Many sellers on Amazon started with a free account, but today they are making over $10,000 per month. Selling on Amazon may not be as easy as some people think. However, it does not mean that you can’t make waves, even when you start with little or no money. Of course, you can start with no money and still grow your business as big as you wish. There is no limit to how far you can go.
You can start selling on Amazon with no money down by registering as an individual seller. Opening an individual seller account is free and does not require you to pay the monthly fee of $39.99. You will only be charged the per-item fee of $0.99 for each sale you make. However, as an individual seller, you will not be able to have access to certain tools.
Another thing to take note of is order fulfillment. If you want to sell on Amazon with no money, you will have to consider the two fulfillment options – FBA and FBM.
FBA stands for Fulfillment By Amazon. With FBA, you don’t have to stress yourself about the fulfillment of orders. All you have to do is send your product to Amazon. They will store your product in their warehouse and deliver it to your customers when orders are placed. Unfortunately, taking this route will require money as you will be charged some fees, such as a storage fee. So, this option may not be for you if you wish to spend no money at all.
FBM stands for Fulfillment By Marchant. In this order fulfillment method, the seller takes care of the order, customer service, and returns. You may spend less if you use this method, and you will not need to pay any storage fees because you will have your products stored in your house or warehouse.
Though FBM may be free, it is not always easy to handle, especially when you need to offer customer service and manage returns. This option may not be best for you if you are selling a heavy product. FBM is only good for lightweight products that will cost less to ship.
So, FBM is the best option for those that want to start selling with no money. But have it in mind that you may spend more if your product is heavy. However, with due diligence, you can determine the shipping cost of your product and add the cost to the product price.
Assuming the actual price of your product is and it costs to ship the product, you can list the product at with a shipping fee, or with a shipping fee. You can as well put it at that $5 with a $15 shipping fee. Even so, you can still offer free shipping by listing the product at $20 with free shipping. Just make sure that what the customer pays will cover both the product cost and the shipping fee.
How do I avoid selling fees on Amazon?
There is no way to avoid selling fees on Amazon. The only thing you can do is to find ways to reduce the charges. Most charges are mostly by percentage, so certain items are more profitable than others when you consider the charges.
The only fee you can avoid on Amazon is the per-item fee charged for each sale your product makes. You pay this per-item fee when you register as an individual seller on Amazon. But as a professional seller, you will not pay the fee. The only fee you will pay as a professional seller is the $39.99 monthly subscription, plus other selling fees.
It’s advisable to register as an individual seller if you are making fewer than 40 sales per month. But if you are making more sales, it is better to use a professional seller account. That’s the only way to avoid Amazon fees.
You can reduce the fees charged by Amazon by doing the following;
- Ensure your items in the Amazon fulfillment center are sold out within 1-2 months
There is no point in packing a lot of inventory in the fulfillment center if the products are not selling. If you are starting to sell new products, send a few of them to test the demand. You can then send in more if they start selling.
Sending many products to the warehouse without selling them will only increase the amount of storage fee you pay. There is no need to spend a lot when you can easily cut costs.
- Consider the number of oversized items to send to the warehouse
An Amazon storage fee is charged per cubic foot. From January to September Standard-size items are charged $0.75 per cubic foot while oversized items are charged $0.48 per cubic foot. From October to December Standard-size items are charged $2.4 per cubic foot while oversized items are charged $1.2 per cubic foot.
If you are careful here, you may think that selling oversized items costs less. But that’s not usually true. If you are selling standard-sized items, you can have many of them stored in 1 cubic foot. With oversized items, you have fewer. So, when you consider it, you will notice that you are spending more on oversized items.
So consider how many cubic feet your products will occupy in the warehouse. That will help you to choose the products that will cost you less.
- Don’t use FBA for items that are less than $15.
This may sound ridiculous, but if you check it very well, you will know the benefit of selling at high costs. We don’t mean you should list a product with an average selling price of at . No, don’t go that route because competition will swallow your products.
What you should do is to avoid them completely unless you are very sure that the product will give you high turnover.
If you consider product margin, you will notice that the higher the price of an item, the higher the product margin. Earrings that sell at $15 attract a fee of about 36 percent, while a kitchen device that sells at $150 attracts a 16 percent fee.
