If you start asking around, there's a good chance you'll find people who have made online purchases through Amazon. In fact, you'll probably have a harder time finding someone who hasn't; and of those who have, you'll likely discover that the vast majority are entirely satisfied and are repeat customers. When you ask why they shop on Amazon, the answer is often one word -- Prime.
\r\nIn fact, it turns out that during the fourth quarter of 2016, nearly 60 percent of all e-commerce sales occurred through Amazon, an incredible number considering how many e-commerce sites exist and how popular some of them are. Of course, this is probably due to the extensive range of products Amazon sells, not to mention the incentives they provide to both customers and Amazon Prime members.
\r\nShoppers can find everything from books and movies to clothing and jewelry. Amazon offers convenient, one-stop shopping from the comfort of home, and the company has excelled because they provide so many options for consumers.
\r\nIncredibly, statistics show that Amazon is beating out Google when it comes to product searches. While only 34 percent of product searches start on Google, 52 percent begin on Amazon. They are trusted and preferred by consumers, and that's pretty hard to argue with.
\r\nWhat does this mean for businesses looking to expand into e-commerce? It means you'd better at least consider listing with Amazon.
\r\nCurrently, 50 percent of the products sold through their marketplace are provided by third-party retailers, and you couldn't hope for a better reference. However, there are a few things you should know going in so that you can make the most of your e-commerce efforts through Amazon.
\r\nAs a business owner, you have to go where the customers are, and online consumers are overwhelmingly using Amazon for purchases of every stripe. If your company and your products are not represented on Amazon, you're missing out on access to consumers and opportunities to improve brand visibility and, not to mention, sales. With so many online purchases occurring through Amazon, you can't afford to ignore the opportunities this e-commerce platform offers online vendors.
\r\nSelling your goods on Amazon is exceedingly simple, especially if you already have your own e-commerce site set up. All you have to do is register with Amazon to start, after which you can begin adding products to Amazon's catalog. You can either list products already sold on Amazon or add new listings.
\r\nIf you plan to sell a lot of items, you may want to subscribe to the Professional plan so you can use bulk tools to upload items in batches. This upgrade also allows you more options for product categories to list with. As an individual selling on Amazon, you'll pay 99 cents per products sold, whereas the Professional plan is $39.99 per month, and you can sell unlimited products.
\r\nOne of the best reasons to sell through Amazon is that they have fulfillment infrastructure already in place. In other words, you have the option to allow Amazon to fulfill orders for you when you choose FBA, or Fulfilled by Amazon.
\r\nAmazon boasts 70 fulfillment centers and over 90,000 full-time employees in the U.S. alone, easing the burden on your company to store and ship products sold through Amazon (where, let's face it, you could end up reaching a much larger audience than through your dedicated e-commerce site). Of course, if you already have a fulfillment branch that is more than capable, you can simply select the FBM, or Fulfilled by Merchant option.
\r\nWhen you decide to sell your products through Amazon, you gain access to a much larger group of consumers than you might otherwise attract on your own. Unfortunately, these people are Amazon customers first.
\r\nThis doesn't mean you can't win them over as loyal customers to your own brand, but when you make sales through Amazon, you won't necessarily have access to all of the information that can be provided via tracking and metrics. This can make it more difficult to gain insight into buyer demographics and get the most out of every sale.
\r\nSo, you signed up with Amazon and now your products are selling like hotcakes. What's the problem? Making sales is never a bad thing, but you need to think about what's best for your brand long-term.
\r\nIf you come to rely too heavily on Amazon for sales, it may be tempting to let your e-commerce site or other online efforts fall by the wayside. What will you do if your Amazon sales flag? You'll have nothing to fall back on.
\r\nMany businesses elect to sell their goods through Amazon. Your level of competition and ability to succeed in such an endeavor could come down to whether or not you sell branded products or you represent other brands.
\r\nIf you sell products already listed, you might be just one of dozens of retailers listing those products, putting you up against a lot of competitors for sales. If you have your own branded goods, you can avoid getting lumped in with other third-party retailers; but even so, you need to prepare for the fact that competition is part and parcel of selling on Amazon.
