Have you ever sold on Amazon? There are some people who would answer yes! While some others might answer no. But any way, if you have heard of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), then it is just the same as selling on Amazon. You do not require to stock products in your house or garage since they will find product suppliers for you and even ship your items to their customers. Sounds cool?
There are many more reasons why someone should use this platform instead of using eBay or opening an online store directly on Shopify or WooCommerce. For example, if you open a Shopify store with 5 products, there is no guarantee that you would be making money right away. On the other hand, once you start selling with Fulfillment by Amazon, you can gain easy access to their customers with your products.
You might be wondering how this actually works. Let me explain it in detail below!
—How does Fulfillment by Amazon work?
FBA is one of the most efficient services provided by Amazon since they are experts when it comes to shipping or delivering items. You may have noticed that some great sellers on eBay were quickly winning the Buy Box which means that most people who visit eBay will first check out those few sellers first before buying on another seller’s listing.
What makes them win these Buy Boxes more than others? It is because they offer various things like free shipping, better customer support and many other similar things. But what if someone is selling a product on eBay and the same product is also available on Amazon? The chances of winning this Buy Box will be minimal since you cannot compete with Amazon’s free shipping options for example.
Fulfillment by Amazon works in such a way that you as an individual seller can become eligible to win some of these Buy Boxes, especially those which are related to your products. With FBA, not only do they take care of shipping or delivery, but they also manage customer support! This gives more reasons why many sellers choose to use this platform over eBay or other similar platforms where the focus is mainly on making money instead of providing great customer service or offering better fulfillment services. These things matter a lot when it comes to customer satisfaction.
If you are wondering how you can sell on Amazon with FBA, and then keep reading below!
—How do I become eligible for Fulfillment by Amazon?
The first thing that you need to do is create an account on Amazon. Once you have created your account on the marketplace, then it is just the same as selling on eBay where you will be required to create a listing first before actually listing your items. The good news is that if your catalog of products is already available on Amazon, then there is no need to create new entries or listings since they have their own automated system which will find these products for you even if they are listed on some other seller’s page or category. From this moment onwards, you are now selling on Amazon.
After listing your items, it is just the same as opening an online store since Fulfillment by Amazon will provide you with customer service for these products. You have to be extremely careful when choosing products that are eligible for FBA since they only support certain categories of products. Most people think that this limit is related to size or weight of a product/package but this is not true. Instead, they only support some types of categories where they can manage their own network and deliver orders directly from their own warehouses. For example, if you sell electronics on Amazon, then it would be great to use Fulfillment by Amazon because of all its benefits!
—The main advantage of using FBA
The main advantage of using Fulfillment by Amazon is that they manage your inventory and orders on their own. This means that if a customer places an order, then it will go directly to them after you have shipped it. Therefore, the chances of losing orders are reduced while providing great customer service is guaranteed at all times! On top of that, since they do not charge for storing products in their facilities , this gives space for product listings to grow on your page making more room for more sales. In other words, there is no limit when it comes to how many products you can list on your page . It also provides next day shipping and amazing shipping rates so you spend less than usual on shipping compared to handling everything yourself. This is usually done by using their discounted rates!
—What kinds of products can I sell?
There are many categories where one can take advantage of Fulfillment by Amazon. The main categories which you should take advantage of include:
* Clothing, shoes and accessories
* Accessories such as phone cases and books (yes, even ebooks)
* Home and kitchen appliances like microwaves and containers
* Sporting goods items like bicycles and footballs
Usually, all it takes is to be a professional seller on Amazon in order to get started with Fulfillment by Amazon. However, there are some certain categories that only allow verified sellers. For example, if you want to start selling Kindle eBooks or digital music files, then you will have to provide Amazon with your reseller’s certificate.
Conclusion:
Hopefully, this post has been helpful when it comes to understanding why using Fulfillment by Amazon is a really good idea for your business. You have seen how you can sell on Amazon with FBA so it is time to test the waters!