Tips for New Sellers Ideas
Why, hello there Sellers!
I plan on posting a thread with information that would help Sellers new to Amazon. A few things I think could be helpful would be links to specific topics in Seller University and important Seller Help Pages.
That said, what Help Pages, or Seller University modules do you think would be the most beneficial for New Sellers starting their journey on Amazon?
-Winston
22 replies
Seller_Fg2fqaWOnEtha
They should read all of it to have a general idea, I think that different parts become relevant at different stages. For instance, a new person shouldn't really start with FBA in my opinion, but do some product research and come up with a few products to trial on FBM first. When they are ready to do FBA then they should read the FBA part carefully. When someone has the first return they should re-read the part about returns and so on. They should treat is as a manual more than a course IMHO.
Seller_KlbXZHzQGSDZv
A good clarification on drop shipping to stop those who have seen a few youtube videos of people popping into asda picking up some sale stuff and reselling on here.
Add to that clarification of what happens when Amazon want to see some invoices and then shut your account and keep the funds when you cant supply them.
Clarification of your personal/business plans and the professional plan vs standard plan.
Requirements if your selling for profit that you must be regged with HMRC.
That if your a foreigner wanting to sell in the UK there is no 85k Vat threshold
Seller_Fg2fqaWOnEtha
Oh yes definitely, all these points are important although I fear that many of those educated by YouTube gurus are not going to read the Seller University, but all this information should be included maybe as Dos and Don'ts like DO = Buy from manufacturers and wholesalers DON'T = Buy from Retailers and sell as new.
Seller_w7R6tDoe6FqIO
I guess it is important to make new sellers aware that selling on Amazon is not a right from birth, but a privilege, and therefore they have to stick to the rules to have a smooth journey.
Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn
New sellers need to realise that Amazon is not a get rich quick scheme. It takes significant amount of work to build up an Amazon business and if you are a FBM seller there can be some long days especially at peak times.
I think the one thing sellers really need to understand and read up on before they start to sell is Amazon's Intellectual Property policy. This is where so many new sellers trip up by just searching for similar products in the catalogue and not realising they are listing against someone's registered trademark.
New FBM sellers also need an understanding on Amazon's VTR policy and how to set realistic delivery times for their items.
Seller_QgnlRdJJaJLON
Looks like an AI generated post to me.
Just saying ..................
Seller_EkGoiphKgUnUI
Biggest tip for new sellers: Make sure you've got an established Ebay store for all the junk returns, and stock that randomly gets discontinued from the catalogue and you have to pay to get it recalled back to you, or you're going to end up swamped with dead stock. Plus, when your account randomly gets its payouts blocked, or a bunch of "suspected IP violations", for an ASIN with a term like "brother" in it and your account gets deactivated and you're stuck for money, at least Ebay will pay you same day.
Rachelle_Amazon
HI @Winston_Amazon,
awesome idea! What about some clarifications around Listing vs. ASIN level? Some new sellers seem to not quite understand the difference out of the box.
Greetings from Germany!
Rachelle
Seller_4mvpF14wacAyg
My main advice would be to make sure you are mentally prepared for a range of issues selling on the platform, which could be anything from listings being removed for silly reasons by a bot, or Amazon withholding payments ruining cash flow.
Speaking of payments, if you are new selling on Amazon, it is terrible for cash flow. Their policy for payments basically means something you sell today you won't receive the money for 2-3 weeks - this for me personally becomes a massive stress during in Q4 where I have to negotiate with suppliers for better payment terms or temporary higher credit limits.
To sum it up, selling on Amazon is mentally challenging. I wouldn't say I've been reduced to tears selling on here, but I have been close and it has caused a whole number of sleepless nights.
However when it works properly, it is a great place to sell.
Seller_nBOoM3pBs6Kuo
It would be great to have an understanding of picking a product category for each product and the importance of the accurate sub-category. We have had this conversation in our teams and there are so many subcategories that apply to our products but we would like to know better how this selection is ranked and if an how it links to PPC, product ranking and SEO.
