How to Sell on Amazon for Beginners (In-depth Guide)

Amazon is the largest eCommerce website and retailer on the internet. In this post, we will explain how to sell on Amazon for beginners, which Amazon Seller Plan is best for you, how to create an Amazon account, how to get paid after selling on Amazon, and lots more.

What is Amazon and how does it work?

Amazon is a very large eCommerce and retail website that deals in buying and selling books, music, movies, housewares, electronics, toys, and many other items.

Here’s how Amazon works. It has a website, as well as mobile applications. Amazon uses these to connect sellers with millions of customers and earns a commission on each sale.

Amazon also offers a few services that assist sellers in selling to customers. One of such services is Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), and we will talk about that later in this post.

What are the requirements to sell on Amazon?

Anyone can sell on Amazon, as long as they reside in a country that is approved for Amazon sellers. You can see the full list of the countries accepted for Amazon seller registration. From Nigeria to Brazil, and the UK, you can sell on Amazon from almost every country around the world.

If your country is accepted, then you should proceed with your Amazon seller account registration. You will need to provide the details below.

1. Tax information
2. Your phone number
3. A chargeable credit card
4. Your bank routing number
5. Your bank account number
6. Any government-issued national ID

Amazon seller pricing plans, and which one is best for you?

There are two types of accounts on Amazon, or better put, two pricing plans available to Amazon sellers.

Amazon Individual or Standard plan

This plan is free to create, but Amazon will charge a flat fee of roughly $1 on each sale (aside from the usual commissions). Note that this fee will be deducted immediately after each sale.

This means if you have 100 sales in a month, you will be charged $100.

Amazon Professional or Premium plan

This plan costs $40 per month. Sellers using this plan won’t be charged any fee per sale (aside from the usual Amazon commissions).

This means that if you have 100 sales in a month, you will still have to pay $40, and not a dime extra. It’s a flat fee and you can sell as many times as you want.

Amazon Individual vs Professional plan: Which is best for beginners?

If you’re a beginner and you have faith that you can have more than 40 sales in a month, then the professional plan is best for you.

If you’re a beginner that wants to tread carefully and observe how many sales you can have in a month, you can start with the individual plan and later switch to professional.

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How to create an Amazon seller account and start selling to customers

Follow these steps to create an Amazon seller account and start selling:

1. Register your Amazon Seller Account

On your browser (Chrome, Opera, Edge, etc), visit Amazon Seller Central and navigate to the account registration page.

On the page, provide your name, email, and password. On the next page, you’ll be asked to provide your tax details and some information about the products you want to sell on Amazon.

2. Apply for seller account approval

Note that this step depends on your category, as some sellers may not need to apply for it.

Sellers in popular categories like Clothing & Accessories, Shoes, Handbags & Sunglasses, Jewelry etc, usually need approval before joining Amazon.

Sell on Amazon: Mobile app download

Do you know that Amazon has a mobile app for sellers? After creating your account on a browser, you can download the mobile app and manage your Amazon seller account right from your mobile phone.

Android phone users can download the Amazon seller app from the Google Play Store. Users of iPhone devices can also download from the Apple App Store.

What is the Amazon Seller Central?

After completing your registration as an Amazon seller, you will be able to access your Seller Central account.

Amazon Seller Central is like a menu dashboard, from which you can control and monitor everything going on on your account.

You can use your Amazon seller central account to:

1. Add product details
2. Update your inventory
3. Manage your payments
4. Contact Selling Partner Support

And lots more.

How To List Your Product on Amazon Seller Central Step-By-Step Guide

It’s very easy to upload your products on Amazon. Follow the steps below.

1. From your Amazon seller central, locate and click on “Add A Product”.

2. Select your preferred choice out of the three options on the “Add a Product” page.

• Use the search bar to search for a product (if your product is also being sold by other Amazon sellers)
• You can also press “Create a new product listing” (if your product is new and not currently being sold on Amazon)
• If you want to upload multiple items at once, navigate to the right side of your screen and press the “Bulk upload” button

3. Confirm the main category of each product. If any of the products belong in a sub-category, make sure you indicate it.

4. Switch to “Advanced View” to provide all the necessary details of each product. Indicate the vital Info, variations (colours, scents, sizes) offered, images, descriptions, keywords, etc.

Learn more on how to list products on Amazon Seller Central.

How to deliver your product to customers on Amazon

Whenever a customer orders a product, you will be notified on your seller central account. You can deliver your product in two ways.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

Amazon FBA is a paid feature that assists sellers in storing and delivering their goods. Amazon will store, label, package, and ship products to customers on your behalf.

Here’s how it works. Sellers will pay a fee to register for Amazon FBA. They will then ship their products to the Amazon FBA station closest to them.

Whenever a customer places an order, Amazon will package and deliver it. They will also handle customer questions, returns, and refunds.

If the customer doesn’t return the product, the money will be available for payment on the seller’s Amazon seller central account. If the seller returns the product, Amazon will handle the returns and refunds.

Learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

Fulfillment by Merchant

In this case, the seller is solely responsible for storing and shipping his/her products to customers. The buyer will choose a shipment service that he/she prefers, and Amazon will notify you of the shipping rates.

Note: The shipping rates vary based on the product category and shipping service selected by the buyer.

Learn more about Amazon Merchant-fulfiled.

How to receive payment after you sell on Amazon

• Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account
• Click on “Settings”, and then click “Account Info”.
• Press on “Payment Method”, and then on “Add”
• In the Amazon Pay area, press “Edit” (or press “Add” if no bank account has been set
• Select and edit existing bank details or add a new one
• Input your bank account details like the bank name and routing number
• Click on “Submit” to save your changes.

Note: 

1. Amazon pays sellers every two weeks.

2. Amazon will deduct all its charges before sending your payment.

3. Your payment can be delayed for up to 7 days. The reason is that some customers may return the products and demand refunds.

Amazon gives the customer 7 days to try it. After that, refunds are no longer possible and your payment will become available.

Read more on how to receive payments for your products on Amazon.

How much does it cost to sell on Amazon?

There are 5 different charges that sellers may incur when selling on Amazon.

1. Amazon subscription fees

An Individual (standard) plan is free but attracts a fee of $1 on each sale. The Professional (premium) plan only costs a flat fee of $40 per month.

2. Amazon selling fees

The selling fees vary depending on the item being sold.

3. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fees

If you want Amazon to deliver products to customers on your behalf, some service charges will be incurred.

The fees collected will cover the storage, shipment, etc.

4. Amazon shipping fees

If you don’t want to sign up for Amazon FBA, it can still sell on Amazon. However, you will have to deliver products to customers yourself.

In that case, Amazon shipping fees will apply. The shipping fees depend on the product category and shipping service selected by the buyer.

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Conclusion

Congratulations, you have completed our free training on “how to sell on Amazon for beginners“. We have explained everything you need to start selling on Amazon.

We talked about how you can create an Amazon account, how to use an Amazon seller central account, how to receive payments for your products and many more.
You can start selling on Amazon here.