If you are considering an ecommerce store then you have certainly looked into the amazon fba program. That is the fulfillment by amazon program in which seller’s ship bulk items to amazon centers so that the items are eligible for PRIME shipping and Super-Saver Shipping.
This is how amazon can offer so many items to its members with very fast delivery times.
It sounds like a great program and one that should offer great benefits to sellers but if you are new to the program there are some important tips that you will want to know.
Hopefully these four tips will help other sellers to avoid some mistakes in their early months with amazon. Then the only question that you will be left with is what can I sell on amazon fba?
Understand the ranking System
Amazon has a sales ranking system that is very important to understand and apply to your sales categories. Basically amazon will rank each item and determine which are selling the fastest in a given category. If you watch this information you can quickly learn which items are in demand or trending in sales. This helps you to sell items that are in demand and will sell quickly. You will begin to see that there are three main types of items that are selling. These are items with super low ranks which mean that they are selling very quickly. This could be a new fad item, a game or something that has just become the next great YouTube hit. If you list these items then you can count on them selling very quickly. The next group are the replenishment items that sell every month or so. It is simply a restock item that you can count on moving each month. These items represent a steady long term stream of income. And the final group are the more long shot items that have no real time frame attached to them. The sale of these items is just bonus money coming in. The key is to look at the ranking numbers and balance your sales between all three to ensure that you have quick income, long term reliable income and some bonus item income.
Know the Busy Season
The end of the year and the holiday season is obviously going to be the biggest opportunity to sell a lot of items very quickly. Many new sellers will underestimate the quantities that they could be selling and they will run out of inventory. It can be tough the first year or two to have enough cash flow to purchase inventory so you need to plan for that big push at the end of the year. Start to save early in the year so that you have the cash to buy inventory and keep your site selling right up to the holidays. If you run out of products to sell then you are not making any money.
Manage Your Money
Managing your money goes hand in hand with knowing the busy season. You obviously want to sell as much as you can and that could be limited by demand or by the amount of inventory that you have. Nothing is worse than having a great item that sells out in a single day because you know that if you had more you would still be selling them and raking in more profit. So you need to get in the habit of setting aside money to reinvest back into your ecommerce business. And it is great to have a monthly budget that you work within but also you need to plan for the big holiday push. Setting aside a second stash of cash for the big holiday purchase will ensure that you have enough money to purchase inventory and that you continue to watch your profits grow. In a way, you can think of your business money as you do your personal money. You have a budget for each month and you include savings in that budget so make sure to have a business emergency fund to purchase great items for big sale times of the year.
Blaze Your Own trail
Many new sellers are intimidated by the thought of creating a new listing. They think that the process will be difficult and also that they will have little or no luck selling a new item. But that can be the exact opposite of what will happen. First, setting up the new listing is pretty simple and straightforward, just invest a few minutes and get it done. And then sit back and enjoy the fact that you have absolutely no completion on that particular item. And if the item is hard to get or you have access to the only supply then the market will continue to be yours. There is also an opportunity for you to create custom bundles of different items to set yourself apart from the masses. This can be as simple as selling a bundle of holiday disposable plates, napkins and silverware or creating a bundle with a variety of flavored teas. Whatever you decide to create, you will have no one competing with you for customers for at least a bit and you can make your money and then move on to another bundle.
Learn From My Mistakes
Having an amazon fba is a great way to grow a business. You might not have any idea at first but when you think about what can I sell on amazon fba something will pop up. But you want to be sure that you understand the system and how to make the most of your great ideas. Take the advice of someone who has made these mistakes and suffered for it. Make a plan just like you would for any other business and then start selling. You will be very surprised at how easy it is and how much you enjoy having a successful ecommerce business.