Is it possible to blindly jump into the online world and find enough luck selling items on Amazon to become a real success?
When I FIRST got into ECommerce sales, Figuring out the Best Sellers on Amazon seemed like the best starting point for me since I was looking for a way to start earning extra money online. Making money online as an affiliate marketer is 1 thing, but doing it on Amazon is a whole other story.
It’s no secret that selling on Amazon is 1 of the most widely used and proven methods for earning a very good living while staking your claim to your own little corner of the vast online marketplace.
Being Successful Selling Items On Amazon Isn’t A Matter Of Luck
Is it possible to blindly jump into the online world and find enough luck selling stuff on Amazon to become a real success?
Sure it is, but if that’s the approach you’re going to take you might as well just go out and start buying lottery tickets and hope that you’re going to win.
The truth is that if you want to have success selling on Amazon you’re going to have to learn the science behind the process.
Remember that they make money if you make money, so they definitely have your interests in mind and want to see you succeed.
Did you know that as of 2018 they accounted for roughly 43% of all online sales in the United States?
That’s almost half of all online sales!
With so many people buying online doing your best to get your own piece of that giant pie makes good business sense.
So how do you get started?
Read on, and I’ll tell you! 🙂
First: You need to know WHAT to Sell on Amazon
If you want to succeed as a seller on this platform, there are numerous things you need to keep in mind.
Finding the Top Selling Items on Amazon:
First, you need to find out what kinds of products are the best sellers so that you can give yourself a better chance of success.
Obviously, you’re going to have more luck selling pieces that are in demand as opposed to pieces that have very low sales figures.
While knowing what the Top Sellers are a great starting point, that’s all that it really is, a starting point.
In order to be truly successful, you’re going to need to pay attention to the following factors as well.
1. The cost of the pieces you’re selling should be between 25% to 35% of the price you’re planning to sell for.
This will ensure that you have enough room to make a profit after covering necessary expenses and planning for potential losses as well.
2. Your target sale price should be between $10 and $50. If you have a higher sale price than $50 you’re less likely to attract the kinds of customers that you should be targeting.
While in an ideal world you would be able to get people to buy high priced pieces from you, the reality is that in most cases people to turn to large established retailers for these kinds of purchases.
3. Having a low shipping weight of under 3 pounds maximum is very important.
Remember, you’re selling low priced pieces, so keeping costs down is essential.
Even if you plan on charging your customers for shipping, the lower the shipping cost the more appealing your pieces will be for them.
4. Sell durable pieces that are less likely to become damaged during shipping, and avoid selling holiday-related pieces.
5. Offer a higher level of quality than the competition.
Yes, you’re selling lower-priced pieces. Yes, that does mean that customers that are considering buying from you want a good deal.
But, a good deal isn’t just a low price, it’s also the amount of value you’re getting for that low price.
If you sell pieces that are similarly priced to your competition, and your pieces are of higher quality, then you’re going to greatly increase your chances of succeeding.
Next: Finding the Best Sellers
1. If you’re looking for a surefire way to fail at selling online, then try competing with a major retailer.
There are numerous problems that you’re going to encounter if you decide that you want to try to compete with major retailers.
First, you’re going to have to compete with the fact that major retailers have brand recognition, which means that customers are more likely to gravitate toward them.
The other problem with competing with a major retailer is the fact that you won’t be able to match their pricing if you want to remain profitable.
Large retailers can buy in bulk, which means that they can purchase pieces for less.
When you buy a product for less then you can turn around and sell it for less, while still remaining profitable.
So, if you want to succeed don’t try to go up against the big guys.
2. You also want to make it as easy as possible for potential customers to find your listing on Amazon.
When somebody goes to Amazon to buy something, such as kids crayons, they will go to the search function and type in kids crayons.
- Or maybe they will type in kids coloring supplies,
- Or they will type in the name brand Crayola.
The point here is that somebody looking for a particular type of item could potentially type it in the search function in numerous of ways.
So, when you’re listing your pieces for sale you need to make sure that you have as wide of a range of keywords as possible, so it will increase the likelihood of your pieces being found.
3. Make sure that the products you’re planning to sell are popular enough to give you a chance to succeed.
For example, anything you’re selling should get at least 100,000 monthly searches, and similar ones should have at least 50 customer reviews.
Guess what?
Amazon will actually provide this data for you, so not taking advantage of it can be a huge mistake.
Pay Attention To Product Listings
If your goal is to become a successful online seller, then you need to take advantage of every bit of information that you can find out there.
A place that you can find a huge amount of useful information is in the product listings that other sellers have posted about things that you may be considering selling yourself.
1. The first bit of useful information you will find in a product listing is the price.
1 common tactic that people will use is to list a product at a certain price, then place it on sale for a lower price.
The trick here is that the so-called sale price isn’t a sale at all, it’s the normal price that they are trying to sell their product for.
The so-called regular price is a markup.
The point here is that you can get people to become customers if you get them to think that they are getting a great deal and that the amount of time left to get that great deal won’t last forever.
2. The next bit of useful information you’re going to find is the item description. Remember that you’re going to want to keep your shipping costs down by only selling pieces that weigh between 2 and 3 pounds.
So if the listing says that the item you’re looking at weighs more than that, then you can use this information to move on to other pieces that should be more profitable for you.
3. Next, you’re going to want to take a look at the overall ranking for the item in question, as well as it’s ranking in niche categories. Ideally, you should only be looking to sell pieces that have a BSR of over 5000.
In other words, you want to have an item that is ranked well in the Top Sellers list.
But, if you find an item that ranks low in BSR, but ranks very high in certain niche categories, then that item may still be worth selling.
