Overwhelmed
Hello. I am completely new to Amazon Seller and this journey to starting my own Amazon business. I can feel every bit of anxiety kicking in during this process of trying to find the perfect supplier as well as figure out how to operate the sellers account itself and the processes. My questions to everybody is
1) How do I get approval for a new item not listed on Amazon before make an huge bulk order? I don’t want to order the items and then not know if they will be approved.
2) Do you recommend to use FBA feature immediately when ordering items from supplier or start with fufilling orders yourself? I ask because starting off I’m not sure how many sales I would make and I don’t know if it is worth the storage fees from FBA starting off.
3) If I do use FBA. How do I determine where to have the supplier ship the bulk items to?
I really appreciate any help K can get because as stated, I am so overwhelmed with all this but have to get this done!
Overwhelmed
Hello. I am completely new to Amazon Seller and this journey to starting my own Amazon business. I can feel every bit of anxiety kicking in during this process of trying to find the perfect supplier as well as figure out how to operate the sellers account itself and the processes. My questions to everybody is
1) How do I get approval for a new item not listed on Amazon before make an huge bulk order? I don’t want to order the items and then not know if they will be approved.
2) Do you recommend to use FBA feature immediately when ordering items from supplier or start with fufilling orders yourself? I ask because starting off I’m not sure how many sales I would make and I don’t know if it is worth the storage fees from FBA starting off.
3) If I do use FBA. How do I determine where to have the supplier ship the bulk items to?
I really appreciate any help K can get because as stated, I am so overwhelmed with all this but have to get this done!
3 respuestas
Seller_z3XfkorVSmnEY
1st thing to remember -- selling is your business. Next, you've chosen to sell online. 3rd, you're choosing to use Amazon as your platform.
1. follow all the rules. Get a letter of authorization from the BRAND (not your supplier) that specifically states that you are allowed to sell ON Amazon.
2. Do NOT start with FBA. Get your feet wet with FBM. There are too many rules and fees with FBA to use it out the gate. Get used to selling before you jump into the FBA waters. (we've been FBA since they started the service 10+ years ago and there are still frustrations -- but part of doing business)
3. When/if you choose to use FBA, DO NOT have your supplier ship directly to FBA. Have them shipped to YOU. Prep/label for Amazon. You will make a business decision about how many units to send in to be most profitable.
Other things you can do....Look up sellers ask sellers, read the forums, and use Amazon's Seller University:
sell.amazon.com/learn
KJ_Amazon
Hello @Seller_9YXi39N1SQRkV. Thank you for visiting the forums, and for those great questions about getting started with Amazon.
@River_Retail knows their stuff and gave you some great advice, and I hope other sellers join them.
As a general piece of advice, I invite you to visit Seller University and explore videos covering all aspects of Selling on Amazon.
Here's a few links to start your journey:
1) How do I get approval for a new item not listed on Amazon before make an huge bulk order? I don’t want to order the items and then not know if they will be approved.
Apply to sell a product, category, or brand
There are a lot of videos covering getting approved to sell on Amazon. The above video has basic info.
This is a common question for sellers: Start with FBA or FBM (or both). This recent forums thread covers that topic.
3) If I do use FBA. How do I determine where to have the supplier ship the bulk items to?
Seller University: Get started with FBA
Part of the FBA process will include instructions on where to send your goods. Check out the above videos for some intro info.
KJ_Amazon
Seller_hRcW3boFdNOVe
When getting approval for a new item not listed on Amazon, start by determining if it is a generic, new, or existing brand. For generic brands, check if the item is prohibited and try listing it on Amazon to ensure it's approved. For your own brand, register it with Amazon Brand Registry after securing a trademark. If it's an existing brand, seek brand registry permission from the brand owner or get approved to list products under their brand.
Regarding FBA, consider your growth speed and risk tolerance. Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) involves lower risk and upfront costs but may affect your ranking and order volume. FBA offers higher ranking and, therefore, faster scaling but requires more planning and incurs higher costs if done incorrectly. Decide based on your business goals.
For FBA shipments, start a shipment plan in Seller Central to determine the warehouse destination.
Best of luck, and reach out if you need more help.
