Beginner Lessons For Selling Shoes on 

Amazon FBA

By Stephen Smotherman

When it comes to sourcing and selling shoes on Amazon, some of the hardest lessons are learned during the early stages of adding shoes to your Amazon business model.

Many of you know that Rebecca and I are a team when it comes to our Amazon FBA business. While I mainly focus on retail arbitrage and wholesale sourcing, she is the specialist when it comes to online arbitrage… and specifically sourcing and selling shoes.

Since my last interview video with Rebecca was so well received, I decided to sit down with her and record another Q&A  interview video with her. Rebecca has such a wealth of knowledge about sourcing and selling shoes and you’ll learn a lot in this video.

In the video below, you’ll learn:

• How our very first experiment with sourcing and selling shoes went (spoiler: it didn’t go so well)
• What we learned from that experiment
• How we almost decided to give up selling shoes – and why we’re so glad we didn’t quit.
• The biggest thing we wish we knew when we started selling shoes
• The mindset shift you need to be successful with selling shoes
• The biggest difference between sourcing items like books/toys and sourcing shoes
• How to overcome not being able to see sales rank history of shoes
• Which is better? Going wide or going deep when sourcing shoes?
• How to find confidence in sourcing shoes
• How customer returns of shoes are not as bad as returns from other categories (despite what other people might say).

(SOURCE)

Amazon FBA Changes For Book Sellers In 2017 & Beyond - A Complete Analysis

In this video Picking Profits discusses the fairly recent changes on Amazon FBA specifically for selling books, as well as share my thoughts on the future and how to adapt to these changes.

What to Do When You Decide to Sell on Amazon

By Gene Ku

Virtually no retail sector has escaped Amazon’s encroachments. From Kohl’s to RadioShack to Staples to Walmart, retailers are hemorrhaging market share and closing stores at record rates.

But it’s not just lost revenue that has retailers afraid of Amazon. By selling directly instead of through Amazon, brands and retailers deepen customer relationships while gaining valuable data to inform marketing, sales, and merchandising. When retailers and brands sell on Amazon, they forfeit their rights to leverage that customer information and build loyalty.

And without data and direct customer access, retailers lose control. If retailers choose to sell on Amazon, they become subject to the e-commerce giant’s seller policies. By acquiescing to Amazon, retailers effectively limit their long-term ability to strengthen their products and fine-tune their marketing strategies.
Then, with Amazon in control and with competing merchants in the marketplace, retailers are pressured to drop their prices. If they refuse, others swoop in to undercut those prices, leading to an eventual race to the bottom. Other times, Amazon itself enters the space and beats everyone’s prices with AmazonBasics.

The Gamble: Lose Control, but Gain Audience

While business leaders want to keep Amazon’s fingers away from their profits and data, they’re tempted by something every company craves: an incomparably large audience.

Across the world, the online retailer has approximately 310 million active users — roughly the population of the United States — all with their pocketbooks out and ready to spend. Many of those users start product searches on Amazon now, too, rather than Google. According to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers, 38 percent of people first turn to Amazon compared to 35 percent who navigate first to Google when shopping online.

That audience, especially for small businesses that lack the financial muscle or marketing infrastructure to build their own, makes Amazon an enticing option. On the other end of the spectrum, established companies seeking to get their products to the greatest number of customers might also decide to capitalize on Amazon’s audience.

With Amazon, industry matters, too. Traditional merchants in its top verticals — toys and games, books, and consumer electronics, to name a few — may be unable to compete without selling on Amazon. Retailers selling seasonal products might also find Amazon advantageous because it enables them to list products for short periods of time and then pull them off the site when it makes sense.

Regardless of industry, however, retailers need to build high-quality products at the right price. Success on Amazon hinges on customer ratings, feedback, and sales velocity. Retailers that stand out in those categories become eligible for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which enables them to focus on the products while Amazon packs and ships their orders. Because of its massive, globe-spanning infrastructure, access to FBA is, for many retailers and brands, a major perk of selling on Amazon.

Don’t Just Survive; Thrive on Amazon

You’ll have to decide for yourself whether the pros of selling on Amazon outweigh the cons. But millions of merchants have already ducked under Amazon’s umbrella. If you decide to join them, you’ll need to learn how to succeed in Amazon’s world:

Create a product with a clear value proposition.

Amazon products rise and fall with their customer reviews. The first step toward great reviews and enviable sales figures, then, is having a rave-worthy product.

As you develop your product, focus on the problem you’re trying to solve for your target market. Then, test whether your product addresses that problem better than incumbents by putting it in the hands of real users. If it doesn’t — especially if it’s in an overcommoditized category such as consumer tech — keep iterating until customers have a clear reason to choose it over competitors.

Set an unbeatable price.

Believe it or not, there is a method to Amazon’s pricing madness. To increase sales without gutting profits, don’t attempt to set your prices by the overall market, brick-and-mortar pricing, or your instincts.

Instead, keep a sharp eye on competitors’ prices, and don’t be fooled by Amazon’s pricing games. To make shoppers think everything is cheap, the e-commerce giant temporarily slashes prices on its most popular items. Then, after customers have been lured in, it recoups profits by increasing prices on numerous less popular items.

Win the Buy Box battle.

Amazon grants the Buy Box to sellers who meet its performance-based standards, such as order defect rate, time on Amazon, and seller feedback ratings.

