The major online ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon are increasingly becoming premium Web destinations for most consumers. They offer a familiar trustworthy shopping interface, balanced unbiased reviews, one-stop easy shopping while using comparison functionalities.
So because of this, the majority of online buyers who purchase anything from high ticket tangible goods to ebooks which they can download, all prefer large established marketplace shopping over smaller unfamiliar “brand” based ecommerce websites.
These marketplaces aren’t just popular with the consumers however, as they’re also proving extremely valuable for merchants of all sizes since they provide these businesses with higher profile visibility, thus giving them a better opportunity to sell their products.
For instance, if you sell your products on Amazon, it can help you as the merchant to instantly reach millions of cash in hand customers who flock towards these proven ecommerce portals daily looking for something to buy. So if you’re a merchant with anything to sell, you can immediately begin creating a new revenue stream by featuring your products in Amazon’s Marketplace.
For Those Existing Established Ecommerce Based Merchants
Merchants who may already have an ecommerce presence can immediately begin selling their products directly through Amazon by registering for their “Professional Solutions” program for $39.99 per month.
To get started, merchants are required to list their products and then set up their profiles. Merchants are required to prepare product information content for the items which they’re wanting to sell. For every product that you want to list, you’re assigned an unique Product Detail Page by Amazon.
To get listed, what’s also required is for you to prepare your own detailed product identification description and information, along with product attributes which includes, a title, a detailed description, images and search/tag terms.
Once all of the this information is prepared for each product, then it can be entered into the assigned Product Detail Page. If the item which you’re selling already happens to have its own Product Detail Page, then merchants are required to just enter their price, the condition of the product, and the quantity you have available for it to be listed.
Four Options For Merchants To List Their Products
Adding A Product
This tool is located directly inside of the “Seller Central” page and offers the best option for merchants who are selling less than fifty product items.
Listings Loader
This is an excellent option for merchants who may be selling multiple products which are already listed in Amazon’s catalog. The template which is in Excel, can be downloaded directly from Seller Central.
Inventory File
This template also in Excel can be downloaded directly from Seller Central as well. It’s the best option for merchants who sells multiple products which are not currently in Amazon’s catalog.
Amazon Seller Desktop
This is an app which allows merchants to be able to work offline to list their products.
Before merchants are able to sell their products, they’re required to set up their accounts. This involves entering all your basic information such the business name and contact information, shipping details along with payment information.
Merchants also have the option of adding details such as their corporate logo, an explanation of their refund policies and stating or persuading why the consumer should be purchasing from them off their Seller Profile Page. This gives the merchant’s the opportunity to develop trust with their customers to buy their products.
For Ecommerce Merchants Who Are New And Wanting To List On Amazon
For new merchants who are just beginning to explore ecommerce, Amazon offers an ecommerce Webstore solution which allows the merchant to be able to set up their own customized website, so they can easily and immediately begin selling products online.
The Amazon Webstore Solution provides you the merchant with complete template design tools along with the option to create customized navigation and product categories as well as merchandising widgets for promoting your products.
It also offers the ability for you to be able to monitor all your customer reviews along with a shopping cart solution which can be branded to reflect your company. There is also a complete credit card processing system, inventory management features and much more.
If merchants decide to choose the Amazon Webstore solution, which includes selling their goods on Amazon, it’s completely free for the first 2 years, then there’s a $14.99 monthly fee after that.
There’s also an additional fee which is $39.99 per month, this after an initial free 3 month trial period. The Webstore solution allows merchants to be able to sell an unlimited number of products as well as using an unlimited amount of web storage as well. The service also includes “Fulfillment by Amazon,” which is their inhouse packing and shipping service.
Selling Tips For Amazon’s Marketplace
There are a few recommendations to potentially becoming a prominent merchandiser in Amazon’s Marketplace community. Sellers should always keep in mind the basics, which includes checking the number of orders which are sold daily, confirming that its been shipped, and making sure that there’s enough inventory. This is especially important if you have multiple channels and your wanting to keep the pricing competitive and accurate.
There are also methods which merchants can use to ensure that their products will remain at the top of Amazon’s marketplace search feeds. This includes obtaining positive feedback and reviews from consumers, minimizing the number of order cancellations, increasing inventory and having competitive pricing.
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been involved in ecommerce for a while, becoming visible on Amazon will provide you as a merchant with the ability to be able to reach more consumers as well as improving the bottom line by creating a new marketing avenue.