Amazon allows you to sell your product under an already listed product (some other brand that is not registered under trademark) at your price, by simply using the unique ASIN number, only if you have a product category approval from Amazon.

For e.g.: if you want to sell a baking tray, you can search for an existing baking tray listing on Amazon that is exact similar to your product, get ASIN of that listing then go to “Add a product” section in your seller panel and search for the same ASIN, it will allow you to sell your product.

This is an amazon supported policy. You can map your product on some other seller’s listing  or some other seller can map their product on your listing.

How to know if the seller’s brand is a registered trademark brand ? You can search if a brand name is registered on the website https://ipindiaonline.gov.in/tmrpublicsearch/frmmain.aspx

Enter the Brand Name, Class and hit search

Advantages of Mapping

Listing/Adding product becomes easy – Creating a quick listing of the product with the help of ASIN number makes listing very easy as it will save your time and efforts that is required for uploading pictures, updating specifications and descriptions

Increase in sales – Mapping a listing of a well-established brand with good reviews will result in good number of orders for you.

Disadvantages of adding a product on Amazon via mapping

• Original seller can claim your product as counterfeit – Since you have copied the listing that has resulted in less or no orders for an original brand seller, he/she may claim to amazon as a counterfeit product that can lead to suspension of your listing.
• Infringement filing – If an original seller is a registered trademark brand, he/she can file an infringement case against you, which can have negative impact on your selling rating and can lead to your account suspension.

Disadvantages (if your listing is mapped by another seller)

• Reduces your sales – Your listing can also be mapped easily by any seller which can result in lesser or no orders for you.
• Constant fear of bad reviews – You do not know what quality of product the other seller is selling under your brand, so any bad experience to customer can result in bad review on the product that can have long term effect on the listing and can automatically reduce your orders.

Ways to overcome mapping problems

If your listings have been mapped by some other seller, here are some useful steps that you can follow to remove the mapping:

• Get a trademark for your brand name.
• Register yourself on Amazon brand registry
• If you fulfill above both the requirements, write a proper email requesting the seller to remove the listing stating that you are the brand owner.
• Do a test order and once you find the product quality of the test order you received is not up to the mark or is different from yours, file an infringement case on Amazon brand registry.
• Try to differentiate your product by printing your logo on the product & packaging and upload pictures of the same on Amazon so that the possibility of your listings getting mapped becomes very low.

The post Mapping a product on Amazon appeared first on CosmicKolors.

So here is an excellent helpful guide for beginners To Sell On Amazon –

1. Identifying a Product –  

Choose a product wisely, something that you are interested in. Check for current trends on Amazon to know what people are searching and buying for. You can also use Google trend to know about trending products.

Take help of amazon seller calculator to know your profitability as Amazon has different referral fees for different product category.

2. Finding source of the product & deciding the quantity:

Initially, you can start with some local vendor by investing in less quantity to get some idea on how your product is doing so that you do not end up stocking non-moving items.

Once you know what is moving fast, source a reputed manufacturer/wholesaler and invest amount in bulk quantity at good, discounted rates.

You can source suppliers on sites like Indiamart, Justdial, Exporter India, Alibaba etc.

3. Company Formation (Proprietary or Partnership):

For creating a seller account, you will need the following –

• Unique brand name
• GST number
• Pan Number
• Current Bank Account
• Mobile number
• Email id

 All of the above is a one-time activity. Get in touch with a CA for GST & PAN application. Monthly filing of GST is mandatory which can be taken care by your CA with some monthly fee. 

4. Making a seller account

Submit all above necessary documents on amazon seller central and open a seller account.  

Submission of your product invoice is of utmost important for approval of product category, without which listing the product is not possible. In case you wish to add different product, which falls under another product category you need to repeat the approval process.

Some important facts that nobody will tell you –

• If you are selling a branded product (e.g.  Adidas, Nike) you need to have a brand approval letter from the brand.
• Secondly, if you have your own brand and selling generic products (e.g., sarees, dresses, shoes etc) then you need to apply as a private label seller on amazon.

5. List your products

Once you have a product category approval, you can now start listing your products.

You can either list your products one by one or use the bulk uploader to add products at once.

Start the title of the listing with your Brand Name followed by keywords that best describes your product & will be helpful for searching a specific product (brand name, color, size, what the product is, and it’s intended use).

Get good images of your product with white background, go for a professional photographer if your budget permits. A good photo, video, product features, specification is very important for a good sale. Fill in all the mandatory sections e.g., country of origin & HSN code, do remember to fill in the other details like product descriptions, keywords and other optional details once you are done with the listing of all your products.

Secondly, if you are selling something that is already available on Amazon, you can list your product by Mapping/Latching it to an existing product with the help of ASIN number

6. Scheduling the order

Schedule your order as per your “Ship by date”, Amazon has two time slots i.e., 10.00 AM – 1.00 PM and 1.00 PM – 4.00 PM. Depending on your number of orders and as per your convenience choose the slot. Try to avoid rescheduling situations as possible as you can as this can have effect on your seller’s performance.

7. Packaging & labeling

Packaging must be presentable & at the same time durable enough to protect your product from any physical damage which is possible during the transit. One must be very careful as improper packaging can result in bad review on the product. In case of plastic, go for only recyclable plastic poly bags. Stick auto generated barcode labels on the parcel. Barcode visibility is very important here.

8. Shipping

There are three ways to ship the product

Easy ship by Amazon – Amazon transportation Service (ATS) will arrange for the pick up of the product from your store and the entire logistics will be taken care by them till it reaches end customer.

Self-Shipment – Seller can ship through any courier company for shipping the parcel. For e.g.: Delhivery, Ecom, India Post etc.

Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) – Seller can choose to keep their inventory at Amazon warehouse at nominal fees, where amazon will take care of shipping, packing, delivery and returns. Seller automatically gets a prime badge on all FBA products that help increases your sale. 

Irrespective of whatever shipment method you choose, dispatching product on time is very important. Missing shipping deadlines can lead to account suspension.

9. Returns & Claims

You can expect returns of your products for various reasons. However, in case the returned product is in damaged condition, has some missing item or a completely different product, you can claim on Amazon’s Safe-t Claim with proper pictures of the returned product. Depending on case to case you will be refunded some percentage of the product price.

10. Revenue

Funds from the completed sales will be transferred in your bank account by Amazon in every 7 days. Know about Amazon charges and fee structure https://sell.amazon.in/fees-and-pricing.html            

Understand thoroughly about various expenses behind selling a single product on amazon to calculate ROI.                

Few tips –

• You can run ad campaigns for your products, offer automated discount coupons to customers, share your listing on social media platforms to promote your products.  
• Ask for a customer review after each sale to increase your product review and seller’s performance too.
• Download Amazon app on your mobile for quick updates on your order or to know anything urgent that needs to be addressed

The post How To Sell And Make Money On Amazon appeared first on CosmicKolors.