Products with the Buy Box represent 90 percent of sales on Amazon, meaning that earning it greatly and immediately enhances your exposure and your bottom line. Focus on keeping pricing competitive, improving sales performance, and decreasing order defect rate to bring your product into the box.

Let Amazon fulfill for you.

Before you opt for FBA, you should know upfront that it can cut per-item profits, depending on your existing infrastructure. But this is counterbalanced, Amazon is quick to point out, by better product exposure and the increased likelihood of winning the Buy Box.

Run the numbers with Amazon’s revenue calculator, and know the fees going in. Amazon, of course, charges merchants a percentage of total sales. Retailers that opt for FBA incur additional costs based on factors such as item weight and storage costs.

If, after going through the calculations, you decide that FBA is best for your product, the program is fairly simple to set up. If you struggle, Amazon’s Business Customer Service center can walk you through it.

There are risks inherent to selling on Amazon. It’s constantly collecting data about your product and customers, which it may use to carve out your market for itself. Even if it doesn’t, it’ll mercilessly take a cut of your profits.

But millions of merchants and brands have decided that selling on Amazon makes sense. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” these retailers reason. And with no end in sight to Amazon’s invasion, joining ‘em might be your best option after all.

(SOURCE)

Ecommerce Product Photography: The Essential Guide

by Paula Jakubik

High quality product photography makes all the difference in ecommerce. Most sellers know that, but achieving it is not an easy task.

In this guide, I’ll cover all the essentials you need to know about ecommerce product photography. You don’t need to be a photography geek to get fantastic results, but you do need some crucial basics – and plenty of practice.

I’ll also explain the photo policies set by eBay and Amazon, which you must follow if you sell on those marketplaces, and special considerations for photographing difficult products: jewelry, clothing and large items like furniture.

I hope this guide helps you get on the path to some really awesome product photos and – most importantly – increasing your online sales. Any questions? Please fire away in the comments at the end!

General product photography tips
Shoot against a white backdrop
A white backdrop will make all the difference when you shoot your products. First up, it’ll reflect white light onto your product, which will help you produce a well-lit photo and really bring out the product’s color. Shooting on white will also help you avoid any color spills.

A white backdrop will also help ensure your camera’s white balance calibration is on point. Light sources have different color temperatures (measured in Kelvin) and while our brains can adjust to these temperatures automatically, a digital camera can only guess the true color of everything in the frame by using a white element as a reference point. By surrounding your product in white, you’ll be able to capture its true color and accurately represent your product.

The best kind of backdrop is a photography sweep, which is simply a backdrop that seamlessly transitions from the vertical to the horizontal surface. The sweep should be larger than your product and fill up the entire camera frame.

If you’re photographing smaller products, a shooting table is the best option because you’ll have more flexibility in terms of where you can set up. You can easily make your own by nailing two scrap pieces of wood to the back of a small table and clamping your sweep in place. White wrapping paper works really well because of its reflective quality, but anything clean and white will do.

If you’re shooting large products, investing in a professional sweep isn’t a bad idea, especially if you’re going to shoot frequently. It’ll come with a stand so you can easily set it up. Otherwise, you can improvise by attaching a sheet to a wall or draping it over something.



Use sufficient lighting
Sufficient lighting is the secret to high-quality product photography. Unless you know what you’re doing, stay away from professional, artificial lighting. It takes a long time to master and you’ll need a lot of equipment. Stick to natural lighting — it’s free and easy, and it can produce great photos if you use it correctly.

You want to use the sun indirectly, so the best place to shoot is near a window. You might want to diffuse the light further by covering the window with a white sheet or taping white paper over the window pane. Note that using any other color to diffuse the light will change the temperature of your light source.



The window should be positioned to the left or right of the product — never behind or facing the camera. This means the light will only hit the product from one side so you might need to use a fill light, which is just something you place on the opposite side of the light source to prevent harsh shadows and evenly light up the product. If you look at the two photos below, the shadows in the left chair are much darker, particularly on the underside of the product.



You can also buy a reflector (a professional fill light) or make your own. Simply grab a white piece of cardboard and fold it in half — the shinier the surface the better. Alternatively, you can use a regular piece of cardboard and cover it in aluminum foil.



Stabilize your camera
Stabilizing your camera will help you take clear, sharp images. The best way to stabilize your camera is to use a tripod (or a smartphone mount if you’re shooting on your phone). When it comes to tripods, you get what you pay for, but as you’re only shooting product images, you won’t need anything too fancy. There are many under $50 on Amazon.

Understand your camera
Photography is a very technical and complex field, and there’s a lot to learn when it comes to cameras. You don’t need to be a highly skilled photographer to take a product image that sells, but the first step in improving your product images is to learn how your camera works so you can make the necessary adjustments for better photos.

If you’ve invested in a DSLR, learn the basics of shooting manual. Your aperture is the hole within the lens that determines the amount of light that travels into the camera. It’s measured in f-stops and (this is the confusing part) the higher the f-stop number, the smaller the aperture. The aperture is also linked to your depth of field, which determines how much of the shot is in focus. A smaller aperture will capture everything in the frame, and a larger aperture will isolate the foreground from the background.

The shutter speed refers to how long the hole in the lens is open for, i.e., how long light has to travel through the lens. A smaller aperture lets in less light, so the shutter needs to be open for longer to produce a well-lit photo.

