Opening your own online store on Amazon provides a great opportunity to reach millions of customers and grow your business. Amazon offers two main options for sellers – selling as an individual, or registering an Amazon business account. This guide will walk you through the key steps and considerations for setting up your own Amazon seller account or store.
Should I sell as an individual or business on Amazon?
The first decision is whether to register as an individual seller or set up a professional Amazon seller account for your business. Here are the main differences:
- Individual seller accounts are free but business accounts require a monthly subscription fee
- Business accounts allow you to create a customized seller profile and store
- Business accounts give you access to additional selling tools and metrics
- With a business account you can sell unlimited products, individual accounts have quantity limits per month
For most serious sellers looking to build an ongoing brand or store, a professional selling account is recommended. However, individual accounts are good for testing out Amazon selling or occasional small volume sales.
Register for an Amazon seller account
To open your seller account, visit Amazon Seller Central and click the Register Now button. You’ll need to provide some basic business information to get started.
- Business name and address
- Credit card and bank account details
- Tax information like your EIN if registering as a business
- Contact details including email and phone number
Amazon will review your registration details and confirm via email once your account is opened. This usually takes 1-2 days.
Set up your Amazon seller profile
Your seller profile allows customers to learn more about your business on Amazon. It’s important for building credibility and brand recognition. Follow these tips for an effective profile:
- Choose an easy to remember store or seller name customers can recognize
- Use high quality product or lifestyle images to bring your profile to life
- Provide detailed information about your business history and offerings
- List any awards, credentials or press coverage you have received
You can customize your seller profile URL and branding when you register for a professional Amazon seller account. This gives your store or brand a unique identity customers will remember.
Optimize account settings
Take time to optimize your Amazon seller account settings for the best experience. Key options to review include:
- Notifications – Set up email and mobile notifications to monitor orders, payments and account changes.
- Seller preferences – Choose preferences for order handling, returns, customer service and other policies.
- Users & access – Add employees or third parties to help manage your account if needed.
- Shipment settings – Connect your preferred carrier accounts to facilitate shipping.
Configuring your settings upfront makes day-to-day selling, order fulfillment and account management much smoother.
List your products
You’re now ready to add products to sell on Amazon. Follow this process for each item you list:
- Enter the product name, sku, price and quantity
- Upload high quality product photos
- Add detailed descriptions, bullet points and keywords
- Select the product category and attributes
- Input shipping weight to calculate fulfillment fees
- Choose your preferred fulfillment method
Take time to optimize titles, descriptions and images to improve discoverability and conversions. The more content you add, the better. You can also choose to enroll eligible items in Amazon Prime for faster shipping.
Inventory management
Keep your inventory levels up to date in Seller Central. You can:
- Enable inventory tracking for each product
- Set reorder thresholds and alerts
- Update quantities with each order or periodically
- Sync inventory files from your ecommerce platform
Accurate inventory management helps maximize sales by avoiding overselling or running out of stock.
Fulfill orders
When you make sales, it’s time to fulfill orders! With Amazon, you have a few options:
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) – Let Amazon pick, pack and ship your orders for you
- Seller Fulfilled Prime – Sell Prime items but handle fulfillment yourself
- Seller Fulfilled – You store inventory and ship all orders yourself
FBA makes order fulfillment easy by letting Amazon handle everything after the sale. But Seller Fulfilled options give you more control while saving on fulfillment fees.
Fulfillment by Amazon
With FBA, you ship your inventory to Amazon warehouses and they take care of the rest. Orders are picked, packed, shipped and customer service is handled by Amazon after the sale.
Benefits of FBA include:
- Fast Prime and free shipping options
- Access to large Amazon customer base
- Less time spent on fulfillment
- Store inventory across Amazon’s warehouse network
The main downside is FBA fees for picking, packing, storage and shipping that cut into your profits. FBA works best for high volume sellers.
Seller Fulfilled Prime
Sellers who qualify can enroll in Seller Fulfilled Prime to handle fulfillment themselves while still qualifying items for Prime shipping benefits. Here’s how it works:
- You list and ship eligible Prime products yourself from your own warehouse
- Amazon generates free 2-day shipping labels for your orders
- You handle pick, pack, ship and customer service yourself
Seller Fulfilled Prime gives you added Prime exposure and faster shipping without paying FBA fees. However, you’ll need to meet Amazon’s performance requirements.
