What about Amazon?
To sell on Amazon or not sell on Amazon, that is the question!
I am prepared to breakdown the pros and cons of selling on Amazon for you. I think one of the things that isn't found on a pros and cons list is your overall feeling about Amazon and it's owner. I am not trying to make this political, however, many will know where you stand before I dive into any list… listen to your gut and follow your heart. We all do this differently and what works for some will not for others.
On a personal level, Amazon has never appealed to me as a place to try to sell my product. I think it seemed daunting and that I would need to carry more inventory than I was ready to, however, I do have a colleague that always asks why I don't sell on amazon… so this got me thinking about what was so good about it? Was I missing something? Let's explore this together.
PROS:
HUGE BUILT IN AUDIENCE: This is a huge perk to the platform. After a little digging I came across the fact that Amazon ships 1.6 million packages a day. This does not include the individuals shipping their own products- whoa.
FULFILLMENT OPTIONS: You can opt for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) where Amazon handles storage, packaging, and shipping. This is a great option for those that don't want to store inventory and worry about shipping.
CREDIBILITY: That massive audience mentioned above knows just what to expect in terms of shipping times and returns. This allows for new artists and sellers to dive in to selling without having to establish trust while building audience.
JOIN THE GLOBAL MARKET: If your goal is to reach customers worldwide, Amazon has the audience to give you a wider audience around the world.
MARKETING TOOLS: Amazon also provides marketing and promotional tools to help boost visibility and sales.
CONS:
COMPETITION: Who doesn't love a good competition? However, in the world of sales this can lead to a lot of frustration, especially starting out. This can be especially hard if you have a very specific item you sell.
FEES: While Amazon handles fulfillment, FBA and other fees (listing, referral, fulfillment) can significantly impact your profit margins. You need to carefully calculate pricing to ensure profitability. The way to avoid some of these fees would be to ship your own items.
LIMITED CONROL OVER BRANDING: Amazon may limit how much branding you share which can be a huge disadvantage compared to building your own website.
ART THEFT: More visibility means more eyes on your work, which is a good thing. Be smart. Add a watermark and think about copyrighting your work.
TRICKY POLICIES: Get ready to read some paperwork. Knowing all the rules and policies can be exhausting to get behind. Give yourself grace and learn it piece by piece.
So, how is that sitting? I think reaching a bigger audience is a huge bonus, however, when I hear “fees” and “policies” I get a little nervous and sweaty, lol. So, let's look at those.
FEES:
SELLING FEES: Amazon charges two types of selling plan fees: Individual and Professional. The Individual plan costs $0.99 per item sold, and the Professional plan costs $39.99 per month no matter how many items you sell.
LISTING FEES: Amazon charges a listing fee for each item you list. The listing fee is $0.99 for the Individual plan and $0.01 for the Professional plan.
COMMISSION FEES: Amazon charges a commission fee for each item you sell. The commission fee varies depending on the product category. For art, the commission fee is typically 15%.
FULFILLMENT FEES: If you use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon will store your art in their warehouses, ship it to customers, and handle returns. Amazon charges a variety of fulfillment fees, including storage fees, shipping fees, and pick and pack fees.
That's a lot of different fees. Want to know some tips on how to reduce your fees? SAME!
Use the Professional selling plan. The Professional plan has lower listing fees and no per-item fee.
Optimize your listings. Well-optimized listings are more likely to rank higher in search results, which means you're more likely to get sales. #winning
Use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). FBA can help you save time and money on shipping and customer service.
Sell in high-margin product categories. Some product categories have lower commission fees than others. As mentioned above, art is typically 15%. Yikes!
Offer discounts and promotions. Discounts and promotions can help you attract more buyers and increase your sales.
Okay, that was a ton of info. In the end, again, we need to follow our gut. One thing to note is that I do a lot of my business through FAIRE and there is a selection that you can make called “not on Amazon"… I don't know if this is something that would work for or against my business. I do feel like business owners appreciate buying from people not on Amazon.
My conclusion: I feel like if I were to sell on Amazon, I would go all in on one category. I wouldn't try to upload all of my product. I think there is something to be said for the audience and the other suggested items on Amazon when you are looking at one item, so if you can rise in one category it could be advantageous. I would try out as an individual at first and see how my items sell before I pay Amazon a monthly sellers fee.