I’m Dan! I have been an Amazon Seller for seven years, and this has been my full-time job for the last five years. Let me tell you, I’ve seen it all! I have made so many mistakes. This whole business is about trial and error. With this post, I want to help new sellers. So, hopefully, you won’t make the same mistakes I made!
# 1: Product Research Is King!
This is the first but most crucial step in your Amazon FBA career. If you pick the wrong product, it won’t matter how good your marketing is, how nice your pictures look, or how helpful your customer service is. Your enter business fall or stand based on product research!
This is especially true in the last couple of years! When I started, you could practically pick any random product, slap your label on it, ship it to Amazon, and turn a profit. However, in the last couple of years, there has been a major increase in competition ( both from US sellers and China-based sellers).
My advice: Spend at least one month doing product research. Look for ordinary products where other sellers aren’t looking. For example, everybody is looking for products between $15 and $30 because this has low risk. How about you start looking for products for $100 +? This will have more risk but also a lot less competition!
#2: Your Listing NEEDS to convince the customer
Once you’ve identified the perfect product, creating an optimized product listing is the next critical step. Your listing must convince potential customers that your product is the best choice. This means you need to have:
- A compelling title
- High-quality images
- Bullet points that highlight key features and benefits
- Detailed product description.
- (Optional) A+ Content to showcase your product features.
Invest time in keyword research to ensure your product is easily discoverable. Tools like Seller Suite can help you with this by providing insights into high-ranking keywords and competitor analysis. Use these insights to craft a listing that speaks directly to your target audience’s needs and preferences.
Remember, an optimized listing is about driving traffic to your product page and converting that traffic into sales. Ensure your images are professional and showcase the product from multiple angles. Your bullet points should quickly communicate the unique selling points.
# 3 Don’t let your supplier scam you
Ok, this is a bit of a personal story as I made a mistake that ruined 1 of my products. Here we go:
After negotiating with 1 of my existing suppliers for a product that I was successfully selling on Amazon, we agreed on quite a low price. Initially, I thought this was great for me, as I was cutting production costs and improving my profit margin.
What I didn’t know was that because my supplier was also making less profit on this order, he was switching to a different type of material. Without telling me, he switched to a much flimsier material that would make my product a lot worse. I didn’t do any inspection and sent the new order straight to Amazon.
I had no clue about this until the new reviews started rolling in, one star after the other. Within weeks, my 4.5-star product had declined to a 2.5-star rating, and I had to abandon it.
My advice: Inspect your goods before you pay the full amount to your supplier! You can hire a third-party inspection service to do a detailed inspection for you. This small investment would have saved my product.
# 4: Seller Central Sales Dashboard is crap
Let’s be real: the Seller Central Sales Dashboard is a hot mess. If you’re still using it to keep track of your sales, it’s time for an intervention. The interface is clunky, and the data is often delayed. Good luck trying to get any meaningful insights without pulling your hair out.
You need something that works, and that’s where Seller Suite comes in. Seller Suite offers a comprehensive and intuitive dashboard that tracks your sales in real time. It provides detailed analytics, helping you understand which products are performing well and which ones need attention.
Don’t even try to find meaningful data in the default Amazon sales dashboard. Trust me, your sanity and your business will thank you.
