Online business is a huge medium of doing business these days. Through this internet based business, big businessmen as well as small businessmen are doing good business. In such a situation, people starting from sites also get opportunities very easily. Any person from anywhere can sell his goods online across the country.
At present there are many e-commerce sites in which this type of business is being done. Amazon is also a similar e-commerce site, where almost all types of goods are traded. If any person wants to earn profit by trading his goods through this site, then it can be possible very easily. Information related to starting business on Amazon is being given here.
How selling on Amazon works?
As soon as we open the Amazon website, there are many different types of goods in front of us. Many times when a new person sees this, he feels that all these goods are owned by Amazon. But it is not so, Amazon also sells many of its goods from this site but apart from that, other companies also sell their goods from here. Amazon mostly sells Amazon Echo speakers, tablets, various types of household items as its products.
By looking at the list of their website, you will come to know that not all the goods are of Amazon brand. For example, Samsung phones are sold on Amazon, but there is no direct relationship between Samsung and Amazon. Therefore any person who is above 18 years of age can become an Amazon seller. If you want to sell any of your goods on Amazon, you can sell it, but in return, Amazon will take some share (commission) from each of your sales, in this way Amazon gets profit.
Registration as an Amazon Seller
While signing up in Amazon as a seller, you get two types of options. A person can start his business either by creating his own account (Individual Account) or by creating a professional seller account (Professional Seller Account). However, both these types of accounts have their own limitations and features. For this reason any person should choose the account according to his business.
- Your own account
The special thing about this type of account is that it does not charge any annual or monthly fee. The seller can sell a maximum of 40 items every month through this account, and it is mandatory for all these items to be listed on Amazon. An individual seller can never create a new listing of goods, hence the seller will be able to sell only those goods which are already running on the Amazon platform. The seller will not be able to sell his own label goods from this account. Registration in this is also free. On the sale of each item, Amazon also charges $0.99 as selling price (referral fee) and closing fee. Those who open their own account do not get any kind of 'advertising platform', due to which they are not able to promote their goods.
2. Professional seller Account
Professional seller account is very useful for trading on Amazon. To use this account, the merchant has to pay a fee of $40 every month. With the help of this account, the seller can easily sell his own label goods. Sellers of this account can sell unlimited i.e. as many goods as they want per month. Besides, Amazon also provides 'Listing' facility to commercial sellers. One advantage of this account is that the seller gets an 'advertising platform' so that they can promote their goods. Registration for 'Fulfillment of Amazon' program can also be done through this account.
Amazon business models
Amazon provides many ways to its sellers to establish their business. Here special information related to Amazon business model is being given.
Retail Arbitrage _
Under retail arbitrage, you buy goods from any retailer at a discount and sell them on Amazon at a higher price and get profit. You can start with an individual account by purchasing 40 items. However, some things have to be kept in mind during retail arbitrage.
- It is mandatory for you to have the receipt or invoice for your goods, which has been given to you by the manufacturer or shopkeeper. There is no use of receipt received from retailer in Amazon.
- By purchasing the goods from the retailer, you will not get the manufacturer's receipt, in such a case you have to trade your goods by listing them as used goods.
- Keep in mind that the goods you are going to trade are not banned on Amazon. Otherwise your goods will not be sold.
- Your account (Individual Account Amazon) can be closed on the complaint of the main manufacturer of the goods. In this, much less profit is obtained as compared to wholesale.
Online Arbitrage _
Like retail arbitrage, you can buy goods online at low prices and sell them on Amazon and earn profit. Since the customer can get the goods you are selling at a lower price, there is no possibility of making any significant profit from this type of business.
Wholesale Products _
A good profit can be earned from Amazon by selling wholesale goods. Wholesale means buying goods in large quantities directly from the manufacturer and selling them on this site. The thing to be noted here is that the goods are not of the seller's brand and the seller is a third party seller. Before starting it, a wholesale license is required. You get a lot of profit from wholesale on Amazon, because you get the goods at a lower price and you sell them at a higher price on Amazon.
Private Label Products
You can buy goods from any manufacturer and do branding by giving your name. After this the goods will be sold on Amazon with your branding. Being a private label, Amazon provides you the facility of listing. If you want, you can further improve the quality of your goods, this process also gives good profits to the seller.
Amazon's FBA (starting an Amazon Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA ) business)
Amazon provides various types of facilities to its merchants, so that the problems in business are reduced. 'FBA' is a convenient program run by Amazon for its merchants. Under this program, the merchant sends his goods to Amazon, whose maintenance and delivery to the customers is the responsibility of Amazon. In return for this work, Amazon takes some money as commission. Many merchants become part of this program run by Amazon. So that they are freed from the responsibility of delivery. Being an 'FBA seller' all the merchant has to do is deliver his goods to an Amazon warehouse. After this, on one side the merchant sells his goods and on the other side Amazon keeps delivering the goods.
Some special benefits of this program are given below
- FBA sellers are able to use Amazon's 'Prime logo' for their goods. With this logo, customers' trust in your goods increases.
- Due to this program, the ranking of your goods gets improved in the 'Search Results', so that your goods can come up while searching on the internet.
- The biggest feature of this program is that Amazon keeps the delivery network running smoothly. Due to this, the customer gets his purchased goods on time.
FBA program fees
Amazon charges the fees for this program in two forms. First is 'fulfillment fee' and second is 'monthly storage fee'. Under fulfillment fee, Amazon takes money for packing, shipping etc. while under monthly storage fee, it takes money for keeping your goods in its warehouse. The total cost of FBA depends on the dimensions of your item package. Apart from this, Amazon can charge you labeling fees, long-term storage, return processing, stock removal fees etc. under this program.
Amazon Marketing Strategy
However, Amazon business is not so easy that you upload your goods and customers start buying. For this you have to increase your sales yourself. This is often enhanced with the help of SEO, paid marketing, and organic marketing.
When customers search for an item on the Amazon site, paid results appear first, followed by organic marketing items. It is worth noting that for paid results the merchant needs to pay money. If you are very new, there is no rating or review of your product then this method can be effective. Apart from this, you can maintain your place in the search results by getting reviews and ratings on your goods, although this takes some time.
