List Your Products On Amazon
Once you create an account with Amazon Seller Central, you can begin listing your products. Make sure to include the information needed on your listings to help improve your chances of conversion using the right imagery, videos, copy, and more.
Be sure to have the proper . In these uncertain times, many Amazon sellers are cutting back on ad spending, which may be an opportunity to have your ad dollars go a lot farther.
What Is Amazon Sfp
The third fulfillment option for Amazon sellers is , or Seller Fulfilled Prime. The Seller Fulfilled Prime program gives sellers the best of both worlds. The seller handles all fulfillment and shipping processes and customer interactions either through an in-house solution or outsourced fulfillment partner. The key difference between SFP and FBM is that sellers enrolled in the SFP program are granted Prime status.
The Amazon SFP program was created out of a need to free up valuable warehouse space in Amazons warehouses and to add more sellers and options to the Amazon Prime program. Amazons priority for its storage space and warehouse labor is brands, so the growing scarcity of warehouse space could ultimately benefit sellers who want to fulfill their own products without giving up their Prime status.
Its important to note that the SFP program is highly competitive and exclusive. It has been closed to new applicants for over a year. Merchants may add themselves to the waitlist, but Amazon has not disclosed how many sellers are on the waitlist or when it will fully open the program back up to new applicants. Amazon also screens all applicants to the program by first enrolling them in a trial period where their listings do not have the Prime badge, but theyre required to meet Primes same-day fulfillment and 2-day delivery requirements before being officially accepted.
Why Your Decision Matters
It may be hard to fathom, but over 50% of all online shoppers now use Amazon as the first website they visit when making buying decisions. If brands havent created a strategy to reach these shoppers, theyre missing out on a major piece of the ecommerce market. In many ways, Amazon is more important than Google, notes Ezonomy founder Wes Grudzien.
Its critical that you create a marketing strategy specific to Amazon. At content26, we are biased towards Vendor Central as it allows our clients to take full advantage of Amazons powerful marketing tools such as Amazon Marketing Services and A+ content. .
Have you dealt with other pros or cons while selling via Vendor Central? Share your thoughts in a comment or send us a tweet.
Want more advice on Amazon? Sign up for our monthly newsletter now to get tips and tricks for selling on Amazon and other e-tailers.
Editors note: This post was originally published on 5/25/2014. For this update, we made major updates and added a link or two. Content26 wants to thank Ezonomy founder Wes Grudzien for his extensive contributions to this post.
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Beyond Seller Fulfilled Prime Requirements
These new requirements are likely not too surprising to savvy online merchants who have watched the so-called Amazon Effect shape consumer expectations for delivery since Amazon Primes inception in 2005. The graph below shows the explosive growth in online search for 2-day shipping over the past 16 years as the offering grew from a novel added value to a general expectation.
The larger trend indicates that not only is 1 or 2-day delivery a driver of customer satisfaction and retention, but when advertised early in the customer journey, can actually capture shoppers at the top of the sales funnel and increase overall conversion rates. Whats more, weve found this to be true across all sales channels. Google Shoppings recent consumer behavioral research named this phenomenon The Power of Now, and their research found that a fast shipping guarantee significantly influenced shoppers decisions to purchase one product over another. Likewise, our recent merchant survey indicated that 65% of merchants saw an increase in cart conversion rates of up 25% when 2-day delivery was offered at checkout, regardless of the sales channel.
So Is Amazon Fulfilled Prime Better Well It Depends On Your Needs And The Size Of Your Business
Seller met Amazon may be better suited to sellers who already have extensive facilities that can be utilized to meet the requirements of Amazon Prime.
FBA can be a good option for newer or smaller scales. Its relatively easy to get set up with FBA, and there are fewer obstacles to overcome compared to qualifying for the Amazon Prime Badge. But with FBA, inventory management is crucial. You need to maintain your inventory and make sure stock refills are shipped quickly to Amazon.
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Differences Between Fulfilment By Amazon And Seller Fulfilled Prime
1 October, 2021
The critical importance of selling on Amazon is difficult to overstate. More specifically, the benefits of selling on Amazon Prime cannot be ignored.
The marketplace giants Prime program plays a starring role in day-to-day operations of brands and retailers of all shapes and sizes. In fact, with 200 million Prime members worldwide spending an average of $1,400 a year compared to the $600-per-year average spent by non-members the Prime subscriber pool clearly offers significant opportunity to reach ready-to-spend buyers.
Today were going to look at the two programs that give you access to those lucrative Prime shelves: Fulfilment by Amazon and Seller Fulfilled Prime .
While both programs allow you to sell on Amazon Prime, thats about where the similarities end. FBA and SFP are fundamentally very different, and each one has features that appeal to certain businesses depending on size, profitability and aspirations.
