How to sell on Amazon as a private individual or company

Every day, numerous users on the web ask themselves how to sell on Amazon. Although the US giant is mainly known to those who buy, in reality, there are numerous advantages also for those who sell the aforementioned products.

Net of this issue, numerous questions need to be clarified, from opening a VAT number to the management costs linked to the sale. We try to give all possible answers to the doubts of those who want to start seeing and making money with Amazon.

How to become a seller on Amazon and which products you can sell

Not all products on the market can be sold on Amazon. For some of these, official approval is required. Those "free" from any authorization are the following:

• informatics;
• car and motorcycle;
• kitchen and home;
• electronics;
• pet products;
• shoes and accessories.

Through a section specifically present on the Amazon website, it is possible to understand in a simple and detailed way how to become a reseller within the platform.

First, you will have to choose a sales plan.

• The individual plan provides a commission of 0.99 cents per product sold.
• The professional plan instead costs 39 euros per month, regardless of the items sold.

The greater the ambition of your sales project, the more convenient the choice of professional plan will be. In this regard, two different types can be distinguished: retailers and brand owners.

In the first case, retailers are responsible for offering customers existing products. In the second case, however, brand owners deal with the sale of their products. But as Amazon is keen to point out, some do both.

Once you understand these principles related more to business than to sales itself, you can proceed with the creation of the actual account. All you have to do is follow the procedures described on the creation page.

What are the requirements to become an Amazon seller?

Before starting to sell on Amazon, however, you need to make sure you have the necessary details for registration, i.e. an Amazon customer account and a duly registered credit card.

As regards the bureaucratic data, the following must be provided:

• company registration date and VAT number;
• telephone number;
• bank account in which to receive sales proceeds.

Once you have found all this data, you will finally be able to formalize your registration as a seller.

How to sell on Amazon as a private individual

Selling with Amazon as a private individual has never been easier. A great advantage of this condition is the lack of the mandatory VAT number requirement. All you have to do is select the individual plan, already mentioned above.

This subscription method, despite having many fewer constraints, has a limit of approximately 40 products per month that can be included in your catalog. This is the ideal compromise for those who start selling completely from scratch.

Once you have activated your account with this method, you can start selling your products. All you need is a basic-level account to officially begin your journey as a private seller.

Selling products on Amazon in this way undoubtedly has its positive sides. For example, the fact that for basic accounts the bureaucracy is much less difficult, as among other things there is no obligation to open a specific VAT number.

Furthermore, considering how difficult it is to open an e-commerce completely from scratch, thanks to Amazon you will be able to have a working system available, always operational, and with a database of over 200 million customers regularly registered.

For those who want to sell with Amazon as a company, the procedure to follow is way different.

How to sell on Amazon as a business

Despite the interest in selling from private individuals, just as many users are wondering how to sell on Amazon as a business. In this case, the procedure to follow is much longer.

• If you want to sell as a company, you will need to present a series of tax data including your company’s VAT number and its date of foundation.
• You will also need to have an ad hoc bank account for the proceeds received from Amazon so that the (net) proceeds from sales can be transferred where indicated.
• All aspects regarding logistics and shipping will be managed by the same platform, which thanks to its service simplifies the work of numerous sellers, both experts and non-experts. More details can be found on the official website.

One of the advantages of having a seller account, whether for individuals or businesses, is that the sales process is extremely intuitive. Thanks to the special editor, you will be able to upload your products to the platform.

Description, price, and images will be three fundamental elements if you want to contribute to the success of your goods. Those who sell on Amazon as a company do so to bring their products to the market.

How to list a product on Amazon

To start selling on Amazon, after creating your account, you will need to proceed adding products. Let’s see together how to do it.

• Login login to your seller account.
• Tap on the Create a new offer option, which you will see at the top of the menu.
• Choose the category of the product you want to sell from the list All product categories.
• Click the Select command.
• Add the item information requested in the Essential information tab.
• Click on Offer and add quantity, price and condition.
• Proceed by adding the images that depict what you want to sell on Amazon.

In addition to the basic information just indicated, you can move the cursor to ON in the Advanced View part. This way you can add a whole series of details, such as the description of the object, the conformity, the keywords, the package dimensions, the weight of the packaging and much more.

Once you have completed this part, proceed with a tap on Save and finish to publish your ad on Amazon.

Is selling used on Amazon possible?

Once you have created your Amazon account, whether set as private seller without VAT number or as a company with VAT number, you can start selling your items. Are you wondering how to sell used on Amazon? First of all, you need to know that it is possible.

Jeff Bezos’ e-commerce allows users to also sell second-hand products, not just new ones. To do this, when creating your ad, in the Product Condition section, you will need to indicate that it is a used item. If you have followed the steps and the various instructions you will now know how to sell used on Amazon.

Do you want to know how to buy second-hand products? Read here: How to buy used on Amazon.

How much does it cost to sell on Amazon? What are the expected commissions?

In terms of management costs, selling products on Amazon can have different pros and cons. Taking basic accounts, for example, you will only have to pay 0.99 cents per item sold, with a total limit of 40 products.

If, however, you choose a professional sales plan, the cost will be 39 euros per month. This is a fixed rate, which means that you will have to pay it regardless of the quantity of products sold.

Due to its internal laws, Amazon applies a variable commission to each product sold. The amount is therefore not fixed, but can change depending on the category the product belongs to.

In general, commissions are between 8% and 15% of the proceeds, although in some cases they can even reach 30%. If your product includes the digital services tax, you will have as much as 45% commissions.

Generally, minimum commissions are 30 cents. Management costs are also included, which change depending on the logistics management method, which in turn can be autonomous or delegated to Amazon.

If you choose to self-manage, the platform will charge the seller based on the category the product belongs to, transferring the amount in question in the form of a debt.

Those who choose to delegate logistics to Amazon instead will be expected to pay only for the services used. The storage space used for your products will also have to be paid for and varies depending on the period.

The highest tariffs are associated with hazardous goods, but in general, costs are low. Although added to the other expenses to be incurred, they may not be affordable for everyone.

Is selling on Amazon worth it?

Having made this excursus on the costs that selling on Amazon entails, it can be said that in general selling through the help of the popular US e-commerce is worth it.

Drawing a parallel with Ebay, which has significantly lower management costs, Amazon can be considered a better choice from other points of view. First of all, it has an intuitive structure, greater support, and, above all, a much larger database of products and users.

It is not particularly convenient, however, if you want to sell vintage or used items. At the same time, it is an excellent choice for those who are brand owners or novice sellers, thanks to the simplicity of the operations required.

Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-06-18 10:56:11. Original title: Come vendere su Amazon da privato o azienda