Amazon FBA for beginners: How to start selling in 7 steps

If you’ve found your way to this blog, chances are it’s because you want to know how to become an Amazon seller utilizing Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA). We’re here to answer that very question with our Amazon FBA step by step guide.

1. Determine your products and range

Spending time on product selection at the outset will help you make informed business decisions further down the track. Take the time to look at existing products from other Amazon sellers to make sure you have a good chance of being able to sell your products at a price that allows you to make a profit.

2. Calculate Amazon revenue

This would require you to first estimate your monthly sales volume for Amazon products, based on the product's Sales Rank and current price. You can also add your Shipping Cost and Cost Price to get your total revenue and potential profit figures. This will enable you to get a guide of whether a product opportunity is worth pursuing before identifying and placing an order with any supplier.

3. Find a supplier

Unless you manufacture products yourself, you’ll need to find a business to make or supply your products. There are a number of supplier directories you can look for, but be sure to research any you find on an aggregator site thoroughly. Alternatively, you could reach out to other sellers you admire on Amazon and ask for recommendations.

4. Open an Amazon Seller account & sign up for Amazon FBA

You’ve identified your product range. You’ve found a good supplier. Now it’s time to sign up to Amazon!

Once you’ve become an Amazon Seller you’ll also need to sign up for FBA, which has a huge number of benefits:

• 2-day Amazon Prime shipping
• Managed customer service and returns
• Send products from your supplier directly to Amazon
• Shipping costs from Amazon to your customer are included in your FBA fees
• Multi-channel fulfillment if you have an eBay or Shopify store

It’s worth noting that some businesses prefer to have more control over their distribution and fulfillment processes as an Amazon Vendor. If you’re not sure which is best for you, see our guide to being an Amazon Seller vs. an Amazon Vendor.

5. Create and optimize your Amazon listings

Product listings are one of the most critical aspects of your Amazon store, but unfortunately, they don’t often get the love they deserve. For each listing, play close attention to the following:

Product Title –Keep it clear

Features and descriptions – Should be concise, and contain relevant keywords

Categories – List in all relevant categories and sub-categories

Images – Should be high-quality and professional

Reviews – Encourage customers to leave feedback about your products

Ratings – Make sure you’re maintaining a good rating on each of your products, and, if not, look at what you can do to improve the product or remove it altogether

SKUs - All products sold on Amazon are required to have SKUs which you can either generate, or have Amazon generate for you. Check QuickBooks Commerce's guide on all you need to know about Amazon SKUs.

6. Create an FBA shipping plan

The buck stops with you when it comes to ensuring the quality of your products, so make sure they’re in good condition by inspecting them thoroughly before they move into Amazon’s hands and follow Amazon’s FBA guidelines.

Regarding shipping costs, in many cases the products you sell are more impactful to profit margins than keeping shipping costs as low as possible – which is why it’s so important to choose the right products at step one. With that said, shipping costs should be reasonable based on factors like delivery time and item weight. It goes without saying that a heavy item being express-shipped will be pricier than a standard letter.

7. Generate your first sale!

Here’s the fun part: making a sale! Now that you’re up and running keep an eye on which products are selling well and which just aren’t cutting it so you can refine your offering over time and ensure you’re selling products which your Amazon customers actually want.