How To Become A Top Amazon Seller

Working with Amazon as a seller is a great way to boost your sales.

However, you’ll need a competent insight on how to become an Amazon seller to get to the highest rankings.

With the advent of dropshipping, several dropshippers are now opting to work with established platforms.

One platform that has taken all the spotlight is Amazon.

Amazon is the biggest suppliers and e-commerce store offers a wide range of opportunities.

This guide will show how to become an Amazon seller, highlighting important insights for its proceedings.

The Big Advantages To Being An Amazon Seller

Amazon is the leading e-commerce store in the world. It has been working in the domain for the past many years and has dominated the market as well. Working with Amazon brings several perks that you can take advantage of:

Amazon is a trusted brand

As highlighted earlier, Amazon is a trusted brand that you can work with. Most of the dropshippers that want to start in the business work with Amazon.

The reason is that having Amazon’s name with your brand would allow attracting more customers.

Buyers from around the world trust Amazon. Your brand’s profile, when attached to it, will allow getting more customers easily.

In addition, the customer support of Amazon caters the best support services. Once the business has been set up, you’ll get the best services from Amazon that will allow you to take your dropshipping business to heights.

Working with Amazon is beneficial for entrepreneurs. Facing hurdles for creating your brand can be mitigated while working with Amazon.

In addition, you don’t have to find reliable contacts since Amazon has elevated the level of trust that customers do on its name.

In the first week, I MADE my FIRST sale. All was POSSIBLE due to HIGHER CONFIDENCE of buyers and trust on AMAZON SELLERS.

You can leverage the traffic that comes to Amazon.com

This is one of the best perks of working with Amazon. When you sell on Amazon you get to enjoy the traffic coming to Amazon.

Since Amazon already has thousands of customers on their platform, getting buyers is not an issue.

Moreover, your products are managed by Amazon. Using Fulfilled by Amazon or FBA will allow you to get your inventory and orders managed by Amazon.

This will also boost your sales, speeding the process, and will lead to better sales generation.

You don’t have to worry about setting up an online shopping website

When AMAZON is there, I am out of worry. It HELPS ME create a store. Choose PRE-made templates in the given PRICE range. Everything goes smoothly.

Another one of the perks of working with Amazon is that it minimizes the need for an online store and website.

Many dropshippers that want to enter the market, opt for working with Amazon

You don’t get to create your store; however, working with Amazon will help establish your name in the market. all you need to do is to choose the products to connect with your site.

Another plus point that you get while working with Amazon is that you will get marketing and promotional services.

From promotion to marketing, everything is handled by Amazon, which further reduces the costs for your dropshipping services. Feel free to use Amazon analytics tools while creating your own business on Amazon.

Moreover, Amazon will be responsible for handling all processes related to logistics and order. From inventory management to order processing, you can depend upon Amazon’s workability that will offer competitive solutions.

Suggested reading:How To Sell On Amazon For Free Step By Step Guide

Suggested reading: FBA Shipping From China to Amazon

7 steps to become an Amazon seller

Now that you know why working with Amazon is beneficial, it’s time to know how to become an Amazon seller. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Find a Product to Sell on Amazon

The first process is to choose a product to sell on Amazon. As easy as it seems, finding the right product is important.

THE RIGHT product can make you MANSA MUSA.(I am just kidding but you can be RICH.) Wrong items could fail you. I have FAILED twice by choosing a WRONG item and generating zero sales for over a month.

You’d need to make competitive research regarding the product you want to sell. This can involve data gathering regarding different products.

It will also need a thorough comparison of different products that will help make a sound decision.

While choosing the product for selling on Amazon, you need to select the selling methods too. There are 3 selling methods, including:

• The retail arbitrage method or RA allows you to buy discounted products from famous retails stores. This can Target, Walmart, eBay,etc. Not only you work with Amazon but also with reputed retailers of the world. The RA is a great option for any newbie seller that wants to start working with Amazon.
• Private label products are the most used products on Amazon. You need to find a reliable manufacturer that will provide the products. In addition, the manufacturer will make some changes and sell the product with your name. Hence contributing to your private label needs.
• The wholesale selling method involves buying goods from reputed brands and then selling them at wholesale prices. The difference between private labeling and wholesale is that with wholesale you connect with established brands. Offering their products will also earn their loyalty. For private labeling, you’d need to create your profile so that the private label products can be sold.

