Welcome to our 30-minute overview of selling in the Amazon store every Amazon seller has a few things in common to get started they create a selling account then they list products fulfill customer orders and receive payment to maintain good account Health sellers should also monitor their customer service performance Amazon policy compliance and shipping performance sellers can take advantage of a range of Amazon tools and programs too they can enroll eligible brands in Amazon brand registry to enjoy access to additional selling benefits and protections they can use fulfillment by Amazon or FBA to help deliver items to customers they can also use deals and coupons to promote products and sponsored campaigns and other Amazon ads services to feature items in the Amazon store when sellers want to understand their sales better they can use Amazon provided dashboards reports and data along with tools that let them adjust their selling strategies to get you started on your selling Journey let's review some of the basic steps for selling in the Amazon store and explore common tools and programs the first thing you need to start selling in the Amazon store is a selling account if you don't have one already visit cell.amazon.com click the sign up button and then click the create your Amazon account button on the next page enter your first and last name along with the email address and password you want to access your account with click the next button then check your email for a one-time password enter that password where it says verify email address then click the create your Amazon account button to continue account registration during registration you'll provide information about you and your business along with details we use to set up payment and settlement processing you can use our list of frequently asked questions throughout registration to get help with specific selections and entries When selecting your business type make sure you pick the correct classification as it determines subsequent entries and if you enter a business name make sure it's the name used to register with your state or federal government that should be the exact name that appears on your business registration document before clicking the agree and continue button review relevant policies and notices using the links provided next on the business information page enter a company registration number if applicable as well as the address for your business your business address should be the address your business is registered under or your operating address if you're an individual entity next enter a phone number then click the button below to receive a one-time pin via your phone enter that pin in the pop-up after you receive it and click the verify button complete the business information portion of seller registration by entering the name of your business's primary contact person make sure this name matches that person's entire name as it appears on a government-issued ID like a license or passport then click the next button to proceed to the seller information page where you'll enter personal information for your primary contact select a country of citizenship country of birth and birth date then provide a residential address and mobile phone number you'll also need to select whether your primary contact is a beneficial owner of your business a legal representative or both make sure you add other beneficial owners if your business has more than one click the save button to proceed to the billing page where you'll enter bank account and credit card information for your business your bank account information is used to transfer your sales proceeds on a regular cycle current credit card information is required for all Sellers and prevents settlement and listing issues when you've completed your billing information you'll be prompted to provide the necessary store and identity verification information for your business that completes the registration process which means you can sign in to your new Seller Central account Seller Central is your hub for selling in the Amazon store you can configure your Seller Central account using various settings you'll use the Selections in the main menu to navigate to tools for listing products managing inventory and fulfilling customer orders the main menu is also how you find advertising Services payment and business reports the account Health dashboard and other tools for managing the performance of your business it provides access to resources that can support the growth of your business too that includes our growth opportunities page which offers a customized list of Asin level recommendations based on the sales potential of your products if you're a professional seller you'll see a section in the main menu for B2B or business to business features and if you enrolled your brand in Amazon brand registry or are affiliated with an enrolled brand you'll see a section that contains brand selling benefits we also provide resources in Seller Central to answer questions and help you learn how to use tools and programs you can use the search bar at the top of the page to locate specific help Pages seller University content or seller forums if you ever need more support click help in the top right corner now that you're more familiar with Seller Central let's review a few common selling processes starting with enrolling a brand in Amazon brand registry we'll also provide quick overviews of the listing process competitive pricing FBA the account Health dashboard and some of the tools Amazon sellers use to promote and advertise products and brands we'll end with guidance for managing customer reviews and feedback although listing products is the step new sellers often think of first if you're the owner of an eligible brand we recommend you start your selling journey by enrolling it in Amazon brand registry you'll want to do this before you list your products so they're associated with your registered brand brand registry is a free program that provides eligible brands with access to additional selling benefits and protections after enrolling Brands can use tools like stores a plus content and sponsored Brands which can help them Reach more customers they also enjoy greater control over their product detail pages and access to additional automated protections programs and Reporting options to enroll your brand you need to meet a few basic requirements you need your brand name or a logo that