. Not only on amazon but you can then use various other platforms too.

Amazon Wholesale

The second mode of doing Retail business is Amazon Wholesale. This is not a traditional Wholesale Business. Wholesale means selling branded products. Take the example of Pepsi, Nike, Canon, and so on. These products are already being sold on Amazon. And if you want to sell these products, this model of your Business is called Amazon Wholesale.

This is the best mode of Business on Amazon as it doesn’t need much effort like Private Label as you will be selling a developed brand. You might get less margin but if you sell more volume then you achieve the total profit goal. In this method, you will not need to do marketing as the products are already well known.

How can I sell the branded products on Amazon?

Mostly the branded products are already listed on Amazon and you simply need to apply to sell. Most branded items need approval in some categories you will not need approval to sell. Amazon will approve your listing only if you prove that you are authorized by the vendor to sell this product, for that you will need to produce the invoice. I have explained the complete procedure in the course.

Can I source the products from these brands?

The answer is obvious, these top brands will never be willing to put their products/name at risk by dealing with individuals or those companies having no or poor track record.

This method is the most successful method and it is obvious that you can start these branded products. Compare to private Labels, you will need to put fewer effort.

You can’t simply start selling these branded Products as an Individual, you will need to follow the below steps;

• Get Lifetime Mobile Number in USA – Special Offer
• Get the Company Registered in the United States
• Get the Website and Business Email
• Update your information on Seller Central on Amazon
• Contact the Supplier with your Business Email.

Sourcing the products

Now as your company is registered and your website is formed, which will help the Distributors/Brand Owner to know more about your business which can help you to gain their trust.

Depending upon the products or categories that you have selected during the product research, you can now start looking at relevant suppliers. You can search the suppliers on the internet and contact them with your business email. Some of my recommended sources inside United States are below;

• Kiko Wholesale Group
• Wholesale Centra
• Palletfly – Amazon Specialized

Receiving Your Products

Whether you chose private label or wholesale, supplier will ask you for the shipping address. It depending upon which fulfillment method you have chosen for the order fulfillment. Let us understand the fulfillment methods below;

Fulfillment Mode / Method of Selling

Whether you want to ship the products to your customer by yourself when they place order or you want to take amazon the reponsibility of shipping to customer and taking care of returns and support. These two methods are called FBA and FBM.

FBA – Fulfillment by Amazon

This means that you will be shipping all the products to Amazon and Amazon will take care of rest, but to ship the products you need to get it packed as per the speicfications of Amazon.

How to ship to Amazon Store?

Each Product must have the UPC code (every item) and Each BOX shipped to Amazon must have a unique shipping label called FNSKU. You must arrange to put both these lables. UPC has to be pasted on each invidual items. Most of the suppliers are already aware of it. FNSKU will be generated at the time when you update packing details. Packing details will be provided to you by the supplier.

FBM – Fulfillment by Merchant

This is the mode fo fulfillment where you will list the products on Amazon, but you will manage storage, shipping, customer support etc by yourself (your company). This method is also called Merchant Fulfiled Network (MFN).

What is Amazon Fee

Whether you fulfill the order by youself (FBM) or you chose Amazon to do it (FBA) here is the Fee details on Amazon Website

Webinar : The Golden Era of eCommerce : Start Selling on Amazon

By reading the article you must have got the basic idea, in detail I have explained in this webinar