Maybe you’re a current owner of an online ecommerce website and you’d like to expand your reach to cover Amazon, or maybe you’re looking to get into the world of e-commerce and the prospect of packaging all those products is overwhelming. Fortunately, regardless of which of the above would-be ecommerce millionaires you are, from Amazon SEO services to shipping, Amazon has options for you. Let’s take a look at how you can get your product listed on Amazon and how to have Amazon handle almost everything while you sit back and collect your profits.
Create an Amazon Seller Account
The first thing you’ll have to do is create an Amazon seller account. This is absolutely essential to getting your products listed on Amazon. Fortunately, it’s a relatively straightforward and simple process. According to Amazon, you’ll need the following information ready to go when it’s time to create your Amazon account:
- Business email address
- Internationally chargeable credit card
- Government ID
- Tax information
- Phone number
- Bank account
FBA or FBM?
If you’re already running an ecommerce store, you probably know what this means. For the newcomers, allow us to explain.
FBA
FBA stands for Fulfillment By Amazon. This means you arrange for your products to be shipped to an Amazon warehouse where they will be stored and shipped by Amazon.
FBM
FBM stands for Fulfillment By Merchant—you, as the seller, take on the task of storing, labeling, shipping, and handling all returns of your products.
What Are the Pros and Cons of FBA?
It seems so simple, why would anyone ever choose to ship items themselves when Amazon can do it for them? The answer comes down to fees and freedom. Fulfillment by Amazon charges fees for storing your products, as well as the standard commission fee that’s paid to Amazon for every sale. These fees are reasonable, but if you’re on tight margins or storing many products or large products, these costs can be quite damaging to your bottom line. Further, if your product is super sensitive or very costly to ship, you may want to handle it directly.
Amazon FBA, of course, frees sellers from the time-consuming process of packing and shipping products. If your margins are large enough and you don’t want the hassle of storing and shipping, Amazon FBA is a fantastic option.
What Are the Pros and Cons of FBM?
Packing and shipping may seem like a gigantic headache, but it can absolutely make financial sense to go the FBM route for a variety of reasons. As the shipper, you’ll control how much is charged to the buyer, which means you can squeeze out a few extra pennies in the shipping and handling fees by charging a little extra. Alternatively, if you have a high-margin item, you can charge less and offer fast or free shipping to keep your customers happy and coming back for more. FBM also allows sellers their choice of delivery provider so they’re not at the mercy of whoever is available to ship for Amazon. The obvious downside of FBM is having to do it yourself or hire employees to help, in addition to finding and paying for storage.
List Your Items
Upload your product photos and write enticing descriptions. Don’t forget to include important details like the dimensions, materials, and weight so the customer knows exactly what they are paying for.
Start Selling
Once you have your account set up and you know whether you want to use FBA or FBM, you can begin selling your products and watch your business grow.
If you’re a little overwhelmed by this process, don’t worry. There are thousands of professional Amazon seller consultants as well as Amazon SEO services available on Guru just waiting for you to hire them. They can design your Amazon store from top to bottom, help you decide if FBA or FBM is right for you, and share strategies for success to help improve your SEO on Amazon.