includes your brand name permanently affixed to your products or packaging you also need an active registered trademark for your brand name or logo or a pending trademark application or registration in some cases if you meet these basic requirements visit brandservices.amazon.com to review country specific requirements and enroll your brand if you don't meet these requirements you may still be able to list your branded products in the Amazon store by requesting approval for an unregistered brand name during the listing process you'll complete a selling application in this scenario which will review a little later in this video when you're ready to list a product in the Amazon store whether it's a branded product you own or one you're reselling you add the product to your Amazon inventory and make it available for sale all active listed products are viewable to Amazon customers via a unique product detail page that page includes a product title at least one image about this item bullets and a product description If the product you want to sell already exists in the Amazon store you'll List It by matching an offer to the existing product detail page if it's not already in the Amazon store you'll create a product detail page and add your offer information simultaneously let's review the steps for matching a product first start by hovering over catalog in the main menu then click add products on the next page search for your product using a product ID like a UPC ISBN Ean or j-a-n these product IDs are all types of g-tins or global trade item numbers each G10 is paired with a unique barcode which makes products scannable locate the product you want to sell in the results when you find it select the appropriate condition new used or another type if you see a sell this product button click it to start entering your offer information if you see an apply to sell button click show limitations directly below to understand requirements for listing the product then click the apply to sell button to complete one or more required selling applications you may need to complete a selling application for a category a brand or both after completing each application and receiving approval from Amazon you can enter your offer information you'll enter a variety of information on the offer page including your standard price which is what customers see when they first see your offer this price doesn't include any shipping fees promotions discounts or other order related expenses you can create and manage those using separate Tools in Seller Central and customers see them applied at checkout the offer page is also where you enter start and end dates for a sale select gift Services you'd like to provide and enter notes on your product's condition near the bottom of the page you'll select either yourself or Amazon as the Fulfillment channel for the product we'll provide more information about both Merchant fulfillment or mfn and fulfillment by Amazon or FBA later in this video if you want to add a product that's not already in the Amazon store we recommend starting the listing process the same way you would for a match by searching the Amazon catalog this helps ensure the product is genuinely new and avoid duplicate listings when you've confirmed your product isn't in the search results click the create a new listing button to provide information for both your product detail page and offer start by selecting your product type or category you can search or Browse by clicking a category then one or more subcategories if you see a learn more button with a lock your category requires approval click the button to review our categories and products that require approval help page and then click the link to the appropriate selling application we'll review your application and if you're approved you can continue the listing process if you see a select button while choosing a category for your product click it to begin entering your product and offer information you'll use four main sections to enter product information in the vital info section you'll enter key product information like ID number brand and manufacturer keep in mind that if you're trying to add a branded product to the Amazon catalog the brand name you enter or select needs to be approved by Amazon you'll either need to enroll your brand or complete a selling application in Seller Central if you need to complete a selling application for an unregistered brand you'll be prompted to do so by error 5665 which will appear after you enter the unregistered brand name in the brand name field in the offer section you'll enter and select the same kind of pricing sales and fulfillment information that you'd enter for a product you're matching in the images section you'll upload at least one image for your product detail page we recommend reviewing our listing guidelines before doing so and encourage you to review our product image requirements help Page by clicking the link provided if your product is available in different versions for color size style or other attributes you'll use the variations page to provide information for each version at Amazon we group variations or child products on a single detail page for a parent product that helps customers find and compare versions if you have more product information to add click the more attributes toggle to display the tabs for the compliance description keywords and more details sections when you've entered all required information in fields with red borders as well as any optional information you want to include click the save and finish button at the bottom of each section to submit your information if your new product is approved its detail page should appear within 24 hours when you create or suggest updates to a product detail page it's important to follow Amazon guidelines and employ best practices to help customers find and engage with your product before you create your first product detail Page search Seller Central for our product page style guide this includes links to downloadable style guides for each product category full requirements for titles and images and rules for product detail pages in addition to the product detail page which all sellers share your individual offer can impact a customer's decision to buy an important part of any offer is price all sellers prices have to comply with Amazon's Marketplace fair pricing policy before you start setting prices in Seller Central you'll want to get