The ISO determines a camera’s sensitivity to light. The higher you go, the lower the quality of the photo. Never exceed 400 — you’ll see that the image starts to get grainy. This is called camera noise. If you can’t take a well-lit image with an ISO of 100 or 200, you need to increase the lighting, make the aperture larger or slow down the shutter speed.

Ultimately, the perfect aperture-ISO-shutter speed combo will depend on your setup and your product, but a basic understanding of each feature will help you figure out what to adjust.

You can also take high-quality product images on any new smartphone. Sure, you get what you pay for, and DSLRs definitely take much better photos, but there won’t be a huge difference in the end result unless you really know how to use a DSLR to its full potential.



The most important thing to remember when shooting on a smartphone is the phone camera adjusts to its environment. You can’t adjust the aperture, but you can choose a focal point by tapping on the screen. Smartphone cameras automatically adjust the ISO to the lighting conditions, so you’ll need a lot of lighting to keep it below 400. Alternatively, there are Android and iOS apps that give you control over this feature.

Remove the background
Removing the background is an easy way to give your products a professional touch. The appropriate background color will depend on the design of your store, but white is the best option in most cases because it doesn’t clash with any other color and draws attention to the product.



There are a few ways to remove the background from a photo, some harder than others. Generally the most difficult approaches yield the best results — the pen tool in image editing software like Photoshop works wonders and will give you a really accurate outline. You can try using alternative tools like the magic wand, but more often than not it doesn’t cut away the background in the right places, and sometimes cuts into the product.

Use a template
Consistency is key when it comes to product photography. Your products should all take up the same amount of canvas space, so when they’re displayed together, they are more or less aligned.

The best way to do this is to create a template. Create a blank file in any kind of photo editing software that has this basic function, and choose the size you want for all of your product images. The best size is anywhere between 1000 pixels to 1600 pixels on the longest side, but different platforms will have different requirements, so look out for those.

You’ll then need to paste all of your images into the template, resize them accordingly and save them as new files. Your products should take up the majority of the canvas; aim for 80-95% of the frame. If you’re using a more advanced photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop, you can create guides that will help you align your products exactly, which is definitely more effective than eyeballing it.



Note that you can’t increase the size of a photo, and stretching it will only make it blurry and pixelated. If your original photos are too small for your template, you should reshoot the products or make the template smaller.

eBay and Amazon image policies
If you’re selling on Amazon or eBay, you’ll need to stick to their product image requirements for your listing to go up. The most important thing to note is that to satisfy the image requirements for both platforms, your images need to be at least 1000px on the longest side, but I’ll go into more detail below.

And, if you’re not selling on either of these platforms, remember that Amazon and eBay are leaders in ecommerce. They know what sells, so it’s probably a good idea to take a leaf out of their book when it comes to product photography.

eBay
eBay’s product image requirements are pretty easy to follow. They require images to be at least 500 pixels on the longest side. That being said, if you want to enable a zoom function, eBay requires images to be at least 800px on the longest side.

eBay does not allow borders or text on images. It allows watermarks, but they need to have an opacity of no more than 50%, can’t obscure an item and should not take up more than 5% of the frame. In my opinion, product images look better without watermarks anyway.

You can also use stock images or supplier images on eBay if you’re selling a brand-new item, but make sure you have the right to do this. Check the conditions of use on the original photos.

Amazon
Amazon has strict product image requirements, and your images will be rejected if the requirements are not followed. Note that the main photo must be of the product only, with the full product in the frame and taking up 85% or more of the canvas (save your pretty in-context shots for additional “other view” images and social media). The background must be pure white (#ffffff) and the product needs to be in focus, professionally lit and with realistic colors.

When it comes to the image file itself, Amazon requires images to be at least 1000 pixels in either height or width. You can upload TIFF, JPEG, GIF or PNG files, but JPEGs are easiest to work with and are the default file type for photos. You need to be extra careful when naming your files; a file name needs to include the product’s ID, and can only be made up of letters and numbers. The image won’t upload if there are spaces, dashes or other characters in the file name. You also need to include the appropriate file extension (for example, .jpg or .png).

Product-specific tips

Jewelry
On one hand, jewelry can be pretty tricky to photograph because it’s small and highly reflective, and in most cases it doesn’t stand up on its own. On the other hand, the studio setup for photographing jewelry requires very little space, which means you can pretty much shoot it anywhere. Props are your best friend for jewelry photography — you’ll need to get creative and figure out what works best for your product.

Shooting against a white backdrop is more important than ever when it comes to jewelry, particularly for shiny or transparent pieces. Every other color will spill onto the product, and your camera might have trouble focusing against a darker backdrop.



One of the issues with jewelry being so small is that it’s often hard to get the entire product in focus. If you’re just starting out, you may find that the edges of your product are out of focus. If you have a DSLR, shoot with a small aperture and a slow shutter speed. The aperture will keep the product in focus, while the slow shutter speed will keep the image nice and bright and allow you to use such a small aperture.



Necklaces
The best way to capture a necklace is to use gravity and let it hang, the same way it would lie on a body. For long necklaces, jewelry busts work great because they’re easy to use and stand up on their own. For best results, the bust should also be white, but you can cover a different-colored bust with a white sheet for the same effect.



The issue with using a bust for a short necklace is that at least half of the chain will get cut off behind the mannequin, and this will leave you with a strange photo after you remove the background. The best way to shoot short necklaces is to make yourself a flat jewelry stand with some cardboard and a white piece of paper. You can rest it against a photo frame or easel to stand it up.



