How to Sell on Amazon as an Individual Seller

 

Setting up a new online selling business can be a tedious process, especially when there are so many options and ways to do so. To the individual sellers and entrepreneurs who have just taken their initial steps in beginning their business of selling online, the vastness and unfamiliarity of the online market can seem intimidating. Moreover, for beginners and individuals, bearing the costs of online selling can be tough. Here is where Amazon’s option of an Individual seller account can help them and be a great option for them to set up their business. If you are also planning to enter the online selling business and want to know how to sell on Amazon as an individual seller, firstly let’s understand what exactly is Amazon’s individual seller account:

What is Amazon’s Individual seller account and how is it different from a Professional account?

Amazon has two different account types for online sellers, namely, Individual and Professional.

-        A Professional seller account is designed for the sellers who are in the online selling business for the long haul and have a business plan and products ready to be sold. The Professional seller account is also ideal for people who will be selling over 35 items in a month and will be requiring Amazon’s advanced tools like Amazon Advertising. It also gives them access to Amazon’s platforms like Launchpad and Handmade. For the Professional account, the seller will have to pay a monthly subscription fee of £25 regardless of whether they make a sale that month.

-        An Individual seller account is designed for sellers who have not decided upon a business plan and products to sell, and do not require any of the advanced selling tools. It is also for people who will be selling less than 35 items in a month. However, Individual seller account users still get access to basic listing and order management tools of Amazon. Most importantly, with an Individual selling account, the seller will only pay as they go - meaning, they will only be paying Amazon for every sale they make.

How to Sell on Amazon as an Individual seller?

In order to begin selling online with Amazon as an Individual seller, you will first need to begin the process of registering yourself as a seller. After providing the required details, when asked to choose an account type, choose ‘Individual.’ Later in the process, you will be required to provide certain documents and information to Amazon to sign you up as a seller. The required details/documents include:

-        A valid ID proof (like a passport)

-        The official e-mail address of your business or your existing Amazon customer account

-        Registration details of your company/business (like tax documents and VAT number)

-        A chargeable credit card.

Another important thing you need to know about how to sell on Amazon (UK) as an Individual seller is the payment structure. As mentioned earlier, for an Individual account, Amazon will charge you a fee for every sale you make, apart from its generally applicable fees. In the case of Amazon UK, you will be charged £0.75 for every item sold.

Amazon also has an option for switching account types. If a Professional seller wishes to switch to an Individual account or vice versa, they can do so whenever they want via Amazon’s website.

Once you have learnt about how to sell on Amazon as an Individual seller, you can begin doing market research regarding your products. You can also start looking for ways to promote your business and products.

5 Useful Tips to Sell on Amazon Handmade

Amazon Handmade is a program introduced by Amazon for artisans and craftspeople who want to sell their handmade creations online and set up their online selling business. Amazon Handmade has a set of strict policies that only allow authentic artisans to set up their business, and ensure that genuinely handcrafted goods will be sold there. With the numerous benefits it has, a lot of artists and craftspeople have been eager to set up their business with Amazon Handmade. If you are also planning to set up a business there and sell your handcrafted products, here are five useful tips to help you sell well.

1. Set up an effective artisan profile

Amazon Handmade is the only platform of Amazon that allows sellers to have custom profiles. And when it comes to setting up a profile for handcrafted goods, a lot of customers prefer visiting the profile of the artist to place their order for one of their products. Hence, it is important to set up a good and effective profile that will not only seem promising to your customers but will also give a good idea of your shop and your work. You can put up a high-resolution picture of your shop’s banner, along with your featured products on the profile. Also, you can get creative while writing descriptions on your profile to get your customers’ attention.

2. Consider FBA for Handmade

If you choose to use Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) for your business, Amazon will take care of your products’ packaging, storage, shipping, and delivery. With FBA, Amazon also handles customer service, taking that burden off from sellers. Since FBA is also available for Amazon Handmade users, you can consider using it for your business. With Amazon handling the rest of the things, you can focus on growing your brand and making the best quality handcrafted goods for your customers. 

3. Consider selling customised products

Since Amazon Handmade is only for selling handcrafted products, Amazon gives an option to the sellers to sell customised products. You can create an option for customised products on your seller profile and direct your customers there, via which they can place orders as per their needs and requirements. Selling customised products might help grow your business since a lot of people prefer owning and gifting personalised handicrafts.

