Seller Central at Amazon Review | What You Need To Know

Seller Central at Amazon Review | What You Need To Know

When I joined seller central at amazon ten years ago, I didn’t know how to manage my inventory, pricing, performance analysis, and order. It was more frustrating, but I managed after ten months of trial and error.

I did research and compiled a quick guide for new amazon sellers. The purpose of this information is to educate new sellers on how to manage amazon seller central and more. Take the time to read through and make an informed decision.

Amazon seller central is a big platform for online entrepreneurs. The platform provides access to millions of customers from across the world for online merchants. The Amazon sellers get the opportunity to display and sell their products to these customers.

Getting started on this world’s largest eCommerce platform is not a walk in the park. The seller needs to be conversant with some crucial terms, how to extract useful business metrics, and resolve arising issues faster.

This article explains crucial things you need to know about seller central at amazon. Let’s find that out together in this amazon seller central quick guide.

What Is an Amazon FBA?

FBA is an abbreviation of Fulfillment by Amazon. It is a kind of service offered by Amazon to help sellers to store, pack, and ship products. The service relieves sellers of these burdens and allows them to be more flexible in their selling practices.

The FBA program enables sellers to transport their products to the Amazon fulfillment center. It is where the merchandized is stored until they are sold. The Amazon workers have the responsibility of preparing, packing, and shipping the merchandise to the buyer.

How Much Does FBA Cost?

FBA members incur several kinds of fees. It is not a small fortune, but a good amount of money. It is one thing that usually tosses the mind of many starters.

Amazon charges storage, monthly, and fulfillment fees when using FBA. Selling low-dollar products using FBA is likely to cost you a fortune. It is not worth it, according to my experience.

We recommend doing deliberate research and pick products that would result in profits. The high FBA cost might make your business become a liability instead of an asset.

The FBA cost depends on the amount of inventory. The more the inventory, the more it is going to cost you for storage. You will also incur extra fees when the items stay longer than 180 days.

Amazon encourages sellers to get products and keep them moving. The tracking technology enables amazon sellers to track items not listed for sale in the warehouse.

The FBA member can get settlement fee reports from the dashboard under-reporting section. It provides detailed insights on the type of fees being paid as an FBA member.

Keep in mind that Amazon charges huge storage fees during the holiday season. Consider removing inventories that won’t sell during the holiday season since it might cost you a lot of money.

There are few different costs involved in running an Amazon seller central account. These costs help the FBA member to determine the pricing of their inventories.

Consider getting in touch with Amazon seller central representative for more information. The team provides essential information and assistance to enhance transparency.

The Merits and Demerits of FBA

Here is the list of the best pros and cons that will help you decide whether amazon FBA is worth considering. Take the time to read through and make a more informed decision.

The Merits of FBA

Here are crucial things that make seller central at Amazon stand out:

More Storage Space

Amazon has unlimited storage spaces all over the country. These warehouses accommodate large quantities of inventories without running out of space.

The Amazon sellers can store as much as they can afford to pay for space. It is something that makes fulfillment by amazon a real gem in the industry.

Effortless Logistics and Shipping

Amazon employees undertake all the work on behalf of the seller. The amazon seller only tracks the inventory and re-stocks the products.

The fulfillment takes care of the storage, packaging, and shipping of items. The service relieves the sellers of the burden of shipping and other logistics.

Fast Delivery of Items

Some products usually get Amazon prime Badges. It allows free shipping service to customers within a short period like two days or one hour.

The FBA member is not charged for the premium shipping service. It is part of the terms and conditions outlined in the FBA policy.

Discounted Shipping Rates

The FBA platform enables sellers to spend less on shipping costs. The discounted shipping rates make FBA a real deal when compared to operating your shipping and fulfillment warehouse.

Members can save on the shipping fees despite paying certain fees. It is a huge relief for online merchants without in-house stores.

Easy to Get Started

Selling merchandise on the FBA is super easy. You only need to create an Amazon seller central account and upload the product listings.

The seller needs to ship the items to the fulfillment center and conduct a little marketing. Starting is simple when compared to creating your eCommerce store.

Customer Service Management

Amazon has exemplary customer service to the sellers. Besides that, the amazon customer support team handles any customer service issues on behalf of the seller.

The sellers are relieved from the hustle of dealing with customers directly. The FBA support team addresses all your customer needs and issues.

Return Management

Sometimes the buyers might not be happy with the products. Some end up returning the item and seeking a refund from the seller.

FBA takes the mantle of handling the returns and refund on behalf of the seller. It is part of the terms and conditions outlined in the fulfillment policy. It relieves the seller of the task.

Omnichannel Fulfillment

FBA not only allows the sellers to sell products via Amazon but also to other big eCommerce stores and eBay. The new multi-channel fulfillment solutions provide a wider market for products.

The MCF service enables the Amazon sellers to clear out inventory on time to reduce extra charges on storage fees. This enables the sellers to make more profit in the long run.