Bracelets
Bracelets should be photographed either from directly above, or from the front and slightly above. It’ll depend entirely on the product; more delicate pieces tend to look better from above, whereas pieces with a bit of height tend to look better from the front.



Earrings
Dangling earrings should hang in the product image. If you want to shoot them straight on, use the same kind of DIY flat jewelry stand as you would for a short necklace and pin the earrings to it, or use fishing line.



Rings
Rings can be shot from most angles, but you should pick an angle and stick to it for all your photos. Note that if your rings have a decorative element at the front like a pattern or gemstone, it should be the focal point of the product shot.

You can use clear glue dots, double-sided tape or Blu-Tack to keep rings in place.



Clothing
The hardest part of shooting clothes is deciding on the style of product image you want. Shooting on a model can help emphasize the style of your product if you find a model who embodies your brand values. However, this will limit your brand to a specific target market, and working with models doesn’t give you as much flexibility as you’ll need to find a mutually convenient time and place.

Shooting on a mannequin will give you a lot more freedom and will keep the focus on the products themselves. When choosing a mannequin, make sure you choose one that is standing ‘straight on’, as your product will look funny when you remove the background if the model is standing with her hip out or her arm on her waist.



If you do shoot on a mannequin, you should consider creating ghost images. They’ll give your products shape and dimension, and give your images a professional touch. To create a ghost image, you need to take a photo of the front of the clothing and a photo of the back inside out, and then digitally stitch them together. Click here  for a detailed explanation of the process.



Alternatively, you could shoot your products ‘flat’, either on the floor or on a hanger. This is the easiest and cheapest way to shoot products, but this method makes it harder for the customer to visualize how the product will look when worn.



Make your life easier by having a couple of props on hand. Safety pins are great for keeping little things in place, while clothespins/pegs are great for improving the fit of the product. You should also keep an iron on hand to make your products look clean and wrinkle-free.



Large items (e.g. furniture)
The biggest issue with shooting large products such as furniture is the amount of space they take up. You’re going to need a space that’s at least three times as large as the product, along with ample lighting. A well-lit room is your best option, as direct sunlight will create harsh shadows. As mentioned earlier, buying a sweep will make your life a lot easier, particularly for products this size. You should also get a friend or co-worker to help you to move the heavier and bulkier items around.

If you’re using a DSLR, the trick is to stand far away from the product while zooming in as much as you can so your focal length is at its maximum. Shooting with a smaller focal length when you’re closer to the product may leave you with a slightly distorted product in the resulting photo. To get the entire product in focus, make sure you use a small aperture.



Although it’s best to shoot from the front for most products, furniture can be a little different. The best shot is usually one that captures the front, top and side of the product, so shooting from above and slightly to one side of the product is a good place to start. This angle helps people better visualize the product and gives the product some dimension.



Now it’s up to YOU!
Nail your setup, grab your camera, and give DIY product photography a go. Practice makes perfect, so don’t give up if your product images aren’t perfect the first time you shoot — it’ll take some time to figure out what works best for you given the equipment you have and the products you’re shooting.

Do you have any DIY product photography tips of your own? We’d love to hear them! Leave a comment below and share the knowledge!

(SOURCE)

11 Mistakes To Avoid When Selling Clothing on Ebay With Jason Slone

In this LIVE VIDEO with Jason Slone, A.K.A Prof Sales we will be covering 11 mistakes to avoid when selling clothing on eBay.

If you are selling on eBay and want to learn how to sell clothes effectively these 11 mistakes will save you from much hardship. Steve and Jason have been selling on eBay for many years and have learned some awesome strategies for making money on eBay through selling clothing.

In this video we will be covering the best items to sell on eBay, eBay shipping, tips for improving the listing process, increase profits on eBay, and much more!

We hope you enjoy this video! Watch out for it on February 2!

Protecting Your Amazon Business: Tips From an Insider


By Peter Kearns

Are you an Amazon seller who has been recently suspended? Or have you received warnings about suspension? Are you unsure what to do next or how you even got to this point?

Selling on Amazon can be tricky. However, the right knowledge about Amazon’s policies and violations, combined with strategies for preventing suspension, can help you save your business.

Amazon has more than 270 million customers and is the most trusted brand worldwide. The retail giant has built this vast customer base and exceptional reputation because of high quality service it provides. As a result, Amazon has very little patience for sellers that offer poor shopping experiences.

Many sellers have received a warning or faced account suspension at one point or another, due to performance violations or customer complaints. Amazon isn’t shy about policing these issues even for its top sellers. Suspensions are not rare – they can happen at a moment’s notice – and often Amazon will give you very little detail as to the reason behind your suspension.

While suspensions can hurt immediate cash flow, they’re not detrimental to your business if handled correctly. And many suspensions can be prevented by following key best practices. Here’s a closer look at the world of Amazon seller privileges and how businesses can manage and prevent suspension notifications.

Maintaining your selling privileges
The first approach Amazon sellers should take to protect their business is to prevent suspensions altogether. The golden rule for sellers is to manage their accounts the same way Amazon manages its business, by following these three Amazon Leadership Principles:

Customer Obsession
Insist on High Standards
Bias for Action
Customer obsession is probably the most important of the three. As a seller you are more or less an extension of Amazon. Customers do not differentiate between sellers and Amazon – if something goes wrong and it’s your fault, they’ll likely blame Amazon. As a result, Amazon is very concerned about the way in which you treat and interact with customers. If you’ve created a bad experience, Amazon will take action through a warning or suspension.

