If you’re an American there’s a pretty good chance you’ve bought something on Amazon. In fact, I’d wager that you’ve bought something from everyone’s favorite eCommerce giant in the last 6 months (if not the last 6 days!). While most people think nothing about buying something from Amazon, very few consider selling on Amazon.
Yes, you can make money right now by learning how to sell on Amazon.
In fact, over 40% of merchandise sales on Amazon can be attributed to third-party sellers… that’s $40 billion in sales per year (Martin, 2015)!
Some of that $40 billion could easily be yours. If only you knew how to sell on Amazon….
Well guess what, this article is a crash course in how to sell on Amazon. So buckle up and brace yourself!
But first… a quick pit stop. Before we talk about how to sell on Amazon, let’s talk about why to sell on Amazon.
For one, as mentioned above, it’s a $40 billion a year industry. However, if the money isn’t enough of an incentive, how about the fact that Amazon basically gives you instant credibility. Sure, you could throw up your own eCommerce site but people are much more inclined to give a trusted source (such as Amazon) their personal info than a stranger. With that in mind, maybe you’re thinking you’ll stick with Etsy or another established eCommerce site, but not so fast. In addition to providing credibility, Amazon can handle all of the credit card processing, inventory (more on that later), and shipping for you.
Are you sold? Great… on to learning how to sell on Amazon!
Create a Plan for How to Sell on Amazon
The first step in learning how to sell on Amazon is deciding whether this is going to be a hobby or a business.
What’s the difference? Hobbies are something you do in your spare time. You invest less time and money but you also earn less.
If selling on Amazon is going to be your job you need to treat it as such. Yes, you will be your own boss. Yes, you will have a good deal of flexibility. Yes, you can work in your PJs all day. However, you will still have to work!
Whether selling on Amazon is going to be a hobby or a business, you have a slew of decisions to make including what type of seller account you’ll want, what items you’re going to sell, and how your inventory will be fulfilled. Let’s get started making those decisions!
Choose an Amazon Seller Account
How to sell on Amazon step number two is choosing what type of seller account you’ll sign up for. Amazon currently has two types:
- Individual
- Professional
A general rule of thumb is that if selling on Amazon is going to be a business you’ll want the professional level account.
Professional level accounts are for individuals who plan to sell more than 40 items per month.
Professional level accounts incur a $39.95 per month charge while individual level accounts pay $0.99 per item sold. Keep in mind that other fees may be associated with both accounts depending on other account characteristics such as whether your inventory is fulfilled by Amazon.
For more information on the differences between the two seller accounts, visit Amazon’s plan comparison page.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.