This is the first post in my Amazon Fundamentals Series…
With the mind-boggling variety of products on Amazon, choosing a product, or even a category to sell in can be difficult. Before settling on a product, remember that some categories require approval from Amazon to sell in. On Amazon.com these gated categories as they’re known include:
- Automotive Parts and Accessories
- Clothing, Accessories & Luggage
- Jewelry
- Kindle Accessories
- Motorcycles, ATV & Protective Gear
- Sexual Wellness
- Shoes
- Sports Collectibles
- Watches
If you’re interested in starting your Amazon selling account with a product in one of these categories, contact Amazon Services to learn more about the requirements.
Whether you want to sell in a gated category or not, you should choose a product that you:
- Have a personal interest in. Are you a movie or music buff? Think about turning that passion into DVD and CD sales
- Have professional experience in. Do you already operate have a brick and mortar toy store? Consider listing some or all of your inventory on Amazon.
- Have the opportunity to take advantage of. Does your daily routine include lots of trips to big box stores (Walmart, CostCo, BigLots, etc.)? If so, you may run across clearance items that present excellent opportunities for retail arbitrage.
At first, don’t worry too much about choosing a “hot” category or product. Opportunities for profitable sales exist in all categories and it’s a good idea to start by selling products that you have a connection with. No need to try to learn all about a new product at the same time that you’re trying to learn about how to succeed on Amazon!
Once you’ve chosen your product you’ll need to decide whether you’ll ship the item yourself (we call this the Merchant Fulfillment Network or MFN) or whether you’ll take advantage of Amazon’s fulfillment service (Fulfillment by Amazon or FBA).
Check back tomorrow where I’ll talk about the pros and cons of MFN and FBA.