We’ve been asked this question many times and we are going to answer it right now. Here’s a step-by-step guide to start selling on Amazon without money.
How Do I Start Selling on Amazon Without Money: It can be difficult to start your own business without money, but it’s not impossible! Selling on Amazon may seem like the perfect solution if you have no startup capital to fund your own eCommerce store, and with this guide, you’ll find out how easy it can be to sell on Amazon without money!
How Do I Start Selling on Amazon Without Money?
Whether you’re an established business or just getting started, this step-by-step guide will walk you through all the steps of finding and selling on Amazon – including how to get your products listed, create listings that convert, rank in search results, and avoid getting penalized by Amazon.
Step 1: Get an Amazon Seller Account
Sign up for an Amazon seller account and wait for the approval. Once you are approved, you will have access to Seller Central which is where you will manage your products and operations. If your application is denied, it doesn’t hurt much since there is no fee associated with having a seller account. Note: If you plan on selling more than 40 items per month or $4,000 worth of goods per year.
Then it may be worth upgrading to a professional account (monthly fee). Professional accounts receive additional features that can save time as well as more detailed data from your sales activity. The next step would be to create your first product listing! We recommend creating simple listings at first so you can familiarize yourself with how things work in Seller Central.
Create Product Listings: Navigate to Your Account > Manage Inventory > Add a Product. This will bring you to the Add/Edit Inventory page where you will add all of your product details like title, price, quantity available, condition type, shipping options, etc. After adding each item individually make sure to hit Save & Close so that way all changes are saved together!
Step 2: Set Up Your Seller Profile
Before you start selling, you’ll need a seller account with Amazon. Setting up an account takes time, but you can complete most of it online. You’ll need to provide your personal information and financial details before moving on to account setup questions about how much inventory you plan to sell and at what price. To get approved for a seller account.
It’s important that you be as detailed as possible in these sections; don’t list your annual revenue if it’s only $5,000–the company wants honest information. Also note that if you plan to sell new books (as opposed to used), you must have a UPC code. If you’re not sure where to find one, check out UPC Database or Google UPC number generator.
It’s important to set up your seller profile correctly from day one because Amazon will review everything when deciding whether or not to approve your application. Once you’ve completed all of the initial steps, including providing bank account information so that Amazon can deposit payments into your checking account, click Submit Application.
This will bring you back to Seller Central where you’ll see a status indicator letting you know whether or not your application has been accepted. If it hasn’t been accepted yet, no worries!
Step 3: Add Professional Photos and Labels
Photos are critical for conversion rates. If a customer can’t tell what you’re selling from your listing, they won’t buy it. Professional photos will also help you rank higher in search results (i.e., more traffic). For how-to photography tips, read our post: How to Take Better Photos of Your Products and Texts with LightRoom Basics: Mastering Light & Exposure in 7 Simple Steps.
Labeling is equally important because customers can see which listings have missing product information, making them less likely to buy from those sellers—particularly if there are many other similar items available from sellers who do have complete datasheets. First impressions count when it comes to selling on Amazon, so get your photos and labeling right before launching any product listings. For some helpful tutorials, check out these resources.
Remember to keep your photos professional! Remember that not all products need high-quality photos. Here’s an example of a good photo for clothing (and make sure to turn off Listing Designer): And here’s an example of not having good lighting and bad lighting–the picture isn’t clear enough to know what exactly is being sold!
This template has all these pictures already uploaded into Lightroom, so I just clicked on one of them to use as my main image!
Step 4: Order Inventory
You don’t have to wait until you have an order in hand before you place your first order for inventory. You can quickly make your initial purchase of inventory and get it shipped out within just a few days so that you aren’t sitting around not selling anything while waiting for customers to come to you. Of course, if there is significant demand right away, it would be advisable to hold off on buying inventory until you can buy more in bulk.
But if your product seems like it will take some time to sell through, don’t worry about ordering lots of inventory all at once; just make sure that you have enough funds set aside so that when things start selling well, you can immediately go back and buy more stock. This way, you’ll never end up with empty shelves or disappoint customers by being out of stock.
And when it comes to dealing with suppliers and distributors, don’t hesitate to ask questions or negotiate better deals—you are an important customer after all! This guide has been written by the CEO & Founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of world-class entrepreneurs. The YEC recently published #FixYoungAmerica.
How to Rebuild Our Economy and Put Young Americans Back to Work (for Good), a book of 30+ proven solutions to help reverse youth unemployment. The YEC brings together young visionaries from business, tech, non-profits, education & government who are committed to improving opportunities for young people everywhere.
Step 5: List your Products
While you’re evaluating inventory options, it’s a good idea to start thinking about whether you want to sell new or used products. New products are more expensive upfront but can offer higher margins and easier selling while selling used items allows you greater profit potential but at a lower per-item cost. Though they require additional time and effort, selling your own used merchandise gives you total control over pricing and lets customers see all available information about your product.
It’s also possible for sellers with hundreds of positive reviews (and typically thousands of sales) to open their own virtual store through Amazon—taking away some of its market shares. This is an option that may be worth considering if you have existing relationships with manufacturers and suppliers.
However, keep in mind that third-party retailers often take a larger cut of each sale than Amazon does when listing new items directly themselves. Selling on Amazon requires payment of fees ranging from $0.99 to $39.99 per item sold depending on the category, as well as referral fees if you use an outside seller service like MarketplaceApp.
Step 6: Track your Sales
Keep track of your sales metrics, namely the number of orders, total revenue, and average order value. This can be tricky if you’re just getting started, but you should see improvement as you experiment with different marketing channels. Over time, your costs will go down and your conversion rates will improve—that means more money in your pocket.
Most importantly, focus on unit volume instead of just selling price: Selling a $2 item for $10 is way better than selling a $20 item for $5 because its low cost per unit makes it easier to sell in large quantities. If you want to scale quickly, make sure your margins are high enough that you can purchase inventory in bulk. And never forget about shipping costs! Make sure you take those into account when setting prices.
Step 7: Maintain Incoming Orders
Every now and then, customers will give you some leeway if an item arrives late. But if it’s a recurring issue, they won’t be so forgiving. Figure out what your standard delivery window is and ensure that every package arrives within that time frame. To avoid disappointed customers, pay special attention during peak shopping seasons like Christmas or back to school and make sure all shipments arrive at their destination on time.
Also, let your customers know how long shipping takes from point A to point B and whether or not expedited shipping is available. If you need help finding products for sale on Amazon that match these criteria, we can help! We offer comprehensive product research services as well as keyword research specifically for sellers. Learn more about our Amazon Product Research Services here!
Just because it’s basic doesn’t mean it’s easy. Exceeding customer expectations takes constant effort, which often means paying close attention to minor details in order to prevent problems before they occur. Customers who receive packages in poor condition might complain and request refunds or replacements. Make sure that doesn’t happen by researching different packaging options and upgrading whenever necessary.
Be proactive in communicating with your suppliers regarding timely delivery issues; working together, you should be able to sort things out quickly before any disputes arise. Finally, follow up with buyers whose orders were lost or damaged upon arrival just so they don’t have any lingering concerns after receiving their items.
Also Read: What Brings Amazon Most Revenue?
Conclusion
With a bit of knowledge and careful planning, you can quickly learn how to sell products on Amazon without money. There are so many opportunities available—and with a little work, you can get a piece of that pie for yourself.
The internet gives anyone with an idea a chance at success—so make sure you know how to sell on Amazon without money. I hope these tips have been helpful; good luck!
