Amazon for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know to Start Selling on Amazon

At this point, you probably know Amazon, or at least have heard the name floating around in cyberspace. Amazon is a global e-commerce retail company offering consumer goods, electronics, digital content, and services worldwide. Amazon is also the most popular online property in both the Americas and the European world.

Getting your products on Amazon is essential if you want your e-commerce business to be as successful as it can be. In this article, we’ll teach you:

• What Amazon is
• Why selling on Amazon is key to your success
• How to create a store and start selling on Amazon
• How to sync your Ecwid store and Amazon to get ahead of your competitors
• How to get your first order through Amazon
• How to continue scaling your business globally

Amazon by the Numbers

Amazon’s leading status isn’t based on opinions. It’s based on cold hard numbers.

• Around 200 million people visit Amazon monthly. (Statista, 2019)
• New Amazon sellers make between $26,000-$810,000 per year in profits. (JungleScout, 2019)
• Amazon is a leading platform to research products. 66% of customers name Amazon the most important place to research new products. The runner up is through search engines, with 20 percent of the total votes. (Statista, 2019)
• Over 2.5 million merchants are actively selling on Amazon. (Marketplacepulse, 2019)
• 80% of Amazon merchants also sell their goods on other channels. (Feedvisor, 2018)
• 67% of Amazon sellers become profitable in the first year of selling on Amazon. (JungleScout, 2019)
• North American (especially US-based) shoppers choose Amazon because of its free and fast shipping — at least that’s what 79.8% of consumers said in January 2020. (Statista, 2019)
• "It has everything I need," said 68.9% of shoppers answering the question "why do you choose to buy on Amazon?" (Statista, 2019)
• Amazon is the most popular shopping app with 150.6 million users as of September 2019. (Statista, 2019)
• 89% of US shoppers admit they will more likely shop on Amazon than on another store. (Feedvisor, 2019)
• 4,000 products are sold on Amazon every minute. (Amazon, 2019)
• Each second, Amazon records $4,722 in sales. Each minute — $283,000. Each hour — more than $17 million. (RepricerExpress, 2020)
• The two most popular product categories on Amazon are electronics and clothes, sharing 44% and 43% of shoppers, respectively. (Feedvisor, 2019)
• Prices on Amazon are the most significant purchasing driver for 88% of online shoppers. (Statista, 2019)
• 67% of consumers prefer to shop on Amazon using their desktop computers or laptops. (CPC Strategy, 2018)
• There are 100 million Amazon Prime members. They spend around $1,000 a year on the site, which is at least twice as much as non-Prime shoppers. Sometimes the difference is even more significant.

5 Top Reasons to Sell on Amazon Today

1. Amazon is a huge sales channel with 200 million monthly site shoppers. Even if you sell to only 0.01% of them, that means 20,000 sales. Not too bad, right?
2. Adding Amazon as a sales channel can give you an additional $26,000 in sales within the first year. It may require some effort and learning, but isn’t it worth it?
3. If you have an online store, listing your products on Amazon won’t cost you additional money and time. All major platforms provide synchronization with Amazon that imports your inventory to the marketplace. It’s an additional revenue stream you can activate with just a few clicks.
4. Over 60% of US online buyers research products on Amazon. If they don’t find your products there, they are unlikely to buy from you on other platforms. But if they do, your chances for a sale will double. Why? Because customers trust Amazon. And if you’re there, they’ll trust you too.
5. There’s no reason to delay here. Most successful Amazon sellers wish they started selling on Amazon sooner.

Setting up Your Store on Amazon

Let’s get your awesome products to the Amazon marketplace, stat!

Choose your plan

Amazon offers two plans: Individual and Professional. The Individual plan costs only $0.99 per sold unit + additional selling fees that depend on your product category. This means that every time someone buys from you, you pay $0.99 and some fees. Simple, cheap, but limited in its features.

The Professional plan costs $39.99/month + additional selling fees, but extends your promotions and inventory features to the max. For example, you’ll be able to list your products in additional categories, advertise on Amazon, and manage products in bulk. In short, it costs more but gives more.

Compare selling plans.

Learn additional category fees.

