According to recent data from Amazon itself, the world's number one eCommerce platform has more than 300 active customer accounts and more than 1.9 million selling partners worldwide. With these figures, there are more reasons why you should get started Amazon selling.
Since Amazon allows sellers to reach out to a great number of customers, selling on Amazon provides a lot of impressive benefits. These include getting a huge potential for your sales, earning repeat business without marketing, having others pack and ship your orders (you need to relax), getting solid back-end support, getting unsolicited referrals, and so much more. Selling on Amazon is nowadays every entrepreneur's dream.
Traditionally speaking, when selling products, you need an inventory. But did you know that you can start selling on Amazon without inventory? It sounds like magic, because it really is. So how do you go about Amazon selling without inventory? We will find out here.
But before heading over to the guide on how to sell on Amazon without holding inventory, we would want to introduce you to a very fascinating software that everybody who wants to sell on Amazon without inventory should invest in. Meet Helium 10.
Learn About Helium 10, A Tool For Amazon Sellers
What Every Amazon Seller Must Know About Helium 10
Helium 10 is an eCommerce suite of various tools for entrepreneurs and business to manage and sell products, look for keywords, streamline advertising campaigns, identify trends, optimize listings, and so much more on Amazon. It has tools like Black Box that allows teams to search for opportunities with the use of algorithms and filters based on product category, review ratings, monthly sales revenue, price, number of sellers, weight, and requirements, as well as save, organize, and sort results for future references. Other key features of this platform include its ASIN grabber, profitability calculator, inventory protector, index checker, multi-user login, and more.
Sellers Can Access Over 30 Tools From Helium 10, Allowing Them To Take Their Business To The Next Level
With Helium 10, Amazon sellers can gain access to over 30 tools, letting them take their business to greater heights. Here are some of those tools.
- Product Research. Find highly-profitable product opportunities in every product category.
- Keyword Research. Gain access to strategic research tools designed to enhance your product rank and drive more traffic.
- Listing Optimization. Helium 10 also has tools to craft high-ranking listings and optimize your existing listings.
- Operations. Manage every aspect of your business with streamlined tools, so you can run your business well.
- Analytics. Easily monitor the performance of your products and your business.
- Marketing. Build and grow the marketing and PPC strategies for your products.
How To Save When You Buy Helium 10
Helium 10 is not for free, but it has a free plan that can let you use the tools prior to actually paying. But if you feel you are ready to pay for Helium 10, you should first check out these perks to help you save on your purchase.
When you purchase one annual plan, you get 3+ months free. Lock in the best subscription prices as soon as you can this year when you upgrade to an annual plan.
Helium 10 has two pricing options. There is the Platinum at $70 per month, then the Diamond at $175 per month. Both are billed annually. To learn more about the features of these plans, and more about the deal, visit this link.
Now that you have an idea of what Helium 10 is all about and how it can help you when you want to sell products without inventory on Amazon, let us jump right into the details on how you can actually start selling on Amazon without inventory.
How To Sell On Amazon Without Inventory: The Ultimate Guide For The Amazon Seller
Amazon is no longer available exclusively to those who have tied up with the company or sent their items directly to Amazon warehouses. As a matter of fact, learning how to sell on Amazon without inventory is one of today's most popular trends, especially among those interested to shifting to eCommerce sales with minimal to no experience in Internet sales.
Knowing how to sell on Amazon without inventory can streamline the production of your products and launch processes so you can start generating revenue as swiftly as you can. With this beginner's guide to selling on Amazon, you can uncover how you can generate a passive or full-time income without storing your own items. Let's get started.
Way # 1: Fulfillment By Amazon Or FBA
Fulfillment by Amazon, also known as FBA, is one of today's most popular methods to sell products on Amazon. FBA lets users sell products by shipping them directly to Amazon warehouses. Once those items arrive successfully, Amazon takes care of the rest, from warehouse storage and organization, to shipping logistics and delivery confirmations. You just have to sit back and relax.