Suggested reading:How to Start Dropshipping from Amazon to eBay

Apart from that, you would need to decide on the market criteria for your product too. The market criteria comprise of the following factors:

• Decent revenue is the amount of revenue that you will generate from your sales. Having a minimum of $10,000 can be considered a profitable venture.
• Low reviews are the maximum number of negative reviews that you should receive for your product. It is entirely difficult to satisfy the customer. However, that doesn’t mean that your product should have low reviews all around.
• Search volume is the minimum number of searches for your product. The greater the number of searches for your product, the higher are the chances for you to get your product in front of the customers. A minimum of 5000 searches should be achieved.
• The sale to review ratio is the number of sales made against the reviews. Your brand should be able to get at least 3x more sales contrary to the reviews received. The greater are the sales, the better are the chances of getting good reviews.

Apart from that, you should invest your time in analyzing various market constraints. This analysis phase is known as Market Intelligence.

Having market intelligence will allow you to make your way in the market efficiently. This can include:

• Entry barriers, which illuminate the difficulty of entering your selected market. From existing competition to customer loyalty, certain elements should be considered to make sure that you make a safe entry.
• The profit potential is also an important factor to consider. While choosing the product, you need to make sure that the product you’re choosing will bring profits. This is also an important parameter for MI since you cannot rely on simple numbers. You need to make sure that your reap profits so that your business can grow.
• Monthly sales are an important factor to monitor for MI. This is also directed towards your profit potential. The better the sales, the better will be the chances of generating more profits.
• The market trend is another essential factor that you need to consider. The product you choose should be according to the current market trends. It should address the needs of the customers as well as provide effective utility. Only then your product will be able to generate effective sales and profit.

Keeping these factors in mind, you should be able to make a competitive choice for the product that you want to sell.

Suggested reading:How to Sell Products On Amazon for Beginners:Free Guide

2. Open an Amazon Account: Choose your account type

When you’ve decided on the type of product you want to sell, it’s time to work with Amazon. The next step is to open an account and choose the type of account that you want to work as. You’ll be registering yourself as a seller via opening your Seller Central account.

The account registration process is simple. All you need to do is to provide the necessary credentials. This will include:

• Business name and address
• Contact information
• Credit/ bank information
• Tax information

However, when setting up your account, you’ll need to choose the type of account that you want to open. There are two types of account, including:

Individual Sellers

The individual seller plan has perks of individual sellers. You’ll get access to 20 product categories and 40 products restriction for the month.

In addition, you’ll be charged with $1 per item sold without having to pay a monthly subscription fee.

Professional Sellers

Apart from the individual sellers, you can opt for the professional seller account. With this account, you get to enjoy up to 30 product categories.

In addition, you can also get access to restricted categories after getting approval from Amazon. However, this would cost you a monthly fee of $39.99.

The choice of the accounts is based on the type of workability that you have. If you’re able to sell more than 40 products each month then using the professional account is recommended.

However, if you’re someone that has started in the business, you can choose Amazon individual seller account and RA to establish your footings.

I have an AMAZON FBA account where the fee is $39.99. It is SUPER smooth and safe to sell and make money.

3. Choose Your Fulfillment Method

Once your account is set, you need to select the type of fulfillment method. FBA vs FBM is an important choice to make and requires competitive workability.

FBA

The Fulfilment by Amazon or FBA means that you can sell and Amazon would ship the products. From order preparation to storage and shipping, all processes are handled by Amazon.

This makes it easier for those that aren’t knowledgeable regarding the order handling process. It also streamlines the processes for the seller.

Working with FBA has its pros and cons. You get complete hands-off fulfillment and lower shipping rates. However, it comes with additional costs and would be subjected to tax obligations as well.

FBM

The Fulfilment by Merchant or FBM means that the seller will be responsible for selling and shipping their products.

This option is for those that want to take control of their inventory and shipping. However, it increases the responsibilities of a seller because everything must be handled alongside ordering processing.