Create an Amazon seller account

You can convert your customer account into a seller account, or create a new one (recommended). Either way, to sell on Amazon, you will need the following:

• A bank account number and bank routing number.
• A chargeable credit card.
• Government-issued national ID.
• Your tax information.
• A working phone number.

Once you register as a seller, you’ll have access to Seller Central — the home of your Amazon business and a control panel for managing your selling account, editing and adding product information, updating inventory, and managing payments. You will also list all your products here.

From here, you’ll have to decide how you will sell — as an individual or as a company.

Billing information

To transfer your earnings to you, Amazon will ask you to verify your credit or debit card information. Amazon accepts Amex, Visa, and Mastercard. Make sure you have one of these accounts because Amazon won’t accept prepaid credit cards, checks, or online payment systems like PayPal.

Confirming your information

The last step in creating an Amazon account is verification. If you did everything right — spelled your name, company name, address, billing information etc., correctly, you shouldn’t have any problems with approval. This review may take around the week. The Amazon verification team may still contact you by email to ask questions, so make sure to keep an eye on your mailbox.

While you wait, you don’t have to sit in front of the window counting birds. Instead, learn about some best selling practices on Amazon, watch videos, and read blogs to get a better sense of the Amazon landscape.

Listing Products on Amazon

Hey, you’re approved to sell. Now what?

At this stage, you’ll see some major differences between the types of Amazon selling plans. Individual plan sellers have to create a listing for each product one by one, while Professional plan sellers can upload their product feed and have access to API that unlocks syncing and automation.

Another critical thing to know about listing your products is Amazon Restricted products. Make sure you are not violating the product restriction policies in place, or you run the risk of getting your selling ability taken away.

What you’ll need to list products

All your products must have a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN): a UPC, an ISBN, or an EAN to identify the exact item you’re selling.

If you’re creating a new product on Amazon, you may need to purchase UPCs or request an exemption. For ordering UPCs, you can visit GS1 US. If you are a private-label and want to save money on barcodes, you can ask for Amazon’s exemption.

In addition to a product ID, each of your products will have a:

• SKU. A product ID you create to track your inventory.
• Product title.
• Product description and bullet points.
• Product image (or, better yet, multiple!).
• Search terms and relevant keywords.

Shipping Options on Amazon

You have two options for delivering products sold on Amazon — by yourself or with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

Fulfilling your own orders means you store and ship products directly to customers yourself. Amazon will charge shipping rates based on the product category and shipping service you select and passes that money to you as a shipping credit. If you sell as an individual, make sure your prices stay profitable in this light. Amazon’s Buy Shipping tool can help you with shipping calculations and to find a good deal from Amazon’s trusted partners.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) allows you to benefit from 175 Amazon fulfillment centers and store your products in their warehouses (as opposed to in your living room) for faster and more convenient shipping. With FBA, you will almost entirely skip the packaging, shipping, customer service (related to delivery), and return issues. However, FBA is not free, so sellers beware.

There are two types of FBA fees that depend on your business model:

• Fulfillment fees per unit sold. It includes picking, packaging, shipping, returns, and customer service.
• Inventory storage fees. Monthly fees are based on the amount of inventory stored at the center.

FBA is a great option for cross-border merchants who want to sell on Amazon because it erases the cultural borders, speeds up delivery, and allows merchants to avoid the headache of returns.

Setting up a store on Amazon with Ecwid

If you have an Ecwid store, you’re lucky! Ecwid provides seamless integration with Amazon. It just takes a few clicks to sync your online store with one of the largest e-tailers in the world.

But before you start

You can connect your Ecwid store and sell on Amazon only if your store meets these criteria:

• Your Ecwid store country is set to the USA. You can check that in your Ecwid admin. Go to Settings → General → Store Profile, in the Company address section.
• USD is set as the store currency. Since the Amazon US-Marketplace shows product prices in USD, you can upload products from your Ecwid store only in US dollars. To change the currency, in your Ecwid admin, go to Ecwid Control Panel → Settings → Regional Settings → Currency.
• You do not sell handmade goods. Amazon has a separate marketplace called Amazon Handmade. You can’t add product offers there using third-party services — you have to create them directly in your Amazon Handmade account. You can try uploading them to the Amazon marketplace, but there is a chance that Amazon will reject them.

