Placing your unwanted items on Amazon is a great way to pull in some extra income. It is, however, not as simple as just throwing up a picture with a short description and hoping for the best. Here are the basics you need to know if you’re considering placing your unwanted items for sale on Amazon.
Before you even think of selling…..
Before you throw your items online for sale, make sure there are eager customers who would like to purchase your stuff!
Do some research and see what products similar to yours are on Amazon and what price they are selling for. If you’re looking to sell your old silverware but see that similar items are selling for just a few dollars online, it may not be worth your time to go through the effort.
You will also need to factor shipping costs into your plans. Even cheap shipping will slash your profit margins, and if you are selling inexpensive items they may even put you in the red!
Choose the right program: Fulfillment by Amazon vs. Amazon Seller
If you want to sell on Amazon, you need to understand the two ways Amazon allows you to actually get products to customers.
In the Fulfillment by Amazon program, you can get all your unwanted items out of the house as soon as possible. You simply throw all your stuff in a box and ship it to the nearest Amazon warehouse.
Amazon will list your item online for you and when someone buys your product Amazon handles all the shipping and takes on full liability for your goods. Amazon will even solve your customer service issues!
Fulfillment by Amazon does have a catch. Not only will Amazon charge you a monthly fee of $39, they will also make you pay for storage if your items take a long time to sell. If you are able to fork over the initial cash, however, this program makes dealing with customers (and shipping hassles) non-existent!
Amazon Seller is slightly different. Unlike Fulfillment by Amazon, it is a way to sell with no upfront costs. You will, unfortunately, need to worry about all of the shipping and customers service headaches that Amazon will no longer be responsible for.
Amazon Seller is similar to Ebay. You simply throw up your picture and description on Amazon.com and ship it yourself when somebody buys. When something sells, you need to place it in the box and mail it off yourself. In addition to this, Amazon will take $0.99 of your order as well as a percentage off of the final sales price. Amazon Seller is more of a headache logistically, but it is the quickest (and cheapest!) way to begin selling online.
You’ve sold a few items, now what?
First things first… congratulations! You’ve taken your first steps towards making the big bucks on Amazon.
The final step you’ll want to take is to ask for feedback from your customers. Positive feedback is the #1 way to convince more buyers to purchase your products, so you’ll want as much of it as possible!
When asking for feedback, make sure you don’t pester your customers. Annoying them could lead to nasty reviews that wipe out your chances of future sales.
With happy customers and great reviews comes Amazon success. As your sales grow, you’ll soon be rolling in cash from your online business operations!