Amazon is without a doubt the superstar among online retailers. To confirm that statement, simply take a look at what people do in their daily lives. If people want answers on any topic they Google it. If they want to share and talk with friends, they interact with them on Facebook. And if there’s anything they need to purchase online, they buy it on Amazon.
Amazon is light-years ahead of the other online retail platforms. It has a long track record for building trust and goodwill among their customers, employees and FBA sellers. So if you’re determined to succeed as an e-commerce entrepreneur, hardly anything beats selling on Amazon. Wall Street experts predict that over the next couple of years Amazon will jump in sales to over a hundred billion dollars annually. With those kinds of indicators, it is likely that Amazon will remain on its throne for many, many years.
What’s interesting is that Amazon vendors can now reach out to millions of prospects via the Fulfillment by Amazon or FBA program. And so therefore, being on Amazon will give you the best chance for success.However, many fallacies and myths abound with regard to how to succeed as an Amazon seller. These misconceptions have kept many from taking full advantage of all the facilities, incentives and programs Amazon provides – and that certainly is seriously hurting their business.
It’s time to shed light on these misconceptions and expose the errors of these fallacies.
- It’s hard to get started selling on Amazon
Many startups are led to belief it takes a lot of effort and resources to change the way they operate, from fulfilling their own orders to letting Amazon do it for them via the Fulfillment by Amazon or FBA program. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unfortunately many actually believed this fallacy, and as a consequence they shied away from the program.
Amazon has gone to great lengths so sellers can have a much easier time running their business. From handling order fulfilment to taking care of customer complaints, Amazon will do all these things for you for a small fee. It’s well worth the cost considering you no longer have to worry about shipment or freight. The only thing you need to focus on is selling.
Look at it this way: instead of having to build your own website and spend a ton of money on site maintenance and marketing, Amazon allows us to piggyback on their success and reputation, so all you have to do is sell, sell and sell. So don’t listen to people telling you that selling on Amazon is difficult.
- Listing your products guarantees success
Every now and then we hear stories about new sellers reaping huge profits after being on Amazon for just a few months. Most of these are just hype or rumors. If all this talk about instant success got you worried that you might be under-performing, relax. It takes time to become a successful Amazon seller – and there really are no shortcuts.
Here’s a basic list of what you need to do to optimize your listing:
- Use accurate keywords for your product description.
- Place your products under the right categories
- Create a catchy, keyword-rich title for your listing
- Leverage positive reviews for marketing benefits
- Communicate with prospects in order to gain their business
- Keep your store well-stocked, especially during the holiday season
Although selling on Amazon isn’t about immediate success, you will achieve your goals if you’re willing to put in the time and effort.
- Amazon has become too congested
With the number of sellers approaching the three million mark, it’s so easy for people to think that Amazon must really be overcrowded, with hardly any room for new businesses to take roots and flourish.
However, this hasty conclusion fails to consider the fact that in the United States alone, there are more than 200 million items for sale, and that more than a billion products are being sold via Amazon on a global scale. With the kind of momentum it has going on; Amazon won’t be slowing down any time soon What this means for you as an Amazon FBA seller is that there’s plenty of room for you grow, expand and make money.
- The only way to drive sales is if you have novel products to sell
This is of course a false idea. You can reap huge profits on Amazon even if your products are not original, or novel, or unique. The only thing that matters is that they have to be of good quality. Also, make sure to describe your products accurately in your listing so as not to mislead buyers. In fact, many successful Amazon FBA sellers have partnered with various manufacturers, and made huge profits selling items that they have repackaged and rebranded with their own private label.
- Amazon is the same as other platforms – only bigger
You may think that you can achieve the same level of success on other platforms as with Amazon. This topic has been discussed ad nauseum, and the consensus has always been that Amazon is not the same as other platforms. In fact, Amazon has always been secretive about how it operates internally that through the years it has evolved into an entirely unique platform that others try to imitate.
Amazon has taken bold steps to position itself for growth, and it did so with amazing tenacity. It can be tempting to think that your own e-commerce website can grow to the size of Amazon. While not impossible, the probability of that happening without a tremendous amount of work is pretty much nil. Amazon is going to keep growing, and there’s no stopping it from achieving even greater things in the future. So if those other platforms are just like Amazon, why haven’t we heard of them? Think about that.
- You have to set prices low to drive sales
There’s a misconception circulating among new sellers that you have to drive your prices really low in order to generate sales. Low prices can certainly help you sell more products, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to sell on Amazon. Success on Amazon is not just all about who sells the lowest.
You can also get ahead of the competition by selling good, reliable products that are moderately priced. Alternatively, another way you can excel on Amazon is by offering products or services that cater to a specific niche. If your business is able to meet those unique needs, then there’s no stopping you from becoming a success.
- You need a ton of reviews in order to rank highly on Amazon
While reviews are certainly a big help in boosting your visibility and popularity on Amazon, it is not the be all and end all for long term success. If you have a good advertising strategy and you’re able to reach a significant portion of your audience, you can still reap huge profits selling on Amazon; even without a sizable amount of reviews.
Your product may not be what the general public wants. But if it appeals to a certain demographics, then you have found your niche. And that’s what matters most when doing business.
Final Thoughts
Amazon is still an extremely viable platform for vendors to list and sell their products. Your success on Amazon pretty much depends on how much time and effort you’re willing to put into your business. And if you heed these tips, and don’t let these seven myths get in the way of things, then your success is pretty much guaranteed.
When you’ve gained considerable experience as an Amazon seller, you’ll discover that sometimes your goods get damaged, misplaced or lost. In these instances Amazon binds itself to pay you for your losses by way of a reimbursement.
All that sounds pretty good on paper. But more often than not, Amazon fails to meet their promise of reimbursement. And if you’ve been having trouble contacting Amazon or convincing them to send you a refund, expert assistance is available for you.
Let Seller Investigators help you save time and resources, and collect the money owed you by Amazon in a fast and expedient manner so you can begin the journey of driving your business towards success.