The Demerits of FBA

Every selling platform has its pros and cons. It is better to flip the coin on both sides before making a crucial decision. Below are some of the reasons that make FBA not the best for your products and needs:

Too Expensive

Getting started on FBA need a lot of money. It is not the best option for startups with a limited budget. You are going to spend on storage space, shipping, and more expenses.

FBA service is not an excellent choice for low-dollar products. The service charged fees might overwhelm your income. The chances of operating a liability-based business are high.

Stiff Competition

There are thousands of Amazon sellers on this platform. You may face stiff competition on amazon labeled products and other giant brands in the market.

Many customers prefer buying products from reputable brands. Operating a small-scale business on the FBA is not the right thing to consider.

Amazon FBA Fee Payment

Amazon usually deducts all the fees the seller owes before making any payment. The amazon seller is forced to use the credit card to pay off any balances.

The platform does not provide room for using the next pay to cover the insufficient balance. The issue is making many sellers create their eCommerce store.

More Returns

Amazon has a return policy. It one of the reasons behind the high number of returns from the customers after purchasing the product.

All returned products become a loss in the long run. The seller needs to arrange when to ship the returned products to their premises.

Long Term Storage Fees

Amazon hates stranded inventory in their warehouses. The FBA usually charges long-term storage fees on such products and this might affect your revenue.

The high storage fees might result in high overhead costs. Sometimes FBA will request the seller to arrange the shipment of the items to his facilities.

No Customer Relationship

Amazon is usually in charge of the customers. The interaction with customers allows the company to build a strong business relationship.

The amazon seller has no close connection with the customers. Building customer relationship is a dream that won’t come true. The seller finds it hard to know the exact needs of customers.

Unethical Amazon Sellers

Amazon is a large platform that enables sellers to get access to a large pool of customers. Some sellers might opt to sell counterfeit products using their FBA account.

These unscrupulous sellers are the reason behind the negative reviews. Many buyers have opted out of the platform to other eCommerce stores.

High Sales Tax

Every state has its sales tax rates. Amazon has several warehouses across the country and it has tools that help the seller to figure out the tax situation in every state.

Most states have high sales tax and this makes buyers shy away. Many customers prefer to deal with direct sellers over the amazon platform.

Product Prep Requirements

Amazon uses certain criteria to ensure products meet the requirements. The seller needs to fulfill the requirements before shipping their merchandise through FBA.

Many sellers find the FBA warehousing guidelines to be complicated. Availing the products to the warehouse ends up being a tedious task.

What Sells on Amazon Best?

Trending merchandise on Amazon is worth it. These products offer long-term valuable investment to online merchants.

Below is Amazon’s bestseller list to consider:

Children Toys

Keeping children engaged has been made possible by toys. It is one of the reasons behind the toys picking up the steam. Many parents are considering buying toys as a birthday gift for their children. Keep in mind that birthdays are there every month and making the category super-hot.

Electronics

The dynamics in technology bring a lot of changes. Superior products are brought into the industry to replace inferior ones. A lot of people are all over the internet looking for more advanced items that will make their life easier. Amazon is the leading brand in selling some of these top seller items.

Camera and Photo

The category has a wide range of products to offer to customers. An intelligent Amazon FBA seller needs to consider selling camera caps, portable lighting, camera bags, stands, and lightboxes. These are few camera gears that are trending across the world.

Kindle Books

Selling books online is on the rise in recent days. The introduction of self-published books by Amazon has made the category go crazy. Thousands of Kindle books are being bought every day by customers all over the world. You can earn passive income through self-publishing on Amazon.

Clothing, Shoes, and Jewelry

Many people have a unique taste in fashion. Coming up with completely new fashion will lure a large crowd from all over the world. A clever Amazon FBA seller can make good money from the category. Keep in mind that fashion is also dynamic. You need to up your game in the industry.

What Is A Buy Box on Amazon?

An Amazon buy box is a white box on the right side of the items detail page where the buyer can click add on a cart or buy now. Keep in mind that not all amazon FBA sellers are eligible for this buy box.

Amazon has an algorithm that determines which seller can get the buy box. Valuable products like those of real estate from reputable sellers with outstanding customer reviews can get it.

The buy box privilege gives customers the best buying experience. It also delivers high-quality sellers who offer products at affordable prices.

How to Contact Amazon Seller?

Amazon stores, packs, and ships products to customers directly. The platform also offers a variety of items through third-party sellers.

The customer is eligible to contact the seller directly in case he wants to clear up an issue or want further clarification about the use of the product.

The customer can ask a question through the seller page or report an issue through the order page. These are the main channels of communication between a buyer and an amazon seller.

Below are quick tips for contacting amazon sellers:

· Go to your order’s page.

· Locate the order in the list.

· Identify the problem with the order.

· Select the topic from the display list.

· Choose to contact the seller.