For dropshipping beginners, Amazon is an excellent choice for a selling platform. Not only is it one of the most reputable shopping platforms, it also provides a guaranteed market. If you are looking to embark on your ecommerce journey with dropshipping on Amazon, then you’ve come to the right place!
In this guide is a simplified step-by-step process on how you can kickstart your dropshipping with Amazon. Get ready to harness Amazon’s marketplace capabilities and couple it with your in-depth and extensive understanding of this business model.
Navigating Amazon’s Dropshipping Policies
First and foremost, you need to familiarize yourself with the platform rules and policies. This way, you begin with the proper preparation and armed with compliance.
Following Amazon’s policies from the very beginning of your store helps build brand integrity and ensures brand longevity. These policies allows for a level playing field for all users.
Keep in mind the following:
- Always be listed as the seller of record for your items.
- Employ speed and accuracy when fulfilling orders. This is non-negotiable! Be true to your promised delivery timeframe as much as possible, and double-check and triple-check customer information.
- Be reachable and accessible. Do not underestimate what a good customer service can do, both pre-sale and post-sale.
Not complying with the above guidelines can lead to platform consequences such as account suspension or worse, account removal. To avoid facing these consequences, make it a habit to do routine checks on the latest Amazon policy updates. Protect your brand identity!
The niche you will choose is a crucial part of your dropshipping success. Spend time on market research: deep dive on trends, analyze markets and potential traffic, review what customers are raving about. There are tools online such as Google Trends that can help you determine which market to penetrate and which niche to enter.
Your goal is to find a niche that has a high demand but with low saturation on competition. One way to make this easy for you is to actually align your niche with your personal interests. This way, you can enjoy market research and the rest of the process!
Setting Up Your Amazon Seller Account
It’s very easy to create a customer account in Amazon, but how do you setup an Amazon Seller account?
A seller account is a store’s command center. This is where most of your business will happen. Follow these steps:
- Choose Your Account Type: Are you an individual seller or a professional one? When choosing an account type, consider your sales volume and the features you will be using.
- Detail-Oriented Registration: Triple-check your business details, such as your business name, tax details, and bank information. You wouldn’t want the hassle of changing an incorrect detail, after all.
- Prepare Necessary Documentation: Keep your necessary paperwork readily available in case Amazon requires you to provide additional documentation for account verification.
- Understand Amazon’s Fee Structure: As with any platform, Amazon charges a couple of fees to sellers in order to maintain their operations and features. It’s better that you familiarize yourself with the fee structure of your chosen account type, including the types of fees to be paid, such as listing fees, selling fees, etc.
- Set Up Strong Security Measures: Keep your account secured with two-factor authentication and strongly crafted passwords. Update these regularly and you should be good to go!
Start on the right foot with a well-set-up seller account, and that’s your first step in your dropshipping journey!
Sourcing Products for Your Dropshipping Business
Now that you have your niche, target market, and seller account, the next step to determine is sourcing your products.
Where can you find suppliers? You can source them through trade shows, online directories, and even by participating in forums to connect with potential suppliers. Once you find potential ones and have built or joined a network, do your due diligence of checking their background: how dependable are they? How’s their quality control for products? Is their shipping timeline acceptable? Are the prices and MOQ firm and within budget? Do they have a return policy? Make a checklist of your non-negotiables, and make sure the supplier you’ll find ticks off majority, if not all, of the items on this list.
Establish a relationship built on trust with your suppliers, and be consistent and clear with your communication. Bear in mind that this supplier you’ll choose will directly reflect your business, from the shipping timeline and packaging to the actual quality of the product itself.
Creating Effective Product Listings on Amazon
Now that you have a supplier, it’s time to list your products on Amazon. Listing products include crafting irresistible product descriptions and uploading product images. Captivate your customers with specific and detailed descriptions and use high-resolution images.
When writing your descriptions, SEO is your friend. Utilize keyword research, i.e., what keywords are performing well in your niche, and use these in your listings so they can be crawled better by search engines.
The last part of your listing you should pay attention to is your price. Keep an eye on competitors and the market itself. Is there still demand? Is the competition becoming too saturated? Price your items in the sweet spot that would be profitable to you and still attractive to your customers.
Managing Dropshipping Operations
Try and build a seamless operations process – from receiving orders to order fulfillment to communicating these orders to your suppliers. Keep an eye on stock levels from your supplier too so you can update your listing for products low on stock.
Customer service is part of this as well. Customers will ask questions before, during, and after they purchase from you. They would appreciate a prompt response every time, bonus points for when they get the answer or solution they need. Customer service is where you can really build customer trust and, consequently, your reputation as an Amazon store.
Marketing and Scaling Your Dropshipping Business
To market your Amazon dropshipping business, you can utilize Amazon’s marketing features such as Sponsored Products and Amazon PPC. This would potentially get more eyes on your product when done well. Outside of Amazon, you can use email marketing campaigns and social media for an omnichannel brand loyalty.
As your store grows, you can scale the business by expanding your product range, entering other niches, or even entering the international market.
Legal and Financial Considerations
Before entering any business, be it online or offline, you should have a firm grasp of any legalities that it would entail, especially tax laws. Stay compliant with the legal side so you can keep out of big trouble in the future.
When it comes to financial considerations, consider safeguarding your business with insurance. This will be your safety net if ever things do not work out or if there ever will be unforeseen circumstances and risks. Keep your financial records in tiptop shape too. By keeping track of money that comes in and money that comes out, more than staying organized, you also get to arm yourself with data you can use to plan the future, whether that involves scaling the business up or even selling the business.
Conclusion: The Road Ahead
Amazon dropshipping is a path full of potential for experienced and beginner online entrepreneurs alike. The key to maximizing your Amazon experience is to constantly optimize your strategy to fit the ever-changing e-commerce market. Be consistent in your approach and build a good brand identity, and customer trust will come naturally.
