selling on amazon - a quick guide by stitch labs

Quick Guide to Selling onAMAZONWhat you need to know before joining the largest online marketplace in the US

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION-ONLINE MARKETPLACEBENEFITS-EXPOSURE-FULFILLMENTAMAZON BASICS-FEATURED MERCHANT STATUS-AMAZON BUY BOXGETTING STARTED-UPLOAD LISTINGS-SELL YOUR PRODUCTS-SHIP TO CUSTOMERS-GET PAIDMAXIMIZE YOUR SALESABOUT THE AUTHOR

0101

0405

0607

080809101112

Copyright 2014 Stitch Labs, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

As your multi-channel selling strategy continues to grow, Amazon is a likely option you’ll consider for your business. This guide will help you understand the benefits of selling on Amazon, the top things to consider, and the first steps in setting up your store. We’ll also give you insight into what other applications you can use in order to maximize your sales and grow your business.

What you will learn:• What is an online marketplace?• Benefits of selling on Amazon• How to obtain “Featured Merchant Status”• The basics of the Amazon Buy Box• How to get started with your Amazon shop• How to expand your multi-channel selling strategy

Amazon Basics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01


ONLINEMARKETPLACE

As a business who sells products, there are several different online platforms that enable you to sell those products. And if you’re reading this, you’ve most likely entertained the idea of leveraging Amazon’s massive online marketplace. But before we dive into the why and how of selling on Amazon, let’s review what an “online marketplace” really is.

Benefits ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02


INTRODUCTION

a type of e-commerce site where product and inventory information is provided by multiple third parties, whereas transactions are processed by the market-place operator. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel e-commerce.

According to Wikipedia, an online marketplace is -

INTRODUCTION

Amazon Basics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03


Imagine a large physical marketplace, where there are aisles of different vendors, selling everything from beaded jewelry and gently used books to kitchen supplies and small train toys. Now place yourself in the position of a shopper. You’re walking past individual vendor booths and you notice something. Several of these vendors are selling the exact same products. Each seller may vary in how they display those identical products. Your interactions with each of them may vary. Even their prices could be completely off. But when it comes down to it - there is no obvious difference among the products themselves.

This is much like the experience a customer has when shopping on Amazon. However, in this case, the individual sellers, their faces, personalities, etc., are even more hidden. Often times, as an Amazon seller, you could be competing not only with other businesses, but even Amazon may have those same items listed. To a customer, all they can rely on is product reviews, photos, descriptions and accessibility.

ONLINE MARKETPLACE

BENEFITS

Amazon Basics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 04


EXPOSURE You may be thinking, “Then how does Amazon benefit me?”

Well, as Amazon has grown to be one of the most visited shopping sites online, granted there could be competitors, this online marketplace has one thing that is very valuable to someone like you - exposure. Customers go to Amazon because they feel confident they’ll find what they want. Also, with Amazon Prime’s membership, there are very devout customers who will continue to come back. This type of visibility is not something you’d get if, say, you were 10 miles away from the popular marketplace. Even if your product is more affordable and higher quality, while offering a more rich shopping experience - if a potential customer doesn’t know you exist, it would be quite difficult to buy from you.

BENEFITS

FULFILLMENT Whether you are selling through Amazon or your own branded website, one thing is always a must - shipping and fulfillment. The time and stress you exhaust on shipping products to your customers can be solved by a few options, one of which is directly provided by Amazon. Through Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA), you’re able to offload your storage and shipping needs to Amazon for a fee. (Amazon provides you with a revenue calculator in order for you to see the value.)

Benefits ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 05

Free shipping for your customers

Customer service (returns)

Multi-channel fulfillment


AMAZON BASICS

FEATUREDMERCHANT STATUS

One of the beautiful things about Amazon is that they truly value the quality performance of a seller, and those sellers are handsomely rewarded with something called, “Featured Merchant Status.” Once you reach this status, the level of exposure and accessibility your products receive is vastly above the rest.

