Sell on Amazon: A Guide to Amazon's Marketplace, Seller Central, and Fulfillment by Amazon Programs [Paperback]

Steve Weber (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0977240649 | ISBN-13: 978-0977240647 | Publication Date: July 24, 2008

If you are in business to sell consumer goods -- or you want to be -- you should be on Amazon.com.

More than 90 million customers shop at Amazon. As its global business booms, Amazon is inviting all sorts of independent sellers -- large and small businesses, individuals, and mom-and-pop shops -- to sell their merchandise right on Amazon.

Whether you're just starting or already in business, you can boost your sales and profits by showing your wares on Amazon, the world's biggest store. Everything you need to start converting your items into cash is in this book by Steve Weber, one of the most successful and highly rated sellers in Amazon history:

• How to set up shop on Amazon and generate worldwide sales volume with no up-front cost, risk or advertising.
• Run your Amazon store from home, a warehouse or a walk-in store-or outsource everything to Amazon's fulfillment center.
• Find bargain inventory; target niche markets for big profits.
• Get tax deductions and write-offs for business use of your home.
• Use Amazon as a stand-alone business or a lead generator for an existing busines.
• Pay lower sales commissions on Amazon.
• Sell your inventions, crafts or intellectual property on Amazon.
• Guard against scammers and rip-off artists.
• Automate your business with easy-to-use tools

FROM THE TABLE OF CONTENTS:

GET STARTED ON AMAZON
SEE THE FOUR DEGREES OF AMAZON
LIST AN ITEM ON MARKETPLACE
DESCRIBE YOUR ITEM'S CONDITION
RATE YOUR ITEMS' CONDITION
SET YOUR PRICE
SET SHIPPING LOCATIONS, OTHER OPTIONS
SET QUANTITY AND SKU
TAKE AMAZON PAYMENTS
PAY FEES AND COMMISSIONS
IDENTIFY YOUR PRODUCTS

MANAGE INVENTORY
SEARCH AND SORT YOUR LISTINGS
REPRICE YOUR LISTINGS
Q&A: HOW OFTEN SHOULD I REPRICE?
EDIT YOUR LISTINGS
RELIST YOUR ITEMS
MANAGE INVENTORY THE SMART WAY
RECONCILE YOUR INVENTORY
UPLOAD INVENTORY FILES TO AMAZON
USE SKUS
SECURE YOUR AMAZON ACCOUNT
BEST PRACTICES
VIEW AND SEARCH YOUR ORDERS
CREATE A PRODUCT DETAIL PAGE
AMAZON VELOCITY LIMITS
BEST PRACTICES
CONTACT AMAZON.COM
GET HELP FROM OTHER SELLERS

STAY ON THE LAW'S RIGHT SIDE
YOUR BUSINESS'S LEGAL STRUCTURE
LOCAL ORDINANCES

STAY ON AMAZON'S GOOD SIDE
PROHIBITED ITEMS
LISTING RULES
PRODUCT DETAIL PAGE OFFENSES
CONTENT PROHIBITED ON DETAIL PAGES
SOFTWARE SALES
AMAZON PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT
CONDITION GUIDELINES

KICK IT UP A NOTCH
AUTOMATION
GET EFFICIENT WITH FULFILLMENT SOFTWARE
DO-IT-YOURSELF BULK LISTING
WORKING WITH SPREADSHEETS
REFINE YOUR TEMPLATE
A WORD ABOUT SKUS
A WORD ABOUT ISBNS

SOURCE USED ITEMS FOR RESALE
LIVE AUCTIONS
GET MERCHANDISE ON CONSIGNMENT

EXPLORE SELLER CENTRAL
USE SELLER CENTRAL
CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION GUIDELINES
INDIRECT COMMUNICATION
SELLER DESKTOP
UPLOAD PRODUCTS TO AMAZON
AMAZON PRODUCT INFORMATION

HANDLE YOUR FULFILLMENT
OTHER SHIPPING RESOURCES
CHOOSE A SHIPPING COMPANY
SHIPPING MATERIALS
SHIPPING TIMEFRAMES
BEST PRACTICES
Q&A: IS DELIVERY CONFIRMATION WORTH IT?

OUTSOURCE YOUR FULFILLMENT
GET A LEG UP ON COMPETITION
TYPICAL COSTS OF FULFILLMENT BY AMAZON
USE FBA 'BASIC FULFILLMENT'
COMPETING WITH FBA
DRAWBACKS OF FULFILLMENT BY AMAZON
LOST OR DAMAGED FBA ITEMS
FULFILLMENT BY AMAZON FACTS
BEST PRACTICES
SMART FBA SHIPPING
AMAZON EASYSELL
USE AMAZON AS A DROP-SHIPPER
IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
EXPORT ITEMS
PREPARE ITEMS FOR SHIPMENT

COMPETE WITH FEEDBACK
FEEDBACK GROUND RULES
KEEP A HIGH FEEDBACK AVERAGE
SELLER PERFORMANCE TARGETS
FEEDBACK REMOVAL
RESPOND TO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Q&A: SHOULD I REFUND MY IRATE CUSTOMER?
SEE YOUR FEEDBACK SUMMARY
RETURNS AND RESTOCKING FEES
Q&A: DO CANCELED ORDERS HURT SELLERS?
CHARGEBACKS AND A-TO-Z CLAIMS
Q&A: SHOULD I ASK BUYERS FOR FEEDBACK?

