Amazon FBA Is anyone else doing it?

[JustinNH]

Sent in my third shipment (2 warehouses, 3 boxes this time) and already working on a 4th to send in after my vacation. Had to put eBay on vaca mode, but it is nice to not worry about anything besides messages when doing FBA. No shipping on my end!

 

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[RW]

Well I am officially a FBA seller. My first test-box of books shipped off this morning. Prices range from $5-$200 but I am the lowest priced seller on all of them. I decided to let Amazon do all of the labeling and whatever else they do. Not sure how long it will take to get into the system, box is going from Texas to Delaware I believe? Seller name is "Blue Rosebuds" so see you guys around!

 

[Eagle101]

Hey I wish you all good luck. I hope the info helped everyone.

 

[RW]

Sold my first book today! Woohoo $7 but got my toe wet. Thanks for the help Eagle101. See ya out there!

 

[Eagle101]

Congrats! I hope it works out well for you. It's been a little slow on Amazon right now but that's always the case after Memorial day.

 

[RW]

Congrats! I hope it works out well for you. It's been a little slow on Amazon right now but that's always the case after Memorial day.

Thanks again Eagle101. Only sold a few books so far but starting to find my niche in other products... Sold 7 items yesterday for $130 that cost me around $30 to buy/ship/fees. I am starting to act like a teenage girl, checking my seller app every 5 seconds to see if anything has sold haha! Starting to find all kinds of possibilities. Don't know if I mentioned earlier but I have booths at an antique mall so I do a lot of product sourcing already. Never really liked doing eBay too much because I don't like going to the post office every day and shipping multiple boxes to multiple addresses. The FBA fees are way worth it to me. I just box stuff up and drop it in the warehouse at work and I am done. My inventory is still pretty low but looking like making my first goal of selling at least one product per day is doable. Next goal $100 per day! Then roadtrip the country metal detecting and sourcing... lol! You never know... Thanks again for making me aware.

 

[DaytonaRacer]

Thanks EagleSPACE101 haha! I finally found you on Amazon, they don't make it easy to locate a seller. As far as the $50 or 1 penny plus shipping goes, I plan to use the FBA prices for the determination of buying anything. Well I am out the door to hit some garage sales before heading in to work at the antique mall today. Plenty of opportunities to keep my eyes peeled today. Thanks again for all of the tips!

How DID you find his account/store? I've been trying but can't figure it out.

 

[RW]

How DID you find his account/store? I've been trying but can't figure it out.

Wasn't easy... see if this works: http://www.amazon.com/s?marketplace...O4WPYV9&merchant=A3SP5MJO4WPYV9&redirect=true

 

[Eagle101]

I started this thread just wondering if anyone else is doing it. I didn't know it was going to help out like it did. I'm not the be all end all to Amazon...trust me! I just think this fits my lifestyle a lot better than Ebay. I work all week and don't have time to list/ship on ebay. So when I found fba wow. It is sooooo much better for me. I still sell on Ebay but just a few items here and there. I used to have 200-300 items at any given time. Now it's like 10-30. Well good luck and hopefully you guys do well!!! And Happy 4th of July!!!

 

[wildman4910]

This looks like it might be just what the wife & I need, thank you for sharing this.

And a Happy 4th to all!

 

[batcap]

Just checking in... Got my DBA, Tax ID, Business Account and waiting on internationally chargeable credit card any day so I can sign up with FBA. Have a little inventory but still not sure how to qualify for categories or how many I can have so holding back...

Wait, you have to do all that to do FBA? Thanks for the warning!

 

[DaytonaRacer]

Wasn't easy... see if this works: Eagle 101 @ Amazon.com:

Yep, that did it. Thanks!

Now for my next question... why are there so many people selling books for 1-cent? Doesn't seem like it's worth the bother.

 

[RW]

Yep, that did it. Thanks!

Now for my next question... why are there so many people selling books for 1-cent? Doesn't seem like it's worth the bother.

No idea I assume they ship themselves and make $1 from S&H, not worth the effort at all. But, as stated earlier in the thread (I think) something like 70% of Amazon buyers only purchase Prime products and that same penny book could go for $10-20 on Prime. I guess it's the free 2 day shipping and the Amazon guarantee that sways buyers to Prime. Yah there are a lot of fees and it's a hassle to get started but I am way too lazy to hit the post office twice a day and do all that shipping. I have 4 boxes ready to ship to Amazon in the morning containing 35 products. They all get picked up from where I work and then I just check the Amazon seller app all day to see how much money I have made.

