Table of Contents:
1. 🔑 Choosing the Right Business Model 2. 💰 Mastering Product Research 3. 🚀 Embracing Merchant Fulfilled 4. 🔥 Focusing on Core Products 5. 🛒 Leveraging Retail Arbitrage 6. 🤝 Avoiding Premature Delegation 7. 📚 Joining the Amazon Seller Community 8. 🕰️ Managing Expectations for Long-Term Success 9. 🧠 Using Leverage Wisely 10. 🚫 Resisting the Temptation of Shortcuts
**The Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Learning Amazon FBA as a New Seller**
🔑 Choosing the Right Business Model
As a new Amazon seller, it’s crucial to choose the right business model that aligns with your resources and goals. The author shares his personal experience, highlighting how he initially struggled with the used books model, which can be time-consuming and challenging to scale. Fortunately, the rise of online arbitrage has opened up a more accessible and profitable path for beginners.
Online arbitrage allows you to sell big-name brand products from the comfort of your home, without the need to create your own listings, take product photos, or place large wholesale orders. This model requires less startup capital and reduces the risk for new sellers. The author strongly recommends online arbitrage as the simplest and easiest route to get started in the Amazon FBA space.
💰 Mastering Product Research
Effective product research is the key to finding profitable items to sell on Amazon. The author emphasizes the importance of leveraging discounts and coupons to lower your buy cost and outperform your competitors. He shares several strategies, including using cashback and coupon extensions, leveraging evergreen coupon codes, searching for hidden coupon codes, taking advantage of holiday sales, and utilizing discounted gift cards.
By combining these various discounting methods, you can significantly improve your profit margins and identify the most lucrative products to sell. The author stresses that understanding the different ways to get products cheaper is a “major cheat code” in the world of Amazon online arbitrage.
🚀 Embracing Merchant Fulfilled
Many new sellers make the mistake of solely focusing on FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) and overlooking the benefits of Merchant Fulfilled (MF) selling. The author shares his own experience, where he was able to achieve over $7 million in sales within his first 10 months by leveraging the MF model.
The advantages of Merchant Fulfilled include avoiding FBA fees, learning the business faster, and avoiding price wars and competition. The author encourages sellers to explore the MF option, as it can be a powerful tool in the early stages of their Amazon journey.
🔥 Focusing on Core Products
The author emphasizes the importance of not worrying about diversifying your inventory too early on. Instead, he suggests focusing on a few core, high-performing products that are driving the majority of your sales and profits. This “80/20 rule” approach allows you to maximize your efforts and gain momentum more quickly.
By doubling down on your best-selling products, you can build confidence, generate more revenue, and then naturally expand your product offerings over time. The author cautions against getting distracted by trying to find too many different products, as it can slow down your progress.
🛒 Leveraging Retail Arbitrage
Many beginners overlook the potential of retail arbitrage, which involves sourcing discounted products from local retail stores and reselling them on Amazon. The author encourages sellers to utilize the Seller App to scan products at various outlets, such as Kohl’s, Walmart, Target, and discount stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls.
However, the author emphasizes that success with retail arbitrage requires persistence and building relationships with store employees. It’s not a one-time effort, but rather a long-term strategy that can yield significant rewards as you learn the ins and outs of your local sources.
🤝 Avoiding Premature Delegation
While outsourcing tasks like inventory preparation and shipping can be tempting, the author cautions against delegating too soon, especially for beginners. He explains that using a prep center or virtual assistants can sacrifice speed and control, which are crucial in the early stages of building an Amazon business.
The author recommends mastering the core skills of product research, sourcing, and Merchant Fulfilled selling before considering delegation. This allows you to train and effectively manage any outsourced help, ensuring that they can truly support your business growth.
📚 Joining the Amazon Seller Community
The author strongly emphasizes the importance of connecting with other Amazon sellers, as he believes online arbitrage is a “team sport.” By building relationships and engaging with a community, you can learn from others’ experiences, avoid common mistakes, and even collaborate on profitable opportunities.
The author shares his own story of how connecting with a group of fellow sellers completely transformed his Amazon journey, leading to a significant increase in profits. He encourages new sellers to document their progress on social media, as this can help build a “parasocial relationship” with potential mentors and partners.
🕰️ Managing Expectations for Long-Term Success
One of the biggest challenges for new Amazon sellers is managing their expectations for quick results. The author acknowledges that he and other influencers may have contributed to this problem by painting an overly optimistic picture of the process.
The reality is that building a successful Amazon business requires a minimum commitment of 6-12 months. The author emphasizes the importance of embracing the learning curve, making mistakes, and sticking with the process, even when it gets difficult. He cautions that those unwilling to commit to the long-term may end up back in a traditional 9-to-5 job.
🧠 Using Leverage Wisely
The author cautions against using too much leverage, such as business cred He recommends that beginners focus on building a proven system before considering the use of leverage, as it can be risky if not managed correctly. For those looking to scale their business, the author shares his favorite credit card options, including the American Express Business Blue, the Capital One Spark Card, and the American Express Plum Card. However, he stresses that leverage should only be used at your own risk and with a solid understanding of your business’s financial health. Finally, the author warns against taking shortcuts that may seem too good to be true or go against Amazon’s rules. This includes using fraudulent shipping labels, buying lead lists, or hiring virtual assistants from day one without proper training. The author emphasizes the importance of building a sustainable Amazon business by following the rules, avoiding scams, and taking the time to learn the process properly. He cautions that shortcuts may provide short-term gains but can ultimately lead to long-term problems and potential account suspensions. Highlights: 1. Choose online arbitrage as the simplest and most accessible business model for new Amazon sellers. 2. Leverage various discounting methods to lower your buy cost and identify the most profitable products. 3. Embrace Merchant Fulfilled selling to avoid FBA fees, learn faster, and avoid price wars. 4. Focus on your core, high-performing products before diversifying your inventory. 5. Utilize retail arbitrage by building relationships with local retail stores, but be persistent and patient. 6. Avoid delegating tasks too soon, as it can sacrifice speed and control in the early stages. 7. Connect with an active community of Amazon sellers to learn from others and collaborate on opportunities. 8. Manage your expectations and commit to the long-term process of building a successful Amazon business. 9. Use leverage wisely and only when you have a proven system in place. 10. Resist the temptation of shortcuts that may seem too good to be true or go against Amazon’s rules. FAQs: Q: As a new Amazon seller, what is the best business model to start with? A: The author strongly recommends online arbitrage as the simplest and most accessible business model for beginners. It requires less startup capital and reduces the risk compared to other models like private label or wholesale. Q: How can I find the most profitable products to sell on Amazon? A: The key is to master product research and leverage various discounting methods, such as cashback, coupons, holiday sales, and discounted gift cards, to lower your buy cost and outperform your competitors. Q: Should I focus on Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or Merchant Fulfilled (MF) selling? A: The author advises new sellers to explore the benefits of Merchant Fulfilled selling, as it can help you learn the business faster, avoid price wars, and generate revenue more quickly. Q: How important is it to diversify my product offerings when starting an Amazon business? A: The author recommends focusing on your core, high-performing products first before diversifying. By doubling down on your best-sellers, you can build momentum and confidence before naturally expanding your product range. Q: What are the risks of using too much leverage in the early stages of an Amazon business? A: The author cautions against using excessive business credit or other forms of leverage until you have a proven system in place. Leveraging too much too soon can be risky if not managed properly. Resources: https://www.voc.ai/product/ai-chatbot