You can only synchronize your Ecwid store inventory with Amazon if you have a Professional seller account because it unlocks API access and allows synchronization with external storefronts.

You can also sell on Amazon marketplaces in other countries (France, Germany, Italy, etc.) using the Codisto LINQ app.

Step 1. Connect your Amazon account

Go to the Ecwid Control Panel → Other Channels → Amazon and start a setup wizard that will guide you through the entire process of connecting your store to your Amazon account. If you don’t have an Amazon account, read on for info on how to create one.

Some categories require approval from Amazon. In the set-up wizard, you’ll see a drop-down list called Amazon categories where you can choose the category that fits your products, and see if it requires approval. You can also request approval at this stage.

Select a category to see if it needs Amazon approval

You can edit your settings anytime in your Amazon seller account. Just visit Other Channels → Amazon and click Edit Amazon Profile.

Step 2. List your first product on Amazon

There are two options to choose from:

1. Match your product to existing listings. If you sell something that already exists on Amazon, you can simply match your product to it. You can find products in your Ecwid Control Panel.
2. Create your listing. If you offer a unique item or one that is new to Amazon, you can create a new product in your Amazon seller dashboard and add the listing from there.

When you add products, you can change the prices to make them more attractive in comparison to your competitors.

Outperform competitors before the game starts

When you add a listing, it takes some time for Amazon to review it. Don’t be alarmed! You’ll see the uploading status on the Amazon page in your Ecwid Control Panel. From there, you can also edit listings and add new ones.

Manage all products in one place

By default, product prices and quantities are automatically synced between your Ecwid store and Amazon. This means that when you change the price or when a product’s quantity is changed in Ecwid, it’s automatically updated on Amazon. When a product is bought on Amazon, its stock is reduced in your Ecwid catalog as well.

If you’d like to manage products directly on Amazon (for example, set different stock levels for products there), you need to disable the automatic sync in your store settings. From your Ecwid admin, go to Other Channels → Amazon and click Edit Amazon Profile. Find the "Sync quantity and prices automatically" setting and disable it.

Auto-sync will transfer all your in-store changes to Amazon

Step 3. Process orders from Amazon

When your product is bought on Amazon, a new order will appear in your Ecwid admin. You will find it in My sales → Orders. Like with other new orders, you will get a notification about a new order with an email or a push notification in the Ecwid mobile app for iOS or Android.

To see how well you are doing on Amazon, go to your Ecwid admin, go to Ecwid Control → Other Channels → Amazon. This page shows the total sales count and amount of orders coming from Amazon.

Manage Amazon orders the way you’re used to

The Manage Orders button will take you to the list of Amazon orders on the Orders page. You can see more details here: order ID on Amazon, ordered products, shipping address, etc.

All order details are synced with Amazon

To change the order status, add a tracking number, etc., go to your Amazon Professional Seller account. You should process the orders there — you can’t edit Amazon orders from your Ecwid Control Panel.

Making Your First Sale on Amazon

Once your products are on Amazon, it’s time to get busy attracting new customers.

Try advertising

Investing some money in ads on Amazon is an excellent way to up your sales. You may fail with your first campaign, but don’t let that scare you away. Soon, you will master the hard-won skill of effective advertising, and reap its sweet rewards. The key is to start slow and speed up gradually as you get the hang of it.

Bonus tip: running a deal or adding a coupon to your ad will raise your chances of winning over a customer.

Amazon offers three advertising solutions accessible through Seller Central:

• Sponsored products. Ads for individual products that appear on search results pages and product detail pages.
• Sponsored brands. This option showcases your brand and product portfolio on search results. These ads feature your brand logo, a custom headline, and up to three of your products.
• Sponsored display. This new self-service option allows you to show your ads on the customer journey across Amazon and outside of it, on partner’s websites.

Play with prices

Remember, prices are the most significant purchasing driver for 88% of Amazon shoppers. Keep an eye on the market to stay competitive.

