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The beginner's guide to selling on Amazon
A few things to consider before you start selling
Welcome to selling on Amazon
It’s no secret: At Amazon, we obsess over customers. And our customers want a trusted destination where they can purchase a wide variety of goods—which is what makes Selling Partners like you so important. We’re always looking for ways to add value for our customers and be Earth’s most customer-centric company. As an Amazon Selling Partner, you take part in offering those customers better selection, better prices, and a top-notch customer experience.
The Amazon Edge
When you start Selling on Amazon, you become part of a retail destination that’s home to Selling Partners of all kinds, from Fortune 500 organisations to artisan vendors who make handcrafted goods. They all sell here for a reason:
- Since third-party Selling Partners joined Amazon in 1999, they've grown to account for 58% of Amazon sales worldwide
- Third-party sales on Amazon are growing by 52% a year (compared to 25% of first party sales by Amazon) worldwide
Is Amazon right for your business?
The short answer is: yes. The largest household brands Sell on Amazon. So do emerging brands that will pop on your radar soon. Small and medium-sized businesses thrive here, and they account for more than half the units sold in our Stores worldwide. Whatever your buisiness is- and whatever size it is- we're excited for you to grow with us. Find your fit and start selling today.
The short answer is: yes. The largest household brands Sell on Amazon. So do emerging brands that will pop on your radar soon. Small and medium-sized businesses thrive here, and they account for more than half the units sold in our Stores worldwide. Whatever your buisiness is- and whatever size it is- we're excited for you to grow with us. Find your fit and start selling today.
Before you start selling
Choose your plan
We offer two selling plans so you can choose the right package of tools and services for the right price.
- The Individual selling plan costs *R10 per sale.
- The Professional selling plan costs R400 per month, no matter how many items you sell.
The Individual plan might be right if:
- You plan to sell fewer than 40 items a month
- You want to keep up-front costs low
- You don't need advanced selling tools or add-on programmes
The Professional plan might be right if:
- You plan to sell more than 40 items a month
- You're an established ecommerce Selling Partner
- You want access to advanced selling tools
For a limited time only, Amazon.co.za is offering you a Professional account with a **R1.00 monthly selling fee. Whichever plan you select, don’t worry about making the wrong choice—you can change plans at any time. Also keep in mind that, in both cases, additional selling fees apply.
Amazon also collects a referral fee on each item sold, and other selling fees can apply in some cases. Some optional tools and programmes involve added costs.
Amazon also collects a referral fee on each item sold, and other selling fees can apply in some cases. Some optional tools and programmes involve added costs.
*Unless otherwise stated, all fees are in South African Rand (ZAR) and do not include applicable taxes, such as VAT. As fees are subject to change, please check Seller Central for the most up-to-date information.
**Pay a R1.00 monthly subscription fee to Sell on Amazon.co.za for a limited time only. Monthly subscription fees apply when you choose to sell to other Amazon Stores.
**Pay a R1.00 monthly subscription fee to Sell on Amazon.co.za for a limited time only. Monthly subscription fees apply when you choose to sell to other Amazon Stores.
Create and configure your Seller Central account
After choosing your selling plan, you’ll register with Amazon and create a Seller Central account.
Once you’ve registered, you’ll want to configure your Seller Central account for your business. Make sure you review the following:
- Public seller profile
- Payment and business information
- Shipping and returns settings
- Tax information and settings
- Notification preferences
- Login settings
- User permissions
Consider adding other users to your selling account if you’d like help with certain tasks.
After configuring your Seller Central account, you can use it to list and price products, manage your inventory, and fulfil customer orders.
Enrol your brand
If you’re the Rights Owner for an eligible brand, we recommend enrolling it in Amazon Brand Registry before you list your products. Brand Registry is free and provides sellers with a suite of additional selling benefits and protection tools like A+ Content, Manage Your Experiments, and Brand Analytics.
Tools for brand owners
If you own a brand, Amazon offers tools to help you build, grow and protect it. Enrolling in Brand Registry can help you personalise your brand and product pages, protect your trademarks and intellectual property, and improve the brand experience for customers, along with unlocking additional advertising options and recommendations on improving traffic and conversion.
If you own a brand, Amazon offers tools to help you build, grow and protect it. Enrolling in Brand Registry can help you personalise your brand and product pages, protect your trademarks and intellectual property, and improve the brand experience for customers, along with unlocking additional advertising options and recommendations on improving traffic and conversion.
List products
Understand the product detail page
The product detail page is where customers find all relevant information about an item. When multiple sellers offer the same product, Amazon combines their offers on one product detail page to make it easier for customers to find, compare, and purchase items.
As you're building your product detail pages, try to think about what will best help customers find your products, discover answers to their questions, and make a purchasing decision. Aim for the ultimate customer experience by making your listings concise, accurate, and easy to understand.
Following best practices for adding listings can have a big impact on their success. Make it easy for shoppers to find your offers by adding descriptive titles, clear images, and concise feature bullets to your items.