FBA Pros And Cons
In this guide, you will also be learning both the pros and cons of each way, beginning with FBA. Using FBA offers several advantages and drawbacks. Among the most noteworthy benefits of using Fulfillment by Amazon include:
- The capability to directly send products to Amazon, taking out the need of warehouse space
- Boosting your products' visibility by using Amazon's worldwide prestige
- 24/7 customer support directly from Amazon
- Access to one of the biggest global fulfillment networks
- An all-inclusive fulfillment and shipping solution that gives you more time to focus on other important matters of your business
- Flexible solutions that allow you to work at your own pace, even if you are new to eCommerce selling in every capacity
With these perks to using FBA, there are also disadvantages, and it important to also learn them. These drawbacks include:
- Referral and commission fees for selling individual goods
- Lack of notifications when inventory is low requires the seller to manually keep track of items in stock
- Storage fees tend to add up, depending on the items you are storing versus your selling rate and profit margin
- Lack of control in terms of fees and pricing, as these are usually dependent on relevant markets
How You Can Get Started With FBA
But how can you actually get started with FBA? It is very simple. It does not require any extensive training or preparation. Here are the steps:
- First, create your Amazon seller's account. From here on, you can learn more about selling on Amazon and the various fees or monthly costs you may be incurred with depending on the kind of platform you plan to use.
- Second, set up your FBA account from the seller account portal of Amazon.
- Third, create the listings for your goods and specify the type of FBA inventory you intend to send directly to an Amazon warehouse.
- Lastly, get your products ready by following the packing guidelines of Amazon. Compare Amazon FBA shipping rates and options. You can likewise review the current Amazon routing and shipping requirements list to verify the steps you must take based on your items and current location.
Way # 2: Dropship On Amazon
As you may have already read previously in our blog, dropshipping is another renowned method of selling products online without managing inventory. Dropshipping, in fact, has been existing for years, even before Amazon was created, mind you.
Dropshipping on Amazon involves marketing and selling products you do not store or keep yourself. By selling items through the dropshipping method, you can basically only responsible for promoting and selling the products. Your preferred dropshipping provider will help fulfill the order, as well as maintain the inventory they are responsible for all the time.
Dropshipping Pros And Cons
To use dropshipping gives benefits that make it a viable business model. These perks include:
- Low to no-cost startup. Using a dropshipping solution is sell is among the lowest-costing eCommerce solutions available today to start selling products for a profit.
- Test products quicker. Test your products' viability through this method is much quicker than creating your own products and purchasing too much in inventory.
- Gain valuable insight. Learn more about your audience online and the demographics you are trying to reach by selling various dropshipping products while collecting information and analytics in real-time.
The cons of using Amazon dropshipping may include:
- Lack of flexibility. You will not have much flexibility over how you design your goods, since you are limited to another manufacturer's products.
- Hit or miss. There is no assurance a dropshipping website's products will succeed or satisfy customers.
- Highly competitive. The industry of dropshipping is filled with competition.
How You Can Get Started With Dropshipping
Getting started with dropshipping requires you to choose the right niche, research current competitors, and look for a dropshipping provide you can trust and rely on.
Way # 3: Third-Party Logistics Or 3PL
If you cannot find an Amazon no-product platform suitable for you and your needs, or, if you are looking for alternative options, consider using a third-party logistics or 3PL company.
A 3PL is a service or provider that offers professionals in the eCommerce industry assistance with managing inventory. Rather than using Amazon or a dropshipping service for storing inventory, a 3PL solution provides a third-party and all-inclusive warehouse storage, as well as shipping solution.
A 3PL service includes:
- Inventory management and warehouse storage
- Collection, receiving, and inspecting
- Pick and pack services
- LTL, FTL shipping solutions
- Reverse logistics
3PL Benefits And Disadvantages
The benefits include it:
- Giving increased management freedom
- Letting you save time so you can focus on other matters of your business
- Being scalable
Here are the cons:
- Lack of control over physical inventory
- Lesser flexibility over the distribution of your products
- Incapability to monitor quality oftentimes
- Can incur expensive startup costs
How You Can Get Started With Third-Party Logistics
To jump into a 3PL solution, sellers are required to first research the market you intend to reach and reputable third-party logistics providers in your area. Also, consider the volume of business you look at generating, and the kind of features and shipping services offered prior to choosing your preferred 3PL solution.