(Note: For more inspiration, check out my post: The top 10 Niches for ECom Stores)
4. Finally, you’re going to want to look at customer ratings regarding the product in question.
Any product you’re considering selling should have at least 20 to 30 ratings.
This shows that the product is popular, and it’s also important because they use the number of ratings that a product has as a determining factor in how it ranks the item.
Ratings are also important because most customers read through a product’s ratings before they make a final decision on whether or not to purchase the product, so obviously aiming for pieces with better ratings will be in your interest.
Pay Close Attention To The Amazon Best Sellers List
Remember how I mentioned that they will provide you with a wealth of information that you can use to your advantage?
Well, when looking for the Best Sellers all you have to do is take a look at the top 100 in each category.
It’s super easy to find too!
- Visit https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers/
- Choose from the countless list of categories on the left
- C’est Voila, your best sellers list in every category imaginable!
They provide this information to you for free, which you can then use to make a decision about what pieces you should be selling.
While you probably shouldn’t try to sell the top-selling item because of the high competition, you also don’t want to sell pieces that aren’t on the top 100 list because your sales figures will end up being too low to enable you to make a profit.
From the top 100 sellers list you can get easy access to the following information:
1. Most Wished For
This page tracks pieces that their customers don’t purchase but instead put on their wish list. While this won’t show you actual sales figures, it will still give you valuable insight into what types of pieces people are interested in.
2. Movers And Shakers
As the name implies, this is a list of pieces that are quickly moving up the BSR rankings. Paying attention to this list will give you valuable insight into pieces that are suddenly in demand. Maybe it’s a new item, maybe it’s a lower price point, or maybe it’s a seasonal item. The point here is that the pieces on this list are hot, which means that you may be able to take advantage of this sudden interest in them to boost your profits.
3. Gift Ideas
The page will tell you what pieces are marked as a gift upon checkout. This will give you an idea of what types of pieces are more likely to be given as gifts. Then, you can choose to sell these types of pieces around popular gift-giving times of year to take advantage of this unique opportunity.
4. Hot New pieces
These are pieces that are new to Amazon that is quickly moving up the BSR rankings. By taking advantage of these pieces you may be able to get in on the ground floor of a buying trend, which can really do wonders for your bottom line.
What Types Of Products Do Small Sellers Typically Do Well With?
While you may be tempted to try to sell the most popular pieces you see, doing so is difficult because of the amount of competition involved.
Rather than trying to fight it out with bigger and more established sellers, you’re much better off aiming for a smaller niche that gives you a better chance to succeed.
You can succeed in this smaller niche by selling pieces you source from elsewhere, or you can also succeed by selling pieces that you produce yourself.
Where Can You Purchase The pieces That you’re Going To Resell On Amazon?
If you decide that you want to sell pieces that are made by another company, you’re going to need ready access to those pieces if you want to be able to sell them. So where can you find those pieces?
1. A option you should look at is a wholesale buyer’s market. Markets such as these cater to small businesses and often offer a lower price when you place a larger order with them. While this can mean investing more money into your eCommerce business, the higher profit per item often makes this initial higher investment well worth it.
2. Another option you should consider is Alibaba. Alibaba is a company that specializes in wholesale, and they offer great prices for people just like you. On top of that, they also offer a wealth of information about all of the products that they are selling.
3. Another Option – Walmart, Target, or your local garage sale! – Have you ever heard of Retail Arbitrage? If not – this blog post is for you!
What Does All Of This Mean For You?
The point of all of this is simple, you can be successful selling on Amazon, but it’s not something that is easy or something that will happen overnight.
You also need to be willing to devote the time and energy it takes to use the vast amount of information that they provide to you.
Amazon wants you to do well because it increases their profits, so they give you a lot of tools to help you with along the way. If you have ever dreamed of being your own boss and earning money online, then selling online may be something you should look into.
So..what now?
I know this may all seem scary, but I promise it’s not. If you want to learn how to make a living selling on Amazon, you need to learn from those already doing it.
My #1 Recommendation for this is to study what Amazing Selling Machine is teaching right now.
Their training takes you step by step in an ‘over the shoulder’ type of way that’s easy and fun to follow, and many of their students have gone on to make 6 figures per MONTH, or more!
(You can read my full Amazing Selling Machine Review for more info).
P.S. Also worth checking out (coming Jan, 2024) is eFORMULA, by Aidan Booth.
Hi Mr Jeff, you did a great job explaining what e-commerce really entails. It’s not as easy as I thought but I’m willing to give it a try. I’m tired of working 9 to 5 and living from pay check to paycheck . I want to make good money ( with less stress ), have a better quality of life and also have my freedom .From what I read so far, I know you are already in e – commerce and are very successful too.I will therefore appreciate it if you could send me the book and any relevant information that will help me get started the right way and also enable me make 7 figures and more with e commerce.Thanks a lot for your help and cooperation.
Hi Eme
I’m glad you enjoyed my post!
What book did you want me to send you exactly, I’m a bit confused by your request?
Thanks
Jeff
Great stuff Jeff! Been reading your blog for a while.
Do you only review and sell affiliate products? Have you sold your own product before?
I see your name all over the blogosphere…
Congrats on your success Jeff!
Ethan
Hey Thanks Ethan!
I appreciate that man! 🙂
As for my own products, I did partner up on one late last year that did fairly well, but I generally just prefer to stick to the affiliate side of things, it’s easier for me to manage.
Thanks!
Jeff
Great content Jeff, thank you!
Thank YOU for your kind words, Trish! 🙂
Jeff