As you're building your product detail pages, try to think about what will best help customers find your products, discover answers to their questions, and make a purchasing decision. Aim for the ultimate customer experience by making your listings concise, accurate, and easy to understand.
Following best practices for adding listings can have a big impact on their success. Make it easy for shoppers to find your offers by adding descriptive titles, clear images, and concise feature bullets to your items.
1.
Title
50 characters maximum, capitalise the first letter of every word
2.
Images
500 x 500 or 1,000 x 1,000 pixels to increase listing quality
3.
Variations
Such as different colours, scents, or sizes
4.
Bullet points
Short, descriptive sentences highlighting key features, benefits, and differentiating characteristics
5.
Featured Offer (formerly "Buy Box")
The Featured Offer on a detail page. This is the section where customers can add items to their cart or 'Buy Now'. If you're one of multiple Selling Partners advertising the same product, research strategies for 'winning' the Featured Offer to improve your overall sales.
6.
Other offers
The same product sold by multiple sellers offering a different price, shipping options, etc.
7.
Description
Keywords improve the chances that people will find your listing, through search engine optimisation
Make sure your products are safe and compliant
Products offered for sale in the Amazon store must comply with all laws and regulations, as well as Amazon policies. Before you start the listing process, make sure you understand our Product safety and Restricted products policies.
If you want to ship orders through Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), be sure to also review specific FBA product restrictions.
If you want to ship orders through Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), be sure to also review specific FBA product restrictions.
What are restricted product categories?
It's important that customers are able to shop with confidence on Amazon, which is why some product categories (like certain groceries or automotive products) are known as 'restricted product categories'. Amazon might require performance checks, additional fees, and other qualifications in order for you to sell certain brands or list items within restricted categoies. You'll be able to request approval from within Seller Central.
It's important that customers are able to shop with confidence on Amazon, which is why some product categories (like certain groceries or automotive products) are known as 'restricted product categories'. Amazon might require performance checks, additional fees, and other qualifications in order for you to sell certain brands or list items within restricted categoies. You'll be able to request approval from within Seller Central.
Match or create a product listing
If the product you want to sell is already in the Amazon store, in most cases you can use its product ID, or GTIN, to match an offer to the existing product detail page. If a product isn’t already in the Amazon store, you’ll need to create a new product detail page. Consistency in these codes helps promote confidence in the range of products shown in the Amazon catalogue.
All sellers can match or create product listings one at a time. Professional sellers can also match or create product listings in bulk.
Your ability to list a product in the Amazon store can depend on its category, condition, and brand. In some cases, you’ll need to apply to sell a product, category, or brand.
All sellers can match or create product listings one at a time. Professional sellers can also match or create product listings in bulk.
Your ability to list a product in the Amazon store can depend on its category, condition, and brand. In some cases, you’ll need to apply to sell a product, category, or brand.
Branded products
If a product is part of a brand enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry, only three types of sellers can create its product detail page using our standard listing processes:
- The original Rights Owner who enrolled the brand
- Other sellers internal to the brand
- Resellers who’ve been associated with the brand
After a product is listed by one of the above sellers, others sellers can match offers to its product detail page. They may be prompted to complete a brand selling application first.
Don't have an Amazon selling account yet?
Price products
Before you set prices for your products, you’ll want to get familiar with key concepts we use to organise and support pricing in the Amazon store.
- Competitive external price: The lowest price for an item from major retailers outside Amazon. We share competitive external prices with sellers. For your own price to be considered competitive, your standard item price, plus shipping, must be less than or equal to the competitive external price.
- Featured Offer: The offer a customer often sees near the top of a product detail page with Buy Now and Add to Cart buttons. To compete for the Featured Offer, a seller must set a competitive price and have a Professional selling plan. The product also needs to be in new condition.
- Lowest Amazon price: The lowest price currently offered by a seller in the Amazon store. We share the current lowest Amazon price to give sellers who list a product the opportunity to match or beat it.
Want to optimise your prices? Learn how the Automate pricing tool can help you become the Featured Offer for a product.
Select your fulfilment method
You have three basic options for getting customers their stuff:
- You can fulfil orders yourself, maintaining your own inventory and shipping products directly to customers. We call this Fulfilled by Merchant.
- You can store and pack your own products, and have Amazon deliver it to your customers through Amazon Easy Ship. Set shipping rates apply to all products sold with an Individual Plan, so it's important to determine if you can still price items profitably.
- You can also send your inventory to Amazon and have us pick, pack, and deliver products through Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA). FBA also takes care of customer service and returns.
Each method has its own benefits—and you can decide which one is right for each product you sell. You can also use our Revenue Calculator to compare estimates for FBA and your own fulfilment method.
Monitor your performance
Your first sale is a big milestone- but it's just the beginning of your growth opportunities Selling on Amazon. Once your Store is up and running, there are a few important things to keep in mind.
Amazon Selling Partners operate at a high standard so we can provide a seamless, delightful shopping experience. We call it being customer-obsessed, and as an Amazon Selling Partner it means keeping an eye on various key metrics.
Amazon Selling Partners operate at a high standard so we can provide a seamless, delightful shopping experience. We call it being customer-obsessed, and as an Amazon Selling Partner it means keeping an eye on various key metrics.
