Amazon is a great place to sell your products and goods. If you’ve been selling on Amazon for some time now, chances are you’ve grown accustomed to the way the platform operates. However, selling on Amazon is fraught with challenges and subtleties that baffle even the most experienced Amazon sellers.
So if you’re ready to take your business to the next level, learn to avoid the seven pitfalls of selling on Amazon – things that even veteran FBA sellers do wrong.
- Neglecting your margins and bottom line
Many FBA sellers focus too much on making huge sales without considering the overall profit of the business. But focusing on being the highest selling store could lead you to miss opportunities to leverage your margins and grow your bottom line. While high top line sales may make a business look good, it is not the only indicator of success.
Re-evaluating strategy regularly will help you recalibrate your listing, leverage your margins, and seize opportunities for bottom line growth.
- Failure to sticker your inventory
A new FBA account is designated stickerless by default. While this may appear to be the cheaper option at the outset, failure to sticker your inventory can create problems associated with the co-mingling of SKUs later on.
When you go stickerless, the likelihood of your inventory getting mixed with those of other sellers is very high. For example, if a customer buys an item from you because your inventory is stickerless, Amazon will simply pull out an item without checking whether that inventory came from your stock or another seller’s.
If the product turns out to be of good quality and the customer is happy with it, then all is well. The problem arises when Amazon sent a counterfeit or inferior product by mistake. Problems occur when the buyer complains about the quality of the product. Amazon’s likely immediate response would be to reimburse the buyer and then penalize you, even if you weren’t the vendor – a problem that could have been avoided by having your account setup as stickered.
The base sticker fee is about 20 cents per unit. However, it’s well worth the cost in order to avoid co-mingling of your inventory with another seller. If you want your inventory to be stickered, then change the designation of your FBA account from non-stickered to stickered before sending your products to the FBA warehouse.
- Thinking Amazon will automatically collect your taxes
One serious mistake that both novice and experienced FBA sellers make is failing to designate an option with regard to tax collection. No, Amazon on its own will not do it for you. You have to take the initiative by setting up the options yourself. Only after you have indicated your options can Amazon step in and manage the taxes for you.
- Not opting out on “Repackage Unsellable Customer Returns”
“Repackage Unsellable Customer Returns” seems like such a great idea on the surface. But then again, here’s another Amazon FBA feature that can become very problematic later on. This feature simply means that Amazon may on its own repackage a product if the packaging no longer looks presentable or is damaged. The problem is that such generic packaging now makes it look like a second hand product, especially if it has been advertised as new.
Opt out on this repackaging feature as soon as possible to save your reputation and money.
- No system for managing customer returns
To succeed as an Amazon FBA seller, you need a system ifor handling and managing customer complaints and returns. Each return has to be categorized and prioritized depending on the value of the item, the circumstances in which the item was bought, and the urgency on the part of the buyer with regard to the use of the item bought.
Handling returns is something that needs to be done with regularity and careful adherence to a systematic process. Analyze why the items were returned and what you can do to improve your offerings. Only by diligently monitoring returns can offer your customers better and better products, differentiating your brand from the rest of the competition in the process.
Bonus tip: be vigilant in claiming your FBA reimbursements
The fact is Amazon owes 99 percent of sellers money.
The policies Amazon has in place for getting your money back in those situations are vague. They make you jump through hoops, but even doing all that is no guarantee you’ll get your money back.
You need someone with years of experience handling your reimbursement claims for you.
So now there’s no need for your capital to get tied up in lost or damaged inventory. The solution to your problem lies at your fingertips.
Seller Investigators manually submits and manages these requests on a weekly basis, making sure damaged and lost goods are identified, tracked and credited to your account. You receive bi-weekly reimbursements from Amazon without having to do a thing!
Our team can do all the legwork for you in collecting the money Amazon owes you, so you can focus on taking care of your business.
