Selling on Amazon is a great way to make a lot of money. But, for those just starting out, there are a few things that can be discouraging.
One of those things is fulfillment. Once you start selling on Amazon, your products start to sell. And when they sell, you have to fulfill those orders. That means you have to package and ship them to customers
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a storage and shipping service that Amazon offers to help business owners sell their products. As the name suggests, it basically means that Amazon fulfills all the tasks related to storage and shipping once a product is sold through its platform.
In other words, FBA takes care of all the logistics for you so that you can focus on growing your business. If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon before, then chances are you’ve experienced this service first-hand
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FBM
Sellers have the option to either fulfill orders themselves via Fulfillment By Merchant (FBM) or have Amazon handle their fulfillment through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
A seller usually starts out using FBM and eventually switches to FBA as their business grows.
However, some sellers prefer to use FBM for some products and FBA for others.
The following are the pros and cons of using Fulfillment By Merchant.
Shipping your products
When your item sells on Amazon, you will be notified by e-mail. You may also opt to receive a text message or phone call regarding sales.
You are responsible for shipping the item to the customer within two business days of receiving payment.
If you don’t ship within that time frame, you could get hit with a negative feedback score or even be suspended from selling on Amazon.
Create a shipping label: The easiest way to ship is to use Amazon’s shipping labels. Create the label in your Seller Central account and print it out on any printer. Amazon will automatically deduct the necessary funds from your seller balance.
Print out packing slips: Every package needs a packing slip inside so that it arrives at the correct destination and can be tracked by Amazon when it does arrive. Packing slips can also be printed out in your Seller Central account and are also free of charge
Package up the item: Use an envelope, a box or even bubble wrap to package up the item depending on how fragile it is or what size it is. Be sure that the packaging is secure and sturdy enough that it won’t break during transport.
Pros:
The biggest pro is that you don’t pay fees for using this service. Amazon does not charge any monthly fees or pick/pack/weigh fees.
The only cost is the fulfillment fee of $0.99 per unit sold and the payment processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per sale
You also get to keep your profits when it comes to refunds or returns since you are directly communicating with your customers and can handle any issues that may arise.
You also gain flexibility in how you ship your items, which is especially helpful if you sell a variety of different products that can be difficult to package together in one shipment.
Cons:
Since you are handling fulfillment yourself, you are responsible for storing your inventory somewhere.
Print out packing slips: Every package needs a packing slip inside so that it arrives at the correct destination and can be tracked by Amazon when it does arrive. Packing slips can also be printed out in your Seller Central account and are also free of charge
Package up the item: Use an envelope, a box or even bubble wrap to package up the item depending on how fragile it is or what size it is. Be sure that the packaging is secure and sturdy enough that it won’t break during transport.