Customer service performance
Your customer-service performance is measured using what we call an Order Defect Rate (ODR). Your ODR is the percentage of your orders with one or more indicators of poor customer service: < 1%
Customer Reviews
Customer product reviews are an integral part of the shopping experience on Amazon, and they benefit both customers and Selling Partners. Make sure you're familiar with the right way and wrong way to get more product reviews and avoid policy violations.
Account health rating
Our Account Health dashboard provides an overview of your account’s adherence to policies and various performance targets.
We provide sellers an overview of their compliance with key Amazon selling policies. To maintain a ‘Good’ rating, make sure to address any policy violations listed on your Account Health dashboard.
We provide sellers an overview of their compliance with key Amazon selling policies. To maintain a ‘Good’ rating, make sure to address any policy violations listed on your Account Health dashboard.
Shipping Performance
You can use three metrics to help assess the health of the orders you fulfil directly:
- Your Late Shipment Rate (LSR) is the percentage of your seller-fulfilled orders that have a shipping confirmation after their expected shipping date, < 1%.
- Your Pre-fulfilment Cancel Rate (CR) is the percentage of seller-fulfilled orders you cancel, initiated by the Selling Partner before shipment, < 2.5%.
- Your Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) is the percentage of packages from your seller-fulfilled orders with a valid tracking number (Valid for Self Ship Sellers).
Opportunities for Growth
The moment you're Selling on Amazon is the moment you can start growing your business. Once you've launched your business, Amazon has tools in place to help you take your business to the next level.
Advertising
Use no-cost promotions and pay-per-click advertising to help your products and brands reach more customers.
Ads show upright where customers will first see your products (like the first page of search results or product detail pages).
Ads show upright where customers will first see your products (like the first page of search results or product detail pages).
- Create sponsored ads that feature a single product or multiple products from your brand.
- Create sponsored brands to showcase your brand and product portfolio, and Amazon Brand Stores - custom multipage shopping destinations for individual brands that let you share your brand story and product offerings.
Get product reviews
After a customer buys a product, they can leave a public product review, a seller-feedback rating, or both. Try these tips to improve your chances of getting positive reviews and ratings:
- Accurately represent a product on your product detail page.
- Pack your products to help prevent damage during delivery.
- Respond to customer messages within 24 hours.
- Provide valid tracking numbers so customers can track their orders.
A checklist for growth
Opportunities for growth are all around you- but here are a few things to try in your first 90 days as an Amazon Selling Partner.
- Keep an eye on your account health in Seller Central
- Use Fulfilment by Amazon or Amazon Easy Ship
- Advertise your listings or offer deals and vouchers
- Expand your selection by listing more products
- Use the Automate Pricing Tool in Selling Partner Central
Your first 90 days
The first three months after you launch your Amazon businsess are an important time for establishing practices that will boost your performance from there on out.
The first three months after you launch your Amazon businsess are an important time for establishing practices that will boost your performance from there on out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it profitable to sell on Amazon?
Selling with Amazon can be very profitable. How profitable you are can also depend on what products you sell, your pricing, and your marketing strategies.
What is needed to sell with Amazon?
To start selling with Amazon, you need to create an Amazon selling account. Learn more in our seller registration guide.
Is it free to be an Amazon seller?
While it’s free to create an Amazon selling account, there are fees associated with selling. Amazon offers two selling plans: the Individual plan, which is *R10.00 per item sold, and the Professional plan, which is **R400.00 per month, regardless of the number of items sold. In addition to selling plan fees, there is a referral fee on each item sold, and other selling costs may apply if you use certain optional tools and programmes.
How can I make money selling with Amazon?
To make money with Amazon, first find products that will sell well. Attract customers with great product listings that include accurate descriptions and engaging photos. You can also use Amazon’s optional programmes, like Fulfilment By Amazon (FBA) and Amazon Ads, to help optimise your selling.
Can you be an individual Amazon seller?
Absolutely, and you can choose whichever plan you prefer—the Individual or Professional plan—to suit your selling needs.
Is Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) worth it?
Many sellers choose Amazon’s FBA programme to outsource order fulfilment, shipping, customer service, and returns. The programme can provide cost savings and offers fast, free shipping to customers, which can help sellers attract more customers and grow their sales.
Do you need an LLC to sell with Amazon?
You don’t need to be an LLC or registered business, or be otherwise incorporated, to sell in the Amazon store. During seller registration, select None, I am an individual for your Business type, and we’ll update the registration process to collect relevant information.
*Unless otherwise stated, all fees are in South African Rand (ZAR) and do not include applicable taxes, such as VAT. As fees are subject to change, please check Seller Central for the most up-to-date information.
**Pay a R1.00 monthly subscription fee to Sell on Amazon.co.za for a limited time only. Monthly subscription fees apply when you choose to sell to other Amazon Stores.
**Pay a R1.00 monthly subscription fee to Sell on Amazon.co.za for a limited time only. Monthly subscription fees apply when you choose to sell to other Amazon Stores.
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