September 6, 2022

Debunking 10 Common Myths About Selling on Amazon

It's easy to believe the myths about selling on Amazon. Learn what's real and what's hype.
Debunking 10 Common Myths About Selling on Amazon
Shannon Okubor
Debunking 10 Common Myths About Selling on Amazon

10 Common Myths About  Selling on Amazon

Let's face it. Amazon is the king of ecommerce. The platform owns over half of the online market and selling on Amazon opens up possibilities for business owners and retailers to increase sales and profit. 

But to be a successful Amazon seller, you must know how to play and win the game. Why do some Amazon sellers fail? They fail to discern facts from myths. 

In this article, we are going to highlight 10 common myths about Amazon and show you reasons why you need to debunk them if you want to sell successfully on the Amazon marketplace. 

Myth #1 - “Selling on Amazon has to be difficult” 

Your mindset plays an important role when it comes to succeeding at anything including your Amazon business. One of the Amazon FBA mistakes sellers make is to go into business thinking it's going to be difficult to sell on Amazon. And while selling your products on one of the largest ecommerce platforms may seem overwhelming, there are lots of opportunities for success. Amazon has several programs that make selling easier. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a fulfillment service that takes away the responsibility of order fulfillment. With Amazon FBA, Amazon handles everything from storing your product to packing, shipping, and customer service. This allows you to focus on many other areas of your business. 

Amazon also has many other programs including a customer support team to help you every step of the way. 

Myth #2 - “The Amazon marketplace is too competitive to go into” 

With over two million sellers, Amazon is one of the most competitive online marketplaces. However, with this competition, billions of products are still being sold by sellers all over the world. 

Amazon also has a large customer base. In 2021, Amazon recorded approximately 2.45 billion monthly visits to the website. 

With these statistics, we can see that Amazon isn't slowing down and despite the competition, there is room for everyone to succeed on the platform. To stand out from the competition, you only need to employ the right selling strategies. 

Myth #3 “All you need to do is list your product on Amazon and you will be successful”

Success requires putting in the effort. To succeed at selling products online or on the Amazon marketplace, you need to put in the work. 

Just because the Amazon platform is successful itself doesn't mean that all you have to do is list your product and watch sales roll in.

Optimizing your listing is an important strategy to rank high on search engines, attract qualified leads and increase sales on Amazon. 

From incorporating the right keywords to writing a killer copy and using high-quality images. You can't afford to skimp on listing optimization and marketing. 

Myth #4 - “Customers always choose the cheapest product” 

While prices play a major in a customer’s buying decision, this is not all that there is. 

Some sellers think that the only way to get buyers to click on their product is to set prices that are lower than the competition. 

While some customers may buy a product solely based on the price, many customers choose products based on several other factors including quality, need, and other factors. 

In fact, setting your prices too low can have a negative impact on your brand. Products that appear too cheap may come across as low-quality to prospective buyers. 

When creating your pricing strategy, consider your product and how you want your brand to be perceived. Ensure your prices are competitive. Not too low or too high. 

Myth #5 - “Amazon is too complicated to figure out” 

Some sellers feel that Amazon is a complicated site with working parts that can never be understood. 

If you are selling on Amazon and especially if you are just starting out on the platform, you may feel overwhelmed and not know where to begin. 

However, just like starting any business, there's a lot to learn and experience. This is no different when selling on Amazon. The truth is it takes getting the right information, putting in the work, and learning from your mistakes to succeed on Amazon. 

Start by accepting that there's a lot to learn and begin to get knowledge on the different parts of selling on the platform. From opening your Amazon Seller account to creating and optimizing your product listing and selling with fulfillment by Amazon. 

However, with lots of misinformation, you want to make sure you are getting your knowledge from experts and credible sources.  

Myth #6 - “You can start earning thousands of dollars in a week” 

We are not saying that this is completely impossible. But for the most part, getting substantial income takes some time. You need to put in the right marketing strategies to generate traffic and quality leads that ultimately impact sales and revenue over time. If you just started on the platform, the process may take weeks or even months. 

Myth 7: “You need to develop new products to succeed on Amazon” 

With millions of products being sold on the Amazon marketplace, some sellers believe that to stand out from the competition, you need to invent a new product. However, this is not the case. 

While you may decide to create a new product in the market, it is not a guaranteed path to succeeding on Amazon. 

You can still sell products that are similar to your competitors. The secret is to improve on existing products. The easiest way to gain market share is to solve an existing problem in the market. 

Do some research on your competitor’s products and find out what customers like and hate about the product and improve on the product. When customers see that your product can solve their problems better, they will naturally tilt toward you. 

Myth #8: “To run your Amazon business successfully, you need to hire many employees”

Selling on Amazon requires sourcing your products, optimizing your product listings, accounting, and a whole lot more. This might make you believe that you need a ton of employees to carry out every task. However, this is not the case. While many processes require expertise, you don't need to recruit a new employee every now and then. 

To work effectively, you can outsource some of your Amazon FBA tasks while making use of services and tools. For example, instead of handling your shipping and customer service, you can pay to make use of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). With the FBA service, Amazon helps you pick, pack and ship your orders. They also help you with customer service. This saves you time and the extra cost of hiring employees. 

Myth #9: “Amazon SEO works just like Google SEO” 

Some sellers may believe that optimizing for Amazon SEO works just like Google. However, this is not the case. While both have similarities, there are major differences to take note of. 

Amazon is an ecommerce platform and the major focus is conversions. So while Google and Amazon algorithms consider relevance, Amazon incorporates performance metrics. Much of your success on the platform is dependent on the sales generated as well as what your customers think of your product (reviews) instead of simply how well your website performs. For proper Amazon SEO, you will need to consider factors like customer search terms, reviews, and ratings. 

Myth #10: “To succeed on Amazon, you need to sell to everyone” 

If you are trying to sell to everyone, you are selling to no one. While you may be tempted to sell to as many people as possible, it can be bad for business. 

Selling your product as what it is not can create a wrong impression for your brand. Not only does it hurt the credibility of your brand, but it can also lead to high return rates and negative reviews. If your product is for a specific group of people, you want to clearly state that on your product listing. 

Avoid exaggerating your product. Simply highlight the benefits of using your product and give them all the information they need to make a buying decision. 

Conclusion 

Selling on Amazon doesn't have to be a confusing and terrifying experience. With the right knowledge, you can launch your product, take on any challenge and increase sales on Amazon. 

If you are a new or existing Amazon seller and you need the help of Amazon experts to grow and scale your business, we are here to help you. 

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