Have you decided on starting an Amazon FBA business?
That may be a wise business decision. Amazon boasts of a ready audience with billions of users visiting the site daily. Unlike other eCommerce platforms where you have to look for buyers, customers in Amazon come looking for you.
But, is it all that rosy? Not really.
When you choose to sell your products using Amazon, a single mistake could send your online business crashing down. This mistake can be deciding the type of products to sell, pricing, description, etc.
The Amazon business environment can be confusing to navigate. But with the right information and using the right tips on fulfillment by amazon, you can increase your chances of succeeding. To look into more possibilities, click on our Shopify vs Amazon FBA comparison.
So, what tips can you employ to succeed like other Amazon sellers? What common mistakes should you avoid? And why not checking out our FBA courses reviews that can solve those issues for you.
Here is a list of the mistakes to avoid. Most of the Amazon FBA tips are based on the private label selling on Amazon experience. Most sellers sell private label products.
Amazon FBA Business Tips: Common Mistakes to Avoid as an Amazon FBA Seller
Using Misleading Resources
In any field, you'll get gurus who claim to have understood the field's dynamics, and they offer tips to use to succeed in the field. Amazon is no exception.
There is no shortage of courses, gurus, and service providers who offer you resources like "The best products to sell on Amazon" or "The hottest product ideas to sell on Amazon." There is no denying that such resources can be helpful.
However, what attracts you like the best or hottest product to sell will also attract thousands of other sellers. Therefore, you'll end up saturating the market with the same product, which will make it hard for you to stand out. The ability to gain visibility is made more challenging by Amazon's design and layout that puts your product and your competitor's products next to each other.
While this helps the buyer make a choice, it's difficult for you to stand out.
Following Market Trends
You should avoid anybody claiming to offer you a list of the hottest product ideas to sell on Amazon. You should run away from trendy markets in the same breath, especially if you are new on Amazon.
Trends can be profitable, but they are only rewarding to people who are early in selling the trending product.
Selling trending products is a great way as more people start selling them, but the profit margins become thinner, and eventually, you tend to starts making losses.
The sellers that profit from trending products either have a lot of capital to drive the product, they sell it at a low cost and come early in the trending chain.
Not Researching on Restrictions to Your Market
Before deciding to sell your products on Amazon, make sure you research to ascertain and make sure to read the entire search results regarding any restrictions or barriers regarding the product.
Some products need you to pay an upfront fee before you can get started. Other categories of products require an approval process before you get into the business. You may require formal documentation and an invoice.
These processes can be overwhelming, especially for a new seller who wants to get into the business and start selling immediately.
Selling Low-quality Products
One of the most disastrous mistakes that sellers commit to Amazon is selling low-quality products.
If you wish to sell a private label product, make sure all of the items are of high-quality and attractable to customers. Selling low products on Amazon can jeopardize your business from the beginning.
Before a customer can buy an item and make a purchase, they find and check the reviews to see what other customers say about the product. If you source a low-quality product, you will most-likely attract negative reviews. Then, it will be hard to convince other customers to buy your items, which will send your business spiralling down.
It will help if you can get samples of the products from the suppliers, know the quality of products and analyze them for functionality and durability. Ensure that the product's overall quality is high to make certain you don't get complaints from your buyers.
Also, read the negative reviews from your competitors and see why buyers complain about your competitor's products and avoid making the same mistakes.
Selling an Expensive Product
When a buyer gets to Amazon, they are looking for high-quality products or items that is affordable. While it is ideal to have a superior standard product, it is disadvantageous if you cannot match your competitors when it comes to price.
As customers want to save, they'll always jump to the next available option that costs them less.
Selling at a lower price than your competitors also puts you in a better place to deal with market fluctuations. You can increase your items' prices to gain profits while remaining affordable to your customers.
Not Putting Effort in Building Your List
After deciding the product you want to sell as a private label seller, you should then develop a product list. Unfortunately, Amazon FBA doesn't offer much space to put your photos, title, bullets, and product description.