\r\nFor any e-commerce merchant today, Amazon has become a necessary partner. But I will caution you to keep it into perspective and use it to build your own brand.
\r\nPhoto credit: Shutterstock / Twin Design
\n","docType":"article","guid":"articles_22c7f7cfb477ccb12d1bed0b408c61d9","lastModified":"2017-03-17T21:43:00.000Z","published":"2017-03-17T21:43:00.000Z","structuredData":null,"subtitle":"Shoppers can find everything from books and movies to clothing and jewelry","template":"legacy","title":"Pros and Cons of Selling On Amazon","type":"article","author":{"avatar":null,"bio":"Phil Masiello has been a founder and CEO of several disruptive business models. Presently Mr. Masiello is the CEO and Founder of Hound Dog Digital Marketing (hounddogdigital.com), a digital marketing agency assisting consumer product companies with their Ecommerce efforts, mobile application marketing and Amazon Seller marketing. \r\n\r\nPrior to Hound Dog Digital, Mr. Masiello was the Founder and CEO of 800razors.com, an Ecommerce company selling high quality American made razors and shaving products for men and women that compare in quality to the national brands at a fraction of the price. 800razors.com has a close affiliation with Edgewell, (Formerly Energizer Personal Care) who provided the company with a private label razor with the Schick shaving technology. Some of the investors in 800razors.com were John Sculley, David Sculley and Michael Phelps. During this time, Mr. Masiello also advised on the marketing of Mr. Sculley’s personal website, book and learning series as well as the marketing of Wolfgang Pucks’s Online Cooking School, which Messrs. Sculley were partners in.\r\n\r\nPrior to 800razors.com, Phil Masiello was the co-founder of Raw Beauty, Inc. with Carol Alt, which developed and marketed Raw Essentials Skin Care through its website, on the shopping channels in the US, Canada and Europe as well as many large North American retailers. During this period, Mr. Masiello also assisted Forbes Riley, Nick Verreos and Marla Wynne in marketing their various fashion lines on HSN and in Macy’s.\r\n\r\nPrior to Co-founding Raw Beauty, Inc., Mr. Masiello was a founder and President of Metro Marketing, an agency focused on developing the online, retail and TV Shopping sales channels for emerging natural and organic brands. \r\n\r\nMr. Masiello also founded The Daily Market, a Washington, DC based grab and go meal chain that was sold to a major supermarket chain. Mr. Masiello’s first startup was at the age of 25.\r\n\r\nMr. Masiello holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Maryland. He has remained active in the schools entrepreneurial programs and is also an active advisor and mentor to several incubators in the Baltimore/Washington Marketplace.","name":"Phil Masiello","image":null,"slug":null,"social":{"facebook":"","linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/company/clicblox?trk=top_nav_home","twitter":"hounddogdigital","website":"https://www.hounddogdigital.com"},"status":"limbo","title":null,"type":"New BDC Member","user":{"imagePath":"https://staging.business.com/images/uploads/user/profile/9cf8ca345e5443a3c1bf8202347d45d81cb8b.jpg","profile":{"company":"Hound Dog Digital Marketing Agency","jobTitle":"Founder & CEO","website":"https://www.hounddogdigital.com"}}},"breadcrumbs":null,"channels":{"primary":{"name":"Marketing","slug":"marketing"},"sub":{"name":"Marketing Strategy","slug":"marketing-strategy"}},"meta":{"robots":"index, follow","description":"Selling on Amazon is a necessity for e-commerce brands. But learning how to sell correctly and avoid some of the pitfalls is essential for success.","title":"Pros and Cons of Selling On Amazon - business.com"},"parsedContent":{"toc":[{"id":"the-good","title":"The Good"},{"id":"the-bad","title":"The Bad"}],"json":[{"component":"p","children":["If you start asking around, there's a good chance you'll find people who have made online purchases through Amazon. In fact, you'll probably have a harder time finding someone who hasn't; and of those who have, you'll likely discover that the vast majority are entirely satisfied and are repeat customers. When you ask why they shop on Amazon, the answer is often one word -- Prime."]},{"component":"p","children":["In fact, it turns out that during the fourth quarter of 2016, nearly 60 percent of all e-commerce sales occurred through Amazon, an incredible number considering how many e-commerce sites exist and how popular some of them are. Of course, this is probably due to the extensive range of products Amazon sells, not to mention the incentives they provide to both customers and Amazon Prime members."]