Once you have claimed your rightful spot among the Featured Merchants, you will then have access to something called the Amazon “Buy Box”.

Want to know how you can gain Featured Merchant Status? Of course you

do! Here are the Featured Merchant Qualifications according to Amazon:

• ODR (Order Defect Rate)--ODR is based on customer feedback, A-to-z claims and chargebacks

• Other seller performance metrics

• Customer shopping experience offered on an item, such as speed of delivery, shipping options, price, and 24x7 customer service (including through the seller’s participation in Fulfillment by Amazon)

• Time and experience on the Amazon selling platform

• Status as a Pro Merchant

Amazon Basics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 06


AMAZON BUY BOX

AMAZON BASICS

If you’ve shopped on Amazon, you may have noticed that not all products are created equally. Some of the better performing products will often be paired with the Amazon “Buy Box”. This box is what appears on a product detail page where customers start the purchase process by adding items to their shopping carts.

This is another intricate way you’d be competing against other sellers. If you are selling a shiny “new” waffle maker and so is Joe Schmoe down the road, you and Joe will have to compete for that box.

Pricing and availability are two of the most crucial elements of “winning” the buy box. To simplify the qualifications, just remember that Amazon takes into consideration what the customer would be willing to pay for the product (lowest price doesn’t necessarily always win) as well as your upkeep on inventory quantities. Do not let someone order an out-of-stock product that could lead to negative reviews. Keep your inventory flowing and be sure to encourage positive reviews for those products.

Amazon Basics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 07


GETTING STARTED

UPLOADLISTINGS

SELL YOUR PRODUCTS

Ready to start selling? This section will walk you through the four basic steps of getting your Amazon store up and running.

Getting Started ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 08

How you upload your products may depend on whether or not you’re on the Professional selling subscription, but it’s all pretty straight forward. You either add your products to the Amazon Marketplace catalog one at a time or in bulk. You can identify the quantity and condition along with the UPC/EAN and SKU. Next you’ll add photos, descriptions and any other details.

Pretty straight-forward, right? Once you upload your items to the Amazon.com catalog, customers will now be able to see and purchase them. Be sure to check all of the information for your products. Accuracy and completeness are key to building a strong relationship with recurring Amazon customers.


SHIP TO CUSTOMERS

GETTING STARTED

Hooray! You just received your first order. Once this happens, Amazon will notify you. If you are handling shipping on your own, you’ll receive all the necessary information you need to get this done. If you’re using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), then Amazon will handle the shipping and any customer relations that may be needed.

Getting Started ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09


GET PAID

GETTING STARTED

As soon as you tell Amazon that the order has been shipped, Amazon will process the payment from the buyer and credit the net proceeds from the sale to your “seller account”. There are going to be various fees included, so you’ll want to review the full details on Amazon’s seller resources section. From there, you’ll transfer the funds from your seller account to your business bank account. Again, be sure to review all the details provided by Amazon. This guide does not include the full, nitty gritty details as it may differ for each seller.

Getting Started ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10


$

$

$

$

$$$$

$$

MAXIMIZE YOUR SALES

MAXIMIZEYOUR SALES WITHINTEGRATION

Getting Started ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11

“My business has grown 45% since I started using Stitch. This is the percentage of

our business that we do on Amazon, and without Stitch we couldn’t sell on Amazon

- by the way, I used Stitch to pull up that percentage - took me three minutes.”

-Laurence Bertone, Occitan Imports


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This guide was created by Stitch Labs. Stitch is the online software that multi-channel sellers use to manage their inventory, orders and sales data information all in one location. Stitch integrates with online sales channels such as Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, Shopify and BigCommerce, enabling businesses to grow their online presence with minimal effort. Stitch also easily integrates with accounting platforms like Xero and Quickbooks, making communication across all teams more clear and productive. When businesses use Stitch, they are able to increase sales, boost productivity and get organized.

About the author------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12


Get inventory control today with Stitch at

www.stitchlabs.com

selling on amazon - a quick guide by stitch labs

Retail