Way # 4: Sell Digital Products on Amazon
Another viable way to get started to make money on Amazon without inventory is by offering your very own digital products. You may have also heard about this before.
Digital Products Defined
Digital products can constitute everything from downloadable audiobooks to digital versions of your book and print-on-demand items, such as selling shirts or art prints on Amazon.
Advantages Of Selling Digital Products
- Low to no startup costs or investments
- Accessible to everybody, even those with minimal to no experience in eCommerce
- Capability to set your price and profit margins
Disadvantages Of Selling Digital Products
- Too saturated and highly competitive in particular markets
- Hard to garner visibility and reach when first entering the market
- No guarantee of sales
- No guarantee of success
- High commission fees
Despite the cons, selling digital products on Amazon is possible as a traditional seller if you intend to sell uploaded books, documents, or audio books. However, if you want to sell print-on-demand goods such as shirts or coffee mugs, you will still need to register with a third-party print-on-demand service. Then, you can sync this print-on-demand service with your Amazon account to promote these print-on-demand products.
Now That You Have Learned About The Tool That Every Amazon FBA Seller Must Use, Let Us Answer Some Related Questions On Quora
1. What Are The Best Items To Sell On Amazon For Beginners?
Selling on Amazon is truly a rewarding experience, especially in today's highly technological world. For beginners, some of the best products to sell on Amazon, according to experts are:
- Baby products
- Beauty and personal care products
- Books
- Clothing and footwear
- Electronics
- Home and kitchen goods
- Jewelry
- Pet supplies
2. How Do I Sell On Amazon Without An FBA?
FBA, or Fulfillment by Amazon, is a service that helps Amazon sellers outsource shipping to Amazon. With this option, Amazon takes charge of storing, picking, packing, shipping, and delivering the items to customers. Amazon is also responsible of customer service and returns for those orders.
To sell on Amazon without an FBA is possible. To do this, follow these steps. First, create a marketing plan for your products. Second, optimize all your Amazon entries. Third, use a 3PL that handles FBM or Amazon Fulfillment by Merchant. Fourth, stay on top of Amazon inventory management. Lastly, oversee customer service efforts and plan for returns.
3. Can I Make Money From Buying Wholesale From Alibaba And Selling For Higher On Amazon?
Buying wholesale offers a lot of benefits, such as its lower costs, better product selection, and giving you the ability to scale up.
Yes, you can make money from buying wholesale from Alibaba and selling for higher on Amazon. However, keep in mind that you need a lot of investment and willingness to work hard if you want to take this path. But, the profit will not wait, you will definitely earn money.
4. What Do People Sell On Amazon FBA?
We would like to improve the way we answer your question. This 2023, some of the trendiest products to sell on Amazon FBA are:
- Exercise and fitness equipment
- Fitness apparel and shoes
- Self-care and beauty products
- Swimwear
- Seasonal products
Familiarize Yourself Better With The Amazon Marketplace By Using The Helium 10 Software: Wrapping Up
As a seller, knowing how to sell on Amazon without inventory or with the use of a built-in Amazon platform can help you on the decision which path to take for your next business venture. From using an FBA service to using a dropshipping solution, there are limitless opportunities to build a satisfactory income from your Amazon business without inventory, especially once you are familiar with the system.
To make sure your endeavors take off, you can use Helium 10 to optimize your listings and identify the trendiest products to sell. Helium 10 has a product suite, you read that right, a whole host of product suites that can help you strategize and execute a marketing plant that works for any Amazon presence you launch.
If you are a seller looking for a way to sell on Amazon in such a way that you take the guesswork out of selling, Helium 10 is the software to choose. Many Amazon sellers who have been using this tool for their online business highly recommend this to new sellers. Helium 10 is an eCommerce solution designed to offer help to Amazon sellers when it comes to visualizing key metrics such as seasonal trends and profit estimates, so these sellers can analyze the success rate of their products.
Helium10, as you have learned earlier, allows you to sell products from your Amazon store with ease and without holding any hassles. It is equipped with tools for your Amazon fulfillment center, FBA program, and so much more when you need to do business on Amazon, ship products, and the like. So what are you waiting for? Start selling on Amazon with the help of Helium 10.
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