Welcome to Basilio Inc. Build. Grow. Exit Big: The Professional’s Guide To Selling On Amazon. If you’re thinking about starting up your own business as an Amazon seller, stick around, because you’ve come to the right place.
Amazon is the world’s largest ecommerce site. As of 2018, Amazon had $233 billion in revenue, and more than 5 million third-party sellers currently operate across Amazon’s 12 worldwide marketplaces. So selling on Amazon represents a huge opportunity—if you know where to start and what to keep in mind as you build your Amazon seller business. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about selling on Amazon. Here’s what to expect as you make your way through it!
Amazon Business Checklist
Throughout our training, we have emphasized the importance of diligently managing a profitable seller business on Amazon. To help you stay organized and on top of key activities, we have compiled a checklist review in this chapter. The checklist categorizes tasks based on their frequency, including daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, and as-needed activities. These tasks include monitoring customer inquiries, addressing feedback, managing inventory, adjusting pricing, analyzing sales data, reviewing financial statements, optimizing product listings, evaluating advertising strategies, assessing supplier relationships, setting goals, staying updated on policies, and addressing customer complaints or intellectual property issues. By regularly implementing these activities, you can effectively manage your Amazon seller account and increase your chances of running a profitable and successful business.
Master Schedule
Daily:
- Check for buyer messages
- Review seller performance notifications
- Monitor sales summary
- Manage non-FBA orders
- Process non-FBA returns
Weekly:
- Monitor low inventory alerts
- Review customer feedback
- Perform FBA shipment reconciliation
- Check pricing for your products
- Evaluate FBA inventory status
- Assess sponsored ad performance
- Analyze business reports
- Archive product detail pages
Monthly:
- Remove unfulfillable FBA inventory
- Address FBA long-term storage fees
- Identify slow-moving inventory
- Review external repricer settings
- Track traffic and sales volume
- Establish new sourcing relationships
- Track purchase orders and invoices
- Delete inactive listings
Quarterly:
- Update overhead cost allocations
- Evaluate feedback tools and strategies
- Check for disbursement errors
- Review FBA replenishment alerts
- Assess FBA space allocation
- Verify correct sales tax codes
End of Year:
- Evaluate FBA inventory levels
As Needed:
- Open seller support cases
- Update accounting software
Daily
First and foremost, sign into Sellercentral every day to stay on top of your Amazon seller account. Here are the key activities to focus on:
Check for buyer messages: It is crucial to respond promptly to any buyer inquiries within 24 hours.
Review Seller Performance notifications: Monitor your account health and address any notifications or warnings that may impact your performance metrics.
Check the Sales Summary: Assess the performance of your sales by looking at various dimensions:
- Compare the 15-day total to the 30-day total. It should be roughly half.
- Compare the 7-day total to the 15-day total. It should also be roughly half.
- Analyze whether these totals have increased or decreased compared to the previous day.
- If your 7-day and 15-day totals are higher than their expected proportion of the 30-day total, your sales are trending upward.
- If they are significantly lower, it may indicate a downward trend in sales.
- Look for any significant changes that could impact your sales volume.
Confirm shipment of non-FBA orders: Visit “Orders” and “Manage Orders” to ensure that you have shipped all non-FBA orders. This helps customers track their orders and ensures timely payment from Amazon.
Manage non-FBA returns: Check the “Manage Returns” section under “Orders” to handle any non-FBA returns efficiently.
By following these daily activities, you can maintain a responsive and efficient Amazon seller account, monitor your performance, and address any issues promptly to ensure a positive selling experience for both you and your customers.
Weekly
Here are the key activities to focus on a weekly basis to effectively manage your Amazon seller account
Check Amazon Selling Coach for Low Inventory Alerts: Review upcoming inventory stock-outs and plan re-orders with your suppliers accordingly. Remember that not all stock-outs are detrimental to your business, so assess the impact and prioritize re-orders.
Review customer feedback: Address any outstanding issues with specific customers and identify trends in feedback. Seek removal of inappropriate feedback or product-related reviews on Amazon.