So to prevent punishment, your number one priority needs to be responding to customer issues without delay. This means that you must apologize for everything, respond to any and all issues within 12 hours, and issue refunds with no questions asked.

It’s also important to insist on high standards, which means that your product listings must be accurate and shipment processes and product quality must be consistent with what you’ve told customers.

Lastly, make sure that your team has a bias for action. What does that mean? Well, part of having high standards means you’ll immediately take any action necessary to improve the customer experience. If you receive a complaint, don’t be afraid to contact seller support immediately to inform Amazon that you’re taking action to resolve the issue and prevent future instances.

Types of policy violations
Even some of the most diligent Amazon businesses have faced violations. Amazon values its customer service and is quick to take action in response to customer complaints. The two types of Amazon seller policy violations that your business could face include seller performance violations and product quality violations.

Seller performance violations are the easier of the two to manage. Amazon essentially creates metrics and ranks you (green, yellow or red) on each one. The metrics include measurable issues like late shipment or order defect rates. When you’re underperforming in any metric, you receive warnings or suspension. These rates are very clear to understand and sellers are aware of the benchmark they need to maintain their business.

The second, more complicated type of violations are product quality violations. When Amazon issues one of these violations, they typically provide very little information as to why or how to resolve it. Product quality violations involve any of the following three customer complaints:

Counterfeit Complaints: When customers believe a product you sold them is counterfeit.
Material Difference Complaints: When customers believe that an item they received is different from what they ordered.
Expired Product Complaints: When customers receive items that have already expired, or are going to expire before they’re completely consumed.
The challenge with product quality violations is that it’s often difficult for sellers to know where they stand. There are no green boxes or metrics to track. So to remain in good standing, it’s important to practice preventative techniques.

Preventing account suspension
Business owners must constantly monitor feedback and buyer/seller communications in order to prevent account suspension. If you receive any feedback that is less than five stars, reach out to that customer and make sure it has been resolved. Even though Amazon already knows something went wrong based on the feedback, they’ll know you addressed it immediately.

It’s crucial for sellers to monitor buyer/seller communications. This is another key location of information that you can use to proactively prevent suspension. It helps you predict issues before they arise and address them before Amazon issues a warning or suspension. If you do have a significant issue arise, it’s crucial that you proactively contact Amazon Seller Support to make sure Amazon is aware that you’ve addressed the issue.

Lastly, performance notifications within Seller Central can help you address issues before suspension. Amazon will communicate with you solely through this channel, so pay close attention to these notifications and address them before it’s too late. At the end of the day, it comes down to taking a proactive approach in response to all communications with both Amazon and the customers.

What to do if your account gets suspended
Despite your best efforts, it’s possible that Amazon will still suspend your account at one point or another. The first step to take should this situation arise is to inactivate all listings and correct the errors. This is crucial because once you get reinstated, all of the inventory you previously had for sale will otherwise become active again. That can lead to new order defects (and further suspensions) because shoppers will once more be able to buy the products that led to your suspension in the first place.

When you’re suspended, Amazon won’t give you much information as to why. So the next step is to review Amazon correspondence, buyer/seller communication and feedback. This will give you some information and provide you with the ASINs in question. But beyond that you’ll have to do your due diligence to address the issue.


Peter Kearns
Once you’ve determined the root causes, it’s important to write a clear Plan of Action (POA) and provide documentation. This needs to be similar to a business plan in that it should lay out how you’ve fixed the issue and how you’re going to prevent it from happening again. Be specific! Maybe you’re adding more quality control team members or you’re reviewing all of your product descriptions.

Also, keep in mind that if you’re a large seller and you’ve been down for a few weeks due to suspension, you might be put on a “rolling reserve” disbursement schedule when you are reinstated. When you’re suspended, sales are flat. So when they reinstate your business, they’ll immediately spike. Amazon will assume something is wrong and hold onto your funds for a short time period. Keep this in mind for budgeting and planning purposes.

Lastly, remember to be professional and courteous in your communications with Amazon. The company has worked hard to provide such a widely trusted platform for you to run your business. Remaining on Amazon’s good side is a smart move for everyone. Be proactive, polite and ultimately treat Amazon employees as if they’re your best customers, because in a sense, they truly are.

(SOURCE)

Why Most Amazon FBA Sellers Will Never Hit $1,000,000 in Sales

If you want to make the most money possible with Amazon FBA and eventually hit $1,000,000 in sales, then you need to learn as much as humanly possible. I am not just talking about learning from me, there are many other people out there that will teach you different things and you need to know all of it. 

Selling Shoes On Amazon And Why Most Sellers Do It Wrong

By Homemade Entrepreneur

Are you currently selling shoes on Amazon? If no, why not?

Selling shoes is a great way to increase your profit and also get away from much of the competition within other categories. What most people don’t realize is that selling in the shoe category means an easier time sourcing, prepping, and shipping your items . No that was not a typo, I really mean you will have an easier time sourcing, prepping, and shipping your items.

Before I jump into how to properly source and sell shoes on Amazon, I first want to address why most sellers are doing it wrong.

Most sellers are not sourcing correctly because they scan one shoe and determine if the entire line of shoes is profitable off that one items. First off, there are many different sizes and every size will have a different price, same rank, but different price. Secondly, there are multiple colors for each shoe, so the more variations there are, the more possibilities there will be that one of those colors will be profitable. Lastly, the Amazon best seller ranking should not be your only factor in deciding whether to buy or not.