Working with FBM brings you closer to your inventory. You get better margins and fewer Amazon fees. However, it adds to your responsibilities and creates overhead costs too.

4. Create Your Amazon Listing

The next step is creating your Amazon listing. It’s a page whether the buyers would surf and buy goods from your brand.

Therefore, it offers a competitive way of showing what your brand is offering. That is why it’s important your listing should provide an effective view of the products.

Here are some of the important elements that you should consider:

• The title of the listing is important as Amazon uses this for its keyword ranking. The title should be related to the type of products offered so that it can be ranked. A higher ranking will lead to better customer retention.
• Bullet points are a great way to show and highlight important elements of your listing. I use these to highlight important keywords. It helps me achieve HIGHER RANKINGS and make more sales.
• The product description should be accurately placed. Even if it doesn’t include focused keywords, it should have an accurate description and catching lines. This would allow your brand’s voice to reach the targeted audience.
• Backend keywords don’t appear on the listing page but help to gain a higher ranking. This is done when you include several keywords that would get ranked easily.
• Photography is another important element. The last thing you want is a customer trying hard to see the products that you’ve listed. That is why it’s important you should keep superb photos that will provide a great image to the buyer.

5. Find a Manufacturer

The next step is to find a reliable manufacturer. This is also important since you need actual products to sell on Amazon. For this purpose, here are some of the manufacturers that you can connect with:

LeelineSourcing

One of the leading names in the dropshipping industry, the company offers quite an assistance for product sourcing. Not only you get quality products, but you receive them at affordable rates.

The company has years of experience in handling dropshipping services. That means working with them will provide you with competitive products and quick servicing.

I have worked with the LEELINE SOURCING TEAM. One word I would say is “EXCEPTIONAL.” TEAM is super efficient. 

Alibaba

Alibaba is the B2B online store that offers manufacturing services. You can get quality made products since Alibaba ensures quality metrics all around their service.

In addition, it is the biggest market place to work with when you need to source products from China.

Suggested reading: Alibaba vs Dhgate

DHGate

DHGATE has tons of manufacturers. I have tried THEIR app to filter out the top manufacturers. It is EASY.

It is another Chinese manufacturing and dropshipping firm that you can connect with. The company offers a wide range of products in addition to its dropshipping services. You can also find reliable dropshippers that are connected with the firm.

Suggested reading: Dhgate Shipping Time

Suggested reading: Aliexpress VS Dhgate

Suggested reading: Dhgate Paypal

6. Order and Ship Your Product

Once your store is set, it’s time to order the products and ship them to the customers. When the customer places your order, you can either choose FBA or FBM according to your needs. However, you should use reliable methods for paying your supplier:

• The bank wire method is the riskiest as you’ll be making a direct payment to the supplier. In case the supplier isn’t reliable, it can turn out to be waste. The supplier can run away with the money and you’ll have no way to track them. That is why you should avoid using this method.
• Paying through credit card or PayPal is another method of payment. However, many buyers and manufacturers don’t use this service due to the additional costs.
• Escrow Service is the safest of all. It takes payment from the buyer and stores it until the delivery is made. Once the buyer accepts the delivery, the payment is then released to the seller. This safeguards both the buyer and the seller in terms of payment.

Apart from that, choosing a method is also important. If you choose FBM you’ll have to deal with quality inspection processes as well as order fulfillment.

However, choosing FBA would allow you to prevent all these risks. Once the products are received at Amazon’s warehouses, inspections will be made.

This will minimize the risk of faulty products reaching the market. In addition, you don’t have to worry about additional warehousing costs.

7. Get paid

Once your order is shipped, you’ll have to wait for the buyer to confirm it. In most cases, the payment is made online.

This makes it easier for the payments to reach you before the order is even delivered. However, this poses a risk of refunds. If the customer isn’t satisfied with the product, you’ll have to face refunds.

This mitigates the revenue production as well as decreases your brand loyalty in the market.

Suggested reading: Wholesale Home Decor From China Manufacturers

How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon?

Now that you know how can you sell on Amazon, it’s time to know about the fee structure for the process.

