Learn the basics of how Amazon FBA can fulfill your e-commerce needs and how it can benefit your business in 2019.
What is FBA?
Using Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), businesses can ship their products to customers without any hassles. Products will be picked up and stored in Amazon’s fulfillment centers when the customer places an order; they will be packed and sent to them. Amazon also provides customer service for these products.
This blog post only covers Amazon FBA; check out this comprehensive guide to selling on Amazon to get a step-by-step selling process.
1. How does FBA work?
Before jumping into the operations of FBA, you need to add FBA to your Selling on Amazon account. Create a Selling on Amazon account if you don’t have one. Also, you need to have product listings. You can add products to the Amazon catalog one by one or in bulk. To add products in bulk, you need to integrate your inventory management software with Amazon’s API.
1.1 Pack your products and set up a shipping plan
You have to pack your products so that they are highly safe and secure. As per the guidelines of Amazon FBA, you need to label, pack, and finally set up a shipping plan in the Seller Central dashboard.
1.2 Products are sent to fulfillment centers
The products will be picked at the doorstep or any other place of your choice. You can also track the products on your Seller Central. Partner carriers could also be a better choice to ship products to Amazon as they might be cheaper.
1.3 Products are stored in Amazon warehouses
The shipped products will reach the Amazon warehouse and will be stored there. In some cases, the products might be sent to other Amazon distribution centers based on demand. If your product is accidentally damaged inside the warehouse, Amazon will reimburse the product’s price based on the guidelines.
1.4 Customers orders the product
Once a customer places an order, the product will be packed and shipped. However, if you are selling on a third-party website such as your own website and eBay, then the order has to be routed manually or automatically via multi-channel fulfillment.
Once the product is processed for shipping, the seller and the customer can track the product’s status.
1.5 Customer support
Amazon provides customer support for products sold on Amazon. The customer support team handles inquiries, returns for orders, refunds, and so on. Customer support is provided 24×7.
2. What are the benefits of using FBA?
FBA is one of the best fulfillment networks worldwide. It helps in delivering a quality service and scaling the business.
2.1 Focus on your business
Since FBA will take care of shipping, you can focus more on important aspects of business such as improving the product, marketing strategies, etc.
2.2 Flexible fees
FBA has a flexible fees structure that charges you only for the services you use. This means that there are no minimum units, no start-up fees, and extra subscription fees.
2.3 Scalability
Amazon can handle any number of products. So even if you start small and expect to grow quickly, Amazon is a great choice.
2.4 Quality service
Amazon FBA handles packaging, shipping, customer service, and returns. This can increase trust among your customers.
2.5 Benefits for Amazon Prime users
Amazon Prime users will be eligible for prime delivery. Prime members will receive an item in one or two business days. This can significantly improve customer satisfaction.
3. What are the charges to sell on FBA?
There are two types of selling plans – Individual Sellers and Professional Sellers.
3.1 Individual Sellers
Individual Sellers plan is for sellers aiming to sell less than 40 items in a month. There is no monthly subscription fee but, $0.99 has to be paid for each item. Individual sellers can sell in more than 20 product categories. These are called open categories.
3.2 Professional Sellers
Professional Sellers plan is for sellers aiming to sell more than 40 items in a month. The monthly subscription fee is $39.99, and there are no per-item fees. Products that come under categories requiring approval can be listed only if specific requirements are met. In addition to that, only Professional Sellers can list in these categories.
Professional sellers can sell in 10 more categories, and the 20 open product categories are available for Individual sellers. So if you are selling on Amazon, you should definitely know about product categories.
Check out the official pricing page of Amazon FBA to know more about pricing.
4. FBA does the hard work
FBA handles almost all the difficult tasks related to delivering products. All you have to do is sell great products and keep products in stock. Amazon will notify you if your inventory is running low.
Also, to boost sales, you have to advertise and promote your products. Millions of products are sold on Amazon, and hence advertising your products is essential to increase sales.
A Beginner’s Guide to Amazon FBA
Author Bio:
Santhosh Sundararajan is a content writer at Codilar Technologies. He covers various topics, including digital commerce, m-commerce, Magento, and business strategies.