Seller Fulfilled
With Seller Fulfilled, you manage the entire order process end-to-end yourself. Key advantages include:
- Lower fees by avoiding FBA costs
- Full control over order handling and shipping
- Set your own shipping rates
- Offer fast shipping options yourself
The main challenge with Seller Fulfilled is doing everything – storing inventory, picking, packing, shipping and customer service – on your own. But for products with low FBA fees or sellers with established fulfillment processes, Seller Fulfilled can maximize profitability.
Provide customer service
Responding to buyer questions and issues quickly and professionally is key to succeeding on Amazon. Here are some best practices for customer service:
- Set up systems to monitor messages and respond quickly
- Resolve issues or find solutions – don’t just send generic replies
- Be friendly and understanding – offer refunds or replacements if appropriate
- Follow up with buyers after issues are resolved
Amazon tracks seller performance metrics including order defects, late shipments and valid complaints. Providing excellent service helps improve your account standing.
Drive external traffic
While Amazon has tons of built-in traffic, you can grow sales further by driving external visitors to your listings. Some top ways to drive traffic include:
- Promote products on social media channels
- Run paid ads linking to your Amazon listings
- Build an email list and share links in broadcasts
- Partner with influencers or other brands to co-market
The more shoppers that find your listings from outside Amazon, the more sales you’ll make. Optimize listings for SEO, create affiliate links, and pursue cross-promotions with other brands to boost visibility.
Analyze performance
Taking time to analyze your Amazon seller performance is key to growth. Make reviewing these reports part of your regular routine:
- Sales and traffic – Evaluate total sales, units sold and page views
- Best sellers – See which products have highest sales
- Keyword tracking – Find which search terms drive traffic
- Listing quality – Check for issues with content, images or back end
Use this data to refine your listings, focus on top products, invest in new inventory, improve marketing and optimize every aspect of your Amazon presence.
Advertise on Amazon
Amazon offers extensive advertising options to help sellers promote products and increase visibility. Some top advertising choices include:
Sponsored Products
Sponsored Products ads target shoppers searching for specific keywords or products. They appear at the top of search results. You only pay when users click your ad.
Sponsored Brands
Sponsored Brands combines Sponsored Products text ads with brand visuals. They appear prominently in search results and help reinforce your brand.
Display Ads
Amazon display ads allow sellers to create customized banner ads and place them across Amazon sites. They help increase brand exposure and product discovery.
Amazon DSP
The Amazon Demand-Side Platform allows you to buy display ads off Amazon on other sites. Expand reach and find new customers.
Start small with a targeted Amazon advertising budget and track performance in your reports. Expand to new ad types and increased budgets to scale.
Expand internationally
Selling globally opens up new customer markets for your business. With Amazon Global Selling you can:
- List and sell products across Amazon marketplaces worldwide
- Amazon handles translation, customer service and payments
- Leverage Amazon’s global logistics network
Register for a home marketplace like Amazon.com, then choose additional countries to expand your reach. Localization and translation help make listings appropriate for each region.
Grow your profits
The potential profits selling on Amazon are huge. Here are some tips to maximize your earnings:
- Carefully manage pricing – Use repricers or regularly adjust manually
- Build economies of scale – reduce costs as you sell more volume
- Sell additional products – expand your catalog over time
- Cut unnecessary expenses – streamline inventories and operations
- Analyze data – identify most profitable products and opportunities
As you scale up sales, work to improve efficiencies and margins. Small optimizations add up. Automate what you can. The more you streamline, the more profit you retain.
Get expert help
At some point in your Amazon seller journey, you may want to get assistance maximizing growth. Options include:
Selling partners
Amazon experts who help sellers optimize every aspect of their business from listings to logistics. Fees typically range from 15-20% of revenue depending on services.
Agencies
Agencies provide end-to-end ecommerce support from account setup to marketing. Packages start around $1,000/month for basic service.
Software & tools
Software to assist with repricing, analytics, inventory, order management, and fulfillment. Individual tools start around $30/month.
Freelancers
Hire freelance pros for specialized tasks like listing optimization, product research or PPC management. Hourly rates range $30-$100/hr depending on experience.
Getting unbiased expert support provides structure plus accountability to scale your Amazon business faster.
Conclusion
Launching your own seller account is an exciting first step to opening up the Amazon opportunity. With careful setup, structure and optimization, you can build a highly profitable online store. Stay organized, provide excellent customer experiences, and keep refining your presence and processes.
Amazon makes reaching millions of shoppers easier than ever. They handle the traffic, provide the platform and manage fulfillment logistics. Focus on identifying great products, creating compelling listings, and building your brand reputation. With persistence and dedication to your Amazon store, significant rewards await.
