Selling on Amazon® For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020938975
ISBN: 978-1-119-68933-1 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-68935-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-8939-3 (ebk)
Not so long ago, if you wanted to be a retailer, you had to build a store, buy products from wholesalers to stock the shelves, mark up their prices, and sell them to whatever customers happened to show up and wander through the aisles. Amazon has changed all that. Nowadays, you can become a retailer without having to step foot out of your home or even rise from your recliner. Equipped with no more than a decent computer and an Internet connection, you can source products from China (and other countries), list them for sale on Amazon, and sit back and collect your money as shoppers across the country and perhaps around the world buy your products.
Well, maybe that’s a little oversimplified and too hopeful an image of what selling on Amazon really involves, but conceptually it is that simple. Anyone can do it. Unfortunately, the fact that anyone can do it is why it has become so challenging. Millions of people have flocked to Amazon, creating what can best be described as a 21st century gold rush. As of this writing, Amazon has more than 2.5 million active sellers seeking their fortune as ecommerce retailers, and they’re all competing against one another and often against big-box stores and big brands, including Amazon. To succeed as a seller on Amazon, you really need to know what you’re doing and be committed to success.
Welcome to Selling on Amazon For Dummies, your definitive guide to making money on Amazon. Here we lead you step-by-step through the process of selling on Amazon, from creating an Amazon Seller account to choosing products with high sales and profit potential, sourcing products from around the world, creating effective product listings, managing your inventory, leveraging the power of advertising, delivering superior customer service, and much more.
To make the content more accessible, we divide it into five parts:
We can’t promise this book contains everything you need to know about selling on Amazon, because that would be an incredibly ambitious goal. What we do promise is that this book covers everything you need to know to master the basics, along with guidance on how to use Amazon’s learning resources to plug any gaps in your knowledge and expertise.
All assumptions are foolish, and we’re always reluctant to make them, but to keep this book focused on the right audience and ensure that it fulfills our purpose in writing it, we make the following foolish assumptions about you:
Other than those four foolish assumptions, we can honestly say that we can’t assume much more about you. The people who sell on Amazon represent a diverse demographic. You may be a sixth grader trying to earn money for college, a 35-year-old work-from-home parent supporting a family, or a 75-year-old retiree looking to supplement his social security income. You can be rich, poor, or somewhere in between. Regardless of your demographic, we applaud you for your curiosity, ambition, and eagerness to acquire new knowledge and skills, and we hope this venture is as rewarding and profitable as your wildest dreams.
Throughout this book, icons in the margins highlight certain types of valuable information that call out for your attention. Here are the icons you’ll encounter and a brief description of each.
We want you to remember everything you read in this book, but if you can’t quite do that, then remember the important points flagged with this icon.
Tips provide insider insight. When you’re looking for a better, faster way to do something, check out these tips.
“Whoa!” Before you take another step, read this warning. We provide this cautionary content to help you avoid the common pitfalls that are otherwise likely to trip you up.
You’re certainly welcome to read this book from cover to cover, but we wrote it in a way that facilitates skipping around. If you’re on the fence about whether to sell on Amazon or you’re looking for some background information about Amazon rules, fees, account types, and so forth, head to Chapter 1. Chapter 2 provides a bird’s-eye-view of selling on Amazon, which touches on key topics and directs you to other chapters for more detailed coverage.
When you’re ready to get started, head to Chapter 3, where you find out how to create an Amazon Seller Account, and then turn to Chapter 4 to find out how to navigate Seller Central — the web interface you’ll be using as an Amazon Seller to list the products you have for sale, manage orders and inventory, monitor your performance as an Amazon Seller, and much more.
With the basics under your belt, you can proceed through the book according to your needs. If you need products to sell, head to Part 2. If you already have products to sell and need to know how to list them on Amazon, check out Part 3. If you’re comfortable with sourcing and selling products, fulfilling orders, and managing inventory, refer to Part 4 for more advanced topics to optimize your success.
Consider Part 5 bonus material. Here, you’ll find 30 tips that cover everything from advertising and customer service to product sourcing.
In addition to the abundance of information and guidance related to selling on Amazon that we provide in this book, you get access to even more help and information online at www.dummies.com.
You can also choose to use this book as a reference guide, the way most people use instructions for assembly — head to Amazon Seller Central (sellercentral.amazon.com) and start poking around and doing stuff until you get stuck, and then turn to the index at the back of this book to find guidance for the task that has you baffled.
Note: Although we did our best to ensure that the step-by-step instructions are accurate and complete, Seller Central is in a continuous state of improvement, so please remain flexible. Consult Seller Central’s help system and Amazon’s Seller University to access the most currently available information and instructions. For more about the Seller Central’s help system and Seller University, turn to Chapter 4.
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
Find out all you need to know about starting to sell products on Amazon, without getting into the intricate details.
Know what you’re getting yourself into in terms of Amazon rules, costs, business types, product categories, and the Amazon marketplace.
Take a quick primer on selling products on Amazon that covers the bare basics, including finding products to sell, choosing a fulfillment method, listing products for sale, and delivering top-notch customer service.
Open an Amazon Seller account, so you can start listing products for sale.
Navigate Amazon’s Seller Central to access your product catalog, manage your inventory and orders, and find the information and guidance to build a successful ecommerce business through Amazon.