That is how it is across all categories. Though different categories have different percentages they charge, the price of the products plays a major role in determining the fees.
Moreover, FBA charges by weight. This simply means that, if two products have the same weight, they will attract the same fee. So, why not go for the one with higher selling so you can benefit from the product margin and make more profit.
- Choose categories that cost less
There are different charges for different categories. With due diligence, determine the categories that charge a lower referral fee. For example, fashion products attract a 20% referral fee while beauty products are charged 6%. So, a seller in the beauty category will pay a lower fee than a seller in the fashion category.
However, it doesn’t mean that the seller in the beauty category will make more money than the other. The amount of money they make will then depend on the number of sales they make, plus other charges. So, you need to do your research well to know the category that is more profitable with high demand and, of course, less competition.
- Avoid long term inventory storage fee
To avoid the “Long Term Inventory Storage Fee”, ensure that none of your products stays up to 365 days in the warehouse. Amazon charges an additional storage fee known as Long Term Inventory Storage fee when your inventory stays up to 365 days.
One of the things you can do to avoid the charge is to use Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) to promote the product. With that, you will increase the chances of selling the product. If you know how to set up the AMS, you will not spend up to the amount you will spend on the storage fees.
Another way to avoid the fee is by submitting a removal order. If you submit a removal order before the 15th of the month, you will not be charged for long-term storage until your product is returned to you. However, it does not mean that the product will be removed immediately.
Your product will still be available for sale until it is completely removed. After the cleanup date, your product may not be available again. You can read more about Inventory Storage Fee here and here for Long Term Inventory Storage Fee.
- Use Amazon free removal promotions
Take advantage of the free removal promotion whenever it comes up. We discussed removing your inventory from the FBA warehouse, but we didn’t mention anything about the fees. Well, it is important to know that there are fees for the removal order. Amazon charges you Removal Order and Disposable Fees for each item you wish to remove.
But sometimes they offer free removal promotions for all sellers on FBA. This promo can enable you to remove your inventories without being charged. However, the promotion doesn’t come all the time, so make use of it when you see such a promo.
- Manage the amount of inventory you send to the fulfillment center
The best way to avoid Long Term Inventory Storage Fees and Removal Order Fees is to manage the number of inventories you send to the warehouse. You don’t need to send too many items to the fulfillment center when you are not sure whether they will sell.
So, the best practice is to send some to the warehouse. Then send more when you start getting orders from your customers. With this method, you will be able to avoid unnecessary charges.
Is it profitable to sell on Amazon?
Yes, it is profitable to sell products on Amazon. You only need the right business execution to make it on Amazon. There are millions of sellers on Amazon who are competing with each other in different categories. As a new seller, if you enter the market without proper preparation, it will be very hard for you to survive the competition.
In this article, we analyzed how you can easily survive and win the competition, even with a limited budget. As long as you have good quality products, you can easily make sales on Amazon with well-written product descriptions.
So many people complain about Amazon fees. The fees are much higher compared to the fees charged by other online stores. But Amazon has the right customers and that is why you can’t ignore it. There is a higher chance of making a fortune where you have a ready customer. Amazon already has these customers you are looking for, and all that is required of you is to find the right products and categories to sell. Then find a way to reach these customers.
With the right investment in marketing, you will never regret selling on Amazon. You can easily win the competition with the power of SEO and copywriting, coupled with the right marketing campaign. Moreover, Amazon has already made it easy for you to win through their marketing services.
With Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) you don’t need to go out there looking for influencer marketers. AMS is cheap and user-friendly. Even a newbie can easily use it without stress. But, you need to understand SEO and keyword research to be able to maximize output. Without proper keyword research, you can still fail to win the competition with AMS.
So, it is advisable to hire SEO experts and copywriters to handle your marketing campaigns. You will not regret the outcome.
Is it cheaper to sell on eBay or Amazon?
Some newbies ask whether it’s better to sell things on Amazon or eBay. Well, the answer to this question depends on what the seller is looking for.
Generally, it is cheaper to sell on eBay when you consider the fees charged by the two companies. The 15% fee plus the per-item fee of $0.99 charged by Amazon is high compared to the 10% and flat fee of $0.3 charged by eBay.
