If you’re setting up a business, you’re probably wondering how you can start selling online, and what options are available to you. Amazon and eBay are two of the best known online marketplaces, and both are a great place to start selling, so we’ve put together this guide with everything you need to know about setting up your online store. Keep reading to find out more and discover our top tips for starting a successful ecommerce business.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re considering the question “what supplies do you need to start selling on eBay and Amazon FBA?”. You don’t need that many supplies to get started, though! We recommend starting out with a few basics, and then adding to your kit as you expand and grow your business.
There are a few must-haves for any ecommerce business:
There are also a few essential things you need to do before you start selling on eBay or Amazon. You should:
Are you ready to start selling on Amazon? There are a few things for you to consider when you’re setting up your seller account.
There are two selling plans to choose from on Amazon, so carefully consider which one will best suit you and your business. If you opt for the Professional plan, you’ll be able to sell an unlimited number of products every month for a £25 fee. Alternatively, you can choose to sell as an Individual on a basic plan. If you go for this option, you won’t have to pay a monthly fee, but instead you’ll pay £0.75 for every item you sell.
How will you approach selling products on Amazon? Do you want to be a reseller, or a brand owner? Or will you take a combined approach, selling both your own products and those of other brands?
FBA means ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ and FMB stands for ‘Fulfilled by Merchant’. With FBA, the seller sends products in bulk to Amazon’s fulfilment centres, and Amazon then pick, pack and ship the products when they’re sold. With FBM, the seller handles the storage and shipping of all their own items.
Once you’ve decided what kind of account you want, you can create your account on Seller Central, which is where you can also manage your account.
Start listing your products to make them available to buyers! There are a couple of ways of doing this. You can add products one by one, or if you have a Professional account, they can be uploaded in bulk.
The process for selling on eBay is similar to the steps you need to take to start selling products on Amazon.
As with Amazon, you can choose to set up either a Personal or Business account on eBay. If eBay isn’t going to be your primary selling platform, or you’re not planning to sell a huge amount through the site, then a Personal account is your best option. Otherwise, you can choose to set up a Business account. If you set up a Business account, you have the opportunity to set up your own eBay Shop. It’s not essential to do so, but it’s a good idea as it can help you to find the right customers for your business, manage your orders and build your brand.
The first step to getting customers buying your products is by listing them! There are a few ways you can do this:
You’ll need to decide how much to sell your items for. The Seller Hub includes a Pricing Guidance Tool to help you understand how much competitors are charging for similar products, and how much buyers are willing to pay.
If you sell on eBay, you must accept PayPal as a payment method, and you can also choose whether to allow customers to pay by credit or debit card.
Start thinking about what shipping options you’re going to offer to customers. Will you offer eBay’s FAST & FREE option, where shipping is free and guaranteed to arrive within three days? Will you give buyers the option to use Click & Collect? Or will you stick with traditional postage options?
Whether you have a big warehouse, or are selling products from a small room in your house or workplace, it’s important to keep your space clean, tidy and organised. This will boost your productivity and help you to easily find everything you need when you’re updating your inventory, packing orders and printing shipping labels.
It’s a good idea to use bins, shelves and storage containers to keep everything organised. Dedicate a section of your space to storing all of your products, and keep your packing supplies in another section of the space.
If you keep everything clean and tidy, regardless of how big the space is, you’ll be far more efficient at your job, meaning you can get orders picked, packed and shipped faster without losing track of where everything is kept.
It’s important that you have great photographs of your products, as these can have a huge impact on whether customers place an order or not.
Whether you choose to use a phone or camera, you can easily get some great product shots with these top tips:
If you’re just getting started with selling on eBay and Amazon, you don’t need to invest in a full lighting kit. You can take shots in a bright section of your house, or use a white sheet of paper stuck to a wall, or on a table, to get a nice, clean shot. Find more photo tips from eBay online.
Now you know what supplies you need to start selling on eBay and Amazon, you can set up shop and get going!
Don’t forget to sign up for a 30-order free trial of ShippyPro, so you can test out our great features including:
It’s easy to connect your Amazon and eBay accounts to ShippyPro. By integrating your accounts, you’ll save time and be able to send your orders faster. All of your orders will be imported directly to ShippyPro, meaning you can quickly and easily create labels and send tracking notifications to your customers.
Connect ShippyPro to your Amazon account or eBay account with just one click today.