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Should a newbie start with Amazon FBA?

by boobooch5
19 replies
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After months of research and analysis paralysis, I am almost ready to pull the trigger and start the process of having a chosen product shipped to Amazon FBA.


My fear is the fact that Amazon has almost no forgiveness for learning curve errors and I am very worried that, through inexperience, I might make a mistake that would cause me to get banned from FBA - and such a ban is almost perfectly permanent, from what I have read here.


What would be an alternative? Ebay and shopify seem to be obvious, but what else is possible?


Any help is greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance.
#amazon #fba #newbie #start
  • Profile picture of the author MarketResearchAmazon
    Originally Posted by boobooch5 View Post

    After months of research and analysis paralysis, I am almost ready to pull the trigger and start the process of having a chosen product shipped to Amazon FBA.


    My fear is the fact that Amazon has almost no forgiveness for learning curve errors and I am very worried that, through inexperience, I might make a mistake that would cause me to get banned from FBA - and such a ban is almost perfectly permanent, from what I have read here.


    What would be an alternative? Ebay and shopify seem to be obvious, but what else is possible?


    Any help is greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance.
    There are several other Fulfilment companies out there that can help you but the cost might be higher as compared to FBA.
    Amazon has a guide which you can use to send products to Amazon fulfilment centers.
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  • Profile picture of the author DWaters
    You are correct that you do not want to get your FBA account banned but that should not be a problem if you simply "play by there rules." My suggestion for newbie starting out wioth FBA is to go slow and get your feet wet, learn the use of your seller central account and start as an individual seller, not a professional level seller, until your sales volumn warrents it.

    You said you are ready to ship "a chosen product" to Amazon. Why just one specific product? I would also suggest you diversify and sell many different things, what ever you can source at the right price as long as you are allowed to sell in that specific category. One if the one product you choose does not sell well? I often use camelcamelcamel for research on sales and price history.
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    • Profile picture of the author boobooch5
      Originally Posted by DWaters View Post

      You are correct that you do not want to get your FBA account banned but that should not be a problem if you simply "play by there rules." My suggestion for newbie starting out wioth FBA is to go slow and get your feet wet, learn the use of your seller central account and start as an individual seller, not a professional level seller, until your sales volumn warrents it.

      You said you are ready to ship "a chosen product" to Amazon. Why just one specific product? I would also suggest you diversify and sell many different things, what ever you can source at the right price as long as you are allowed to sell in that specific category. One if the one product you choose does not sell well? I often use camelcamelcamel for research on sales and price history.


      I did have several ideas in mind, but I wanted to start small.


      Speaking of selling several products, I was curious...how much emphasis would you put on selecting evergreen products? Some on this forum stress that it's almost mandatory for continued income, but others say it's not necessary. What are your thoughts?


      (This might be a good idea for a new thread)
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      • Profile picture of the author DWaters
        Originally Posted by boobooch5 View Post

        I did have several ideas in mind, but I wanted to start small.


        Speaking of selling several products, I was curious...how much emphasis would you put on selecting evergreen products? Some on this forum stress that it's almost mandatory for continued income, but others say it's not necessary. What are your thoughts?


        (This might be a good idea for a new thread)
        Yes of course evergreen products makes sense. Items that have a seasonal use tend to sell better at certain times of the year. Items that are useful this year but not next year will have a limited sales opportunity window. An item that will sell well into the future is ideal. But who can really predict the future?

        Of course the problem with finding a good selling evergreen product can be related to your source. Will you always be able to obtain it from your source at the right price? What if later there is tons of competition and they drive the prices down?

        Don't wait until you find the ideal and perfect product.

        Just some things to think about.
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        • Profile picture of the author boobooch5
          Originally Posted by DWaters View Post

          .
          Don't wait until you find the ideal and perfect product.
          .
          This may be the best pull-the-trigger phrase I could have read on this site.

          Simple wisdom, so true.

          Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author tiana with ecomdash
    You may have already done this, but I would spend some time in the Amazon forums. There is a segment dedicated to questions about FBA. That could be a great place to poke around and ask questions. Reach out to those folks who are experienced with FBA, and ask them the same question.

    Sounds like you've done a lot of research and are pretty cognizant of the rules. Even though I think its wise to proceed with an air of caution for anything that could impact your online business, you sound like you've done all the necessary legwork and can move forward with confidence.

    Tiana with ecomdash
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    • Profile picture of the author Ryan David
      I sold through merchant fulfilled for a couple years before doing FBA. I think it's probably a good idea to do the same (at least for a handful of orders) just to get a feel for things. Once you've done that, you can venture into FBA.

      I think the Amazon forums are full of a lot of stories on people getting banned, but I don't think they are as commonplace as you would think. Amazon measures your performance so just keep an eye on that and you'll be fine. Some infractions are much bigger than others, such as A-Z Guarantee Claim (n/a with FBA), expired orders (n/a with FBA), negative feedback, and a cc chargeback. All the other stuff is relatively minor.
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  • Profile picture of the author DWaters
    I am not sure if I would agree with Ryan's advice about starting with merchant fulfilled as I do not see the logic in it but his basic point is valid that you want to learn the system of selling your inventory on Amazon. And yes definately do avoid those major infractions he mentions.