You don't get a lot of space to describe your product and explain what it does. As such, you should utilize the limited space on your Amazon FBA account to the fullest.
An effective product listing copy on Amazon accomplishes two goals. First, it helps you to index valuable keywords, and it also offers a persuasive sales copy. Before launching the product list on your Amazon account, do extensive research on the most relevant keywords and ensure they are listed, especially in the title and bullets.
Also, ensure you have an accurate and engaging sales copy for your products.
Additionally, employ the use of professional photography for your products. Since Amazon is saturated with buyers and competing sellers, you should use high-quality and crisp photos to capture the buyer's attention. Many sellers make the mistake of using a smartphone and photoshop to save on cost. This can cost you, customers, since other sellers use professional photographers to make their products more attractive.
Getting a Product You Are Passionate About to Sell on Amazon
Selling a product you are passionate about is not wrong, but it can affect your judgment. For Amazon FBA sellers, you should focus on the goal, which is selling your product and beating the cut-throat competition.
If you go for a product you are passionate about, you may make mistakes while deciding the pricing. Also, if the product is not selling as expected, it will be difficult to bail out. Your passion may lead you to react emotionally instead of logically.
Not Inspecting the Product You Intend on Selling on Amazon
One of the most significant mistakes you should avoid is not inspecting the product you sell on Amazon. Even if you trust your manufacturer or supplier, you should check the product for any defects or flaws before putting it on your Amazon product list.
You can hire an inspection agency to inspect the manufacturing process for you and check out the inventory. Inspecting the product can save you a lot of time and money in the future, and it also ensures that your customers can trust your products.
Selling a Patented Product
Selling a patented product or a product with the brand is a mistake you should avoid while selling on Amazon FBA.
As such, when looking for private label products to sell on Amazon, you should look out for patented products.
Otherwise, you'll spend a lot of effort, time, and money to open an account on Amazon FBA, come up with a product list and a sales copy, but the product won't be legal. Therefore, you'll start dealing with lawsuits from the patent holder.
Violating the Terms of Service
Companies and other enterprises employ several strategies to deal with competition. Some of the methods they employ include "black hat" strategies such as paying for or incentivizing to get reviews and beating the competition.
Amazon has strict policies regarding the generation of reviews.
If you are caught committing review fraud by using review manipulation tactics, you are putting your selling privileges on Amazon at risk. Amazon can take measures that are detrimental to your business.
Placing Your Product in the Wrong Category
As mentioned earlier, Amazon is saturated with thousands of sellers, most of whom could be selling a product similar to yours.
As such, many sellers come up with different strategies to try and beat the competition. When coming up with a product list on Amazon, you need to decide the category your product belongs to.
Some sellers put their product in a low competition category to earn the best seller badge. However, most searches on Amazon filter to a particular subcategory. Thus, putting your product in the wrong category keeps you out of essential searches.
You can check your product in seller central to determine the correct category for your product.
Not Keeping an Eye on your Product Listing Data
Your products list is the breath of your business on Amazon. You need to monitor the list since there are changes that happen from day-to-day.
Monitoring your product list on Amazon helps you to collect data and see how the list is performing. It will also help if you keep track of how the product list of your competitors is working.
Tracking the Amazon product list will help you develop ad campaigns to attract more buyers on Amazon. It also helps to generate better keywords for better ranking in Amazon searches.
You can use your monitoring results to develop a working long-term strategy to succeed on Amazon.
Is it worth selling on Amazon FBA?
Yes, it is worth it. With the right choice of products to sell and avoid the above mistakes, you can succeed in doing business on Amazon.
The platform is ideal as it has a ready global audience.
Conclusion
There you have it. A list of mistakes and are important to avoid when doing business on Amazon. You can prevent such mistakes through research and education, data leveraging, and hard work. If you make a mistake, ensure you learn from it.