You can raise prices to include shipping, thus offering free shipping on the storefront. This can be a strong motivation for customers to buy, even if your prices seem slightly higher than your competitors because of it.

Run a sale

Time-limited discounts, buy one get one free, low stock — all of these are excellent ways to persuade your customers to make a purchase. Everyone loves to save money, so these classic moves can help you to sell on Amazon successfully.

What’s Next?

Now that you’ve made your first sale on Amazon, you can officially call yourself an Amazon seller. But even celebrating this glorious event, you probably realize that this is just the beginning. You have a journey ahead. Millions of potential customers wait for you to find them and fill their lives with fun, excitement, and comfort — depending on the products you sell.

What’s your next step to success? These are a few things you can focus on.

Collect customer reviews

As an e-commerce seller, you probably already know the importance of reviews. The value of honest, detailed 5-star reviews from a confirmed purchase works for selling on Amazon better than anywhere else. 66% of customers name Amazon as the most important place to research new products, and reviews are among the most critical consumer research points because they help a potential consumer learn candidly about a product and gain confidence in its value.

Reviews are essential for sellers too. They serve as a critical feedback source that can help you improve your products, shopping experience, or any other aspect of the interaction between the buyer and the seller.

You’re not alone in your quest for reviews! Amazon can help. They have an Amazon Early Reviewer Program (ERP) that encourages customers who have purchased a product from you to share their experience.

Go Prime

Prime members are the most profitable customers. There are 100,000,000 of them, and each spends an average of $1,000 a year on Amazon. If you want to turn them into loyal customers, you need to opt-in for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

Register your brand

If you sell a private label and haven’t registered a trademark yet, consider registering your brand. Otherwise, you’re missing out on some exciting features that will help you stand out and grow your business.

You can register your trademark on your own by applying to your local Trademark Office or using the Amazon Brand Registry service. It’s free and not only helps protect your intellectual property but also unlocks tools like A+ Content and the Brand Dashboard on Seller Central.

With A+ Content, you can add rich media content to your Amazon store page and product detail pages to increase both traffic and sales.

Other perks that go with Brand Registry:

• Brand analytics. You’ll be able to track the way customers interact with your brand: search terms, demographics, and more.
• Manage your experiments. Run experiments like A/B testing to see what content drives more sales.
• Virtual bundles. Sell bundles of complementary FBA items without packaging them together.

Learn more about Brand Registry benefits.

Sell on Amazon Business

If you have a Professional seller account, you can offer Amazon Business customers an exceptional shopping experience, such as bulk pricing and business pricing. Besides standard selling fees, there’s no additional cost to selling in the Amazon Business store.

Amazon Business is the B2B marketplace on Amazon, which provides B2B opportunities. Signing up to Amazon Business enables you to provide special business pricing or quantity discounts to businesses purchasing from Amazon.

Although you will sell your goods at a lower price, the volume of sales may go up beyond your expectations. This option works best for companies that are capable of uninterrupted production for large quantities of their inventory.

Scale your business worldwide

With Amazon, it’s easy to expand your business internationally and sell your products to hundreds of millions of Amazon shoppers globally.

You can reach consumers from Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Japan, and Australia. The Middle East, Turkey, Singapore, and Brazil are among the destinations yet to come.

Here’s the list of available destinations.

Interested? Follow the Amazon guide to learn How to start selling worldwide.

In Closing

If you were thinking of selling on Amazon but always waiting for the perfect time — putting it off might be the worst decision of your business life.

With millions of shoppers, strong trust in the platform, and customer-centric ideology, Amazon is the best place to find new potential customers and expand your e-commerce business.

It can take some time, effort, and money to start selling on Amazon effectively, but it can be worth the investment. Many mature merchants wish they had entered the game earlier.

Amazon is a very competitive place — hundreds of thousands of merchants selling millions and millions of products. So you will have to be smart to stand out, and use all the marketing tools Amazon can offer. But, again, the potential profit is absolutely worth trying.

Start selling on Amazon today with Ecwid. Sync your Amazon Pro account with an online store to manage both sales channels in a single admin and save time without losing effectiveness. If you don’t have an Ecwid store, what are you waiting for? You can get one for free.