4. Optimising product listings

When you begin selling online, a product listing is something that you need to be very careful with. Your product listing will contain all the necessary information about your product that the customers will see, such as the title, description, and images. It is better to keep your titles concise yet descriptive and write a detailed product description optimising the appropriate keywords. Also, only upload high-quality product images that showcase your artistry in detail. Uploading multiple images from different angles to showcase the product better is also recommended.

5. Advertise your brand and products

The most effective way of attracting more customers and growing your business is by advertising your products. You can buy sponsored ads of Amazon or their headline search campaigns with which your products can receive a lot of traffic via the search results. You can also purchase display ads, which will be placed outside Amazon, in other areas of the internet. Similarly, you also have the option of going for social media ads, so your products can be advertised on social media platforms.

You can visit the official website of Amazon Handmade to get to know more about their programs and policies. You can also find specific selling plans based on your location. For example, with Amazon Handmade UK, you have the option of selling across Europe.

Top 5 Reasons You Should Choose Amazon FBA in 2021

 

The economy of the entire world has taken a big toll during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though things seem to be improving in 2021, individuals who had just begun their business or were looking to begin one might still be worried about its performance and profits. Amid such turbulent times, becoming an online seller might not seem that easy. However, Amazon UK is one platform that can be really beneficial to people who aim to start their online selling business. With the Fulfilment by Amazon model, online selling can become a relatively easier task for them. Seeing the current economic conditions, here is why Amazon’s FBA is the best choice for aspiring online sellers in 2021:

1. The multiple responsibilities it takes care of

In the Fulfilment by Amazon business model, Amazon takes care of factors like packaging the products, storing them in the warehouse, shipping them to the customers, and addressing customer service issues regarding the products. Hence, the business owners can solely focus on their product listings, marketing, and the quality check of products, without having to worry about the other factors. In a post-COVID world, getting services like delivery and packaging have become more difficult. However, through FBA, Amazon takes care of all these things by itself and so it is much better to rely on it. Moreover, if you handle product delivery by yourself, it can be difficult to ensure that it is being made keeping in mind the COVID-safety guidelines. So, that’s another reason you should opt for Amazon’s FBA in 2021.

2. A Cost-Effective Model

If you set up the whole online selling business yourself, you may incur a lot of costs for the abovementioned services like delivery, packaging, and warehouse storage. Certain vendors might even charge a huge amount of fee for those services, and you might have to rely on different service providers for each of those services. If you choose to sell using Amazon’s FBA, you will only pay the fees for selling on Amazon, which will also include the price of shipping and one-day deliveries with Amazon Prime. Apart from the fees, you will also be paying a certain percentage for each fulfilled order.

3. Access to Pan-European FBA

With Amazon’s FBA, you can have access to Amazon’s fulfilment solutions spread out across Europe, and choose the one that best suits your business. With these solutions, you can easily sell your products across Europe. You can choose the countries in Europe where you want Amazon to store your products. Amazon will store the products in their fulfilment centres in these countries, without you having to pay any additional costs. This way, the customers will receive their orders quickly, and you will expand your sale and profits in this economy, without paying any extra costs.

4. Customer Service and Return Management

Return management is a tough part of online selling, and the pandemic has only made it tougher. Since Fulfilment by Amazon takes care of customer service for you, it also takes care of product returns. So, you do not have to be personally involved in that hassle. Amazon has phone and e-mail support for all the customers, which works day and night, and also an Online Returns Centre, through which it will take care of this process.

5. Multi-Channel Fulfillment

With Amazon’s FBA, you can also expand your business and sell beyond Amazon, while still having Amazon cater to your orders. You can set up your own website or try selling on other platforms to grow your business. And if you use FBA, Amazon will fulfil all these orders, along with your Amazon orders. The orders will be fulfilled from the same inventory that you have set up for Amazon. This way, through Fulfilment by Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF), you can grow your business even in these tough economic times.

You can head over to the Amazon UK website, where you will get more information regarding Amazon’s FBA model. Moreover, besides these benefits, selling on Amazon will give you access to numerous consumers who always rely on Amazon for online shopping.

How B2B online marketplaces are transforming procurement for businesses

The world has seen an increase in b2b marketplaces. They aim to make it easy for businesses to look for suppliers. Besides these, there are several other ways in which the b2b online marketplaces are chasing the procurement scenario for the better. We list a few of them.

Providing businesses with a wider choice of vendors

The price transparency prevalent in online markets makes businesses aware of the options available to them. It also increases the competition between suppliers, creating opportunities for the purchaser. Thus, the online b2b marketplaces allow business to get the goods or the services at rates comparable to what they might have achieved via negotiations in the traditional market. Also, online marketplaces enable organisations to consolidate all their vendors in one place.