Ensure proper FBA shipment reconciliation: Check the “Manage FBA Inventory” section to verify if your inbound FBA orders have reconciled correctly. File tickets to address any discrepancies, such as missing or excess units.
Check your pricing: Assess the competitiveness of your prices to win the buy box. Compare your prices with the lowest offer and consider adjusting prices strategically. However, always ensure that you maintain profitability and don’t reduce prices below your true costs.
Verify active FBA inventory: Regularly check that all your FBA inventory is active and available for sale. Look for any red text indicating inactive listings and take necessary action to address it.
Evaluate Sponsored Ad campaign performance: Review the results of your Sponsored Ad campaigns in the Campaign Manager. Assess their effectiveness in generating expected sales volumes and consider adjusting bids or daily budgets as needed.
Analyze Business Reports for Month-to-Date sales: Access the “Business Reports” section to gain insights into your sales performance. Compare sales to previous months or years, track sales trends, and examine your buy box share. Utilize reports like “Detail Page Sales and Traffic” to understand the buy box percentage.
Back up your product detail page images: Use the archiving tool to regularly back up your product detail page images. This step ensures you have a record of the content on your listings, making it easier to provide evidence to Seller Support if needed.
Every Two Weeks
Here are the key activities to consider on a biweekly basis regarding the disbursement of funds from Amazon
Verify Disbursement of Funds: Ensure that Amazon has paid you the expected amount on time. Occasionally, payments may be delayed due to various factors beyond your control. Double-check the disbursement to confirm its accuracy.
Review “Payments Summary”: Visit the “Payments Summary” section on the main Seller Central page to check the date of your last payment. This summary provides an overview of your payment history and can help you track the timing of disbursements.
Check Frequency of Disbursements: Most sellers receive disbursements every two weeks. If you receive disbursements more frequently or on a different schedule, adjust your monitoring frequency accordingly. It’s essential to stay aware of any discrepancies or delays in payment to address them promptly.
Monthly
Here are the key activities to consider on a monthly basis for managing your Amazon seller account
Remove unfulfillable FBA inventory: Go to “Inventory”, “Manage FBA Inventory” and click on the “Unfulfillable” column to initiate the process of removing any inventory that cannot be fulfilled. You can also set up an automated removal process for unfulfillable FBA inventory if desired.
Check for FBA Long-Term Storage Fees: Review your FBA inventory to identify items that will soon be subject to long-term storage fees. Access the “REPORTS” section, navigate to “FULFILLMENT”, and click on “Recommended Removal” to get the necessary information. It is generally more cost-effective to remove such inventory and send it back to FBA rather than paying the long-term storage fees. Removing or sending back the inventory will reset the 6-month or 12-month clock on long-term storage.
Evaluate slow-moving inventory: Assess your slow-moving inventory by accessing the “REPORTS” section, selecting “FULFILLMENT”, and then “INVENTORY HEALTH”. Identify products with a significant inventory level and a high “weeks of cover trailing 30 days” value. Consider reducing the inventory for these products. However, exercise caution when dealing with products with very few units, as the sale of a single unit can significantly impact the calculations.
Review your external repricing tool: If you use an external repricing tool, check if any adjustments need to be made to the pricing ranges of your products based on competitive changes. Ensure that your pricing strategy remains effective and competitive.
Analyze traffic and sales volume: Analyze the traffic and sales volume of your products by accessing the “Reports” section, selecting “Business Reports”, and then “BY ASIN: Detail Page Sales and Traffic”. Evaluate whether any changes are necessary, such as adjusting your order quantities to avoid stock-outs or managing slow-selling inventory. Consider exploring additional SKUs from brands you already have access to if they present attractive competitive opportunities.
Research new sourcing relationships: Look for secondary suppliers of your existing profitable products, seeking better pricing or alternative supply channels. Identify potential new suppliers to expand your options for future sourcing needs.
Track purchase orders and invoices: Document all purchase orders (POs) and invoices at least once a month. By doing this regularly, you can keep track of your expenses efficiently and avoid a large backlog of documentation tasks.