    Also watch for any negative feedback. Sometimes you will get negative feedback that is fake, the customer posts it just becasue they think they need to do so in order to get a refund. You should battle against any negative feedback. Contact Amazon and see if you can get it removed. This will help with your overal sales record.

    As for getting banned I know that Cynthia Stine's excellent blog offers some good advice about dealing with that issue.
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    • Profile picture of the author boobooch5
      I may have just discovered another obvious Ecommerce basic that evades the newbie mind...Amazon FBA is not the same as merchant fullfilled? I always - at least up until this point, assumed FBA was just another (albeit very high octane) form of merchant fullfillment.


      Golden info here, and I am soaking it in. I hope it continues for a bit.
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      • Profile picture of the author jorgesil
        Originally Posted by boobooch5 View Post

        Amazon FBA is not the same as merchant fullfilled?
        No, they are diferent things.

        Merchant fullfilled= You list your products in the Amazon marketplace and when it sells YOU dispatche
        to the customer.

        Amazon FBA= You send your inventory to a Amazon fullfillment warehouse and when the product sells Amazon will dispatche it to the customer.

        There are advantages and disvantages but you could learn more about the process in the Amazon
        seller website or as has been reffered in other post you can join the sellers forum and learn from there.

        Hope it helps.

        Jorge
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        • Profile picture of the author boobooch5
          Aaah.... I was calling it SELF-fulfillment....now I'm embarassed. Many dozens of cut and pasted posts from various threads on this site, emailed to myself as a form of note-taking and self-education, and I let a basic definition slide past me. Now I'll have to climb the self-respect ladder all over again.


          I should never post a thread when I've been missing sleep.
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          • Profile picture of the author Frank Hollywood
            Originally Posted by boobooch5 View Post

            Aaah.... I was calling it SELF-fulfillment....now I'm embarassed. Many dozens of cut and pasted posts from various threads on this site, emailed to myself as a form of note-taking and self-education, and I let a basic definition slide past me. Now I'll have to climb the self-respect ladder all over again.


            I should never post a thread when I've been missing sleep.
            It's good to know I'm not the only one. I keep a word document open every time I browse, copy and paste and email the document to myself. I do this several hours a day. I don't tend to review the notes as much as I take them though.
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            • Profile picture of the author beets79
              Originally Posted by Frank Hollywood View Post

              It's good to know I'm not the only one. I keep a word document open every time I browse, copy and paste and email the document to myself. I do this several hours a day. I don't tend to review the notes as much as I take them though.
              Note taker as well, although I tend to put my brainstorm ideas on the desktop post-it notes and layer them until I can't even see what half of them are any more...lol. I also email myself links and tips several times a day.

              Anyone else have 500 browser tabs open?

              Sorry to go off topic, I am also interested in the FBA program...
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              • Profile picture of the author iamnotfrankkern
                Hi,

                I'm from the UK and thinking about starting a FBA business and wondering if its possible to sell on Amazon.com from the UK at all? Or would be better to start selling on Amazon.co.uk first?
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  • Profile picture of the author Shellg
    Well I intend starting selling by using Amazon FBA. My sales on eBay are going great and I reckon I can do a lot better on Amazon.

    Im thinking of buying the PAC course. Price is reasonable for newbies like me and it looks like they have very good system to help newbies. Any ideas?
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    • Profile picture of the author Trinipirate
      FBA is not that hard and scary as people make it out to be. Most of those courses focus on picking a product and optimizing listings. Amazon gives you all you need to know to list and sell an item. Just follow those to get your feet wet. They won't ban you for trivial nonsense. Just go for it.
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    • Profile picture of the author DWaters
      Originally Posted by Shellg View Post

      Well I intend starting selling by using Amazon FBA. My sales on eBay are going great and I reckon I can do a lot better on Amazon.

      Im thinking of buying the PAC course. Price is reasonable for newbies like me and it looks like they have very good system to help newbies. Any ideas?

      The PAC course is how got started with my FBA business and it was a very good decision for me. One of the excellent features is you get access to their PAC Amazon sellers forum which is moderated by some very helpful folks. Almost anything you ask will answered promptly and you will learn a lot just from the forum not to mention the course material which is constantly expanding.
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      • Profile picture of the author Frank Hollywood
        Originally Posted by DWaters View Post

        The PAC course is how got started with my FBA business and it was a very good decision for me. One of the excellent features is you get access to their PAC Amazon sellers forum which is moderated by some very helpful folks. Almost anything you ask will answered promptly and you will learn a lot just from the forum not to mention the course material which is constantly expanding.
        Could you provide a link or a website I could find it at? I also see a bunch of courses on Udemy that look good. Can I gain anything from a $15 course?
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        • Profile picture of the author DWaters
          Originally Posted by Frank Hollywood View Post

          Could you provide a link or a website I could find it at? I also see a bunch of courses on Udemy that look good. Can I gain anything from a $15 course?
          I was looking to send you a PM but I think you do not have enough posts yet to be able to do that. You ask about a $15 course and I am not certain what you are referring to. I believe Jim Cockrum will sometimes offer the PAC course at a deep discount but generally it costs more and IMO is well worth it. Try Attract More Cash! | How I Make Money on Amazon for more info on PAC.
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