I would not say that selling on Amazon is "easy" but I would argue that it is simple, meaning there is a short learning curve to be able to get started.
Other pieces to know when starting to sell on Amazon include:
Product listing pictures
Having high quality images within Amazon’s guidelines is crucial to selling products. Using a high resolution DSLR camera and software to create a white background, which is part of the imaging guidelines. Amazon has laid out the following image style guidelines:
-Product Only – Products must fill at least 85% of the image. Images must show only the product that is for sale, with few or no props and with no logos, watermarks, or inset images. Images may only contain text that is a part of the product.
-White Background – Main images must have a pure white background, must be a photo (not a drawing), and must not contain excluded accessories.
-High Resolution Images – Images must be at least 1000 pixels on the longest side and at least 500 pixels on the shortest side to be zoom-able.
-Correct Formatting – JPEG is the preferred image format, but you also may use TIFF and GIF files.
-Several Images – While this is not a requirement, we have found that the more images posted, the more sales occur due to customers having a greater understanding of what they are purchasing.
Product Packaging
Preparing your products to be FBA ready can be a complicated task.
-Process for Packaging – There is a certain way that Amazon prefers their products prepped, which we are experts at implementing
-Shipping Plan – Each order that gets sent to fulfillment centers creates a unique shipping plan with different amounts of each SKU going to different fulfillment centers
-Prep Guidance and Hazardous Materials – Certain products that contain hazardous materials, heavy, or sharp objects require certain unique packaging.
-Labeling Products – Each SKU has a unique UPC associated with it. When a product is listed on Amazon, they create an ASIN. An ASIN sticker needs to be placed on all of the products before they are shipped.
-Labeling Shipments – Each box that contains the products being sent to the fulfillment centers needs to be labeled correctly.
More information on packaging: http://www.amzconsultant.com/how-to-prepare-products-for-amazon-fba/
Amazon Ads
Advertisement on Amazon is a great way to increase your visibility to more customers. Advertisement is based on a cost-per-click model. You only pay for when you a customer clicks on your product. The way Amazon works is that the more products you sell, the better you rank, and then you sell even more products. When first starting our you may not receive much attention on your listings because of it’s low rank. With advertisement, you are able to get in front of potential customers when you don’t receive organic traffic. Parts of advertising include:
-Ad Groups – Groups are a way to segment different campaigns based on different products. For example, if you wanted to do summer products or all your products in a certain category such as wood products.
-Impressions – Impressions are the number of times customers see your product on their screen, but not necessarily click on the product.
-Clicks – This is the number of times a customer actually clicks on your product when it is advertised.
-Sales – This shows the amount of money you make based on customers clicking on your product and purchasing it.
-Spend – Spend is the total amount of money you spend for advertisement. It can be broken down by total spend, group spend, or individual SKU spend.
-Average Cost Per Sale – ACPS calculates the effectiveness of each advertisement. It is calculated by taking the spend on the advertisement divided by the amount of sales generated.
If you want to discuss more about Amazon FBA please reach out.
Thanks,
Reed Thompson
