The do’s and don’ts of selling online via Amazon fulfillment

On By mattroyseIn Digital Marketing

FBA, short for Fulfillment by Amazon, is a nifty service for new and rising sellers on the massive online retail platform. Through FBA, you will be able directly ship your products to listed Amazon warehouses or fulfillment centers. In other words, you’ll be selling online via Amazon fulfillment.

Your products will be handled, sorted from the inventory, sold, and shipped to the customer by Amazon itself. In addition, the company will also manage the returns. However, this paid service will cost you up to $1.35 per product. Moreover, if you go for a professional account, you are going to have to pay $39.99 each month. 

A concise overview of how FBA works 

Fulfillment by Amazon is slightly different from how a traditional MFN works. Unlike a merchant-fulfilled network, Amazon will be taking care of all the processes involved in handling, managing, and delivering your products to your customers. 

In simpler terms, as soon as your customer places an order, your worries are over. FBA ensures the product gets to that customer within two business days of receiving the order. Think of it as an express service, and what makes it even more effective is Amazon’s Prime shipping.

The products ordered will be delivered directly to any of Amazon’s warehouses, which are also known as ‘fulfillment centers’. All you have to do is have the package shipped to the fulfillment center. You can do that via a shipping pallet or you could for a third-party freight forwarding service. 

The all-important FBA do’s and don’ts 

Before you subscribe to the FBA service, it is exceptionally vital that you understand what you should do and what you should avoid doing at any cost. This is an important part of Amazon FBA coaching, especially if you are new seller on Amazon.

Do’s

  • Select a product that is highly affordable and lightweight
  • Research keywords unique to your product listing and target audience
  • Add unique keywords in all your product descriptions, the details of the product and the title of the listing
  • Be honest with describing your product as well as its condition
  • Customer representation is vital for quick success on Amazon
  • Do keep track of your competitors (track and monitor marketing campaigns and new product listings)
  • Do deliver your products in a timely fashion
  • Do ensure all your orders are processed and shipped within the deadline stipulated
  • Do not forget to update customer parcel tracking information
  • Do follow up with up with a customer who leaves you a negative comment
  • Do issue a full refund when you know it is your fault
  • Do issue a refund even when it isn’t your fault because generating goodwill is an important aspect of selling on Amazon
  • Keep a bird’s eye view of your Amazon dashboard for updates on your selling
  • Do market yourself internationally
  • Align the optimization of your product listing with Amazon’s algorithm
  • Sell your products under a unique label or brand name
  • Do list more than 10 products to start
  • Do get express permission first from Amazon before selling restricted products
  • Do get help with your marketing strategies and inventory management from third-parties
  • Do make a plan and stick to it (don’t worry about larger brands) 
  • Do read Amazon’s guidelines on product photography. The product images your post must be in high definition (HD) not standard definition (SD)

Don’ts

  • Don’t just list one product
  • Don’t list similar products (your products can be from one niche, but they have to be different)
  • Don’t spending more than your budget
  • Don’t sell heavy items or products that cost a lot to ship
  • Don’t group your product listing in categories full of a lot of competitors
  • Don’t attempt to break the rules and seller guidelines stipulated by Amazon
  • Don’t attempt to provide Amazon with false legal documentation, forged or fake papers or a false identity (if Amazon finds out that you are lying about everything, they will immediately shut you down or worst, file a legal notice against you)
  • Don’t use these domain names (.com) (.biz) (.in) (.org) when giving your your business name on Amazon
  • Don’t attempt to handle everything yourself since you are likely to make mistakes 
  • Don’t ignore or neglect customer problems
  • Don’t mislead your customers by not changing the status of the category to “out of stock“
  • Don’t post paid reviews (Amazon doesn’t like them and have sued several sellers)

The bottom line of selling online via Amazon fulfillment

Many people think selling on Amazon is frustratingly daunting. However, if you stay true to your marketing plan and long-term objectives, and understand what you should and shouldn’t be doing; becoming a popular seller will not be a problem for you.

This guest blog article was written by Alma Causey, a freelance writer by day and a sports fan by night.