When you consider other additional fees like FBA fees, closing fees, etc., it is apparent that selling on eBay is far more profitable. Moreover, eBay pays you your money immediately after the buyer makes payment. You can use part of that money to handle the shipping costs. But Amazon will wait for about 14 days before releasing your money.
However, some categories on Amazon charge far less than what eBay charges. As for categories like personal computers and electronics, they charge as low as 6-8%.
But this cost factor doesn’t mean that it is better to sell on eBay than on Amazon. As mentioned before, it depends on what the seller wants. If you are looking for a higher profit margin, then you need to consider eBay.
When it comes to a ready market, Amazon is second to none. Amazon has a market where you can easily make sales. Though the competition on Amazon is high, the market is huge and you have a higher chance of making sales there than at other stores. Also, Amazon is easier to manage.
With their FBA, you don’t need to stress yourself with customer service and shipping hassles. All you need to do is to send your product to Amazon and they will take it up from there.
How do I get products to sell on Amazon?
There are different ways to get products you can sell on Amazon. The most important thing to take note of is that you need to source your products from manufacturers or authorized distributors. Sourcing from these people will enable you to have an invoice for the items you purchase.
With the invoice, you are authorized to resell the products as a retailer. But when you buy from the local store, you will only get a receipt. The receipt is not an invoice, and it’s very risky to resell products without an invoice. Many people have done this and got their accounts suspended.
Though a lot of people do it without receiving the former, that doesn’t mean that it is the best route. Once Amazon suspends your account, it is a lifetime suspension and you won’t be able to recover it without an invoice. So, the best practice is to go the proper route.
Getting authorized distributors or manufacturers is not that difficult. Once you see a product you like in a local store, you can politely ask for the distributor’s contact information. Though most stores will not oblige the request, you will be able to help you out.
You can also go online to search for the product. From there, you may be able to find authorized distributors of the same product. There are many stores online where you can see manufacturers and dealers. Alibaba is one of them.
Many sellers are afraid of using it because of scammers and low-quality products. But with due diligence, you can get what you want from Alibaba. There are many manufacturers and dealers there that deliver high-quality products.
Another site you can leverage is Aliexpress. This site is also owned by the Alibaba group. With Aliexpress, you can easily do Dropshipping via Amazon. But you have to be very careful with the product quality. So, it is better to test the product you want to sell first before you start shipping it in bulk. From the comfort of your home, you can ship the products from Aliexpress to the Amazon fulfillment center and download the product images from Aliexpress to your Amazon product details.
How many items can I list on Amazon?
There is no limit to the number of items you can list on Amazon. But you have to make sure that you only list as many as you can handle. Amazon will not penalize you for listing too many or very few products. But they will penalize you for failing to maintain your inventory according to their policies.
So, be careful with the number of products you list. In addition, if you are doing dropshipping from Aliexpress, be sure that you test all the products. Many people have had their accounts suspended while trying to play too hard. Quality products and services are vital for your long-term success on Amazon.
Can Amazon FBA make you rich?
People still question whether FBA is still profitable. The simple answer to that is “Yes“. Amazon FBA is still profitable if you do it right.
Though the fees are much, people are still crushing it on Amazon FBA. Like we reported in this article, almost 50% of Amazon sellers make between $1,000 and $30,000 monthly. New sellers make monthly sales of $1,000 – $10,000 or more.
Angie Chacon, a single mom, made over $100,000 in her first year on Amazon. Currently, she earns over $500,000 from her Amazon products every month.
So, it is possible to become very rich by selling products on Amazon. Since there is no limit to the amount of money you can make from Amazon, nothing stops you from becoming rich via Amazon FBA.
How do I make my Amazon store successful?
To be a successful seller on Amazon you must offer quality products and services. Whether you use Amazon FBA or not, you can become successful if your products are of good quality.
However, having high-quality products alone does not guarantee success. You need to have a good business model and marketing strategy to be able to succeed on Amazon, or any other store around. It’s not rocket science – you just need to know what works for you.
