Small businesses and individuals who are looking for the step-by-step guide to start selling on Amazon India are actually at the right place. Last two decades have seen a rapid and increasing expansion of online market which has significantly covered the buying and selling of goods through third-party platforms and through the personal online stores.
Small businesses that are not abundantly funded look forward to a less-expensive yet result-oriented platform where they can utilize their business skills to attain greater profits.
Amazon in the last few years has turned a lot of eyes both from consumers and sellers. Enormous customer base, worldwide service, huge inventory, extra-ordinary delivery services and high customer satisfaction have made this website the first choice for shoppers and vendors.
The question often arises- how to sell on Amazon? It can be a bit tricky but once you are well-versed with the functioning of this platform, you’ll be making a good sum of money each month. Let’s begin with the steps to follow to start your Amazon seller account in India-
1. Prepare a plan-
The first step toward any successful venture is an apt and realistic plan. Understand your business, its demand, target customer base, inventory life, and transportation from your location. If you have not yet thought of any product, decide it before anything else.
2. Arrange for Photoshoot-
Once the products to sell are finalized, arrange for a professional product shoot. Amazon India strictly only allows the images with a solid white background in categories like- Home and kitchen, apparels, shoes & handbags, electronics, cosmetics, health and personal care etc. Also, the minimum image size should be 1000X1000 pixels. Below this limit, images are often suppressed and get disappeared from your Amazon’s product page.
If you have a good hands-on experience in photography, try clicking pictures on your own, this will save you a lot of bucks. Click at least 5 images of each product- front view, top, side, bottom, and one as per your choice (I would recommend a person’s/objects image along with your article to give a realistic view. Ex- Women holding a trolley bag you sell)
3. Keep the product details ready-
After the completion of a professional shoot, write down all the specifications of your product as many as possible. Color, weight, length, breadth, height, technical specifications (for electronics etc.), material, utility, special features, SKU number (unique code that you assign to each of your product for inventory differentiation).
4. Create your seller account-
In India, there is certain documents requirement at the time of account creation. Keep your PAN card, GST certificate, Bank account details, business name, email address, business address, mobile number, shipping address, and product category information ready. With all the above details, create your account on Amazon seller central India.
5. Take Brand Registry or Apply for GTIN-
If you have acquired the trademark certificate for your brand then go directly to the help box in your seller central account and search for a brand registry. Fill the basic details like brand, category, and the number of SKU’s you intend to sell etc. along with your trademark certificate and proceed.
If you have not yet received or have applied for a trademark, go for the GTIN exemption. Here, Amazon provides you with the unique codes for the number of SKU’s you want to list. Suppose, you have 40 unique products, download an excel sheet for GTIN from your seller central and fill the details like SKU, the title of your products, image link (dropbox link can be used as well), etc. and apply.
6. List your products-
Once brand registry/GTIN is approved, you can list your products on the website. Download flat-file of the specific category you wish to list your products in (file can be downloaded from your account). Fill all the essential details a customer should know about your product. It might, for instance, look like a nightmare to fill almost 60 fields for each product, but once you get a command, it gets easier. Save the excel file in the text-delimited format and upload it.
7. Maintain quality-
Your customers are relying on you for the best quality and experience, make sure you deliver top-standard products with an amazing customer experience. You can insert a personalized thank you note inside the packing to make it more relatable.
8. Opt for FBA-
Fulfillment by Amazon is an initiative started to deliver the consignments safely and faster. You can send your bulk inventory to the warehouses of Amazon built in all the major cities of India. Here, you will be liberated from the load of packing multiple products, their shipping, and returns. Amazon handles all of these on behalf of you with minimal charges.
Tips to sustain in the competition-
1. Invest in the inventory that is moving fast. (Hot selling products)
2. Never compromise with the quality.
3. Do not hesitate to ask the customer for product review through emails and calls.
4. Analysis of reports on a weekly basis will help to monitor the cash flow.
5. Invest in campaigns and advertisements after a stable growth only.
6. Ship on time, reply to the customer’s mail on time (Amazon gives 24 hours to reply back to the customer or it hits your seller metrics)
7. Follow the guidelines of Amazon for long-term business.
8. Keep an eye on the payments received to look for any discrepancy.
9. Remove the unfulfillable inventory from warehouse time to time.
10. No not shy away from competitor’s analysis.
It is an amazing platform to begin your online journey as a vendor. Being easy to use, reliable, and most importantly can be handled from anywhere. Start selling on Amazon today with keeping in mind these crucial tips and suggestions.
Source by Ruchi Jain