To help you determine which program may be best for your business, here are five key differences between the programs.
Be Smart About Your Product Selection
Think about sales rank, but also about what you get in exchange. High-ranking products are competitive, but theyll sell quickly and keep inventory moving. Low-ranking products could cause stagnant inventory and long-term fees. However, they may also give you the chance to become a leading seller since theres less competition. You have to weigh the options for yourself.
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Warehouse Products In Your Own Fulfillment Center
Depending on the number of fulfillment centers you have at your disposal, you may be able to distribute your products to strategic locations so you can save on shipping costs and reduce your average shipping zone. If your business is still small, a storage center or even your home can be a short-term solution for warehousing.
Fulfilled By Amazon Vs Fulfilled By Merchant: Who Should Use What
Sellers with high-volume sales and healthy margins may benefit from fulfillment by Amazon. FBA sellers can focus on marketing and competitive prices instead of warehousing, as picking, packing and shipping is taken care of by Amazon. FBA is also a good fit for sellers who have inventory that is labor intensive to pack and/or for vendors who prefer not to store inventory in their own home, warehouse, garage, etc.
Sellers who sell products on a smaller scale and have smaller margins may find FBM to be a better option. FBM makes more sense for sellers who can manage order demand and dont want to risk decreasing their profit margin. FBM gives businesses a chance to cultivate their own brand identity with 100% control over inventory and shipping. Merchants can also apply to be a Prime fulfilled merchant. Merchants will have to meet Amazons criteria for being a Prime fulfilled merchant but in turn will have opportunities for more competitive sales.
Acctivate: An Amazon Seller Software Solution
Either method of fulfillment requires an inventory management solution ideal for ecommerce retailers. Acctivate Inventory Software for QuickBooks automatically synchronizes with Amazon to update inventory levels and track customer data.
Acctivates Shipping Workstation allows a seller to integrate with one or multiple shipping carriers/solutions of their choice helping sellers achieve the best shipping rates for their customers.
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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Fulfilled By Amazon
Pros
Cons
- Once youre a part of FBA, you qualify for Amazon Prime, making you a more attractive option to Amazons 100 million Prime members.
- Its instantly available to you when you sign up.
- Amazon takes care of everything related to shipping and logistics, giving you more time to grow your business.
- They also take over customer service, which can be a big challenge when youre first starting out.
- You can sell qualified listings with the Prime badge.
- Fees on top of fees! Although, you have to expect that Amazon will want something in return for providing these services.
- You have little to no control over your inventory or packaging.
- If you manage a warehouse of your own to supply customers from your own website, it might not be worth having Amazon manage this for you.
How Do Fulfillment By Amazon And Seller Fulfilled Prime Stand Out From Each Other
- Logistics. Within the framework of Fulfillment by Amazon , the platform handles the entire logistics process from product storage in warehouses to dispatching. Seller Fulfilled Prime leaves you 100% in charge of everything in this regard, yet forces you to cover dispatch fees at your own cost.
- Stock control. With FBA, product storage is entrusted to Amazon, which can definitely take a huge load off your mind Except if you are selling via several channels, in which case you will need to split your stock into two or decide to completely yield stock management to Amazon. Added to this is the fact that storage fees increase the longer your products remain in Amazons warehouses This problem does not exist with SFP, but is replaced by another issue: complying with Amazons promise regarding delivery lead times .
- Return management. In the event of a product being returned under the FBA programme, Amazon handles everything: a definite advantage for small establishments that have other things to worry about. With SFP on the other hand, you need to be able to count on your own customer service but that also means controlling your returns more carefully. In both cases, the fees are to be covered by the vendor.
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Seo Fba Best Practices
Amazon SEO practices are largely unknown, but they are not difficult to extrapolate. The infographic above should assist you in gaining a better understanding of how SEO works on Amazon.
This is one great way that brands and sellers can stand out in the Amazon FBA platform and get more attention than others. Search engine optimization is all about optimizing your content based on the way that people search for things online. Its about giving people a website or listing that they can interact with and that delivers the information and answers that they need.
If you arent using SEO in your Amazon FBA listings, youre missing out on an easy way to get those sales away from your competition.
Other Findings: Selling Amazon Fba Vs Fbm
FBA sellers are heavily focused on private label sales, while FBM sellers engage in other sales models at much higher rates.
- 67% of FBA sellers use the private label business model versus 65% of FBM sellers
- 41% of FBM sellers use the wholesale business model versus 31% of FBA sellers
- 15% of FBM sellers use the dropshipping business model versus 10% of FBA sellers
FBM sellers tend to start with less start-up capital
- 37% of FBM sellers started with less than $1,000 versus 27% of FBA sellers
- 35% of FBA sellers started with more than $5,000 versus 27% of FBM sellers
FBM sellers have far more product listings on Amazon than FBA sellers .