},{"component":"p","children":["Shoppers can find everything from books and movies to clothing and jewelry. Amazon offers convenient, one-stop shopping from the comfort of home, and the company has excelled because they provide so many options for consumers."]},{"component":"p","children":["Incredibly, statistics show that Amazon is beating out Google when it comes to product searches. While only 34 percent of product searches start on Google, 52 percent begin on Amazon. They are trusted and preferred by consumers, and that's pretty hard to argue with."]},{"component":"p","children":["What does this mean for businesses looking to expand into e-commerce? It means you'd better at least consider listing with Amazon."]},{"component":"p","children":["Currently, ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.statista.com/statistics/259782/third-party-seller-share-of-amazon-platform/","rel":"nofollow"},"children":["50 percent of the products sold"]}," through their marketplace are provided by third-party retailers, and you couldn't hope for a better reference. However, there are a few things you should know going in so that you can make the most of your e-commerce efforts through Amazon."]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"the-good"},"children":["The Good"]},{"component":"h3","children":["Access to consumers"]},{"component":"p","children":["As a business owner, you have to go where the customers are, and online consumers are overwhelmingly using ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.statista.com/statistics/271450/monthly-unique-visitors-to-us-retail-websites/","rel":"nofollow"},"children":["Amazon"]}," for purchases of every stripe. If your company and your products are not represented on Amazon, you're missing out on access to consumers and opportunities to improve brand visibility and, not to mention, sales. With so many online purchases occurring through Amazon, you can't afford to ignore the opportunities this e-commerce platform offers online vendors."]},{"component":"h3","children":["Ease of use"]},{"component":"p","children":["Selling your goods on Amazon is exceedingly simple, especially if you already have your own e-commerce site set up. All you have to do is register with Amazon to start, after which you can begin adding products to Amazon's catalog. You can either list products already sold on Amazon or add new listings."]},{"component":"p","children":["If you plan to sell a lot of items, you may want to subscribe to the Professional plan so you can use bulk tools to upload items in batches. This upgrade also allows you more options for product categories to list with. As an individual selling on Amazon, you'll pay 99 cents per products sold, whereas the Professional plan is $39.99 per month, and you can sell unlimited products."]},{"component":"h3","children":["Utility"]},{"component":"p","children":["One of the best reasons to sell through Amazon is that they have fulfillment infrastructure already in place. In other words, you have the option to allow Amazon to fulfill orders for you when you choose FBA, or Fulfilled by Amazon."]},{"component":"p","children":["Amazon boasts 70 fulfillment centers and over 90,000 full-time employees in the U.S. alone, easing the burden on your company to store and ship products sold through Amazon (where, let's face it, you could end up reaching a much larger audience than through your dedicated e-commerce site). Of course, if you already have a fulfillment branch that is more than capable, you can simply select the FBM, or Fulfilled by Merchant option."]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"the-bad"},"children":["The Bad"]},{"component":"h3","children":["Split loyalty"]},{"component":"p","children":["When you decide to sell your products through Amazon, you gain access to a much larger group of consumers than you might otherwise attract on your own. Unfortunately, these people are Amazon customers first."]},{"component":"p","children":["This doesn't mean you can't win them over as loyal customers to your own brand, but when you make sales through Amazon, you won't necessarily have access to all of the information that can be provided via tracking and metrics. This can make it more difficult to gain insight into buyer demographics and get the most out of every sale."]},{"component":"h3","children":["Dependency"]},{"component":"p","children":["So, you signed up with Amazon and now your products are selling like hotcakes. What's the problem? Making sales is never a bad thing, but you need to think about what's best for your brand long-term."]