Amazon: Selling with FBA
The ecommerce market is one of the biggest trends when it comes to ways of making money on the internet. It stands for electronic commerce, and you can see it popping up everywhere. Retail giants such as Wal-Mart and Costco offer their stock online, and start ups are selling their products using a simple “buy now” button on Facebook and, of course, Amazon!
Ecommerce still represents a huge amount of work, especially if you are selling tangible goods that need to be handled and shipped, because you have to keep track of inventory, storage, handling, shipping and customer service. It can look easy, because you are managing your storefront online, but the process is as complex as ever!
The other problem is customer reach, because your business is only as successful as the number of people keeping it afloat! We talked before about how Amazon has revolutionized the ecommerce world by offering sellers everywhere the opportunity to use its platform to sell on its marketplace, and we would love to introduce you to a way to make that easier for you!
What is FBA?
“Fulfillment by Amazon”, simply known as “FBA,” is a service for its marketplace merchants that consists of Amazon picking, packing and shipping all your orders. With one of the most advanced fulfillment networks in the world, you can bet that Amazon has the expertise to take care of all your orders and provide customer service in your favor.
The benefits
When you let Amazon take care of your orders, you are saving time and growing your business. When you send your products to Amazon for fulfillment, they become eligible for FREE shipping and Amazon Prime Free-Two Day shipping, which makes them a better deal for your customers!
All of your Amazon marketplace listings will show the “Prime” logo, which will let customers know that your products are being handled by Amazon, take care of customer service and returns for your order when needed!
There will be no limit to the number of units and products that you send Amazon for fulfillment, or other inventory details whatsoever. You’ll only have to send your stock to Amazon and concentrate on your business. Amazon will help you grow!
You’ll also be able to manage your orders from multiple sales channels. If you sell your stock on a website other than Amazon, it will manage your inventory for you, and you’ll only need to redirect your sales to Amazon.com for fulfillment!
Lastly, it is a cost effective service, considering that you’ll be able to save a lot of time and logistic resources. You’ll only pay for storage and order fulfillment fees.
How does it work?
Simplifying fulfillment with Amazon is easy enough. First, you’ll need an Amazon sellers account. After you create an Amazon sellers account, it is as simple as adding “fulfillment by Amazon” to your account. You can add “FBA” to your account if you choose a professional selling plan with a simple check mark when you are creating your account.
Then, you’ll have to create your product listings. You can do this your way, be it one by one, in bulk, or by integrating a catalog system. Once you create your listings, prepare your products to be sent to an Amazon fulfillment center.
You have to make your products “ecommerce ready”, which means that you need to get them properly packed and identified. When your products are ready to go, ship them to Amazon.
Once they arrive at a fulfillment center, they’ll be ready to be shipped to customers ordering them! Finally, it is good to remember that Amazon takes care of customer service. Its customer service team will manage inquiries, refunds and returns related to your products listed in the marketplace; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Try to beat that!
Pricing
Pricing for fulfillment is determined by several factors, including the type of product, storage, packing and whether your orders are being processed in an Amazon marketplace or on a different sales channel.
Getting started
Go to the Amazon.com homepage and head to the “make money with us” section. Click on “sell on Amazon.” Then, place your pointer over the “solutions tab” and click on “fulfillment by Amazon”. Click on the “get started” button. From there, you’ll simply need to add FBA to your account by logging in. Try it out!
