How to Sell on Amazon for Beginners: 5 FAQs

Whether you are planning to work with an Amazon advertising agency or another marketing firm, you'll likely have questions before selecting a new agency. Before moving forward with an agency partnership, you will want to set some expectations for how you would like your partnership to look. To help guide your discussions, here are some of the most frequently asked questions we get from new clients about how to sell on Amazon:

There are a number of expenses you have to take into consideration when using Amazon as your e-commerce sales platform.

If you use Amazon to fully take over warehousing and fulfillment (also known as FBA), they will take a larger cut of your margin. Oversized or overweight products will incur additional fees. You can expect to pay anywhere from 10-15% of your selling price.

The three most common Amazon fee types are:

• FBA shipping fee (weight dependent)

• Pick and pack fee

• Monthly storage fee

There are pros and cons to handling fulfillment yourself or outsourcing it to Amazon. One notable positive of using FBA is that 99% of the time, their shipping process will be faster and more efficient than what most companies can provide on their own. This can contribute to higher customer satisfaction, and in turn, a higher product or seller rating.

Am I shipping my products to Amazon properly?

One of the questions we receive from new clients is whether or not they're doing the right thing to get their physical products to Amazon fulfillment centers.

When it comes to Amazon, logistics always matter. Price and sales velocity are the biggest drivers for search rank. If you stay in stock and keep a consistent sales velocity, then your traffic listing will be healthy (which will help with search rank). If your inventory becomes low, or you run out completely, then your search rank will fall. This means you are essentially starting over with search ranking every time you fulfill inventory after it has been low or ran out.

Should I sell products under our brand name or wholesale products out to a more established Amazon seller?

In most cases, we recommend that you sell your products yourself instead of wholesaling them to other Amazon sellers. This allows your company to maximize profit potential on Amazon. It also allows you to build and establish your brand on Amazon and maintain control over the product journey and your listings. There are an abundance of resources and agencies available that can help you get the training and know-how to streamline your Amazon selling process and arm your team with the help they may need.

How do I get reviews on Amazon?

Amazon reviews help create social proof and secure sales for your product category. On the Amazon platform, reviews are crucial.

Your agency should never recommend any "black hat" solutions as they ultimately come back to hurt your brand. Black hat tactics are any actions that are against Amazon's Terms of Service. An example of this would be offering free product or payment in exchange for a review, or writing internal reviews to increase your listing.

Instead, educate yourself on the three most important review factors:

• Relative number of reviews compared to other products in your category

• Review rate compared to total purchasers

• Star ratings (the goal is to have your listing at 4 stars or above)

A few practical tips for making the most of Amazon reviews:

• Always respond to a customer review - both positive and negative. People are willing to change a bad review if you make the effort to respond in five minutes.

• Send emails to customers who have purchased your products and offer useful how-to information and ask them to take a moment to write a review.

• Incorporate product inserts with the delivery package that includes a call-to-action to leave a review.

How is Amazon advertising different than paid campaigns on Google Ads?

One of the biggest differences between Amazon advertising and Google paid ads is intent.

For example, if someone is searching for a specific product on Amazon, it’s likely that they’re ready to buy (or at least plan to buy) something right now. It’s important to capitalize on that immediate need and show up by ranking high as a listing in relevant Amazon searches - even if that means coming up as a sponsored option.

The purchasing intent on Google is not always as clear. People primarily go to Google for information, which means that Google search users may be a little further away from the instant sales that can happen on Amazon’s search engine.

Final Thoughts: How to Sell on Amazon for Beginners

We've covered some of the most frequently asked questions we get from prospective clients who are beginning a relationship with us at Amplio Digital. But, there’s certainly more to uncover and master in order to see Amazon success.

Do you have your own questions about how to sell on Amazon for beginners or what it’s like to work with an Amazon advertising agency? Get in touch for a free consultation today.