Understanding Size

There are so many sizes to choose from, but what size should you buy. First off, I don’t recommend buying wide and narrow shoes. Yes, these will still sell, but from my experience they don’t sell as often. What I do is I like to buy men’s shoes size 9-11 and women’s shoes size 6-9. I periodically buy shoes that are smaller or larger depending on what kind of shoe it is. For example, basketball shoes I will go up to size 12 and 13 if the profit is there. Just remember you don’t need thousands of buyers for your product, you just need one person that is looking for the exact same shoe that you are offering for sale.

Understanding Color Variation

How important is color variations when talking about shoes? Well, pretty important. I personally purchased a pair of pink Nike shoes for men that were ranked at 20K in shoes (which is pretty good). Those shoes sat for about 11 months before they finally sold. Why? They didn’t sell fast because the color was not what people were looking for.

When it comes to color I tend to buy the basic colors and don’t stray too far from those. These colors include black, white, brown, tan, blue, and red. These are the most popular colors that people buy, so if you are deciding to buy a yellow or black shoe with the same type of profit, I would always go for black over yellow.

Best Rank To Buy Into

The Amazon BSR (Best Seller Rank) is determined by the amount of time in between sales. What this should tell you is that not all shoes should be created equally. For instance, if it is summer time and 100 degrees outside, then do you think there will be a huge market for snow boots? What about flip flops in the winter time? You need to consider the time of year, what sports could be going on, how people dress, and the current fashion in order to determine whether the ranking is decent enough to get into.

I have purchased soccer cleats by the hundreds, but I normally do this right before Christmas as I know that there won’t be a better time to buy at such low prices. The rankings are terrible, usually around 80-100K, but it is because the soccer season has just ended, which means nobody is buying shoes at this time. If you send those cleats off to Amazon before Christmas then you should see a decent amount of sales as people are buying these as gifts. With the increase in sales though, just be aware of the increase in returns as well.

As you can see, there are multiple reasons why you can’t just look at one pair of shoes and determine that the entire line is profitable or not. You need to look at multiple factors, check out the Keepa and Camelcamelcamel charts, and check the Amazon reviews. Everything comes into play here, so don’t skip a step.

Tips To Selling Shoes On Amazon

Be Consistent

If you want to sell shoes, then send them in on a regular basis. Far too often I see people sell a couple shoes here and there, then they move onto a different category. Figure out which categories you want to sell in and then consistently send in inventory. The more you send in the more money you will make. .

Don’t Overprice Your Inventory

One of the worst things you can do as a seller is overprice all your inventory. Why? The reason this is bad is because you will hardly ever get the sales. Yes, I understand you could make a couple more dollars, but the truth is that a couple more dollars is nothing compared to the amount of money you could make if you compound your profits every 2 weeks. Think about it, moving your inventory faster and with decent margins on each sale is going to take you further than getting that few extra dollars on each sale, especially when it takes you 2 to 4 weeks longer to get the sale.

Look For Multiple Brands

If you haven’t been selling shoes on Amazon for very long then you know that many brands are restricted from selling, right? This shouldn’t be a huge problem for you since there are many more brands out there to sell. When I first started selling shoes I would only sell Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and Crocs, now I sell just about any brand out there. The reason I recommend you look for multiple brands is because the more options you have the more sales you will get. For people that just sell Nike shoes they never get businessmen buying shoes for work. This goes for people that only sell Rockport shoes, they never get those athletes looking for their next shoe to wear. It is because of this that I recommend you sell all sorts of different brands. Remember, the more diversified you are the better off you will be on Amazon FBA.

Make Sure Box Is In Great Condition

I sell a little more than 100 pairs of shoes per week, which means I need to buy more than that to keep up. With all the shoes that I buy I like to have a great looking box to go with them. If the original box is damaged, then I will use a generic brown shoe box instead. If the shoes is a collectors edition or something that I know the person will want the original box, then I only buy it if the box is in perfect condition. In addition to keeping the box that looks the best, I will sometimes polybag the entire box to keep it looking pristine.

Take Off Prices

I should not have to say this, but I am going to since I just received a pair of shoes with the price still on it. As a seller we should take all the prices off the shoes when they are on there. This means you pull the price off the box, you take the prices off the shoes themselves, and you never leave your receipt inside the box.

Buy Sizes You Could Use

Something that I have been doing every since I could remember is I buy shoes that I can wear, my wife can wear, or somebody else in my family can wear. I do this because I like the idea of giving the shoes away as a gift if I ever were to get them returned to me for some reason. If there was a reason why I could not resell a returned shoe, then I would simply store the shoes until I can give them away as a gift. Not only do I give them away as gifts, I donate shoes that have been sitting for far too long to people that might be in need.

Ok, so now that you have some tips on selling shoes on Amazon and you have a better understanding of why so many people are doing this wrong go out there and make some money. Some of the places that I find the best deals on shoes are Marshalls, Ross, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Famous Footwear, and Burlington.

If you have any questions on selling shoes on Amazon or entrepreneurship in general then please comment below and I will do my best to help you out.

(SOURCE)

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4 Tips for Handling Amazon FBA Taxes

By Stephen

Before you hit the snooze button and move on to a more exciting post, let me acknowledge up front that taxes aren’t the most glamorous topic out there. Unless you’re a CPA or tax professional. In which case I don’t mean any offense by saying that taxes are boring.

