The beginner’s guide to

Selling on Amazon
Welcome to Selling on Amazon
It’s no secret: At Amazon, we obsess over customers. And
our customers want a trusted destination where they can
purchase a wide variety of goods—which is what makes
sellers like you so important. We’re always looking for ways
to add value for our customers and be Earth’s most customer-
centric company. As an Amazon seller, you take part in
offering those customers better selection, better prices, and a
top-notch customer experience.

This eBook contains high-level information that will help

300 million active customers in
you start your journey selling on Amazon. If you want to dive more than 180 countries
in deeper on any subject, visit services.amazon.com.au for
more information about all the topics covered here.

The Amazon edge

When you start selling on Amazon, you become part of a
Is Amazon right for
retail destination that’s home to sellers of all kinds, from
your business?
Fortune 500 organisations to local startups with unique
The short answer is: yes. The largest household
selection. They all sell here for a reason: to reach the
brands sell on Amazon, as well as emerging
hundreds of millions of customers who visit Amazon to brands Small and medium-sized businesses thrive
shop. here, and they account for more than half the
●● Since third-party sellers joined Amazon in 1999, they’ve units sold in our stores worldwide. Whatever your
grown to account for 58% of Amazon sales business is—and whatever size it is—we’re
excited for you to grow with us. Find your fit and
●● Third-party sales on Amazon are growing at 52% a year
start selling today.
(compared to 25% for first-party sales by Amazon)

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon products | 1

How to list Welcome
Before you start selling
How to register What you’ll need to get started
With two selling plans ("Individual" and "Professional", you In order to complete your registration, make sure you have
can think of them as standard and premium), Amazon offers access to your bank account number, a chargeable credit card,
you the flexibility to sell one item or sell thousands. Before government issued national ID, tax information, and phone
you begin registration, decide which plan is a better fit for number.
your business.

The Individual plan costs $0.99 (exc. GST) per unit sale, while
How much does it cost to sell on Amazon?
sellers using the Professional plan pay $49.95 (exc. GST) per There are different types of selling fees, depending on your
month, no matter how many items they sell. If you sell more selling plan and the types of products you sell.
than 50 items a month, the Professional option is right for
you. Whichever plan you select, don’t worry about making ● Subscription fees: On the Professional selling plan
the wrong choice—you can change plans at any time. there’s a flat fee of $49.95 + GST per month and no per-
item fee. The Individual selling plan has no monthly
subscription fee.
The Individual plan might be right if:
•You plan to sell fewer than 50 items a month ● Selling fees: These fees are charged per item sold, and
• You want to keep up-front costs low they include referral fees (which is a percentage of the
• You don’t need advanced selling tools or add-on selling price and vary depending on the product’s
programs category), and a variable closing fee (which apply only to
• You’re still deciding what to sell media categories).

The Professional plan might be right if:

o On the Individual selling plan there’s a $0.99
• You plan to sell more than 50 items a month
GST fee for each item sold.
• You want access to advanced selling tools
• You’d like to apply for add-on programs like
Amazon Launchpad
● Shipping fees: When you fulfill orders yourself, you
• You’re an established ecommerce seller
determine your shipping fees and type.

● FBA fees: For products that Amazon fulfills for you

(known as Fulfillment by Amazon, or FBA), there are fees
for order fulfillment, storage, and optional services.
Tools for brand owners
(More information about FBA can be found on page 6.)
If you own a brand, Amazon offers tools to help
you build, grow, and protect it. Enrolling in Brand
Registry can help you personalise your brand
and product pages, protect your trademarks and
intellectual property, and improve the brand To review the fees that may be associated with your
experience for customers—along with unlocking account, visit the Selling on Amazon Fee Schedule.
additional advertising options and
recommendations on improving traffic and
conversion.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon Before you start selling | 2

Get to know
Seller Central
What is Seller Central?
Once you register as an Amazon seller, you’ll have access
The Amazon Seller app
to your Seller Central account. Think of Seller Central as Did you know you can keep track of your Amazon
business even while you’re on the go? The
your go-to resource for selling on Amazon. It’s a portal to
Amazon Seller app lets you analyse your sales,
your Amazon business and a one-stop shop for managing fulfill orders, find products to sell, manage offers
your selling account, adding product information, making and inventory, respond to customer questions,
inventory updates, managing payments, and finding helpful capture and edit professional-quality product
content to help you navigate your Amazon business. It’s also photos, and create listings—right from your
mobile device. Never be more than a swipe away
where you list all your products.
from your Amazon business. Download it for
iPhone or Android to get started.
Below are a just few of the things you can do from Seller Central.