EXPLORE THE SOCIAL JUNGLE
GET CRAZY WITH LISTS
SO YOU'D LIKE TO . . . GUIDES
WRITE PRODUCT REVIEWS
GET CREDIBLE WITH PEERS
AMAZON TAGS
TAG-BASED MARKETING
MAKE FRIENDS AT THE RIVER
ADVANCED AMAZON TOOLS
BUY X, GET Y

PAY-PER-CLICK ADVERTISING
GOOGLE ADWORDS
CLICKRIVER/AMAZON PRODUCT ADS
AMAZON PRODUCT ADS

YOUR OWN WEB SITE
WEBSTORE FEATURES
MANAGE YOUR WEBSTORE
OTHER E-COMMERCE HOSTS
AMAZON ASTORES

AMAZON ADVANTAGE
ADVANTAGE VS. FULFILLMENT BY AMAZON
MANAGE THE DETAILS
ADVANTAGE PROFESSIONAL

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Weber Books (July 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977240649
• ISBN-13: 978-0977240647
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Home Based

More About the Author

Steve Weber is the author of "Etsy 101: Sell Your Crafts on Etsy, the DIY Marketplace for Handmade, Vintage and Crafting Supplies."

Other books by Steve:

"Barcode Booty: How I found and sold $2 million of 'junk' on eBay and Amazon, And you can, too, using your phone."

"The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site"

"eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days"

"Sell on Amazon: A Guide to Amazon's Marketplace, Seller Central, and Fulfillment by Amazon Programs"

"Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity through Social Networking"

"ePublish: Self-Publish Fast and Profitably for Kindle, iPhone, CreateSpace and Print on Demand"

Steve is a native of Charleston, W.Va. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a Journalism graduate of West Virginia University. Steve lives in Falls Church, Va., with his wife and their young children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sell on Amazon, August 29, 2008

By 

J. L. Patterson "SeamSewSweet" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sell on Amazon: A Guide to Amazon's Marketplace, Seller Central, and Fulfillment by Amazon Programs (Paperback)

I was very eager to receive this book and pre-ordered it before the release date. The content seemed up to date, which was a problem with prior books on the same subject. This was easy to read and the chapters were clearly stated with the subject matter. Overall I think this would be a good reference for somebody who is just starting to sell on Amazon. It did provide me with some insight as to how the levels of selling are established on Amazon, and I was able to move my business to the next level.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book presents one highly experienced online retailer's take on how to use Amazon when selling online., August 12, 2008

By 

Jeff Lippincott "JLIPPIN" (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sell on Amazon: A Guide to Amazon's Marketplace, Seller Central, and Fulfillment by Amazon Programs (Paperback)

I liked this book very much. I found it to be well written, and well outlined. It was an easy read and it flowed for me. This book is not just about selling books (new and used) through Amazon. It had the feel of many of the eBay books I have read. And I've read a few books about eBay (one of which the author of this book has written).

eBay's offerings are similar to Amazon's offerings for online retailers. But the specifics are different. Therefore, there is a need for this book. Only one book exists that I am aware of (besides this book) that tries to explain how to use Amazon as a retail sales helper in the same way eBay can be used. That other book, entitled "How to Sell Anything on Amazon" (ISBN: 9780072262605), was written back in 2006 and from the reviews I just read indicate that it did not come across as a true primer on how to be successful selling on Amazon. And it has become a little dated, too.

The instant book being reviewed is a small business guide. It talks about using Amazon to do online retailing. It's not just a book about how to do different things on Amazon. It talks about Choice of Legal Entity for your business, naming your business, and marketing options and techniques, too. Accordingly, it does not merely paraphrase help blurbs that can be found on the Amazon site.

The author has written this book by talking about what he has done over the past several years to make a living selling on Amazon. He hasn't used Amazon exclusively, but he clearly knows what he is talking about. He is an online bookseller (and author)! However, the book is written in general terms so a retailer of ANY product will benefit from reading this book. If you are putting together a business plan for an online retail business in which you plan to use Amazon as a sales vehicle, then I cannot think of a better book to have by your side. Sure, you will have to experiment with the Amazon site as you read, or after you read, this book. But it's well worth parting with the cover price to help you on your way to creating your business plan. And a failure to plan is a plan to fail. 5 stars!

PS. Take a look at the Search Insides feature for this book and examine the Table of Contents to see exactly what is covered.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Info for Amazon.com Sellers, October 2, 2008

By 

Russell R. Corrie "Russell Corrie" (Irvine, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sell on Amazon: A Guide to Amazon's Marketplace, Seller Central, and Fulfillment by Amazon Programs (Paperback)

I purchased Sell on Amazon becuase I recently started selling items on Amazon.com and was a little confused on how the process worked. A lot of the information I have researched online and other books I have read provide good information but it's outdated. This book had a lot of repetitive information that I already knew, or could have easily found out by going to the Amazon help section, however, the content was up-to-date.