Is anyone still with me at this point in this blog post? I hope so – because the topic of taxes, while potentially a snoozer, is of great importance to the success of your Amazon FBA business. If handled incorrectly, your business taxes could negatively impact your success at FBA – but taxes don’t have to be something that holds you back from making progress as an Amazon seller.

We at Full-Time FBA are not tax professionals or CPAs, and we do not intend to give advice for preparing your taxes in this blog post. We also do not give advice in our Facebook group, so if you ask tax questions there we will give you the same disclaimer and point you towards the services of someone qualified to give that type of advice.

Which leads us nicely to our first tip out of four for handling taxes for your Amazon FBA business…

1. Find a good CPA. 

Our biggest piece of advice for you when it comes to handling your taxes is to find a good CPA who can take care of all the nitty gritty details for you. We are greatly indebted to our own CPA for her help throughout the year and at tax time in keeping our business running smoothly and above board with our taxes. A good CPA will know all the ins and outs of the rules related to business taxes (both federal and state, depending on where you live), and a good CPA is worth every penny you pay for their services.

When I say you need to find a “good CPA” I mean a couple of things by it. First, you don’t want to just pick the first person who pops up in a Google search for CPAs in your area. You need to find someone who has the heart of a teacher, who is willing to help you understand the tax rules and how to be compliant. It might take time to find this person and to ask questions to make sure you’re a good fit with each other.

Note: Please do not go to a bunch of different CPAs and ask questions under the pretense of “seeing if you’re a good fit.” For a service professional, nothing is worse than being taken advantage of by someone looking for free advice. Be respectful of your potential CPA’s time and pay them well.

The second thing you need to look for in a CPA is someone who understands taxes as related to ecommerce, Amazon FBA, self-employment, an LLC, or whatever particular situation your business is in. Be sure to ask questions up front to make sure the person you hire has the relevant experience to best assist you in preparing your taxes.

2. Keep good records throughout the year.

Keeping good records is crucial to preparing your taxes and protecting yourself in case of audit. Your records should include (but aren’t limited to) receipts for inventory, receipts for supplies, receipts for any other business expenses, records of your disbursements or other income, any business-related fees, any payments for business-related services, etc.

We use Inventory Lab to track inventory-related financial information, and we have our CPA do our bookkeeping every month throughout the year. We have a simple system for filing our receipts by month, and we use Evernote and email folders to track online receipts.

Whether you already have a good system in place for keeping good records or not, nothing is stopping you from keeping your records organized from this point forward. You can’t change the past, but you can make a difference in the future. Don’t get overwhelmed with your receipts, take it one step at a time, and make the most of the year ahead by knowing your numbers, organizing your receipts, and paying attention to business reports in Seller Central, Inventory Lab, or whatever program you are using.

3. Run the right reports for your CPA.

In order to prepare your taxes, your CPA (or whoever is preparing your taxes) will need to know the money you have coming in, the money you have going out, the amount of inventory you have in stock that hasn’t been sold, etc. Talk with this individual to be sure exactly what they need.

As a good starting point you can check out this blog post with instructions for how to run the most useful year end reports within Seller Central. We like to run reports for our CPA on our year end inventory, our monthly inventory history, and our received inventory.

Note: It’s best to run your year end inventory report as close to December 31 or January 1 as possible, to give your CPA the most accurate picture of the inventory you had in FBA warehouses at year’s end.

4. When it comes to sales tax, look into services like TaxJar to automate the process for you.

We like to point our readers to the TaxJar website when it comes to handling sales tax. TaxJar has a wealth of free information and links on their website to point you in the right direction for knowing the sales tax regulations in each state. When you’re ready to automate the process of dealing with sales tax, TaxJar can help you get set up.

Dealing with taxes definitely isn’t the most fun part of running your own business – we would all rather be out sourcing and finding treasure and making big profits than talking about taxes, right? But getting your business set up to handle taxes correctly is an important component of business success. You really want to do things the right way as quickly as you can, so that you won’t have to pay penalties or fines later. You can take a few simple steps today to set yourself up for the year ahead and make the most of your Amazon FBA opportunities.

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8 Tips for Making this Your Best Year Yet for Amazon FBA Sales

By Karon Thackston

Stephen Smotherman truly is a success story worth following. You’ve probably seen his guest posts (#1 and #2) on the Marketing Words blog before. I’ve invited him back once again to answer some questions and provide you with a bucket load of solid info to take you into the new year. Welcome Stephen!

STEPHEN: Thanks, Karon, for asking me to do this interview with you. Before I get into the answers, I wanted to say thank you for all that you do for the Amazon seller community. Your blog posts, resources, and products are all top-notch and I enjoy recommending them to anyone who sells on Amazon. Every email I get on your mailing list is filled with an actionable tip that helps me often. So, thank you for all you do. Ok, let’s get into the interview.

KARON: Thanks! I appreciate that. OK, as the fourth quarter rush comes to an end what are the top three tasks you recommend for Amazon sellers so they can start the new year on the right foot?

