By the end of 2018, Amazon reportedly generated over 200 billion dollars. This is how much business the marketplace is bringing to its sellers.

Unfortunately, not all Amazon sellers are getting a high cut of these billions with their products. As we discuss the nine tips for successful selling in this post, keep in mind that Amazon’s algorithms and platform features change over time. This means you’ll have to keep up with new features in the marketplace to help you make more sales.

Whether you’re thinking about selling on Amazon, or you’re already an Amazon top seller, there are always steps that you can take to maximize your profits.

1. Make Your Prices Competitive

As a new seller on Amazon, you may be tempted to decrease your product prices to woo customers your way. Wrong move! Keep in mind that for every purchase, there are fees to Amazon, shipping costs and that you also need to make profits.

So how should you price your products in a safe but competitive manner? While we won’t be able to analyze the Amazon pricing strategy in this segment, it’s important to note a few things.

People aren’t only comparing your products to other Amazon products. They’re also comparing to store products to find the best deal.

Amazon has provided its sellers with a feature known as “Match Low Price” where sellers can browse the lowest price of similar products. This will help you offer a better price for the same.

2. Use Various HD Images

Having quality images in each listing is vital. It won’t hurt to invest in a few minutes of good product photography. Blurry photos will hurt the customer experience.

Keep in mind that it’d be impossible for each customer to receive a package to see how it looks. Therefore, what you present to them is all they get until they purchase and receive the product.

Since Amazon doesn’t limit product images to only one, take high definition photos of all angles of the product. If the product is a handbag, take pictures to show the inner pockets as well.

Three things play a significant role in convincing a customer to purchase on any marketplace:

  • Images
  • Price
  • Reviews

Let’s be honest; if the image isn’t appealing to the eye, a customer won’t bother checking prices or reviews. However, if an image is convincing, even your outrageous pricing will be considered.

3. Target the Buy Box

Most Amazon purchases are made via the Buy Box. The Buy Box is a white feature on the right side of every product detail page. The box contains the “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” buttons.

The Buy Box feature is not available to every seller. There’s an algorithm set by Amazon that selects various sellers to win the Buy Box. While Amazon hasn’t shared their algorithm, there’s a pattern noted.

All Buy Box winners have:

  • Professional accounts
  • Offer low and competitive prices
  • Get high ratings from all customers
  • Receive a bunch of positive seller reviews
  • Use Amazon FBA
  • Create unique product bundles and kits

Availability of inventory brings you a step closer to winning the Buy Box feature. Maintain a good seller reputation and try out various premium seller features to get closer to the Buy Box. It may seem – or be – costly, but a Buy Box is worth the money and effort.

4. Step Outside the Marketplace

The invention of social platforms has made selling Amazon products ten times easier. If you’re lucky enough to have a significant social following, you can count on some high product sales.

All you’ve to do is post quality images of your products and provide a link to the listing. With other platforms, you can:

  • Get more sales from post shares on your pages
  • Use social media advertising to promote your Amazon products
  • Use social media influencers for product promotion
  • Use videos to demonstrate how the products work
  • Have a website for reviewing products and apply links to redirect readers

Other platforms give you the chance to promote your product using methods that Amazon doesn’t support.

5. Yes, SEO Helps Too

On the same note, Google search comes in handy with redirecting customers to your item. This is why you should incorporate keywords in your product description.

Research and use popular keywords for your specific product. This way, if someone searches on Google and uses your keyword, your product will rank on the first page.

Use Amazon’s Keyword Tool to rank your chosen keywords according to popularity. Another ranking tip is giving as much detailed information as possible. Mention the brand, sizes, colors, materials, and so forth.

6. Promote Your Listings With AMS

We’ve talked about using other platforms like your website and social media pages to increase awareness of your Amazon products and drive sales. Well, here’s another way to achieve the same – with the Amazon Marketing Services.

AMS is a promotion service offered by Amazon within the marketplace’s Seller Central. Sellers get to advertise their products and increase their sales each month.

Luckily, AMS is a pay-per-click (PPC) service, so every dollar counts. When using their promotion service, you’ll be able to receive analytics on your advert and see ad performance. Each advertisement is highly targeted and is visible to customers.

7. Go Pro

Do you have a professional Amazon account? Here are five reasons to get one:

  • You’ll be able to sell items in bundles, e.g., makeup kits
  • You’ll be able to list products that don’t appear on Amazon
  • You can apply to sell on restricted categories like jewelry
  • You’ll be able to take part in Buy Box
  • Gift services and promotions will be available to you

A Pro Account will give you the chance to do the above and more. The pro account costs $39.99 per month and a 15% fees rate.

8. Customer Service Is Key

As obvious as this point comes across, it’s surprisingly the one thing most sellers ignore. As customers browse your products, they may have questions.

Most customers decide on the product in the first few seconds of seeing it. If they’re curious about a particular detail, they’ll post a query and expect a prompt response.

Taking three business days to respond isn’t an option here. Three minutes might close you the deal. Try to answer the questions posted as accurately as possible.

If the customer feels like you don’t understand the product you’re selling, they won’t trust to buy it from you. Excellent customer service closes deals and retains customers.

9. Use FBA

Fulfillment on Amazon is when you send your products to Amazon’s warehouse for the company to handle the shipping to various locations. Amazon will deal with all the tedious retail logistics on your behalf.

When using Amazon FBA, all your products packaging will contain an Amazon logo. With an Amazon logo on your packaging, your customers will trust your products and buy more in the future.

Here are other benefits you’ll get to enjoy:

  • All products will be eligible for Prime
  • Amazon will take care of all your shipping and handling
  • Your products will be delivered to your customers in two days
  • Amazon will handle all returns
  • Amazon will also take care of customer service issues

As usual, every extra service carried out by Amazon will cost you additional fees; therefore, FBA fees do apply.

Bonus Tip for Selling on Amazon

The ultimate tip for successful selling on Amazon is, having on-demand products. It doesn’t matter how well you follow our tips. If the product you’re selling is not in anyone’s interest, then making a sale or two will be a complete challenge.

Are you looking to venture into a lucrative business? Get insights from our Startup category.