One of the greatest advantages you have as an internet entrepreneur starting today is that you don’t have to solve everything yourself. Lots of tools and resources to help guide the process Community forum Ask questions Share suggestions Hear stories and examples Profitable online business.
Additionally you can leverage one of the many existing and established online platforms as a sales marketplace allowing your business to launch quickly and easily without having to create your own online store or e-commerce site. In fact these third-party services may constitute your long.
The undisputed most powerful online selling platform today is Amazon which accounted for nearly 39% of all e-commerce retail sales in 2020 or more than $260 billion and is still growing in 2021. 1 Analysts predict that Amazon’s total revenue will double by 2026. 2 Over the years this one-time bookseller has become a A major online retailer that sells everything from toilet paper to tennis shoes to high-end electronics.
In addition to retail Amazon is involved in several industries. It has its own entertainment streaming service through Amazon Prime offering syndicated programming as well as its own exclusive movies and TV shows. 3 It partners with tech companies to sell Kindle tablets and accompanying e-books or subscription. It even has brick-and-mortar retail stores now. Not to mention its acquisition of Whole Foods a large chain of grocery stores.
Such huge growth shows a strong and innovative company. While that’s certainly positive it’s not why you should be interested in Amazon as an independent internet entrepreneur.
Opportunities for third-party sellers on Amazon
One of the more subtle features of Amazon’s business model is that it allows people to sell products on its site which means you can leverage the enormous reach and reach of the brand name. They have been offering this opportunity in “Third Party Sales” ever since 2006.4
If you go this route you will be well accompanied. As of the first quarter of 2021 third-party sales dominated with approximately 55% of sales on Amazon being made through third-party sellers. 5 In its 2020 Small Business Impact report Amazon revealed that it shipped more than 3.4 billion Purchased third-party items in just one year between June 2019 and May 2020 — also during the pandemic. 6 So it is clear that buyers do trust and buy from third parties.
Even if you already have your own website and e-commerce store you may want to consider expanding your distribution to Amazon. You’ll be able to reach more potential customers and increase sales to first-time customers who might be wary of shopping on lesser-known sites.
It’s a lucrative opportunity — third-party sales account for billions in sales each year. As an Amazon seller you can get a piece of the pie and make five or six figures.
It’s easy too. Using Amazon’s Seller Central dashboard you’ll be able to manage your online business without your own website and let Amazon handle all the “heavy lifting.” 7 (Of course it’s fine to have a website blog or active social media Presence – Be sure to send potential buyers to your Amazon page. )
The Advantages of Selling on Amazon
The biggest advantages of being an Amazon seller:
- Traffic : Every month in 2020 Amazon.com was visited more than 2 billion times—and in some months even more. 8 Of course not every visitor will come to your product market but for those searching you will be at the forefront of products that fit your niche and are ready to buy. as just mentioned This can be a great way to reach new and first-time customers.
- Ready-made storefronts: By using Amazon’s Seller Central you don’t have to worry about setting up an online shopping site. 8 You can simply drop your product into an existing template for maximum functionality and quick display.
- Shipping and fulfillment: Instead of buying postal supplies and building shipping programs from scratch you can follow an online drop-off business and let Amazon’s systems handle order delivery etc. 9
- Customer loyalty: One of the biggest hurdles any new internet entrepreneur faces is getting potential customers to trust them enough to actually buy something. When you operate under the Amazon umbrella there is already an inherent trust.
How to Start Selling on Amazon
Once you’ve decided to sell your products through Amazon it’s time to take care of the paperwork. You need to create a seller profile add your products and attract customers. Amazon has a guide to walk you through each step but you can expect the following:
- Choose and pay for a plan with a subscription model sold individually or as a professional plan each time.
- Decide whether to sell your own brand or resell someone else’s strategy.
- Create a seller account where you can identify your business and simplify the payment process.
- Add a detailed description and any required technical specifications to your product.
- Set pricing and attract customers with one of Amazon’s many marketing plugins. 10
You must meet one of nearly 70 categories to become a third-party seller. Some of the more common and most lucrative categories are clothing health and beauty products baby products jewelry home and garden supplies cell phones and electronics but pretty much anything you want. The sale is covered. 10
Fulfillment by Amazon
The easy way to sell on this site is to become an Amazon FBA seller.
This means that all your orders are “Fulfillment by Amazon”. In other words Amazon handles the shipping if a return refund or exchange is required. 9 You also don’t have to keep or manage inventory. You simply send your items (that you bought wholesale) to One of Amazon’s many warehouses across the country. Then every time someone places an order the warehouse acts as a middleman to take the order and ship it for you.