},{"component":"p","children":["If you come to rely too heavily on Amazon for sales, it may be tempting to let your e-commerce site or other online efforts fall by the wayside. What will you do if your Amazon sales flag? You'll have nothing to fall back on."]},{"component":"h3","children":["Competition"]},{"component":"p","children":["Many businesses elect to sell their goods through Amazon. Your level of competition and ability to succeed in such an endeavor could come down to whether or not ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://www.practicalecommerce.com/columns/the-ecommerce-corner-office/133206-Using-Amazon-to-build-an-ecommerce-brand","rel":"nofollow"},"children":["you sell branded products or you represent other brands"]},"."]},{"component":"p","children":["If you sell products already listed, you might be just one of dozens of retailers listing those products, putting you up against a lot of competitors for sales. If you have your own branded goods, you can avoid getting lumped in with other third-party retailers; but even so, you need to prepare for the fact that competition is part and parcel of selling on Amazon."]},{"component":"p","children":["For any e-commerce merchant today, Amazon has become a necessary partner. But I will caution you to keep it into perspective and use it to build your own brand. "]},{"component":"p","children":[{"component":"i","children":["Photo credit: Shutterstock / Twin Design"]}]}]},"resource":null,"sponsorship":null,"thumbnail":{"path":"https://staging.business.com/images/content/58c/c2dab3187b1dc529aaf92/1500-0-","caption":"","isBlurred":true},"bestPicks":null},"related":{"relatedArticles":[{"title":"Pros and Cons of Selling On Amazon","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/phil-masiello-pros-cons-selling-on-amazon/","slug":"phil-masiello-pros-cons-selling-on-amazon","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/58c/c2dab3187b1dc529aaf92/1500-0-","dek":"Shoppers can find everything from books and movies to clothing and jewelry","lastModified":"2017-03-17T21:43:00Z","published":"2017-03-17T21:43:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"How to Make Money in Retirement: A Guide to Turning a Hobby into a Side Business","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/how-make-money-retirement-hobby/","slug":"how-make-money-retirement-hobby","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5ba/902e01039eb26648b4572/1500-0-","dek":"Many retirees turn side interests into income. Learn how to make money in retirement.","lastModified":"2018-09-24T15:03:00Z","published":"2018-09-24T15:03:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Hiring for Retail: A Guide to Building the Right Team","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/retail-hiring-guide/","slug":"retail-hiring-guide","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/594/85c791039eb45268b4572/1500-0-","dek":"It starts with the interview and ends with you.","lastModified":"2017-07-12T07:00:00Z","published":"2017-07-12T07:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"10 Business Owners Share Their Tips for Weathering Slow Seasons","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/stay-in-business-during-slow-season/","slug":"stay-in-business-during-slow-season","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5b9/055041039eb753a8b4567/1500-0-","dek":"We asked entrepreneurs for their advice on how they handle down seasons.","lastModified":"2018-09-06T13:00:00Z","published":"2018-09-06T13:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Cash Register Buying Guide: POS vs. Cash Registers vs. Tablet mPOS","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/cash-register-vs-pos-system/","slug":"cash-register-vs-pos-system","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5a2/8182951ee47424e8b4580/1500-0-","dek":"How to choose between a cash register or the right POS system for you.","lastModified":"2017-12-06T21:00:00Z","published":"2017-12-06T21:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"How Times Have Changed: New Rules of the Sales Game","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/new-rules-of-the-sales-game/","slug":"new-rules-of-the-sales-game","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5b7/4c85d92a3a4dc7e8b456b/1500-0-","dek":"The internet has rendered many of the old best sales practices deadly.","lastModified":"2018-08-15T07:00:00Z","published":"2018-08-15T07:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Make Your First