familiar with a few key Concepts we use to organize and support pricing in the Amazon store the first concept is a competitive external price by that we mean the lowest price for an item from major retailers outside Amazon Amazon regularly monitors and shares competitive external prices with Sellers as a point of reference for your own price to be considered competitive in the Amazon store your standard item price plus shipping must be less than or equal to the competitive external price we share competitive external prices also inform another key concept we use to organize offers within the Amazon store the featured offer a product's featured offer is the offer a customer often sees near the top of a product detail page with buy now and add to cart buttons to compete for the featured offer a seller must set a competitive price their product also needs to be in new condition and they need to have a professional selling account importantly a seller may also become ineligible for the featured offer based on account performance and other risk factors this helps Amazon guard against abuse and ensure that customers have a great shopping experience in addition to competitive external prices and featured offers another key pricing concept is the lowest price currently offered by a seller in the Amazon store we share the current lowest Amazon price for each product with the sellers who list it to give them the opportunity to match or Beat It to view the lowest Amazon price for a product you sell open The Seller Central main menu hover over inventory and click manage all inventory you'll see the featured offer for the product too and can click view more to see the featured offer competitive external price and lowest Amazon price side by side after you list and price a product the next step is fulfillment or delivery to your customers Amazon sellers can fulfill orders in two ways one way is to ship products directly to customers which we call seller or Merchant fulfillment for short this method is also called mfn sellers can also send products to Amazon for fulfillment which we call fulfillment by Amazon or FBA the products you send to Amazon are stored in our network of fulfillment centers when a customer places an order we pick pack and ship it on your behalf we also take care of customer service you can fulfill all your orders as mfn or with FBA exclusively you can also use each method on a per product basis to take advantage of their different benefits let's review a few key aspects of each fulfillment method starting with mfn fulfilling orders yourself puts you in control of the customer experience it also means you're responsible for prepping packing and arranging Transit and Delivery for orders you'll handle customer service too including returns and refunds if you're fulfilling as an mfn seller one of the first places in Seller Central you should visit is the shipping settings page hover over the gear icon to open the account settings menu then click shipping settings the shipping settings page shows your shipping rates and restrictions for seller fulfilled orders which include your Geographic shipping regions and service levels your account has default shipping settings when it's first created but you can use templates to customize them adjusting the regions you ship to and the service levels you support for each region you can also use shipping settings to adjust how you calculate shipping fees choose between a per item per pound rate or Price band rate if you adjust shipping settings remember that standard shipping is a requirement for all sellers before selecting any additional service levels you should also confirm that you can meet the indicated commitment mfn sellers manage their own returns and refunds too click return settings in the settings menu then use the four tabs at the top to review and update return settings for your business as an mfn seller you can set specific terms for your own refund and return policies however those terms must meet or exceed Amazon's return policy when Amazon receives a return request from a customer that meets the terms of our policy we authorize it automatically when a return request isn't covered by our return policy we notify mfn sellers by email you can then hover over orders in the main menu and click manage returns to authorize or close the return or refund request you'll do so by deciding whether it meets the specific terms of your policy if you close a request we recommend contacting the customer to explain your decision we provide sellers with access to our buyer seller messaging service for this purpose you can access this service by clicking the envelope icon in Seller Central buy your seller messaging is the only approved method for communicating with Amazon customers follow our communication guidelines to help keep your messages compliant and customer Centric when you receive an order from a customer that you're fulfilling directly you need to confirm that it's been shipped in Seller Central hover over orders in the main menu then click manage orders to see a list of your orders view order details and print packing slips you can use three metrics to help assess the health of your mfn shipping performance late shipment rate or LSR pre-fulfillment cancel rate also known as the cancellation rate or CR and valid tracking rate or VTR hover over performance in the main menu then click account Health to view all three metrics your LSR is the percentage of your seller fulfilled orders that have a shipping confirmation after their expected shipping date we calculate LSR in both 10 and 30 day periods you should aim to keep it below four percent your CR is the percentage of your seller fulfilled orders you cancel we calculate CR in seven day periods you should aim to keep it below two and a half percent your VTR is the percentage of packages from your seller fulfilled orders with a valid tracking number we calculate VTR in 30-day periods you should aim to keep it above 95 percent you can also use the account Health dashboard to monitor your customer service performance and Amazon policy compliance we'll touch on both later in this video If instead of managing fulfillment yourself you'd like Amazon to take care of packing and shipping orders you can use FBA with FBA we also take care of customer service including returns FBA sellers can use return settings to set preferences for their returns your FBA products are eligible for Amazon Prime free