- More than half of FBA sellers have fewer than 10 products while over half of FBM sellers have more than 50 products.
- FBM sellers had a higher presence in all Amazon categories than FBA sellers
FBA sellers are less concerned with the effects of rising competition than FBM sellers
- 39% of FBM sellers are concerned about increased competition driving down prices versus 32% of FBA seller
- 32% of FBM sellers are concerned that Amazon sells products that compete directly with their own versus 28% of FBM sellers
For more Amazon seller data, see Jungle Scouts .
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Fulfilment By Amazon Or Seller Fulfilled Prime
Whilst a solid presence on Amazon is crucial for running a successful online business, having thorough visibility on Amazon Prime is even more important especially now that Amazon Prime members make up more than half of the channels consumer base, outnumbering non-Prime customers.
Since Amazon can impact many different aspects of your business, its only understandable that as an online business owner youre constantly looking for new ways to best utilise the selling channel to maximise your profit. To help you take full advantage of the available programmes, were taking a closer look at the differences between Fulfilment by Amazon and Seller Fulfilled Prime both of which give you access to those invaluable Prime orders but are fundamentally different and have features that benefit different types of businesses.
What Should A Seller Evaluate For Amazon Fba Vs Amazon Fbm
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Can we ship at a low cost? Can increased shipping volume discounts translate into more profit?
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How much per unit will it cost to ship units to Amazon? How popular is the item?
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Will there be any additional monthly or long-term storage fees?
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Can the increased price still compete with FBA to offset additional fees?
Understanding Amazons fulfillment fees can get tricky. Amazon will charge the greater of the dimensional weight or actual weight, so it is essential to know what size tier each product falls into before sending units to FBA. Amazon is constantly changing the pricing structure, and sellers must stay up to date with these announcements.
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How To Enroll In Seller Fulfilled Prime
In order to qualify for Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime, businesses must register and complete the trial period. To be eligible, a business must have its own warehouse and have an Amazon Professional Seller account.
Sellers must prove that they can meet the Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime requirements to complete the trial period. Once achieved, the Prime badge will then be displayed on their listings, increasing the visibility of the sellers products to Amazon shoppers.
Below are the steps of the enrollment process.
Disadvantages Of Fulfilled By Merchant
As with any inventory fulfillment option, there are natural disadvantages that may arise within customer satisfaction practices. Some of the most prominent drawbacks and points to consider before choosing Amazons FBM model include:
- No Amazon Prime Badge While a strong shipping partner such as ShipCalm can help speed up shipping times, losing the Prime badge via Amazon can instantly sway certain customers from being interested. Sellers choosing an FBM model must still maintain consistent and speedy shipping times, and without an FBA model that responsibility is solely theirs to claim.
- Increased Costs Its important to consider overall savings when choosing one of Amazons fulfillment options as its possible to increase costs through an FBM model if there is an excess of inventory. If the seller has a lot of merchandise sitting in a warehouse not moving they are paying storage fees on that merchandise, so having an accurate idea of inventory management is crucial before choosing an FBM model.
- Seller Liability The best and worst part of Amazon FBM is seller liability. Amazon FBA handles shipping and returns, but in an FBM arrangement, all of that falls on the seller. Luckily, a proper shipping partner such as ShipCalm can help alleviate some of these responsibilities and ensure items arrive in a timely and efficient manner.
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Fulfilled By Amazon Vs Fulfilled By Merchant: A Closer Look
Selling on Amazon allows companies a chance to open a lucrative sales channel, gain brand visibility and scale business. Amazons trusted and established technological infrastructure provides vendors with solid back-end support. The vast online marketplace accounted for a jaw-dropping 49% of the U.S. ecommerce expenditures. In other words, that is 5% of the years nationwide retail spending.
Retailers should consider a few options before jumping into Amazon selling, such as choosing to have orders fulfilled by Amazon vs fulfilled by merchant. Each option is accompanied by its own set of pros and cons, however the best choice depends on how the merchant wants to run their business.
What Is Met By Amazon
When using FBA, or , you have the benefit of using Amazons world-class storage and shipping network. When you send your products to Amazons warehouses, they do the rest. When an order is placed, Amazon sends it out to you. Your products are eligible for Prime and you increase your chances of win the purchase box.
Amazon Fulfilled also allows you to fulfill orders across the European Fulfillment Network by shipping your products to one of Amazons overseas warehouses.
You can also take advantage of additional features like barcode management. This can be a useful way to save time and effort, and it will ensure that your business continues to run while you are away or on vacation. In this case, simply monitor your account for any notifications from buyers so you can send a quick response.
With FBA if anyone leaves negative seller feedback or a lousy product review that complains about a delivery, Amazon handles the customers complaint as it is related to their responsibility.
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