How To Get Started On Amazon

Put one foot in front of the other.

I've noticed that a number of new folks are hitting the Facebook groups and asking, "How do I get started on Amazon?" 

Never fear! I'm writing a book on the subject. (Isn't everyone writing a book?)

Coming soon...STARTING POINT: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO SELLING ON AMAZON

(It will be available on Kindle for an affordable price.) 

In the meantime, I will help you to get started by taking you through a few basic steps:

Step 1: Go to Amazon Seller Central and sign up for an account.

Step 2: Read / watch EVERYTHING in Seller Central. Bookmark important pages to remember and place them in a folder for easy access.

Step 3: You need to know what you can sell, and what you can't sell. Learn the open categories and their specific requirements. Learn the gated categories, so that you can avoid accidentally buying something that you're not approved to sell. Don't worry about gated categories for now. Get your feet wet with open categories first.

Step 4:Learn everything you can about properly packing your items for FBA.

Step 5: Learn about FBA fees. Bookmark the FBA Calculator, so that you can run your numbers before you buy. A good rule to follow in general is the 3x rule (1/3 cost, 1/3 fees, 1/3 profit).

Step 6: Bookmark FBA Cheat Sheets. The lower the ranking the faster an item is selling. Many sellers try to stay within 10%. You can input the ranking by category to determine the percentage. 

Step 7: Get your free apps! Amazon Seller is available for iPhone and android users. I also like Amazon Mobile (the app for shoppers).

Step 8: Choose a category. Choose a store. Choose a small section. Scan EVERYTHING in that section. Expect to find 1 winner out of 25-30 scans. Check how many FBA sellers are on an item. It depends on the category, but the least number of sellers the better.

Step 9: Start with small, lightweight, fully packaged items that require no more prep than placing the FBA label onto the item. Avoid creating a new listing or bundling for now. Get the basics down first! The other will come. 

Step 10: Go to Inventory>Add a Product. Input the UPC code (the number on the barcode on the product) to bring up the listings. Find the correct listing for your product (it must match exactly). Review the listing and determine your price (Smart pricing 101: Make your price an average of the 5 lowest prices. If there are not any FBA sellers, then do the same, but include the shipping amount that merchant fulfilled sellers charge into your average). Select the listing. Create a SKU (Smart SKUS 101: Make the first three letters of your SKU category specific in order to search for your items by category within your inventory. The rest of what you put into your SKU is up to you. SKUS are simply internal stock keeping units coded by you for your own informational purposes). Add your price. Only put the quantity if it's a multipack (Eg.: There are three of the same widgets in the pack). Click on the button that sends your inventory to FBA. Finish. (You don't need to add anything else).

Step 11: Add your item to a shipment. Each time you add an item, you'll select to add the item to the same shipment until you're done.

Step 12: Print off your FBA labels (you can use Avery 30 ups), and match the label to the product. Use the label to cover the UPC code. If the UPC code is larger than the label, then use a blank label as well. Pack your boxes, print off and attach your shipping labels to your box (I cover mine with clear packing tape to protect them from getting wet and smearing as recommended by UPS), and complete your shipment.

You will probably have a lot of questions the first time around. There are a number of posts on the blog here that will address your questions. You can also ask your questions in The FBA Flip Side Facebook group.