two-day shipping and you can choose optional services like product prep labeling and repackaging to use FBA you'll first register your selling account for the program then you'll select FBA as your fulfillment method while listing you can also convert mfn products that you've already listed next you'll send your products to Amazon after they're received into our fulfillment Network your products are made available to customers and we take care of delivery when they're purchased you'll use the send to Amazon workflow each time you send inventory into our fulfillment Network in Seller Central hover over inventory in the main menu then under fulfillment by Amazon FBA click shipments next hover over the shipments drop down menu and click Send to Amazon to start the shipment creation process if you have any questions while using the send to Amazon workflow click learn more or watch tutorial within each step now that you know the basics of account setup listing and fulfillment let's review account Health which is an important topic for every Amazon Seller to sell in the Amazon store you're required to comply with all applicable laws and Amazon policies our account Health dashboard provides an overview of your account's adherence to policies and various performance targets we regularly review the performance of all Sellers and notify them when they're off Target but we recommend you actively monitor your account Health to help ensure ongoing compliance hover over performance in the main menu in Seller Central then click account Health to view the dashboard we already reviewed the shipping performance section of the account Health dashboard while learning about seller fulfillment or mfn but let's quickly review the customer service performance and policy compliance sections your customer service performance is measured using what we call an order defect rate or odr your odr is the percentage of your orders with one or more indicators of poor customer service that could be negative customer feedback which is defined as a one or two star rating an approved A to Z guarantee claim or a credit card chargeback we calculate odr in 60-day periods and require sellers to maintain an odr under one percent in order to sell in the Amazon store the last section of your account Health dashboard provides an overview of your compliance with key Amazon selling policies these include our intellectual property authenticity listing and restricted product policies at the top of the policy compliance section you'll see a rating for your selling account to maintain a good rating make sure to address any policy violations listed below in a timely manner note that if your rating is at risk or critical your account may be at risk of deactivation click any of the policies listed for more information and to respond to a violation once you've started selling in the Amazon store you may want to promote or advertise your products or brand to help them Reach more customers we provide a range of tools and programs which you can explore by hovering over advertising in the main menu in Seller Central if you're a professional seller click deals to create a lightning or seven day deal that appears on the Amazon deals page or click coupons to create a promotion that customers can see on the Amazon coupons page in search results and on product detail Pages professional sellers with a brand enrolled in brand registry can also use Amazon Vine to put free units of their products in the hands of Amazon invited reviewers these reviewers or Vine voices post insightful opinions about your products which can help other customers make informed purchasing decisions to use one or more of our pay-per-click advertising options as a professional seller click campaign manager in the advertising Sub menu that will take you to a page where you can start creating three types of Amazon ads campaigns sponsored products sponsored Brands and sponsored display sponsored products ads feature a single product and appear in alongside and above customer search results Brands ads are available to professional sellers with a brand enrolled in brand registry they can feature up to three products as well as a logo and headline or you can create a sponsored Brands campaign with an auto playing video that features a single product sponsored Brands ads appear prominently above alongside and Below search results sponsor display ads feature a single product and can appear both in and Beyond the Amazon store after a customer has viewed a product detail page or if there are other browsing behaviors show they're interested in a product each sponsored campaign type comes with options that can help position your ads in front of relevant customers you also control your total budget and only pay when a customer actually clicks an ad you set a bid to choose the maximum amount you'd like to spend per click let's finish our overview of selling in the Amazon store by learning about customer reviews and feedback after a customer buys a product they can leave a public product review seller feedback rating or both in the Amazon store product reviews describe the quality of a product or its function while seller feedback ratings reflect a customer's overall experience buying from a seller both types of feedback play an important role in the Amazon shopping experience because they can be reviewed by other customers here are some quick tips to improve your chances of getting positive reviews and ratings one accurately represent a product on your product detail page 2. package your products to help prevent damage during delivery three ship orders on time if you're an mfn seller 4. monitor your inventory quantity so that customers can't accidentally purchase out of stock items five provide customer refunds for products returned within 30 days of purchase six respond to customer messages within 24 hours and 7. provide valid tracking numbers so customers can track their orders to manage and track customer feedback use our feedback manager in Seller Central hover over performance then click feedback in the main menu you can review your feedback rating and see recent customer comments to post a public reply to a comment or request its removal use the drop down menu at the end of a row this concludes our 30-minute overview of selling in the Amazon store we encourage you to explore additional trainings in seller University about each topic we covered thank you and happy selling in the Amazon store