The US ecommerce market is largely dominated by Amazon. According to reports, Amazon makes up to 41.4% of the annual retail ecommerce sales and will contribute to over 50% growth in the US online sales in 2021. With around 9.5 million Amazon sellers globally, some 73% use fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to successfully boost sales and increase company revenue. 

As a new Amazon seller, you might be wondering how to sell on Amazon FBA and increase your sales and profits. 

In this article, we will look into what Amazon FBA is all about and provide an easy guide to help you sell with fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). 

What is Amazon FBA? 

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service that Amazon provides to sellers on its platform. These services include storing, packaging, shipping, customer service, and more. The process simply involves sending your products to an Amazon fulfillment center where it is stored until sold. 

Here’s what you get from using Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA):

• With the FBA service, your products are eligible for free two days shipping on Amazon Prime - a platform with over 200 million members. What this means is your customers can get free shipping on eligible orders. 
• Amazon handles the storing of inventory, processing of transactions, packaging and shipping 
• Amazon handles communication with customers, tracking of orders, reviews, and even returns. 
• The FBA service allows you to reach new customers, build customer loyalty, increase sales and grow revenue with Amazon using different programs like FBA Subscribe and Save, FBA export, and so on. 

For many Amazon sellers, the FBA service is a convenient and cost-effective way to ship products, offer excellent customer service, boost sales and grow revenue with Amazon. This is in contrast to Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) where you handle all the fulfillment. 

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Costs 

Amazon FBA offers excellent services. But this comes at a price. First, it is important to note that Amazon charges its fees based on some factors like product weight (volumetric size), type and dimensions. Amazon splits product sizes into two major size categories - Standard Size and Oversize. A standard-sized product weighs less than 20 pounds and doesn’t exceed a dimension of 18” x 14”x 8”.  An oversize product weighs more than 20 pounds and exceeds 18 inches. The heavier your products, the more they will cost you. 

Second, you will need to pay for storage and fulfillment fees. Storage fees are incurred for storing your products in Amazon’s fulfillment center. You also need to note that the longer your inventory is stored, the more it will cost you. Fulfillment fees typically cover packaging, shipping, customer service as well as returns if applicable. There are a few other fees that come with using Amazon FBA. Amazon offers settlement fee reports on the FBA dashboard to help you see what you will be paying for using Fulfilment by Amazon. 

6 steps to start selling with Amazon FBA

Here’s a step by step guide to help you sell with Fulfillment by Amazon: 

1. Choose products to sell on Amazon 
2. Find a supplier 
3. Open your Amazon Seller account and set up FBA
4. Create product listings 
5. Arrange products for shipment
6. Ship products to Amazon 

Step 1: Choose products to sell on Amazon

If you are just starting on Amazon, the first step is to choose a product. To choose a product, start by creating a list of some product categories. Perhaps the top five categories you are interested in. Next, carry out product research. This is important because though you might be passionate about selling a product, it might not be in demand. This can affect the profitability of your business. 

Use platforms like Google to check for products that customers are searching for. You can also carry out keyword research or go through Amazon’s bestseller pages to get deeper insights into what products are most profitable. 

Step 2: Find a supplier 

After thorough product research, the next step is to find suppliers for your selected product. You can go through suppliers directories on trusted sites or look out for local manufacturers making quality products you can sell through your Amazon account.

Alternatively, you can approach successful businesses on Amazon and ask to get a list of their suppliers. Keep shipping fees and delivery time in mind to ensure you get your inventory quickly and most cost-effectively. 

Step 3: Open your Amazon Seller account and set up FBA

Before selling with FBA, you will first need to sign up to sell on Amazon. You can either sign up for an individual or professional account. 

An individual account is appropriate if you expect to be selling fewer than 40 products and don’t need any advanced tools. This comes at a fee of $0.99 per sale. A professional account, on the other hand, is appropriate if you project that you will be selling more than 40 products. This comes at a monthly subscription of $39.99 every month. 

To set up your account, you will need to provide your bank details, credit card details, government-issued identification, tax information, and phone number. After setting up your seller account, add FBA to your account. To do this, simply click on the Actions tab on your seller central account and click on Change to Fulfilled by Amazon. 

Step 4: Create product listings 

To create your product listings, go to your Amazon seller central account and click on Add Product located at the inventory drop-down menu. Then, create a new product listing and select a product category. Add each product title, description, brand name, price, and product code. Lastly, save all entries and click Finish. Remember to optimize your listings using relevant keywords, high-quality images, and other online marketing strategies to drive traffic and boost sales. 

Step 5: Arrange products for shipment 

Once you have created your account and product listings, prepare your items for shipment to Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Package and label each of your products accordingly for easy transportation to the fulfillment center and customers. 

Step 6: Ship products to Amazon 

Create a shipping plan, print Amazon’s ID labels, and send to Amazon fulfillment centers. Amazon will decide which fulfillment center you will be shipping your products to. 

After shipping your products to Amazon, you can market your products and start selling! 

How to maximize sales using Amazon FBA

Fulfillment by Amazon is an incredibly beneficial service that takes away the burden of order fulfillment and customer service off your shoulders. However, you want to make sure you maximize sales by ensuring the benefits outweigh the costs. 

If you want to know how to increase conversion rate on Amazon FBA and grow company revenue, here are a few tips that can help you: 

• Carefully select your products: When selecting products, consider products with high demand to ensure that they sell quickly and keep your inventory moving. A product with a low ranking could mean that your inventory would sell slower, attracting increased storage fees that could eat into your profits. 
• Optimize your product page: Your product page is the first thing your customers will interact with. An optimized product page will drive traffic and increase your conversion rate. You want to make sure you use relevant keywords that customers are searching for to get your page seen by customers. Add them to your product title and product descriptions. Add high-quality images and videos that display your product dimensions. Throw in some lifestyle images to give customers a good picture of what using your product is like. Lastly, keep your product page free of any spelling or grammatical errors. 
• Engage with your customers: An excellent customer service is an effective strategy that attracts customers and builds customer loyalty. A customer will buy from you repeatedly if they get their questions and complaints answered as promptly as possible. 
• Get good reviews: Getting good product reviews and ratings dispels objections, increases buyer trust, and improves page rankings. As a new Amazon seller, getting reviews doesn't have to be difficult. Avoid trying to pretend that you are a global brand. Simply engage with your customers in a personal way. You can use the “Request a Review” button on Amazon or you can use your social media or email to request a review from your customers after every purchase. 
• Use FBA export: At no cost, you can get your products to customers in over 100 countries using FBA export. Amazon selects the products that are eligible for FBA exports, fulfills your international orders, handles import duty, and ships your product to the international buyer. The custom duty and shipping costs fall on the buyer, so this means no extra cost. To enroll for FBA export, all you need to do is go to the FBA settings and enable FBA export. 

Conclusion 

Starting a business with Amazon FBA is a great way to increase sales and grow revenue. With FBA, Amazon handles all your order fulfillment and customer service, allowing you to focus on marketing your products and building your brand. At ePlaybooks, we can help you grow your brand, giving you the exact online marketing strategies to double your sales and revenue.