Delete inactive listings: Remove any inactive listings that you no longer sell and have no intention of selling again on Amazon. To delete a listing, navigate to “Inventory” and “Manage Inventory” view, select the relevant ASINs, and proceed with the deletion. Deleting inactive listings helps manage risk and prevents unnecessary policy warnings for products you no longer carry.
Quarterly
Here are the key activities to consider on a quarterly basis for managing your Amazon seller account
Review Feedback Tool: Take a look at your feedback tool, such as bqool.com, feedbackgenius.com, or feedbackfive.com. Ensure that the settings are aligned with your feedback management strategy and that you are effectively collecting and managing customer feedback.
Check for Disbursement Errors: Verify that your disbursements have been processed correctly by Amazon. Look for any errors or discrepancies in the disbursement amounts. If you spot any issues, address them promptly by filing a ticket with Seller Support or utilizing tools like refundsmanager.com to assist you.
Review FBA Replenishment Alerts: If you use FBA, update your “Set Replenishment Alerts” for your FBA products. Access “INVENTORY” > “MANAGE FBA INVENTORY” > “Set Replenishment Alerts.” Adjust the minimum quantities based on your inventory needs. Increase the minimum quantities if you’re selling faster than expected, or decrease them if you have excess inventory or quick replenishment processes.
Check FBA Space Allocation: Monitor your FBA space allocation by going to “INVENTORY” > “MANAGE FBA INVENTORY.” Take note of the Storage Monitor bars, which indicate the available space for additional FBA inventory. If you are running low on space or anticipate increased sales during the holiday season, consider filing a ticket with Seller Support to request more space.
Verify Sales Tax Codes: Double-check that the correct sales tax collection code is applied to each of your products. Ensure that you are collecting sales tax where necessary and complying with tax regulations. If any adjustments are required, update the sales tax codes for specific SKUs.
Update Overhead Cost Calculations: Review and update your overhead cost calculations. Make sure your analysis of product profitability includes accurate overhead cost allocations. This step helps you track and understand the true costs associated with each product.
Remember to file a ticket with Seller Support to activate the “Category Listing Report” in the “Inventory Reports” section. This report allows you to review category-specific information about your listings and can be valuable for optimizing your product offerings.
End of Year
As the year comes to a close, here are the important tasks to consider for managing your Amazon seller account
FBA Inventory Levels: Pull reports on December 31 or January 1 to assess your FBA inventory levels for tax purposes. Access “REPORTS” > “FULFILLMENT” > “AMAZON FULFILLED INVENTORY” to gather the necessary information.
As Needed
These tasks can be performed as needed to ensure the smooth operation of your Amazon business
Open Seller Support Cases: Regularly check for any recently opened Seller Support cases and review the progress made or any additional information requested. It is important to stay on top of your cases and respond within 5 days to avoid closing the ticket and having to open a new one.
Update Accounting Software: Regularly compile your purchase order and shipping cost data into your accounting software or dedicated spreadsheets. It is much easier to add this information as you place and receive orders rather than waiting until the end of the year to sift through a large pile of paperwork or emails. Keeping your accounting records up to date will enable you to accurately calculate and assess your profitability.
In Preparation For Holiday Shopping Season
As the holiday shopping season presents unique challenges, we have dedicated a separate chapter specifically addressing this topic. We recommend referring to that chapter to identify the key processes that need to be considered for successfully managing your Amazon seller account during this crucial time.
Summary
All the process steps discussed in this chapter are integral to the system you should develop for effectively managing your Amazon account. To ensure these tasks are completed and nothing falls through the cracks, it can be helpful to set up calendar reminders for each task that may not be second nature to you yet.
The reality is that without proper planning and execution of these tasks, you may encounter unpleasant surprises in the future. Many successful sellers on Amazon have achieved their success because they have a well-defined process in place. Each task is not only completed but also assigned to a specific person responsible for its execution.
As you establish your Amazon seller business, we strongly recommend implementing a clear and structured process right from the beginning. For those who are catching up on existing Amazon seller accounts, it is crucial to take the time to thoroughly review and regularly revisit all of these steps.
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