Amazon is a well-known worldwide brand that sold more than $386 billion worth of goods in 2020. It was the fourth technology conglomerate to achieve a $1 trillion market capitalization, and it is on track to make it even more soon.
Amazon is one of the most popular e-commerce marketplace platforms on the internet. For that reason and more, it has over 300 million active customer accounts and is growing at a fast rate.
For retailers, merchants, and small business owners with the best private-label products to sell on Amazon, this is a fantastic e-commerce business opportunity. However, there are certain factors to consider before jumping in.
1. Amazon’s Charges
Amazon charges a variety of costs for putting items up on their marketplace, including a listing fee, referral fee, storage fees, and others. It’s critical to understand what these fees are ahead of time so there are no unpleasant surprises later.
There are several drawbacks to consider when comparing Amazon’s rates against those of other sites. For one, the listing fee might be prohibitively expensive for firms with a large inventory. And the referral fee is a percentage cut of the final selling price.
2. Your Competition
Amazon is a highly competitive market. There are millions of sellers competing for customers’ attention on the platform, and there is a controlled amount of virtual selling space available for visibility e.g search page positions. If you want to sell in volume, be prepared for a price war.
To thrive on Amazon, companies must set themselves apart from the competition by researching the Amazon Marketplace to discover their niche or distinctive selling points. This may be achieved in a variety of ways, such as providing competitive pricing, unique items, or exceptional customer service.
If you’re creating a brand, trademark your brand name with the marketplace Patent and Trademark Office and use the Amazon Brand Registry to safeguard it and gain access to additional seller features.
3. Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)
Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) is a service that allows businesses to outsource their fulfilment to Amazon, including customer support. You keep your inventory in Amazon’s warehouses, where they handle the shipment of your orders. This is a fantastic option for businesses who don’t have the time or resources to handle fulfilment on their own.
As an added benefit, your product is now Prime Eligible, allowing you to reach a pool of more than 200 million current Prime members, with 147 million of them in the United States alone.
You’ll get a lot of new business, but at a cost. FBA fees reduce your margins, and the many stringent FBA rules and standards might be tough to follow. This may take away your seller independence, so think carefully before you join up.
4. Remember, Uploading a Listing Doesn’t Guarantee A Sale
Don’t expect to make a guaranteed sale out from your beautifully photographed and crafted listing, when there are thousands of other options in your product category already absolutely swarming with alternatives.
To stay competitive, you’ll need to keep your listings, keywords, advertising, inventory, and other aspects of your business up-to-date with Amazon’s platform tools. You definitely need to keep an eye on your competitor’s with the variety of third-party Amazon Seller tools – they’re watching you too!
5. Marketing and Advertising
Despite its massive traffic and popularity, Amazon isn’t a magic bullet for selling your goods. To get the word out about your firm and drive visitors to your items, as well as have them appear in the top search results, you’ll need to do some internal marketing on the platform.
Through Amazon’s advertising platform, you may run advertisements for your items and enhance sales by getting them into top search results and improving page exposure. It can, however, be expensive, time-consuming, and complex to maintain.
6. The Steep Learning Curve
When it comes to selling on Amazon, there’s a learning curve. There are several moving parts and circumstances can change rapidly. When businesses sell on Amazon, they are essentially joining the Amazon brand and must adhere to its regulations. They may be perplexing at times due to their peculiarities on such a big and complex platform that spans the world.
You must be ready to put in the time and effort required to sell on Amazon. This entails getting to know the site, their seller regulations and standards, comprehending fees, and mastering customer service skills. Fortunately, Amazon has a wealth of resources for those seeking assistance, including forums, webinars, and their own Seller University.
Conclusion
With over 300 million active users, Amazon is a huge e-commerce marketplace. If you want your company to succeed, you must be ready to put in the time and effort required to sell on Amazon.
This means doing your research and understanding what makes your product unique compared to the competition. It also requires developing an effective marketing strategy that takes advantage of all Amazon has to offer and, of course, selling high-quality, in-demand products.
