
What You Need to Know About Amazon as an E-commerce Store Owner

If you’re an e-commerce store owner, there are many reasons to consider selling your products on Amazon. You’ll be able to expand your customer base, attract traffic to your own webstore, and boost your sales. Amazon’s marketplace spans the globe and will take care of your shipping needs too. However, since Amazon is so large, there are a few things you should know before you get started selling in their marketplace to ensure that your e-commerce efforts will be successful.
Be Aware of What the Buy Box Is and How It Works
The “buy box” holds the very important “Add to Cart” call-to-action button. It’s located on the product detail page where customers begin sorting through product options for a category and begin the purchasing process by adding items to their shopping carts. About ninety percent of Amazon’s sales, over fifty billion dollars’ worth of sales, happens here. So, understanding how it works is imperative. The buy box is difficult to attain for your listings since you must first become a featured seller who is ranked high in product search results. Even if you’re not ranked the highest, it’s still beneficial to know the factors that affect how your products are ranked. Here are the factors that matter most.- Whether you offer competitive pricing (including shipping costs).
- How many competing offers are already available. It’s harder to get a high ranking if there is a large number of options for what you’re offering.
- Your history and credibility as an Amazon seller.
- The number of reviews you and your products have.
Know the Specifics Behind How to Use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
When you participate in Amazon’s fulfillment program, you send your merchandise to them. They store your merchandise in their large warehouses and then ship it for you when a customer places an order. When using Amazon’s fulfillment program, you’ll have the capabilities of a large corporation without actually having to be one. Amazon will provide expedited shipping and handle customer service issues with orders for you so you can focus on other aspects of your business. Remember, however, that expedited shipping methods must be earned, such as two-day shipping for Amazon Prime members. You must first establish a history of reliable shipping at the slower shipping speeds. Also keep in mind that Amazon determines how much they think it should cost to ship a product based on the merchant’s origin, the customer’s address, and the weight of the product. Therefore, the amount of money Amazon reimburses merchants for shipping costs won't always match actual shipping costs. Major perks to using Amazon’s fulfillment program include being able to track your inventory with their user-friendly integrated tracking system and being able to use your own website or other channels to sell your products through their fulfillment program.