Before selling on the marketplace, there are a myriad of Amazon seller questions one should know. In this post, we will walk you through these various seller topics from the Featured Offer down to Amazon tools.
Get your product in front of more people with Amazon Featured Offer (formerly Amazon Buy Box). These are new product offers shown to the right on product detail pages with an “Add to Cart” option. By winning this, your products can show up on other product detail pages. This means you have a chance of getting the purchase instead of the competition.
The two main factors are:
Amazon also considers
The Amazon A-to-Z Guarantee is a claim that buyers can make against third-party sellers on Amazon as a means of protection. Buyers who have ordered on Amazon are eligible to file this claim if one or more of the following conditions are met:
Because there is such an emphasis on pricing, this is one of the most common Amazon seller questions. Amazon Automate Pricing a feature that allows Amazon to take care of pricing your SKUs competitively. It’s available to Professional plan sellers. Because pricing fluctuates constantly with competition, manual changes take a lot of time. Automation allows you to focus on other areas of business while Amazon keeps you in the running.
Automation only works for SKUs that you specifically select for this type of pricing method. If you want to be hands off with pricing and let Amazon take over, you need to set them one by one. Some of the rules that you can set include the Competitive Price Match Rule and the Featured Offer Rule. Both of these increase your Featured Offer winning chances. Remember, you still need to set criteria that the automation follows. This includes your minimum and maximum limits for pricing. Amazon will adjust your prices based on this range so that you stay eligible for the Featured Offer.
The AHR is a score that determines how well you are performing on the platform. Your account health drops when you commit a policy violation. The main factors Amazon considers includes your Order Defect Rate (ODR), Shipping Performance, and Pre-Fulfillment Cancellation Rate. Poor account health and unresolved policy violations can lead to account suspension and termination.
FBA or Fulfilled by Amazon is a model where Amazon handles shipping, and order fulfillment. Sellers then pay FBA fees in exchange for the service. SFP is the same as FBM in that sellers must shoulder the responsibility of order fulfillment. SFP sellers must adhere to Amazon’s standards in order to qualify and remain in the program. They can offer one to two-day Prime shipping to Prime customers.
Requirements for SFP include:
The main benefits are:
The recommended way to contact buyers is through the Message Center and Amazon’s Buyer Seller Messaging Service. This makes correspondence and customer service easier. Amazon monitors all correspondence between buyer and seller through this service. There are rigid communication guidelines in place and failure to meet these guidelines can lead to penalties. This includes prohibiting any kind of marketing, promotions, and links to websites.
This is probably one of the most important Amazon seller questions. Customer experience is key on Amazon. If you aren’t offering the best support or service, Amazon could penalize your account.
Coupons are a great way to grab attention and boost your Amazon sales.
You can create coupons through Seller Central in the Coupons dashboard. It’s under Advertising via the menu on the top left. You can then create your own coupon and see any coupons you’ve already created. You can also edit and deactivate them here.
You can set up notifications through Seller Central or the Amazon Seller app. You can choose to receive order-related notifications through text or email.
Here are the steps to get started on Amazon:
All in all the process should take 1-2 days if they find no issues with your documents.
This is one of the Amazon seller questions you should be asking prior to signing up on the platform. Vendor Central is for first-party sellers like manufacturers or distributors selling their products to Amazon wholesale. Amazon then takes charge of pricing, selling, and order fulfillment for those products on the platform. Seller Central is for third-party sellers using the marketplace to sell to customers via a storefront.
Unlike vendors, sellers have the option to fulfill orders themselves. They can also decide their pricing, profit margins, and brand messaging. While sellers have more control, they also must be more hands-on compared to vendors. Vendors also surrender customer service to Amazon. Because of Amazon’s strict messaging guidelines, some might prefer this option.
Some products in certain categories must pass certification for safety reasons. This includes products related to health, beauty, pet food, medical equipment, automotive, aerospace, and children’s toys. Also, products through FBA must also meet FBA standards. While not a requirement, it’s wise to perform product inspections to check product quality and adherence to Amazon guidelines.
The Amazon Product Compliance Documentation page and Amazon Compliance Reference tool are good resources to refer to.
There are more than a handful of tools that improve the seller experience on Amazon. These include tools included within Amazon selling plans as well as third-party software. These help with multiple aspects of seller experience, including keyword research, product research, marketing, analytics and more. Amazon tools include:
Amazon-approved software include:
Software and automation tools not only speed up certain processes but also help to reduce errors. If you’re having trouble with price wars, automating pricing can save you a lot of stress. Email marketing software can help you get your products in front of more people while staying compliant. Whatever area you’re struggling with at the moment, there’s likely already a tool out there for you.
EcomBalance is a monthly bookkeeping service specialized for eCommerce companies selling on Amazon, Shopify, Ebay, Etsy, WooCommerce, & other eCommerce channels.
We take monthly bookkeeping off your plate and deliver you your financial statements by the 15th or 20th of each month.
You’ll have your Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement ready for analysis each month so you and your business partners can make better business decisions.
Interested in learning more? Schedule a call with our CEO, Nathan Hirsch.
And here’s some free resources:
Selling on a new platform can be tricky. There are a lot of things to learn and the learning curve can be overwhelming at times. Now you have the answers to these common Amazon seller questions. You can begin your selling journey better informed and with more confidence.