Trade Show a Success","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/first-trade-show-checklist/","slug":"first-trade-show-checklist","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5ac/ffbf651ee47e0158b4587/1500-0-","dek":"This checklist of 22 essential elements will help you pull off a successful event.","lastModified":"2018-04-12T07:00:00Z","published":"2018-04-12T07:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Why and How Your Online Store Should Offer Loss Leaders","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/loss-leader-online-store/","slug":"loss-leader-online-store","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5ec/eb86a7b43745c2b8b4568/1500-0-","dek":"Here's how you can implement the loss leader strategy for your e-commerce business.","lastModified":"2020-05-27T19:58:00Z","published":"2018-09-27T13:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Mobile Wallet Guide: Google Pay vs. Apple Pay vs. Samsung Pay - 08-05","canonical":"https://staging.business.com/articles/google-pay-vs-apple-pay-vs-samsung-pay/","slug":"google-pay-vs-apple-pay-vs-samsung-pay","thumbnail":"https://staging.business.com/images/content/5c5/afd7f54d26d67178b458d/1500-0-","dek":"Edit 07-24 - subtitle","lastModified":"2019-08-05T20:58:00Z","published":"2018-06-21T16:05:00Z","sponsored":null},{"title":"Mobile Wallet Guide: Google Pay vs. Apple Pay vs. Samsung Pay","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/google-pay-vs-apple-pay-vs-samsung-pay/","slug":"google-pay-vs-apple-pay-vs-samsung-pay","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5c5/e0a269c658a457c8b4591/1500-0-","dek":"You no longer need to carry a bulky wallet filled with numerous credit cards or cash.","lastModified":"2018-06-21T16:06:00Z","published":"2018-06-21T16:05:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"4 Warning Signs Your E-commerce Idea Is Failed From the Start","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/bad-ecommerce-business-idea-warning-signs/","slug":"bad-ecommerce-business-idea-warning-signs","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5bd/07fcb1039ebe84f8b456d/1500-0-","dek":"If the market doesn't exist for your e-commerce idea, you'll never get it off the ground.","lastModified":"2018-10-24T12:01:00Z","published":"2018-10-24T12:01:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"The State of Big-Box Retailers (and What That Means for SMBs)","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/state-of-big-box-retailers/","slug":"state-of-big-box-retailers","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5a2/71e621039eb925c8b4575/1500-0-","dek":"How are the large retailers and the little guys faring with Amazon and e-commerce booming?","lastModified":"2017-12-07T16:15:00Z","published":"2017-12-07T16:15:00Z","sponsored":false}],"relatedReviews":[{"doc_type":"category","thumbnail":"https://staging.business.com/images/rz/5b99633151ee47a8528b4582/Call_center_bbernard.jpg","canonical":"https://staging.business.com/categories/call-center-services/","title":"The Best Call Center Services for 2021","dek":"Our team has compared the best call center services for 2021. See up-to-date reviews for the top-rated answering services.","slug":"call-center-services","lastModified":"2021-02-26T14:22:00Z"},{"doc_type":"category","thumbnail":"https://staging.business.com/images/rz/5df7b1b69c658a61728b4567/Answering_Service_scyther5_Getty.jpg","canonical":"https://staging.business.com/categories/best-answering-services/","title":"The Best Answering Services of 2021","dek":"Our teams have compared the best answering services for 2020. See up-to-date reviews and prices for these top-rated services.","slug":"best-answering-services","lastModified":"2021-02-26T14:18:00Z"},{"doc_type":"category","thumbnail":"https://staging.business.com/images/rz/5d4c65367b43741a258b4572/Laptop_Sfio_Cracho.png","canonical":"https://staging.business.com/categories/crm-software/","title":"The Best CRM Software of 2021","dek":"Looking for the best CRM software? We have easy-to-read, expert unbiased reviews and feature comparisons of the best and cheapest programs.","slug":"crm-software","lastModified":"2021-02-24T14:09:00Z"}],"relatedSponsoredArticles":null}},"pageContext":{"displayModified":"2017-03-17T21:43:00.000Z","template":"legacy","title":"Pros and Cons of Selling On Amazon","meta":{"robots":"index, follow"},"docType":"articles","slug":"phil-masiello-pros-cons-selling-on-amazon","canonical":"https://staging.business.com/articles/phil-masiello-pros-cons-selling-on-amazon/","skipTOC":false}},"staticQueryHashes":[]}