Selling plan fees

You’ll have to choose between individual and professional selling plans. The individual selling plan comes with $0.99 with $1 per item sold.

On the other hand, you face $39.99 with an additional selling fee for a professional selling plan.

The selling plan comes with special perks too. With individual selling, you’ll be able to add new products to your catalog.

You’ll also grow your business using FBA. The same perks are available for professional selling. However, it comes with some additional perks.

It offers inventory feeds, additional selling categories, and time efficiently. Moreover, you also get promotional campaigns and the use of on-site advertising tools.

Referral fees

The referral fee for different products is given below:

Category	Referral Fee Percentage	Referral Fee Minimum
Amazon Device Accessories	45%	$0.30
Baby Products (excluding Baby   Apparel)	· 8% for products with a total sales price of $10.00 or less, and   · 15% for products with a total sales price greater than $10.00	$0.30
Cell Phone Devices *	8%	$0.30
Collectibles – Coins	· 15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $250 (with a minimum referral fee of $1.00)   · 10% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $250 up to $1,000 · 6% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $1,000	$0.30
Electronics Accessories   ·	15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $100.00, and   · 8% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $100.00	$0.30
Furniture & Décor	· 15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $200.00, and   · 10% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $200.00 Note: Mattresses will be charged 15% regardless of price point.	$0.30
Health & Personal Care (including   Personal Care Appliances)	· 8% for products with a total sales price of $10.00 or less, and   · 15% for items with a total sales price greater than $10.00	$0.30
Jewelry	· 20% for the portion of the total sales price up to $250.00, and   · 5% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $250.00	$0.30
Major Appliances	· 15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $300.00, and   · 8% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $300.00	$0.30
Shoes, Handbags, & Sunglasses	· 18% for products with a total sales price of $75.00 or less   · 15% for products with a total sales price above $75.00	$0.30
Watches	16% for the portion of the total sales price up to $1,500.00   · 3% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $1,500.00	$0.30

Fulfillment fees

The fulfillment fee for Amazon is given as below:

Size Tier	Max Dimension	Shipping Weight	Packaging	Fulfillment Fee/unit
FBA Small and Light	16″ x 9″ x 4″	4 oz. or less     4+ oz. to < 10oz.	0.7 oz.     0.7 oz.	$1.97     $2.39
Small oversize	60″ x 30″	71 lb or less	1 lb	$8.26 + $0.38/lb above first 2 lb
Medium oversize	108” (longest side)	151 lb or less	1 lb	$11.37 + $0.39/lb above first 2 lb
Large oversize	108” (longest side)	151 lb or less	1 lb	$75.78 + $0.79/lb above first 90 lb
Special oversize	>108” (longest side)	N/A	1 lb	$137.32 + $0.91/lb above first 90 lb

Other costs

Apart from the selling, fulfillment, and referral fee, you can also get additional costs, including:

• Rental book service fee-$5.00
• High-volume listing fee-$0.005/month
• Refund administration fee-$5.00 20% referral fee
• Advertising-cost per click
• FBA-according to policies
• Inventory placement-according to policies
• Amazon partnered carrier program- according to policies
• Premium account services- according to policies

Optimizing Your Listings

Even when your store is set, you need to take care of your listings so that you can achieve effective listing success.

For this purpose, you’ll need to improve your SEO and implement keywords. Keyword research will allow focusing on core words that will get your rankings high.

Placing the right keywords will boost your rankings, improving listing’s visibility. Apart from that, you can do the following:

Check orders daily

Whenever I open my seller central, the first thing is TO LOOK at the number of new orders and messages. It helps me win the TRUST of customers.

The first thing is to check your listing for new orders. You should have an effective response rate so that the clients can count on your services. In addition, checking and responding to orders will help boost the best results.

Be broad

Transparency is everything. You don’t want your customers to keep guessing what you’re offering. That is why you should keep your listings simple yet appealing.

You should make sure that the description offers the best insights to the customers. It should have the right keywords and should provide real-time information.

Ship quickly

The last thing you want is your customer waiting for their orders. That is why it’s important that you should ship your orders quickly.

If you’re not capable of handling the shipping process on your own, then opting for FBA is the right choice for you.

