The Common Pitfalls You Should Avoid in Your First Year Selling on Amazon

When it comes to finding ways to make money online, a major go-to for many new and aspiring entrepreneurs is selling on a platform. Sometimes, this is eBay or Etsy, and you have the biggest one of them all, of course: Amazon! This one is known for being the most convenient, reliable, and, of course, the one that ships the fastest. 

So it’s not hard to see why people prefer shopping on Amazon compared to other platforms. Still, they prefer shopping on Amazon rather than going to big box retailers like Walmart for their needs (groceries included). 

But with that said, even though this is a massive platform, you can’t expect to instantly make your business a massive success solely from the platform it’s on. There’s more than goes into it; in fact, there are a lot of pitfalls and plenty of mistakes that new Amazon business owners make, and the biggest one is just assuming they’ll be successful just for being on Amazon. 

But it just doesn’t work that way. So, with that said, here are some of the common pitfalls you’ll need to avoid when selling in your first year on Amazon! 

Starting without a Plan

Alright, so this one might seem like low-hanging fruit because who would start a business without a plan? Well, you’d be surprised! When you sell on a platform, like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, eBay, or wherever, there’s the idea that it’s as simple as just uploading a picture, putting in a description, and that be that, right? But the thing is, it’s far from it, and the same applies to Amazon. There’s a market on Amazon, there are demands, there’s SEO, and the images and the list go on and on. So, for all you aspiring Amazon sellers out there, you have to understand that you need to understand Amazon, and you have to go with a plan. 

How Can You Avoid Any Mistakes?

Well, before you list your first product, take a moment to analyze the market. You have to understand what customers are looking for and how you can provide value. There are a lot of rescources out there, and one of the best would be The Leads Feed, their focus is about offering daily leads on profitable products perfect for Amazon sellers using the Online Arbitrage Model. 

This guidance helps you make informed decisions, eliminating much of the guesswork involved in product selection. So, to wrap it up, do your homework, do some research, and, of course, utilize some helpful resources. You can’t glance these over either; it’s going to take time! 

Mismanaging Inventory 

Holding on to too much or too little stock is another fairly common issue that new Amazon sellers face; well, any business owner selling products, really. This can be tricky to deal with, and so it’s entirely understandable if you get this part wrong at first. 

How to Avoid This Mistake

Again, this one is fairly tricky, but by all means, you can avoid this mistake (but if you don’t avoid it, don’t feel bad because, again, it’s tricky). So, you’ll want to just start modestly with your inventory, learning as you grow about what sells and what doesn’t. It will then get to the point where you’ll want to adjust your stock levels based on actual sales data and predictive insights. 

It was already mentioned earlier, but a company like The Leads Feed can actually help guide you on that potential sales volume, too. Again, it’s hard to figure out at first, and this is by far the most common mistake all business owners make the first few times around. 

Overlooking Customer Experience

Amazon is not going to take care of your customers; you have to take care of them. For example, if you buy something from a third-party seller and you don’t like it, Amazon customer service always advises you to reach out to the seller first before they step in. So, you’re the one that customers will be interacting with first! 

How to Avoid This Mistake?

It’s pretty simple. It’s all about focusing on delivering excellent customer service. All businesses can only survive if they have happy customers, and it’s actually easy to do! So, just be sure to respond promptly to customer inquiries and resolve issues quickly. Happy customers leave positive reviews, which can boost your store’s reputation and sales.

Skipping Out on Marketing

You can’t rely only on Amazon’s traffic for sales, but oh yes, you’ll still have to do some marketing! 

How Can You Avoid This Mistake?

This means that you’ll want to actively market your products. In fact, why not utilize Amazon’s advertising options? But of course, you should still branch out into social media or email marketing to draw more eyes to your listings.

This is a contributed post.