To summarise, b2b marketplaces increase the choice of vendors and help businesses get competitive pricing for their purchases.

Helping overcome the logistics challenge

Logistics is a challenge for most businesses out there. B2B marketplaces usually provide faster delivery and advanced tracking by combining technology with logistic capabilities. Also, you can get competitive shipping rates directly from the suppliers in the marketplace. Thus, you are saved from the hassle of looking for a separate logistics provider.

Integrating into the source-to-pay process

Source-to-pay or S2P is a procurement process used by businesses. It starts with finding a supplier for the goods to be purchased, followed by negotiations, finalising a contract, and ends with the payments. Online marketplaces can easily plug into the S2P process of businesses. These market places integrate with the purchaser’s S2P process and digitise and simplify the sourcing, negotiation, and contract management. They also help streamline accounting, tracking and reporting.

Helping in better management of the purchase process

You can track the purchase process right from procurement to payment. Also, online marketplaces make it easier to exercise purchase thresholds. They make it possible to eliminate purchase orders and other time-consuming paperwork involved in the purchase process. Additionally, it is possible to set preferred vendors and restricted vendors as in a traditional purchase process.

Promoting efficient utilisation of resources

In the traditional procurement process, employees of the business may have to spend time on repetitive tasks. Online marketplaces automate most processes, allowing fewer resources to work on procurement, besides increasing productivity. Thus, businesses can spend more time on devising a strategy as compared to actual procurement.

Making for a better purchase experience

Marketplaces connect buyers and suppliers with common needs. You do not have to put in efforts to search for a supplier that meets your needs from a large pool. Also, online marketplaces have verified suppliers for you to choose from. This saves you the time of getting the vendor verified. Also, the digitisation and integration of the marketplace with the company purchase processes makes the process easier and streamlined. All this contributes to a better purchase experience.

Online marketplaces make for a smoother procurement process. Along with saving time and money, they help businesses make better purchase decisions. Hence, online marketplaces are a boon to the purchasing process of businesses.

A Quick Guide for Selling Your Products Online

 

E-commerce gives you access to an increased audience and a variety of options for selling your products. The convenience means more and more customers choose to shop online. Hence, this is the right time to start selling your products online.

Here’s a quick guide to get started.

Legal formalities

You need to complete all legal formalities to set up your online business. This can include registering your business and applying for the respective licences if you haven’t already, and other formalities, as needed by the law.  

Platform

Where you are selling is equally important. For example, Amazon sells products everyone needs online while Etsy focuses only on handmade and unique items. You can also choose to host an e-commerce website on your own. However, remember that eCommerce platforms such as Amazon give you access to a wide audience, which can be difficult to achieve if you start from scratch.

Marketing

People should get to know about your products first before they choose to buy them. Devise an efficient marketing strategy for your product. You can use email marketing, PPC marketing, and social media marketing to spread the word about your products and services. Learn how ads work and ensure that you target the right audience. If you are facing any technical difficulty, you can hire a digital agency for marketing your product.

Delivery partner

Your product must reach the customer in a good condition. For this, you would need a good delivery partner. Logistic companies offer standard as well as customised delivery packages to meet your needs. Evaluate the features and check the reviews of the plans offered by logistics companies before you choose one. Amazon FBA is one of the best delivery partners out there. It offers you everything- from pickup and packaging to warehousing and delivery.

Payments

Experts suggest offering multiple payment methods for customers to choose from. Some of the most common methods include credit and debit cards, internet banking, coupons & prepaid cards, and UPI. You can also offer your customer the flexibility of paying on delivery. Ensure that you choose a secure payment gateway and opt for other security measures to make the transactions safe.

Feedback

Offer your customers space to express their feedback about your product or service. Good reviews can boost your business and bring repeat customers. If you get a bad review, pacify the customer and understand what went wrong. It will allow you to improve your product.

Optimisation

One way to attract more customers and to sell your product online is to ensure that your visitors have a smooth user experience. Some steps you can take for this are

-          Optimising your site to reduce load times

-          Adding high-quality images and content

-          Targeting related keywords with your content

-          Using SEO and optimisation tools to boost your SEO ranking and appear higher in search results.

A successful eCommerce business requires steadfastness and consistency. Make sure that you do not lose heart or motivation if you do not make sales at first. This guide can help sell your products online and help your business grow.