In a survey, I read LATE shipping as a NEGATIVE factor. That is why I ensure the SHIPPING is door-to-door and speedy.

Load up on good reviews

Reviews are a great way to show how well you’re working. People tend to go for reviews because it creates a credible profile.

Customers tend to opt for those suppliers that have high positive reviews. The better are the reviews, the better are your chances for retaining your clients. You can even engage your customers in offering reviews.

Suggested reading:How to Optimize Your Amazon Product Listings?

Alternatives to selling on Amazon

In case you’re wondering, there are other platforms that you can work with:

eBay

eBay is one of the largest working e-commerce platforms that you can work with. It offers different products from various domains that you can choose and add to your shop.

Moreover, it offers integration with Amazon so it makes it easier to connect both the stores.

eBay is my FAVORITE PLATFORM with a higher number of customers. You get SALES quickly due to lesser competition.

Etsy

I think ETSY is more of a site for vintage items. I have sold many ANTIQUE articles with higher profits. It is quite EFFECTIVE business.

Form personalized jewelry to glass panels, you can find a variety of products from here. The costs are affordable and you can easily get the best products.

The site itself offers the best sellers, which will make it easier to find the best products.

Suggested reading:Etsy Dropshipping: Ultimate Guide

Overstock

If you need to include furniture for your business, then this is the right place to work with. With a variety of different products to the finest quality selection, you can get superb choices for your dropshipping store.

How LeelineSourcing Help you find best Amazon Manufacturer for your online business

You’ll need a reliable Amazon manufacturer to ensure you get the best products to sell. LeelineSourcing is the best option that you can opt for.

The company has been working in the domain for the past many years and has over 2000 clients worldwide.

It has a competent team that offers outstanding services for sourcing the right manufacturer for you. In addition, your proceedings are handled by the team effectively.

From finding the right manufacturer to arranging products, LeelineSourcing offers competitive services all along the way.

Not to mention it provides effective consultation on integrating multiple stores. You can easily import products from different sources and LeelineSourcing will help integrate it with your store.

The negotiation phase isn’t an issue as the company arranges the best support that you can get.

With their knowledge in the domain and years of experience in sourcing services, you can expect proficiency at every level.

Apart from that, you don’t have to worry about high rates because the company provides affordable services with promising results.

Apart from that, you’ll get communicated and coordinated completely regarding the processes. From product shipment to logistics, every process is integrated.

This makes it easier for you to track your goods and coordinate with the manufacturer.

Quality isn’t compromised when you’re working with LeelineSourcing. The company has its quality inspection processes that make it easier to inspect the goods.

You’ll not have to worry about ineffective products reaching the market.

Suggested reading:Best FBA Prep Services Help Your Sell on Amazon Successfully

FAQ For Becoming an Amazon Seller

Here are some FAQs that will help you understand the method for becoming an Amazon seller:

How does Amazon make money?

Amazon generates its revenue with several methods. From its retail services to subscriptions and web services, it earns the most using its online and physical store accounting services via FBA.

It also earns a lot with its advertising services. With listing services and managing the processes of FBA, Amazon creates an effective share of revenues for itself.

Is it profitable to sell on Amazon?

Yes. About 67% of the respondents when asked, responded that working with Amazon was profitable.

Even people with 1-2 years of experience reported that working with Amazon helped them in improving their business.

What documents do I need to sell on Amazon?

The necessary documents and information you need for registering with Amazon, include:

• Business name and address
• Contact information
• Credit/ bank information
• Tax information

Do I need a business license to sell on Amazon?

Most products are sold via Amazon. This doesn’t require you to have a license to sell on Amazon. All you need to do is to register with Amazon so that you may start selling.

How long does it take to get approved to sell on Amazon?

On normal approval, it can take 5 business days to get your account approved. However, the process can take from a week to a month as well.

Final Thoughts about Becoming an Amazon Seller

There are several elements to know when you want to become an Amazon seller. Setting up your profile and choosing the right fulfillment method is important.

In addition, you also need to focus on choosing the right goods to sell. You can take help from any third part sourcing company such as LeelineSourcing that will offer proficient services.

This will also streamline the proceedings, giving an effective growth to your business.