How to Sell on Amazon for Beginners (2024 Guide)

With nearly 310 million customers worldwide, Amazon is one of the top marketplaces for sellers. As a beginner, selling on Amazon can be overwhelming. The reason is that a lot of steps go hand in hand to get started with selling on Amazon. 

That’s why I have created this step-by-step guide showcasing how you can start selling on Amazon. I did a through research for made a store on Amazon. I will be sharing my own journey with these steps, so you just need to replicate them to start selling.

But before we get started, let me tell you what documents you need to submit to create an Amazon seller account.

What Documents Required To Sell On Amazon?

To sell on Amazon, you need to provide a few valid documents to verify your identity. Here is the list of the documents that you need to submit to start selling on Amazon:

1. Business Information: You will be asked to provide your legal business name, contact information, and address.

2. Credit Card: You must provide a chargeable credit card to pay Amazon fees and receive payment when you sell products on Amazon.

3. Tax Information: Depending on your geographical location, you need to provide tax identification information. In the US, you need to provide your Social Security Number or your business’s Federal Tax Identification Number (FTIN), which is also known as Employer Identification Number (EIN).

4. Valid ID: Personal identification is also needed. You can share your driver’s license, passport, or national ID card to verify your identity.

5. Product Invoices or Receipts (Optional): If you want to sell a product from a gated category, then Amazon can ask you to share receipts or invoices to prove the authenticity of your products.

6. Company Registration Documents: If you are registering as a business, you might need to provide documents such as a Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Association, or a business license, depending on the legal structure of your business.

Make sure you have these documents in English otherwise, you will need to share a notarized translation of these documents with a stamp to verify the legitimacy of these documents.

Top Amazon Seller Software For Beginners

Starting and maintaining an Amazon selling business requires a lot of manual work. To automate some of the manual tasks, you will need the help of the best Amazon FBA tools. Here I have listed 2 Amazon seller software that you can use:

1. Helium 10

In the above guide, I have used Helium 10 to search for the best product that you can sell. But it is much more than a product research tool. It has courses that guide you to sell on Amazon, tools to help you automate tedious tasks, and increase your chances of success as an Amazon seller.

Here’s how Helium 10 can help your business:

• Predict your inventory and manage your stock with the help of the Inventory Management Tool
• Create, manage, and optimize your PPC campaigns using the Adtomic tool
• Helium 10 Black Box helps you find the best product opportunities
• Find high-converting keywords that you can use to optimize your listing using Cerebro and Magnet tools
• Give updates about your Amazon account via the Alerts tool

Get to know more about Helium 10 from my detailed Helium 10 Review here.

2. Jungle Scout

Jungle Scout is another comprehensive Amazon seller tool that comes with tools like Product Database, Supplier Database, Keyword Scout, and more. These tools can help you find the best products, high-converting keywords, and suppliers for your products.

Here’s how Jungle Scout can help your business:

• Supplier Database to help you find the suppliers for the product they want to sell
• Browser Extension to help you validate the product ideas 
• Uncover the most profitable niches, which include high-demand and low-competition products, using the Opportunity Finder
• Optimize your listing and improve the rankings of your products using the Listing Builder tool
• Find the best keywords for your listing using the Keyword Scout tool

I have explained all the tools of Jungle Scout in my Jungle Scout review here.

How To Sell On Amazon For Beginners?

Selling on Amazon is a profitable way to get into the eCommerce world. However, you must follow the below-mentioned steps to start selling on Amazon as a beginner:

Step 1: Decide On Your Business Model

Deciding on your business model is the first step to selling on Amazon. However, there is no universal business model for selling on Amazon. You will have to choose the same based on several factors.

Below are the six business models that you can consider for selling on Amazon:

• Wholesale: To obtain a favorable price from the seller, a merchant must maintain a large inventory. Wholesalers can make a lot of money reselling items in their stock to retailers if the price is low enough.

• Retail arbitrage: Retail arbitrage is a model in which sellers locate cheaper products in brick-and-mortar retail stores and resell them on Amazon.

• Online arbitrage: Online arbitrage is almost the same as retail arbitrage, including buying less and selling high. In this model, sellers must purchase products from online stores. Thus, this model is better than retail arbitrage because you do not have to roam the brick-and-mortar store physically.

• Dropshipping: With this model, the seller lists their product or item on Amazon, receives an order from the buyer, and tells the supplier to ship or deliver it directly to the customer’s address. 

• Handmade: As the name suggests, the seller creates the product with their hands and lists it on Amazon. 

• Private label: With this model, sellers find an array of unbranded or unknown brands and label the product with their brand.

With numerous business models available, it’s understandable that beginners may feel confused about the ideal business model for selling on Amazon.

So, to help you choose the ideal business model, we have mentioned some tips below:

• Write down all the business models in which you are interested.
• Make a list of all the profitable business models you have.
• Consider each model’s pros and cons based on the business model.
• Set an example of success, look for a mentor, and invest in tested products or services.
• Make progress by taking necessary action.

Choosing a business model is the first step to entering the eCommerce world. But it can be the reason to succeed in this world. So select the business model wisely. 

Step 2: Find Profitable Products To Sell

After choosing the business model, you must find a winning or profitable product to sell on Amazon. There are uncountable ways to find the best product to sell on Amazon. We recommend you use tools like Helium 10. 

Helium 10 is an Amazon product research tool to determine if the product is worth selling.

 Here is the step-by-step guide on how to use Helium 10:

• Sign up for a Helium 10 account.