STEPHEN: I love this question because most people just assume they will start their new year focus on January 1 when the calendar turns. But those who succeed view the coming year like a marathon. Marathons require training and preparation… so thinking and planning ahead right now is a great way to use your time. The top three tasks to make sure you start 2017 off right are:

1. Goal setting – Many of us have goals, but a goal without a plan is just a dream. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time bound. A weak goal is “I will make more money in 2017 than last year.” A great goal is “I will average sales of 200 units per month by July 2017 by reinvesting as much capital back into more inventory as possible.”
2. Long-Term Storage Fee Repricing – On February 15, Amazon will charge a long-term storage fee for every item you have stored in Amazon warehouses for over 6 months. It’s a good idea now to try and reprice your inventory that will cause the bulk of your long-term storage fees (I have walkthroughs on my blog and in the YFBA book that show in detail how to do this).
3. Get your books in order – If you’ve been lazy about keeping track of receipts, profits, losses, sales, etc. then now is a great time to start fresh. It’s important to know your numbers so that you can see what items, stores, categories, etc. are the most profitable for your Amazon business. Maybe you thought selling grocery items was worth the time and money, but do you really know? Keeping good track of your numbers will show you in more details how well you’re doing (or not doing). Plus, keeping good records will also help you out come tax time.

KARON: You are so right! So then, tell me… once the three things above are taken care of, what are two vital tasks every Amazon seller should do on a monthly basis?

STEPHEN:

1. Reassess inventory possibilities – When it comes to RA and OA, it seems like most stores have waves of when it’s profitable to source there for inventory. Some weeks one store is great while another may dry up. Ride the waves as long as you can but when a store dries up, look for other stores to see if a profit wave is forming.
2. Improve your product listings – Sometimes this means repricing your item to be more competitive. Check CamelCamelCamel or Keepa to see if you can still expect to get the prices you originally set. Other times it might mean improving the product pages of inventory you have multiples of in stock but they aren’t selling.

You asked for 2, but I’m giving you 3 because it relates back to your first question:

1. Go back and review your goals and action steps. If you set goals in January and don’t revisit them monthly, you’re just wasting your time. Review your goals and see if your current actions are causing you to get closer to or move further from accomplishing them. Adjust your actions if necessary.

KARON: Thanks for the bonus J Now, let’s move from monthly to special occasions. What is your approach to planning for various holidays throughout the year?

STEPHEN: It’s smart to plan ahead to take advantage of both major and minor holidays, but I wouldn’t jump on board every holiday opportunity at first. Just pick a few holidays this year and try to be in stock for those few holidays at least 3 months in advance. It might feel weird preparing for Halloween in July, but if you wait until September to start, you’ll lose out on tons of sales and might even end up with unsold inventory. People start buying holiday-related items earlier and earlier each year, so be sure you are in stock for those customers and that you’re sold out before everyone else frantically drops their prices right before the holiday. To make quality holiday-themed purchases, check CamelCamelCamel and Keepa to see what prices and sales velocity you could expect for those items.

KARON: Do you have specific strategies related to the four seasons?

STEPHEN: When it comes to buying clothing and shoes, I only source for the season we are currently in. Clothing and shoes are usually more of a long-tail item (it takes longer to sell than other categories). It might be tempting to buy sandals during end of summer clearance sales, but it’s not likely that you’ll get the sale of that shoe until next summer. I don’t want to have too many shoes that don’t sell quickly because that shoe is currently out of season and then have to pay monthly storage fees as well as larger long-term storage fees.

KARON: Are there particular times of the year you find it easier or more profitable to source inventory?

STEPHEN: The easiest time to source for profitable inventory is during Q4 (the last 3 months of the year). It’s possible to find hundreds of items you can make a quick 50% up to 200+% ROI… even when buying full price at retail stores.

Another great time of the year to source for inventory is during August clearance sales. So many stores (RA and OA) are clearing out items to make room for all the new products that will be featured in their holiday sales push. This is especially true when it comes to toys. The “old” 2016 toys are clearanced out to make room on the shelves for the “new” 2017 toys that will be in all the sales ads come November and December.

KARON: Do you find that lowering or raising prices in general tend to happen at certain points every year?

STEPHEN: From my experience, it really depends on the category. But overall, I see most prices on Amazon begin to fall in late January and early February. This might be because of the February 15 long-term storage fee. I see the same trend around late July and early August (again, possibly because of the August 15 long-term storage fee). As for prices going up, the times I see that most is the first two weeks of December. This is when the supply of items on Amazon are going down and the prices go up.

KARON: That makes sense. During all the years you’ve been selling through FBA, where have you found unexpected income in your Amazon sales business?

STEPHEN: It’s technically not income, but it surprises me how often Amazon “forgets” to reimburse me for items that they lose or damage… or items a customer forgets to return. Following up on these items and asking for forgotten reimbursements can add up to some large dollar amounts.

As for real income surprises this year, I actually had a book replen that was sold almost 300 times in 2016. A replen is an item that sells so often that inventory continually needs to be replenished. Most replens are consumable items like grocery or health & beauty items, but I would buy the book in cases from my source, and it would just continually sell for great ROI. That was a nice surprise.

KARON: Wow! Good for you! So, to wrap this up, what advice can you give to sellers to help them get and stay organized with their Amazon businesses?

STEPHEN: Don’t try to organize everything on your own. Use free and paid tools like Evernote and Inventory Lab to keep your ideas, plans, goals, numbers, profits, etc. organized. Also, when things get to be too much for you, hiring help to do some of the simple aspects of your business will free you up to do more of the most important aspects, including keeping everything organized.

KARON: Thanks Stephen. As usual, you’ve provided lots of practical, usable tips that sellers can use to help create a significantly more successful new year.

STEPHEN: It was a lot of fun and I hope your readers will get a lot of actionable content from it.

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