1 2

(1) Keep track of your inventory and update your

listings from the Inventory tab

(2) Download custom business reports and

bookmark templates you use often

(3) Use customer metrics tools to monitor your

seller performance

(4) Contact Selling Partner Support and open help

tickets using the Case Log

(5) Keep track of your daily sales for all the

products you sell on Amazon

3 4 5

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon Get to know Seller Central | 3

How to list products
Listing your first product Successful listing = successful launch
To sell a product on Amazon, you must first create a product Following best practices for adding listings can have a big
listing. Either match an existing listing (if somebody else is impact on their success. Make it easy for shoppers to find your
already selling the same product on Amazon), or create a new offers by adding descriptive titles, clear images, and concise
listing (if you are the first or only seller). feature bullets to your items.

There are different ways to list products on Amazon. Sellers Avoid these things that could negatively impact your launch:
using a Professional seller account have the option of listing
their products in large batches using bulk uploading or ● Variation issues: Products that vary only by color,
inventory management with third-party systems, while scent, or size might be a good candidate for listing as
Individual sellers list products one at a time. variations. Ask yourself if the customer would expect to
find the products together on the same page. If not, list
them separately.
What you need to start listing products ● Image compliance: Your images must be at least 500
In most cases, products must have a Global Trade Item x 500 pixels (increase the size to 1,000 x 1,000 for high-
Number (GTIN), such as a UPC, an ISBN, or an EAN. Amazon quality listings) and set against a plain white
uses these product IDs to identify the exact item you’re background. The product should fill at least 80% of the
selling. If you match a listing, you won’t need to provide a image area.
product ID since it already exists. If you’re adding a product ● Product IDs: Make sure you’re meeting the
that’s new to Amazon, you may need to purchase a UPC code requirements for product UPCs and GTINs (Global Trade
or request an exemption. Item Number). Consistency in these codes helps
In addition to a product ID, here’s some of the important promote confidence in the range of products shown in
information that goes into each product listing: the Amazon catalogue.

●● SKU
●● Product title
●● Product description and bullet points
●● Product images
●● Search terms and relevant keywords

What are restricted

product categories?
It’s important that customers are able to shop
with confidence on Amazon, which is why some
product categories (like certain grocery or
personal care products) are known as “restricted
product categories.” Amazon might require
performance checks and other qualifications in
order for you to sell certain brands or list items
within restricted categories. You’ll be able to
request approval from within Seller Central.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon How to list products | 4

The product detail page
The product detail page: what’s what?
A product detail page is where customers view a product sold
Amazon Brand Registry
on Amazon. If you’ve shopped on Amazon, you’ll recognise If you sell your products under a registered
trademark, you may be eligible to enroll in Amazon
the product detail page. It’s where customers can find all the
Brand Registry at no extra charge. Brand Registry
relevant information about a particular item. gives you control over product detail pages that
use your brand name, and lets you add more rich
When multiple sellers offer the same product, Amazon media (like videos and enhanced text information)
combines data from all the offers into one product detail page to your detail pages.
(so we can present customers with the best experience). You
can propose product information on a product detail page,
along with other sellers and manufacturers, and request
detail page reviews if you think the information is not
correct.

As you’re building your product detail pages, think about what

will best help customers find your products, discover answers
to their questions, and make a purchasing decision. Aim for
the ultimate customer experience by making your listings
concise, accurate, and easy to understand.

(1) Images of the product (make sure they’re at least 500 x

500, and boost that size to 1,000 x 1,000 to increase the
1 2 3 quality of your listings).

(2) The title of the product (use 50 characters, maximum,

and capitalise the first letter of every word).

(3) Any variations of your product you have available,

which may include things like different colours or
sizes.

(4) The description, which can be optimised for search

engines using keywords to improve the reach of your
product listings.

(5) The Featured Offer, which is the section of the product

page where customers can add items to their cart or
“Buy Now.” If you’re one of multiple sellers advertising
the same product, research strategies for “winning” the
Featured Offer to improve your overall sales.

(6) The bullet point information, which should be short,

4 5 6 descriptive sentences highlighting the products key
features and differentiating characteristics.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon The product detail page | 5

How to deliver products
Selecting the right fulfillment option The benefits of Fulfillment by Amazon
Amazon sellers have two fulfillment options: You can do it You sell it, we ship it. Amazon has one of the most advanced
yourself, maintaining your own inventory and shipping fulfilment networks in the world. With Fulfilment by
products to customers (merchant-fulfillment), or have Amazon (FBA), you store your products in Amazon's
Amazon take responsibility for packaging, labeling, and fulfilment centres, and we pick, pack, ship, and provide
shipping products through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). customer service for these products. FBA can help you scale
Each method has its own set of benefits—you just have to your business and reach more customers.
decide which one is right for your business.

