How to Sell on Amazon

Edited By:Haierc Pest Control

Four Parts:Create a Seller Account Create a Listing for an Item Pack and Ship Your Items Continue to Manage Your Account

Amazon is the world's largest online retailer, which makes it the ideal market for selling your books and other items. Selling on Amazon is perfect for individuals who want to make a little money while selling the things they no longer need. If you want to know how to sell on Amazon, just follow these steps.

Part 1 of 4: Create a Seller Account

1

Click on the "Your Account." drop-down box on the Amazon homepage. You can find this option under your name on the top right-hand side of the page.

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Click on "Your Seller Account." This can be found near the top of the menu on the right column on the page.
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Click "Start Selling." This will take you to a new page where you can choose which type of seller you are. Click this option under "Individual Sellers" or "Professional Sellers," depending on the type of seller you'd like to become. Individual Sellers tend to be free from selling fees (with the exception of commission Amazon takes from each order) while the Professional Sellers are fee-based and tend to mostly be used by those who own (rather profitable) offline stores otherwise.
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Type in the relevant information. The next page will take you to a page where you can write down your seller information, such as your credit card information (that will be used in the event the direct deposit from your funds has been released and you'll need to refund an order without selling other items), seller (business) name, and billing address.
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Verify your phone number. Just type in your phone number, press "Call now," and type the 4-digit pin you're given into your phone after you receive and automated phone call.
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Click "Register and Continue." This should finish setting up your seller account.

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Part 2 of 4: Create a Listing for an Item

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Log in to your Amazon account. If you haven't already created an Amazon account, then go to the log-on page, type your email address in the email box, click no to the password available; click the Submit button then follow the prompts for other information. You'll have to provide your name, email address, and a password you'd like to use. This will only take a few minutes.
2
Search for the item you want to sell on the Amazon website. Search Amazon's database by selecting the category that you think best fits your item and by using keywords. Keywords could include the name of the item, title of the book or film, as well as the edition of the product. You can also search by ISBN, UPC or ASIN. It is vital that you find the exact version and format of your item, so that customers receive exactly what they ordered. Be warned: unsatisfied customers will dish out bad reviews for poor service.
- Amazon will also provide a list of recent items you purchased through its database, so if you'd like to sell one of those items, you can select it from the list.
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Click "Sell yours here" once you've found the item.
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Select the condition of your item. Choose from a list of different condition types, which range from new to used to collectible. Select the condition which best reflects the condition of your item. Although you can sell some items under a "Collectible" listing, most sellers choose the Used-Like New, Used-Very Good, Used-Good, or Used-Acceptable listings. Certain terms and conditions exist for selling things under Collectible that you can find when you try to sell these types of items.
5
Add a condition note, about your exact product. The condition note allows you to add extra information about the condition of your item. Use this to inform customers about details which are not already explicit in the description given by Amazon. You may also like to add a note about your service. Examples:
- No box, cartridge only
- Instructions are not included
- Few scratches on front cover and disc
- First class delivery
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Select a price for your item. You can set your item at any price but you have more chance of selling if you set your price below Amazon's selling price and that of competing individuals.
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Select the quantity of the particular item you have at hand. Select how many of this item you would like to sell. For individual sellers, this will usually remain at 1.
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Select your shipping methods. This section allows you to expand your shipping zone to multiple countries and via multiple methods other than the "Standard shipping". Expedited shipping is also offered to all sellers, but that includes additional responsibilities. If you're an individual seller, it's easier to keep your shipments to your own country.
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Click "Submit listing." This will put the item on sale on Amazon. If you don't have a seller account yet, then you'll have to create the account and then submit the listing. If you want to know how to create a seller account, just follow the steps in the next section.

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Part 3 of 4: Pack and Ship Your Items

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Go to your Seller Account.
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Click "View your recent Marketplace orders." You can find this option under the "Manage Your Orders" heading.
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Locate the order.
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Verify that the status is complete. This means your item is ready to be shipped. Click the order number of the item.
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Access the Order Detail page.
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Verify the method of shipment.
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Print a packing slip and address label. You can do this by clicking the "view your current orders" link in your seller account and then clicking on the "print packing slip" link next to your order. The packing slip provides the address the item is to be sent to and a summary of the order.
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Package the item. Your item needs to be packaged well so that it stays in good condition on its journey to your buyer. The order summary should be placed within the package and the address should be stuck or written on the outside.
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Mail the item. You can send your order however you want. Remember that the quicker the customer receives his item, the better the review he is likely to give you.
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Confirm shipment. Back on the "view your orders" page, click the "confirm shipment" button and type in the delivery information.
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Receive payment. Only once shipment has been confirmed will the buyer's account be charged. For legal reasons, first time sellers have to wait 14 days before money is disbursed to their accounts. After this period, you are allowed to request one disbursement per day.