It’s a convenient business model that allows you to focus on marketing and increase your take-home income.
How to Be Profitable as an Amazon Seller
Remember that even though Amazon makes the selling process easy you still need to work hard to get your products to sell. To make big bucks as an Amazon seller there are a few things to keep in mind.
Be a Proactive Marketer
First you can’t simply list your products on Amazon and hope enough people stumble across them. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar businesses the old adage “build it and they’ll come” isn’t necessarily true. you should be in Use social media on your blog by emailing your network or any other method that suits your product. You can also integrate tools and applications designed to increase user engagement with your product such as chatbots or surveys. 11 You may choose to create a unique social media account only for your products and attract followers with contests or promotions. Tag your products in attractive images and add links back to your Amazon seller page.
Pick the Right Niche
When starting a business on Amazon you have to sell products that people are actually interested in. It’s important to stay informed about trends in your industry and reflect them in your business’ online presence.
If you already own a product or a complete business you’ve probably spent some time developing its value and getting familiar with your target buyers. If your product falls into one of Amazon’s popular categories you have a head start in finding the right audience. But if your product is Blur You can increase visibility (and sales) by linking it to more popular categories.
For long-term financial success you need to focus on products in consistently strong markets such as weight loss natural health self-development yoga consumer electronics baby products and more. A good way to gauge a profitable market is to examine Amazon itself – what are the best sellers? Remember it’s a good idea to stay in a large mainstream market that will continue to be in demand for years to come.
Be Competitive and Know Your Competition
It’s always worth seeing what others are doing in your niche. Find out how they price their products what type of marketing they use how they present and describe their products and how often they offer new products. Even if your Amazon store is doing well it doesn’t Guaranteed it will stay that way. To avoid stagnation and remain profitable keeping up with the market is crucial.
A great way to do market research on Amazon in particular is to read both positive and negative customer reviews. Find out what people dislike and like about certain products then make sure you meet those needs and avoid pitfalls.
Maximize Profits
You might start with a product on Amazon that if you’re lucky might be a one-hit wonder. In fact if you want to actually make money you’re going to have to expand your sales to sell a variety of items. Research the market again to see what sells well and what to apply You learn to create additional or accompanying products for your business.
It’s also important to take advantage of the busy buying season. Traditional retailers make the bulk of their revenue during the holiday season every year and online sellers are no exception. 12 In fact online retail has even developed its own shopping holidays (e.g after Cyber Monday Black Friday). Make sure you have sufficient stock to handle large orders.
If you want to compliment your online sales with a part-time job there is a way to make yourself pay twice. By joining Amazon’s Partner Program you can include affiliate links to your own products in your marketing. So when someone buys your product you get more than just profit From that sale there is also a referral commission. 13
Next Steps to Amazon Seller Success
Selling on Amazon is a great way for new online entrepreneurs to enter this market. It takes the hassle out of selling online. Let someone else do the hard work of shipping and managing your inventory for you. And have a trusted brand work on your behalf.
Put it all together and you have the recipe for a five- or six-figure annual income.
Frequently Asked Questions
Selling on Amazon may sound like the solution to selling online but don’t lose sight of the big picture: Amazon like any business aims to make money from the services they offer third-party sellers. In exchange for access to their platform it’s important to understand the tradeoffs.
How Much Can You Make Selling on Amazon?
There are a number of factors that can affect your success as a third-party seller on Amazon—the popularity of your product pricing competitive marketing efforts etc.—but once they’re up and running almost half of them make between $1,000 and $2,500 a month. between US dollars. 14
What are the best-selling products on Amazon?
Best-selling products vary by annual seasonal trend but if you’re looking for a snapshot view of any given moment Amazon keeps track of the most popular items. 15 Toys and Games Electronics and Gadgets Books and Apparel have been high over time.16
Are There Fees for Selling on Amazon?
Yes you must pay for the privilege of selling on Amazon. If you sell more than 40 products per month you’ll qualify for the Professional plan and you’ll pay $39.99 per month plus other fees like Amazon staff handling your products. you can choose more Modest plan paying $0.99 per sale plus other fees. 17
Of course if you compare these costs to the traditional model of running a brick-and-mortar business like renting out utility employees it really doesn’t compare to how cheap this is actually. In many cases this is cheaper than renting a table at a flea market
