At this point, you probably know Amazon, or at least have heard the name floating around in cyberspace. Amazon is a global
Getting your products on Amazon is essential if you want your
- 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.
Top Reasons to Sell on Amazon Today
At first sight, large marketplaces like Amazon can seem like the enemy of small ecommerce websites. Trusted reputation,
But aikido wisdom says that the best battle is the one that didn’t happen. Ecwid makes Amazon your ally by enabling you to integrate your existing online store with Amazon’s platform to help you get the most out of both. Build your brand on a separate ecommerce website while simultaneously making the most of the opportunities afforded by Amazon’s gigantic scale.
- Amazon is unbelievably big. In 2018, its revenue reached $232 billion — that’s an average of $443,000 per minute! Amazon owns 228 million square feet of warehouses, offices, and other facilities — the size of nearly 100 Amsterdams — used to provide their
top-tier customer service to almost 200 million customers (on Amazon.com alone). Even if you sell to only 0.01% of them, that means 20,000 sales. Not too bad, right? - It’s an additional revenue stream. 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?
- It’s easy to start selling on Amazon if you already have an online store. All major platforms including Ecwid provide synchronization with Amazon that imports your inventory from your ecommerce site to the marketplace.
- Customers love shopping on Amazon. Amazon excels as a brand discovery tool, with 55% of all product searches beginning on the platform. It offers everything from clothes and smart home gadgets to fresh produce and paper towels.
- Cistomers trust Amazon.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.
- Amazon supports
small- andmedium-sized businesses. More than one millionU.S.-based SMBs are already selling on Amazon, with half of all items sold originating fromsmall-to-medium-sized companies. 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.
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.
| Selling as an Individual | Selling as a Company | |
| Seller information | ID is enough | Legal docs required: Bank account statement, AIN |
| Contact person | This can be you | A resident of an accepted country with ID to verify |
| Billing | Can be your personal debit/credit card | Must be your company’s credit/debit card |
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
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.
Product detail page guidelines
Title. Maximum of 200 characters. Capitalize the first letter of every word.
Images. Images of 500 x 500 or 1,000 x 1,000 pixels are recommended to increase listing quality.
Bullet points. Highlight key features and benefits in short form. Catch customer’s eyes to captivate them and persuade them to buy.
Description. Appeal to emotions, tell the story, create a connection. Don’t forget the keywords. They increase the chances that people will find your listing.
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
Setting up a store on Amazon with Ecwid
If you have an Ecwid store, you’re lucky! You can seamlessly integrate your online store with Amazon. It just takes a few clicks to sync your online store with one of the largest
Before you start
You can connect your Ecwid store and sell on Amazon only if your store meets these criteria:
- You have the Amazon Professional seller account. 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.
- Your store complies with Amazon Selling Policies, and your products meet the marketplace requirements.
- 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.
Step 1. Connect your Amazon account
To connect your Ecwid store to Amazon, you need to install the Codisto app from the Ecwid App Market.
Follow these detailed instructions from our Help Center to connect your Ecwid store to Amazon with the Codisto app.
Step 2. List your first product on Amazon
Product listing contains information about your product, including its title, images, description, price, and barcode (UPC/EAN/ISBN). With the Codisto app, you can list one product or all products in bulk.
The great thing about Codisto is that it allows you to create automated listings. That means Codisto uploads product pictures, titles, prices, and variations from your Ecwid product catalog automatically. You don’t have to enter all that information manually.
With Codisto, you can also customize your products specifically for Amazon requirements: you can adapt your prices, titles, descriptions, and return policy.
Follow these instructions to list your Ecwid products on Amazon.
Step 3. Process orders from Amazon
Another great thing about connecting your Ecwid store to Amazon with the Codisto app is the inventory sync. It means that your product stock is synchronized between your Amazon and Ecwid accounts and prevents you from overselling.
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.
Orders from Amazon will have a marketplace logo on their page:
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.
Learn more about processing orders from Amazon in our Help Center.
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
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.
It’s important to remember that not every product will sell on Amazon. And the products that sell best can have some pretty steep competition. If you’ve never sold on Amazon and you’re not sure if your products are quite the right fit, it might be a good idea to test your niche first.
Here’s what we suggest:
- Upload just one product that you think will sell.
- Set a competitive price that’s a bit lower than average for Amazon. This might not be profitable initially, but it will allow you to evaluate demand for your product or niche within the marketplace.
Alternatively, 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
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
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
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.
Brand Registry is available for sellers with:
- A Professional selling account
- An active registered trademark that appears on your products or packaging
- The ability to verify yourself as the rights owner or authorized agent for the trademark.
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.
Helpful Resources for Selling on Amazon
Ecwid’s no stranger to selling on Amazon, and we’ve written some meaty articles over the years to help small businesses be successful. If you’re looking for a little extra help, check out these resources to get some essential wisdom for Amazon beginners:
- Amazon Strategies and Reviews — on this podcast, we discuss building trust with new customers on Amazon.
- Selling on Amazon From Your Online Store — Guest Peter Jeffery of Codisto unveils
high-level strategies to help make you successful selling on Amazon.
Other Marketplaces Connected to Your Ecwid Store
While Amazon is never short on opportunities, Ecwid can be integrated with even more marketplaces, like Google Shopping and eBay, to help you get the most out of your online store. Check out the list of available marketplaces you can connect your Ecwid store to.
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
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.
