Selling on Amazon (question)

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amother

Wed, Aug 28 2013, 8:29 pm

I am interested in starting to sell some products on amazon.
Does anyone know how to figure out how much the shipping to costumers costs? I cant seem to figue out if u only charge the amount amazon asks for and the rest goes out of ur pocket? Does anyone here have experience selling on amazon that can give me some tips on how to succeed?

Also, I signed up as an individual seller and im interested in selling clothing, accessories, hosiery... do u think I can do that as an individual seller or do I have to be a professional seller for that?

TIA Any tips would b appreciated!

imamom7

Wed, Aug 28 2013, 8:32 pm

hi im not sure about the first question but I know you have to be approved to sell clothing, bags etc on amazon and its a lengthy process!

amother

Wed, Aug 28 2013, 8:34 pm

What about hosiery, hair accessories. Do u have to b approved for that too?

imamom7

Wed, Aug 28 2013, 8:41 pm

I dont know sorry

amother

Wed, Aug 28 2013, 9:07 pm

Thanks anyway! Anyone else?

amother

Wed, Aug 28 2013, 9:16 pm

amother wrote:

What about hosiery, hair accessories. Do u have to b approved for that too?

You need to be approved for hosiery as well.

amother

Wed, Aug 28 2013, 9:17 pm

amother wrote:

You need to be a professional seller to sell anything in the clothing category, including hosiery

chilled

Wed, Aug 28 2013, 9:19 pm

It takes a lot of time and a buildup of credit to be approved to sell clothing and accessories.

amother

Wed, Aug 28 2013, 9:23 pm

In order to sell clothing and the like you need to have a website of your own showcasing your items. Other than that, It is not that difficult.

Lady Bug

Thu, Aug 29 2013, 8:25 pm

Regarding the shipping costs, you should calculate your total costs as cost price + actual shipping costs. You should then calculate your total income as selling price + advertised shipping costs. In this way, you can calculate your actual profits. You need to do it this way since the shipping weight on Amazon is not always accurate.

amother

Fri, Aug 30 2013, 11:54 am

How can u calculate the shipping costs b4 u know where its shipping to?

Lady Bug

Fri, Aug 30 2013, 12:06 pm

If you are shipping UPS/Fedex, you would need to calculate your shipping costs based on worst-case. Meaning, if you are in NY, you would calculate costs based on shipping to California.

I think USPS charges a flat rate based on weight? You can just decide to ship everything USPS if that makes it easier for you.

mille

Fri, Aug 30 2013, 12:29 pm

Amazon assumes $3.99 shipping costs on most items sold through their website by third party sellers if the item already exists in the Amazon database (which is why clothing is complicated, unless you are selling existing brands). You figure out shipping costs by figuring out what type of box it needs to be shipped in, then going to UPS, FedEx, and USPS and finding out how much it costs to ship that box to various places in the states. My husband sells on amazon for a living, and most shipping costs don't vary that much between states, so he knows a general range that shipping will cost without knowing where to ship it to. I ship media mail a lot, and the price difference shipping local to shipping to the other coast is less than a dollar. It's your job to figure that out.

If you are doing items fulfilled by Amazon, Amazon gives you a calculator to figure out costs. You will be charged a holding fee and a handling/shipping fee, but don't have to deal with the actual shipment (and are not liable if something gets lost in the mail). The calculator helps you input your cost of shipping the item to Amazon plus their fees to determine how much you need to sell the item for in order to make a profit.

That said, selling clothing on Amazon IS a process as stated above. You may have better luck starting your own actual website and advertising that way. I don't think Amazon will really help you, especially as you will have no positive feedback and won't be a featured seller for a while.

FranticFrummie

Fri, Aug 30 2013, 2:53 pm

Amazon is CRAZY hard to get onto! I have my own website, as well as several other venues, professional photographs, etc. It took me a month and a half to get approved, after much back and forth.

Their hosting fees are pretty high, and it's fairly complicated. As for shipping, if you have to stick to their rates, then anything out of pocket you have to factor into the cost of the item. You'll pay a percentage on the higher cost of the item, but it's better than nothing.

You also have to generate your own UPC codes, if your items don't already have one. Buying a UPC code generator program can be expensive if you're not doing huge volume.

After all the hassle, I decided that I wasn't up to selling on Amazon after all. I have a friend who sold her own brand of mineral makeup there, and she had hardly any sales at all.

Honestly, unless you're planning on doing real volume, I'd stick with Ebay. Set up a shop, use "buy it now" pricing, and have control over your shipping costs. If you offer combined shipping on multiple items (like how much you can stuff in a flat rate box) you will get more sales. I always buy more than I'd planned on when I can get combined shipping!

amother

Fri, Aug 30 2013, 5:27 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

Thanks for the info.
Im starting to consider ebay. Do u know how to get started over there? Any other tips u can give me?

takeiteasy

Fri, Aug 30 2013, 5:45 pm

Just thought its worth noting purchasing UPCs are fairly inexpensive. U can get 500 for about $5 on ebay.

FranticFrummie

Fri, Aug 30 2013, 7:53 pm

takeiteasy wrote:

Just thought its worth noting purchasing UPCs are fairly inexpensive. U can get 500 for about $5 on ebay.

I had no idea. Thanks for the info!

Ebay is easy peasy. Just follow the tutorial and you'll be set up in a day.

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