• After signing up, click on the “ tools” option in the menu.

• Then, from the available options, Left-click on the “black box.”

• You can enter filters in the black box to narrow your search.

• After choosing the desired filters, click on the “search” button.
• Scroll through the search and find the product that stands out and has the potential to sell.

• For further research, install the Helium 10 chrome extension “X-ray Amazon product research.” type the product name in the Amazon search bar and use the tool.

• Look for crucial data, like product reviews and revenue, in 30 days.

• You can compare the number of reviews with the monthly income generated by other listings by sorting the review count from lowest to highest.

Remember, Helium 10 is only one tool among many others to find a profitable product to sell on Amazon. Feel free to explore other tools available for product research.

Another Amazon tool that you can consider using is Jungle Scout. You can claim some discounts on the platform by using this link. 

Step 3: Set Up An Amazon Seller Account

If you haven’t registered yourself with an Amazon seller account, you must follow the following steps:

• Visit the website sell.amazon.com

• On this website, you can create your seller account. There are two types of accounts:

1. Individual: You won’t have to pay monthly. But you will be charged $0.99 per sale.

2. Professional: You have to pay $39.99 per month. The plan is recommended for those who make around 40 monthly sales and want to access features like advertising.

•  To sign up, log in with your existing Amazon account or create a new seller account. Follow the instructions and provide the necessary information for your seller account.

• After creating your seller account, you will need to undergo a call with an Amazon employee. You will be asked to provide identity and address proof during this call. Typically, you can use a passport or driving license as identity proof and a bank statement as address proof. Remember, the address should match the address of the Amazon account.

Step 4: Organize Your Inventory Management And Product Fulfillment

When selling on Amazon, you must consider how to deliver the product. Below are the two order fulfillment options from Amazon:

Fulfillment By Merchant

With fulfillment by the merchant, or FBM, you handle all fulfillment tasks yourself. You have to store your inventory at your location and package and ship the order to the customers. This inventory requires more work but can save money. FBM is the best choice if you are a smaller business with the resources to package and ship.

Fulfillment By Amazon

Most Amazon sellers prefer fulfillment by Amazon or FBA. With FBA, you send your inventory to the Amazon warehouse. When an order is received, Amazon will take care of shipping, packaging, and more, letting you save time. However, there is a fee associated with FBA, starting at $3.22, based on the size and weight of the item.

Regardless of the fulfillment method you choose, It is crucial to manage your inventory carefully. You need to monitor your stock level and sales velocity to ensure you have enough products to satisfy the demand. You can use Amazon’s tools to help with the following:

• Inventory management
• Available stocks
• Information on sell-through-rates
• Inbound quality and more

For new sellers, Amazon’s native tool is sufficient. But as your business grows, you must consider investing in more advanced tools to forecast demand and handle extensive product catalogs, primarily if you handle different channels.

Step 5: List Your Products

You have to create a product listing to list your products on Amazon. You have to include the following things to create a successful listing for the product:

Make sure your item qualifies for free shipping for Prime members. If you have limited items to list, you can list them manually. If you have uncountable items to list, upload the spreadsheet containing each item.

Step 6: Optimize Your listings

Optimizing your listing is crucial to bringing targeted traffic to your product. Remember, Amazon SEO is not similar to Google SEO. Amazon’s unique ranking algorithm is intended to promote high-converting listings from reliable buyers.

Below are the tips to follow to optimize your listing:

• Create a product title under 200 characters and include all necessary information.
• Include high-quality product images with 2000 pixels
• Add key features in bullet points by stuffing keywords naturally.
• Choose competitive pricing with your margin.’
• Consider order fulfillment
• Marketing is the key.

Step 7: Set Prices For Your Products

Product pricing is another crucial step in selling your product on Amazon. It can be the reason behind the success or failure of an eCommerce business. Below are the product pricing strategies to help you market your product:

• Figure out all the costs and fees, including shipping, manufacturing, and more.
• Define your strategy for setting your pricing and how it will change.
• Read your customers’ minds to understand how they make buying decisions.
• Analyze competitors’ pricing to set the right price
• Use automated marketing tools

Step 8: Market Your Products

In the eCommerce world, marketing is the key to success. The more you market, the more you attract potential buyers on Amazon. 

Below are the top ways to market your products:

• Launch an email and social media marketing campaign
• Join your product listing Q&A on Amazon
• Adopt a review management strategy
• Schedule limited-time promotion
• Partner with Amazon marketing agency
• Revamp product packaging

Pros And Cons Of Selling On Amazon 

Here are the pros and cons of selling on Amazon.

Pros Of Amazon	Cons Of Amazon
A fantastic way to increase traffic to your products	Investment is needed
Access to top-notch logistics	Strict rules and regulations
Get access to FBA	General issues when running a product business
Trusted channel	When demand is high, FBA limits warehouse space.
Open-minded sellers	Lack of control

Related Amazon Read:

• How to sell clothes on Amazon
• Amazon Keyword research
• Start An Amazon FBA Private Label Business

Conclusion: How To Sell On Amazon For Beginners (2024)

Selling on Amazon is a profitable venture for beginners in the eCommerce world. With the steps I have shared above, you can start selling on Amazon in no time.

While selling products on Amazon has several advantages and disadvantages, newcomers can leverage the platform’s customer base and build a successful company with the right strategy and commitment. 

So begin your Amazon journey today, and if you face any issues following the steps mentioned above, then contact us. We’ll be happy to help you out.

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