 

[kermit]

I have been using Ebay for years.....It takes so long to build those adds and it all is powered by Paypal...Thanks for the info...You got me thinking.

 

[DaytonaRacer]

Thanks, RW. If you have 15 different items/skus to send to Prime does each SKU have to be packaged separately?

 

[McClod]

RW,

You mentioned getting an internationally chargeable credit card, among other things like a DBA, Tax ID etc. Are all of those required in order to start up with amazon FBA? Also your comment about categories and how to go about that stuff leaves me curious, since I'm not as far along in the process, I'm starting out at ground zero.

I think I'll go on youtube and search for info there to get a better idea of what's required, but any info I can get from the experienced users here I am totally grateful for!

Since Eagle101 started this thread I've been following it closely, as I mention below and it is great watching others who are just starting out, such as yourself and following progress to see how it works out so I really appreciate everyone's input and experience here! Thanks everyone for sharing your experience!


Eagle101,

I've been following this thread with great interest, Thank you Eagle101 for starting it! I tried looking up your seller name, but as someone has mentioned, they're not easy to locate, and I've not been able to find out how to do that yet, harder as I'm stuck working with my cell phone since my laptop is down.

Having retired from the USPS 2 years ago, some extra money would sure be helpful, and I don't think in my entire life I've ever gotten rid of more than a couple books that I've bought over the years, so I have some inventory to start out with at least, and time to shop for used books. Not to mention the fact that should my boxes of books start dissapearing, my wife will really be happy about that!!! LoL.

It would seem that most people buying a book will want them in perfect or almost "brand new" condition, so 1 question I have is generally what kind of condition are the books in generally? I mean, most used books show some signs of wear, especially if they've been packed away or on shelves for years. Especially paper back books.

Reading them pages get bent or what not, I obviously wouldn't want to send in damaged books, but at what point in a books condition should it be culled and not sent in for sale?

Just checking in... Got my DBA, Tax ID, Business Account and waiting on internationally chargeable credit card any day so I can sign up with FBA. Have a little inventory but still not sure how to qualify for categories or how many I can have so holding back...

 

[McClod]

I started this thread just wondering if anyone else is doing it. I didn't know it was going to help out like it did. I'm not the be all end all to Amazon...trust me! I just think this fits my lifestyle a lot better than Ebay. I work all week and don't have time to list/ship on ebay. So when I found fba wow. It is sooooo much better for me. I still sell on Ebay but just a few items here and there. I used to have 200-300 items at any given time. Now it's like 10-30. Well good luck and hopefully you guys do well!!! And Happy 4th of July!!!

I'm sure glad you did start this thread Eagle101! Its been a real eye opener for me and now im trying to learn all i can so i can get started! So Thanks for starting it, it's got me excited thinking of the possibilities, I sure hope I can get going on it and that it will work out as nicely for my wife and I as it has for yourself and others!

 

[Eagle101]

I'm sure glad you did start this thread Eagle101! Its been a real eye opener for me and now im trying to learn all i can so i can get started! So Thanks for starting it, it's got me excited thinking of the possibilities, I sure hope I can get going on it and that it will work out as nicely for my wife and I as it has for yourself and others!

Thanks for the kind words. Let's see if I can help you out a little.

On YouTube the most helpful videos I found were from Pickingprofits. He's the one that deserves the credit. He helped me open my eyes.

Also you will need a laser printer. I bought mine new at Walmart for $90. This is to print out the bar codes for your items. Boxes and labels you can get at Walmart also. I use the 14×14×14 (14 cube)boxes. The labels I use are Avery 5560.

Don't worry about international credit cards and everything else. You just need your social security # to get started. This way they will 1099 you.

As far as what I sell. You will find your niche. I'm constantly looking for the next best thing. I've been doing good with books, puzzles, toys and games. The books I don't worry too much on condition. As long as they in decent condition. No rips stains tears etc. But the puzzles, toys and games I make sure they are sealed and mint. You will be surprised how many I find every week.

As far as permission to sell items. You can start out with books, toys and games no restrictions. But in your selling something like cologne or signed sports memorabilia you need to get approved. Which isn't that big of a deal.

Oh if your going to do books. I'm learning as I go also. I'm getting pretty good at spotting the $10+ profit books. Look for obscure weird books. Example this past Sunday I went to the flea market and bought 6 different books on how to build canoes and sailboats. You can't be rude and scan them in front of the seller but I knew they were good books. I spent $5 and they are all $10-$50.

