So you want to start an online business but aren’t sure where to begin. Of course there’s tons of options out there, right? There’s eBay and Etsy, blogging and Bitcoin. And of course, my favorite, Amazon. Yet, for new and aspiring entrepreneurs, setting up an online business can be intimidating. That’s why I wanted to take a little time to break down the process of creating an Amazon business. This guide will cover the basics of Amazon as well as show you how to navigate Amazon seller registration.
I’ve broken it down in four parts.
Before I jump in, if you’re already pretty smart about Amazon stuff, you might take the time to tune into our free Amazon Selling course. It’s a short video, just 45 minutes, and it walks you through all of the steps for finding and launching a product. Just click on the button below!
What’s great about Amazon, is that there’s no one way to start an Amazon business. Even though it’s been over five years since I went through the Amazon seller registration process, I keep learning cool new ways to do it. The one thing that I can’t express enough, though is how simple it is to sell on Amazon.
It’s really that simple!
Next, I’ll show you how to go through Amazon seller registration process.
Once you’ve figured out what you plan on selling on Amazon, you’ll need to go through the Amazon seller registration process, which is really quite simple.
On the left side, look for the “Selling on Amazon >” button and click it. Note: this is if you want to sell as an individual seller to avoid the $39.99 a month professional seller subscription. If you want to sell as a professional (sell more than 40 products per month), then just click the orange button at the top.
If you’re going to sell more than 40 products per month, then sign up as a “professional.” Even if you’re doing it as a hobby and don’t consider yourself a professional, this plan will help you save money. Otherwise, select individual. You might also sell as an individual when you’re starting out, especially if you’re waiting on products to arrive or haven’t yet built up enough inventory to sell 40+ products per month.
Now you’ll need to enter the name of your business and agree to Amazon’s terms of service. I’ve put LLC in the spot below, but you don’t need to have a legal business entity to sell on Amazon. If you’re registering as an individual seller, you can list it under your given name.
Next, you’ll need to put all of your business’s information in. Amazon will also ask for your mobile number so they can send you a text to verify that you’re a real person and not a bot.
Amazon will need your credit card on file in case there’s any advertising charges or you’re registering as a professional seller. The bank account information is so they can deposit your funds once you make a sale.
You may need to set up 2-step verification (to help protect your account), but once you’ve got all your ducks in row all you need to do is go to https://sellercentral.amazon.com to log in. Below is the screen that you’ll see… without any sales yet, of course.
What’s great about selling on Amazon is that you can get started selling on Amazon without spending any money at all… well, unless, of course, you’re actually buying your own inventory versus selling your used stuff that is.
But to actually go through Amazon seller registration and start an account as an individual seller, you don’t have to spend a dime.
However, once you make sales, there will be some fees. As nice as it would be for Amazon to allow us to use their website and services such as FBA for free, they’re still a business! However, I think you’ll I think you’ll find their fees pretty small, especially when you consider the huge number of customers that your products will be expose to.
Here’s a few of the fees that Amazon adds on to your orders. Note: these fees are after the item sells, not before.
Don’t let the fees scare you off. When you do the math, paying these little fees ends up being much less than creating your own site and handling your own inventory.
If you plan on selling more than 40 items a month… which, trust me, is pretty easy to do with Amazon… then you’ll probably want to get an Amazon professional seller account. There’s quite a few benefits to setting up a professional seller account, like dropping the individual seller fee per item. Instead, you pay a flat $39.99 per month.
Here’s a few more Amazon selling basics that you should know about.
Amazon organizes all of its products with a Best Seller Ranking (BSR). The more popular an item is and the more its sold, the higher the best seller ranking for the product is. Each department on Amazon has its own taxonomy of BSRs, as do the sub-categories.
FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. It is a service offered by Amazon where they store your inventory for you in one of their fulfillment centers. Then, when you make a sale on Amazon, Amazon’s staff (and robots!) actually pick, pack, ship, and handle customer service on your behalf.
If you sell through the Amazon FBA program and you have enough inventory to spread around through its fulfillment network, then your product will qualify for Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime items ship 2-3 days to customers. Plus, you get the “Amazon Prime” badge on your listing, which means you’ll have a better chance of selling your product.
Private label is a method of selling your own branded products on Amazon. It is, in my humble opinion, the most profitable way to make money on Amazon.
Absolutely. Here at Jungle Scout, we offer a ton of free information for people who are interested in selling products on Amazon. Our own Lenny Smith has a training video and article to show you how to get started with selling your own branded products on Amazon. Just click the link below.
And that’s pretty much the Amazon seller registration process in a nut shell. Pretty simple, right? Hopefully you now have a pretty strong handle on how it works. Don’t forget, here at Jungle Scout we offer tons of free resources for those looking to start an Amazon business.
If you have any questions or want to know a little bit more about how to start an Amazon business, please feel free to leave a comment below.
See you soon!