How Fulfillment by Amazon works

If you’re fulfilling your own orders
Merchant-fulfilled means you store and ship products 1. Prepare your products to be "e-commerce ready," so they
directly to customers yourself. Amazon charges shipping can be safely and securely transported all the way to the
rates based on the product category and shipping service customer's hands.
selected by the customer, then passes the amount on to you in
the form of a shipping credit. 2. Ship your inventory to Amazon. It will be scanned and
made available for sale.
Set shipping rates apply to all products sold with an
3. With each order, Amazon packages and ships the
Individual plan, so it’s important to determine if you can still
product directly to the customer.
price items profitably. Amazon’s Buy Shipping tool can help
you get a great deal on shipping labels with Amazon’s trusted 4. Amazon’s customer service team handles questions,
network of shipping partners, ship and confirm your orders, returns, and refunds.
and track your shipments.

Fees for using Fulfillment by

Amazon (FBA)
There are two types of FBA fees: fulfillment
fees (which are charged per unit sold and
include picking and packing your orders,
shipping
and handling, customer service, and product
returns), and inventory storage fees (which
are charged monthly, and are based on the
volume of inventory being held in an Amazon
fulfillment center). For more information,
refer to the
FBA fees and rate structure page.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon How to deliver products | 6

You’ve made your
first sale. What’s next?
Managing your Amazon business
Your first sale is a big milestone—but it’s just the beginning
of your growth opportunities selling on Amazon. Once your
store is up and running, there are a few important things to
keep in mind.

Performance metrics
(and why they matter)
Amazon sellers operate at a high standard so we can
provide a seamless, delightful shopping experience.
We call it being customer-obsessed, and as an Amazon
seller it means keeping an eye on these key metrics:

●● Order defect rate (a measure of a seller’s

customer service standards): < 1%
●● Pre-fulfillment cancel rate (initiated by the seller
before shipment): < 2.5%
●● Late shipment rate (orders that ship after the
expected date): < 4%

You can keep tabs on your performance and make sure you’re
meeting your targets in Seller Central.

Customer reviews
Seller University
Customer product reviews are an integral part of the
Seller University is an online resource from Amazon,
shopping experience on Amazon, and they benefit both
with videos featuring step-by-step guides, tutorials,
customers and sellers. Make sure you’re familiar with the and training to help entrepreneurs start (and grow)
right way and wrong way to get more product reviews and their Amazon business.
avoid policy violations.
Visit the Seller University YouTube channel and
start learning today.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon You’ve made your first sale. What’s next? | 7
Opportunities for
business growth
This is only the beginning Promotions and coupons
The moment you’re selling on Amazon is the moment you can Customers want to save, and promotions are an incentive to
start growing your Amazon business. Once you’ve launched make a purchase now. There are three types of promotions:
your business, Amazon has tools in place to help you take money off, free shipping, and buy one get one free. You
your business to the next level. can also offer percentage or money-off discounts with
digital coupons.

Advertising
Amazon’s paid-per-click advertising solutions create new Global expansion
ways for you to reach and engage shoppers, regardless of Selling globally is a huge milestone for any business. It means
whether they’re just starting to compare products, or ready to hundreds of millions of new customers and the potential for a
make a purchase. Ads show up right where customers will see big boost in sales. Global expansion has a lot of moving parts,
them (like the first page of search results or product detail but with Amazon Global Selling, you get to use Amazon’s
pages). global infrastructure to get your products in front of a
worldwide audience.
Amazon offers three advertising solutions, which are
accessible through Seller Central. When it’s time to take your business to the next level, use
Amazon Global Selling to list and sell your products on any
1. Sponsored Products of our online stores in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Sponsored Products are ads for individual product listings
on Amazon, so they help drive product visibility (and
product sales). They appear on search results pages and
product detail pages.

2. Sponsored Brands
Sponsored Brands showcase your brand and product
portfolio. They’re search-result ads that feature your brand
logo, a custom headline, and up to three of your products.

3. Stores
Stores are custom multipage shopping destinations for
individual brands that let you share your brand story and
product offerings. (And you don’t need any website
experience to use them.)

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon Opportunities for business growth | 8

What makes a
great seller?
A checklist for growth
Your first 90 days
With any new project, things take time to ramp up.
The first three months after you launch your
Opportunities for growth are all around you—but here are a
Amazon business are an important time for
few things to try in your first 90 days as an Amazon seller.
establishing practices that will boost your
performance from there on out. Different
approaches will work for different businesses, but
Keep an eye on your account health in Seller Central
the more you put in, the more you will get out.

Use Fulfillment by Amazon and offer great delivery options for self-fulfilled products

Advertise your listings or offer deals and coupons

Enroll in Brand Registry and create enhanced brand content

Expand your selection by listing more products

Use the Automate Pricing Tool in Seller Central

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon What makes a great seller? | 9