How to Start Selling on Amazon as a Beginner

Step 1: Choose Your Selling Model

Amazon has two account types: Individual (no monthly fee, 99 cents per sale) and Professional (.99/month, unlimited sales). Two fulfillment options exist: FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) where Amazon stores and ships for you, or FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) where you handle shipping yourself. Beginners doing more than 40 sales per month should choose Professional + FBA.

Step 2: Product Research

Use Jungle Scout or Helium 10 to identify products with strong demand and manageable competition. Target criteria include: 300+ monthly sales, fewer than 300 reviews on the top listing, a selling price of -, and a Best Seller Rank under 50,000 in the main category. Avoid categories dominated by Amazon itself (Amazon Basics) or by brands with patent protection.

Step 3: Source Products

Most FBA sellers source from Alibaba.com. Request product samples (-) before placing a bulk order. Target a minimum of 100-200 units for your first shipment. Negotiate for your logo (private label) to be printed on the product for brand building.

Step 4: Optimise Your Listing

Your listing is your storefront. The title should contain your primary keyword naturally. Write 7 keyword-rich bullet points focusing on benefits. Include high-quality images (white background plus lifestyle shots). Add at least 5 A+ content sections if you have a registered brand. The back-end keywords section (invisible to buyers) provides additional search indexing.

Step 5: Launch with PPC

Run Amazon Sponsored Product campaigns (PPC) for your first 60-90 days to build sales velocity and earn reviews. Start with automatic targeting campaigns at - per day. After 2 weeks, analyse which keywords convert and move them to manual campaigns at optimised bids.

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