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Part 4 of 4: Continue to Manage Your Account

1
Visit your seller account. The seller account link is in the "your account" page on the right hand side. Your seller account page lists all the links that you need for your selling needs. These are the main links you will be using as an Amazon seller:
- View your current inventory. This feature will help you see how many items you're selling.
- View your orders. This link will help you see your existing orders.
- View your payments account. You can track your payments from existing orders here.
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Change or add to your account information by using the "seller account information" link. Use this link to update any account information that would be relevant for Amazon or for your buyers.
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Search for a specific order. If you're wondering about the status of a specific order, you can use the search box to look for it.
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Wait for an item to be sold. When one of your items is sold, you will receive a confirmation email from Amazon giving the details of the order. How long you have to wait will depend on the popularity of your item. Popular items will sell in a matter of a few hours (assuming the price is set just right to the buyer).
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View your ratings and feedback routinely. This feedback is a valuable tool after you've sold your item. The more ratings you have and the better they are, the more likely future customers will be to buy from you. Review ratings on the "view your ratings and feedback" page in your seller account.
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Sell more items. Continue to create more listings for items you'd like to sell, and continue to provide your buyers with stellar customer service.
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Issue a refund for an order, should the need arise. In the unlikely event that a customer is dissatisfied by your service and you agree to give a refund, you can give a full or part refund on the "issue a refund for an order" page in your seller account.

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Tips

Do not lie about the condition of your item or you are likely to receive bad reviews.
You may end up having to file a 1099-K form with your annual tax. However, this obligation only applies if you have over 200 transactions in a given year, along with selling over 20,000 (US dollars) in goods.
If you cannot meet the Amazon expectations that apply to policy, prepare to receive an A-to-Z claim. However, Amazon treats these claims in a fair manner, so don't go overboard if and when you see one arrive. Follow through crossing all T's and dotting all your I's- clear up any misconceptions and make sure all money has fairly changed hands, then communicate with Amazon to find out what they other person has a problem with.
Adding your Amazon selling career to your resume is completely voluntary. However, if you are looking to get a sales job offline, it may help you obtain the job.
Although it may take a few extra dollars to pay for shipping, the free envelopes the USPS gives you to ship your items via Priority Mail, may even make your customers even happier. These packages will traditionally arrive at their doorstep in 2-3 days (dependent on weather conditions). Amazon doesn't encourage the use of them, but they do allow them.
Certain departments at Amazon require more authorization to sell. Computer (software) and toys and certain other departments have certain rules that are based on past-performance and thereby based on the buyer feedback your account will achieve over your selling career.
Check your emails regularly for confirmation of sales, if you fail to ship your item in time be prepared to receive a bad review.
There are several services Amazon offers that can help you, if and when you want to ship the items out. You can opt for Fulfillment by Amazon; however, if a potential customer asks you about the item and you can't answer the question about that particular item because you no longer have it on hand, you may end up losing this potential customer.
Amazon tells it's sellers that they have no more than 2 days to get it packed, shipped and out the door to the customers.
Keep track of your messages from buyers, which can be found as notifications in the left hand column of the main Seller page (Amazon Seller Central page).
Amazon gives you options as to how they want you to handle returns, though you may have other ways to get around their default settings.
Come up with a return plan on how to handle returns, should the need arise. Who will pay the shipment back? Will you reimburse your buyer with the real fees they used to send the unwanted item back? Make sure though, that the money the buyer pays gets refunded. Additional money (through a unbounced check) may be sent to the buyer if you deem it necessary and the buyer agrees and can put your trust into not having a bounced check at any single time.
Amazon calls it's sellers by the official job title as a "Marketplace Seller."
The Christmas holidays and for a short period of time in the summer months, expect great leaps of orders placed for your products.
Occasionally, you'll get an email about an order that Amazon tells you is "in the works". They won't give you the address or name of the recipient, but they will tell you that it's in progress. This is due to the fact that Amazon sometimes needs to confirm either alternate payment data or for some other reason. It may take a day or two for the "Sold! Ship now!" message to arrive for the order.
If the email address you used for your account frequently gets hit by spam, sometimes some (listings permanently closed box) tends to slip through. Amazon tends to leave listings up for 30-60 days and after that, they tend to close without buyers.
When you need to take a vacation, Amazon does give you a way to temporarily deactivate your seller account. However, it may take 24 hours for the change to go into effect, so standby for orders until that period of time elapses completely and your seller account page says that they are deactivated. When you are ready to return to sell again, there is a process that's just as simple.
Seller accounts that contain the full store listings (as a public link) can be former in terms of http://www.amazon.com/store/_storenamehere_ (which link can be found in your settings)
Try to keep an eye on the "Sell on Amazon" seller forums at the Seller Forums page. This can be the greatest gift any seller can have, and provides helpful tips on knowing whether or not new rules have went into effect that may affect your account.
Amazon wants you to communicate only through their website. Although they once did, they will never give you the email address of the user anymore.

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Warnings

Send your item. You will not receive payment if the buyer complains of not having received their item.
Amazon does charge the seller a slight commission that is placed on each order you sell that is automatically taken off your account upon the buyer's purchase from your account's funds from the purchase itself.
Amazon Marketplace sales will NEVER charge any sales or use tax. Therefore, if you decide to stick into their package a packing slip/receipt, don't plan on "charging" them any of this amount. Although you can explain their financing options the way Amazon attempts it, you are not to get into financial matters and to send them to Amazon's toll free number to call to discuss financial information. Only Amazon themselves can discuss information that is financial-only in nature.