Also download the Amazon flow app. It's free. Get to know how to use it. It's a life saver.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Good luck!!!

 

[Eagle101]

Thanks again Eagle101. Only sold a few books so far but starting to find my niche in other products... Sold 7 items yesterday for $130 that cost me around $30 to buy/ship/fees. I am starting to act like a teenage girl, checking my seller app every 5 seconds to see if anything has sold haha! Starting to find all kinds of possibilities. Don't know if I mentioned earlier but I have booths at an antique mall so I do a lot of product sourcing already. Never really liked doing eBay too much because I don't like going to the post office every day and shipping multiple boxes to multiple addresses. The FBA fees are way worth it to me. I just box stuff up and drop it in the warehouse at work and I am done. My inventory is still pretty low but looking like making my first goal of selling at least one product per day is doable. Next goal $100 per day! Then roadtrip the country metal detecting and sourcing... lol! You never know... Thanks again for making me aware.

If you are on your cross country metal detecting trip and are in New England your more than welcome to come to Rhode Island and hit some of my colonial/Rev war sites. My buddies and i do very well up here detecting.

 

[McClod]

Thanks for the kind words. Let's see if I can help you out a little.

On YouTube the most helpful videos I found were from Pickingprofits. He's the one that deserves the credit. He helped me open my eyes.

Also you will need a laser printer. I bought mine new at Walmart for $90. This is to print out the bar codes for your items. Boxes and labels you can get at Walmart also. I use the 14×14×14 (14 cube)boxes. The labels I use are Avery 5560.

Don't worry about international credit cards and everything else. You just need your social security # to get started. This way they will 1099 you.

As far as what I sell. You will find your niche. I'm constantly looking for the next best thing. I've been doing good with books, puzzles, toys and games. The books I don't worry too much on condition. As long as they in decent condition. No rips stains tears etc. But the puzzles, toys and games I make sure they are sealed and mint. You will be surprised how many I find every week.

As far as permission to sell items. You can start out with books, toys and games no restrictions. But in your selling something like cologne or signed sports memorabilia you need to get approved. Which isn't that big of a deal.

Oh if your going to do books. I'm learning as I go also. I'm getting pretty good at spotting the $10+ profit books. Look for obscure weird books. Example this past Sunday I went to the flea market and bought 6 different books on how to build canoes and sailboats. You can't be rude and scan them in front of the seller but I knew they were good books. I spent $5 and they are all $10-$50.

Also download the Amazon flow app. It's free. Get to know how to use it. It's a life saver.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Good luck!!!

Thank you very much Eagle101!!! I sure appreciate your being so willing to help out a fellow tnet'r by going out of your way to write such a long and helpful post for me!! It is really a treat finding folks that are so willing to help others by sharing your know ledge and that's one of the reasons I love Tnet!

I can tell you sir are one of the guys people are referring to when others are saying "he'd give you the shirt off their back to help someone"! I've been putting the Info you gave me to good use, watching some videos by Picking profits. I have a nice "ink jet" printer, but from you post I gather that amazon requires a laser printer, for Barcode so I'll be checking into that as well.

I read some of the rules amazon has that were talked about on another website that turned up in my search, but I'll have to get them from amazon itself to make sure I'm getting them from "the horses mouth" since I would sure hate to be shut down by them for violating their rules. Sometime back I ran across a video by a man that was saying how great amazon FBA can be, but the point he was making that when you're doing business thru amazon, or any other similar venue, then we are "playing in someone else's play ground" and can be shut down (locked out) at a moments notice for violating rules etc. His video drove that point home to me so I'll be sure to do my home work.

Thank you sir! I truly appreciate your willingness to be helpful to others, and the same applies to the others here that have been kind enough to share their experience as they start into this process! HH & GL!

PS: while I don't have experience to contribute to this topic yet, I do have a 37 year history with the USPS so I thought I would share this link, it's very useful for mailing info, rate calculators, finding out what qualifies to ship at media mail rates and how to do it. It has many links, one of the most important ones is to the DMM (Domestic Mail Manual). It's been several years since I retired from a mailing requirements job there and it's amazing how fast knowledge is slipping away, but it can all be found right here at the link below. For those shipping books, search the DMM for Media Mail to find out the requirements.

The USPS can and DOES randomly open media mail to verify that the contents actually DO meet the requirements and you would be amazed at how many people try to ship things other than qualifying books and media. If they find out the contents do not qualify they will take additional steps to collect payment.

http://pe.usps.com/