There is more than one way to make money selling on Amazon. I will talk about the main ones in this article.
First of all, Amazon Marketplace. Marketplace offers you the opportunity to sell products (not just books but a wide range of things) on the exact same page on the Amazon website where Amazon sells the product. So you can compete with them head-on, and you can even compete with them on price. Sale prices are fixed: Marketplace is not an auction. You can list an unlimited number of items for free, but what they call a referral fee is charged on each sale. Marketplace is for new and used products.
Marketplace is suitable if you just want to earn some extra money on a part-time basis, but also if you want to start a ‘proper’ small business.
The other main way to make money is Amazon Associates. Associates is basically an affiliate program.
How to sell on Amazon Marketplace
It’s very easy to get started with Amazon Marketplace. It is not necessary to register in advance. You can open a seller account when you list your first product.
If you already have an Amazon Buyer account, you can add your Seller account to it.
To register as a seller, you’ll need a business name, address, display name, credit card, and contact phone number. That’s all you need to get started.
Go to the Amazon site, scroll down the page to ‘Make Money With Us’ and then ‘Sell on Amazon’. You will then see two options:
Sell a little or sell a lot? Amazon offers two entry points to Marketplace that they informally label as “sell a little” or “sell a lot.”
Basically, “a little” is for occasional and hobby sellers who expect to sell less than 35 items a month. It costs 86p plus a referral fee for each sale. You are also restricted to the product categories you can sell on. However, the upside is that it costs virtually nothing to get started and there are no ongoing charges if you don’t sell much initially.
Selling ‘a lot’ is for professional sellers who expect to sell more than 35 items per month. You pay a fixed monthly fee of 28.75 and a referral fee. You can sell in all Amazon product categories.
It’s not always feasible to list low-priced, low-volume products as a “sell a little” seller. To do that you need to be a ‘sell a lot’ salesperson! However, I recommend that you take the ‘sell a little’ route to start with. You can always update later.
Choose your option, then complete the online form.
Professional business salespeople
Once you’re selling ‘a lot’, you’ll probably also want to become what Amazon calls a professional business seller. Professional traders have access to bulk listing and volume selling tools. There is a web interface that allows you to more easily manage your product descriptions, inventory, and orders. You will also be able to export and import information to and from your account.
Once it’s up and running, the sell a lot/Pro Merchant option will work out much cheaper and more importantly, it will allow you to work on tighter margins and make money on sales that those who sell only a little can’t.
Amazon Marketplace Selling: How to Sell Your Products
Now let’s take a look at how you put products up for sale on Amazon Marketplace.
The idea of Marketplace is that you sell your product on the exact same page that Amazon and any other Marketplace seller sells it on.
So first, find the equivalent new product in the Amazon catalog. Please use the ‘Search’ tool at the top of the Amazon home page. Enter the product type and name and Amazon will automatically take you to the correct page to list it.
Next, check carefully that the product type, brand, and model number or whatever Amazon found for you is correct.
Once you get to that page, you will find a button called ‘Sell yours here’. Click it, log in to your seller account, and now you can list your product right away.
Now this is the really clever thing about Amazon.
Assuming the product already exists in the Amazon catalog, a listing is ready for you to use. You don’t have to write a description or upload a photo. All you need to do is indicate what condition your product is in (ie new or one of several standard used descriptions), indicate the quantity you have for sale and fill in the price you require. Also decide which shipping options you want to offer. (At this stage you can also decide if you are willing to send the product abroad or not).
If you wish, you can add an additional description of up to 2000 characters (not words). This will help you differentiate your product or offer from Amazon and other sellers.
Amazon will then give you a summary of your listing to verify and also confirm what your fees will be if the item sells. If you’re happy with this, simply click ‘Submit Your Listing’ and you’re good to go. Once you’ve done this, your item will automatically be listed until it sells or for 60 days (indefinitely if you’re a professional trader).
What is an ASIN? ASIN stands for Amazon Standard Identification Number. Almost every product on their site has its own ASIN, a unique code that they use to identify you. If you know the ASIN, you can list it directly using that. (For books, the ASIN is the same as the ISBN number on the cover.)