What works for another seller may not work for you. Also, what works for you may not work for another seller. It’s just like that everywhere. Nevertheless, there are many ways to achieve success anywhere as a retailer. Some of the methods that have been tested and trusted are;
- Influencer marketing
- Email marketing
- Social media branding
- SEO and copywriting
- Amazon marketing services
- Social media advertising
- Influencer Marketing
There was a time Bill Gates recommended a book on LinkedIn, and within a few days of the post, the book jumped straight to the number 1 position on Amazon book store. In 2020, when Adele’s weight loss was linked to the Sirt Diet, the official book written by Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten became one of the best-selling books on the Amazon store.
That’s what people’s influence can have on a product. If you follow cryptocurrency news, you must have heard or read somewhere about the impact Elon Musk had on the value of Dogecoin.
That is how it is everywhere. It works everywhere as long as you do it right. If you have a quality product on Amazon, you can hire an influencer with many followers to recommend your product. Once you achieve that, it will drive traffic to your product page instantly and potentially lead to many sales.
But you need to do it right. You don’t need to contact all the influencers you know. Do your research well and discover the influencers in your product niche. You can not have products in the garden niche and expect influencers in the fashion niche to promote your products. Even if they agree to do it, it might not produce a good result because that is the wrong audience to advertise your products to.
- Email Marketing
This is one of the cheapest ways to market your products. Once you have built your email list, you don’t need to pay anyone to advertise for you. Moreover, the conversion is usually high. However, getting an email list that can help to build your business takes time and requires consistency.
If you have a website or product page, you can use it to collect emails from your audience. The reason why email lists easily convert is that the audience you are collecting their contact is already interested in your product niche. So, getting them to buy your products will not be as hard as when you are marketing to people outside of the niche.
- Social Media Branding
If you have a brand on any social media platform with many followers, you are already an influencer. Marketing your products through the platform will be the easiest thing you could ever imagine.
As long as you have loyal followers, you will always make sales anytime you recommend your products. Moreover, you don’t need to pay another influencer to do the job for you.
- SEO and Copywriting
Understanding the power of keyword research and optimization will help you a lot to increase sales. Proper search engine optimization will help to push your products to the front page. When your products appear on the front page of searches on Amazon, you have a higher chance of getting some sales than when they are on the second or other pages.
This is why it is important to understand keyword research. Many sellers are crushing it on Amazon with only SEO and copywriting.
Then, copywriting will help you to create a sales copy in your product description that will give your potential buyers the confidence to buy your product. You must learn to entice your customers through writing.
These two skills can take you places you never imagined. Having best-selling products on Amazon is what every seller is praying for. SEO and copywriting can help you achieve that when your products keep appearing on top of different search results on Amazon.
- Amazon Marketing Services
This method converts the most. However, you need to spend to get more results. But with the right keywords and category selection, you can spend less and get more results. It is the easiest way to increase product sales because Amazon is marketing your products to customers who are already in the store.
So, getting sales from these customers is very easy because they don’t need to leave the platform to another before they can make a purchase. It’s just a few clicks away and you will record new sales.
- Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing works quite well. But with the five methods mentioned already, you don’t necessarily need to spend money advertising on social media. You can do that if you have your own store. But leaving Amazon to market on another platform usually doesn’t yield better results.
So, there is no point going that route. However, a lot of people use it to hit big numbers, but that doesn’t mean that it is the best method.
Like we stated earlier, what works for seller A may not work for seller B. Choose the one that works for you and stick with it.
Who pays for shipping on Amazon FBA?
In Amazon FBA, the buyer pays the shipping fee, unless the product is listed for free shipping. The shipping fee is usually added to the total cost of the product, so the buyer is responsible for the shipping cost.
Does Amazon charge monthly fees?
Yes, there is a monthly fee of $39.99 for a professional seller account. But if you register as an individual seller, you will not have to pay the monthly fee. However, with an individual seller account, you will be charged $0.99 for every sale you make.
How many items can I sell on Amazon per month?
There is no limit to the number of products you can sell on Amazon. You can sell as many products as you can. It all depends on your business model.
Can I deliver to Amazon FBA myself?
You cannot ship to a fulfillment center by yourself. Your inventory must be shipped through an approved Amazon carrier.