Beat Amazon’s top sellers with these 3 hacks and become the next bestseller. Develop your business strategy, win the buy box, and boost your sales on Amazon.
As with anything in business, it is guaranteed to have competition for product sales, suppliers, products, and of course, customers. Amazon business and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) businesses are no different. Amazon sellers continuously struggle amongst one another to boost sales, find the best Amazon suppliers, acquire profitable products, and increase daily shoppers. Amazon is a highly competitive space, but with the right hacks and tricks, you can stay ahead of the Amazon seller competition and bring in exceptional profits.
Hack #1: Hit the Books! Conducting Amazon Product Research
The first thing you need to do is to study your desired Amazon products. There are two types of products sold on Amazon that you should be familiar with: products sold by Amazon and private label products. These products are what we call no man’s land territory. These are the products you can’t touch and should actively stay away from.
These restrictions are based on various issues ranging from the brand registry, pricing issues, competitiveness, etc. When you’re scouting for products, you’ll first need to identify who is selling the product.
How to Find Products Sold By Amazon
Products sold by Amazon are described in the name. These products are products sold and shipped by Amazon and can range from ordinary retail goods to Amazon business services. It is essential for new and experienced sellers to know how to filter products sold and shipped by Amazon. Products sold by Amazon can easily be identified and should be labeled on the product page under Seller Information.” Some products will have specific sellers while other products will be marked with,” Ships from and sold by Amazon.com”
Why are these products considered off-limits to Amazon FBA Sellers? That answer is simple: Amazon is impossible to complete with. It is almost like trying to sell an iPhone against Apple. Not only will it be difficult to sell, but it is nearly impossible to gain marketing, price, or buy box advantage over Amazon. Instead, sellers should find the products that are not sold by Amazon and use those products to sell.
What is a Private Label Product?
Private label products are when the company buys non-branded products from the manufacturer and slaps their own brand on it to sell on Amazon. Like products sold by Amazon, private label products can range drastically from small, inexpensive goods to large, premium goods. Some of the most popular private label product examples are natural hair products and cosmetics to pet products and goods. Products sold under a private label are a little trickier to identify. The best indicator for private label products is how many sellers are currently selling that product. Ideally, if there are two or fewer sellers for the product, it is most likely a private label product.
The most obvious reason that sellers should beware of this product category is that private label products aren’t kind to resellers. Companies that use non-branded products and slap on their private label do not want more competitors in their space. Private sellers also face a multitude of challenges such as marketing their “new” products, finding a solid customer base, and competition amongst other private label sellers who sell the same products from the same manufacturer. For new and inexperienced sellers, private label selling and products should remain in the untouchable category.
If you have more questions regarding private label selling and the other categories of sellers on Amazon, check out our article on A Beginner’s Guide to Selling Wholesale Products on Amazon!
Optimize with Product Research Tools
The best hack that sellers can use to find products to sell is through using FBA tools and product research tools. Finding profitable products can be extremely challenging, especially if you are a new seller.
Sellgo offers very simple and easy-to-use tools called Product Tracker and Profit Finder. These tools help users track winning products that have good stories and are profitable. Sellers can super track historical data on popular products to sell online and pick which product best fits their catalog and resources. It also helps identify which products Amazon offers and which products are sold by private labels. As a result, sellers filter out poor products and get a profit treadmill of winning products that will give them an advantage over Amazon, private label sellers, and other top sellers.
If you need product ideas to sell, check out our previous blog post on Super Tracking: Find Amazon Top Sellers, Products to Sell, and Wholesale Suppliers.
Hack #2: Using the Amazon Buy Box for An Amazon Competitive Advantage
The first question to answer is: what is buy box? You see this all the time as an online shopper on Amazon. Every time you visit a product page, the buy box is the right box that shows the product price, shipping estimates, add to cart, and buy now. Over 80% of Amazon purchases are made through the buy box. To any Amazon customer, you often overlook this feature, but to Amazon sellers, this is the holy grail. The real magic of Amazon selling comes from the little line that states where the product Ships From and who the product is Sold By.
The buy box is an Amazon sellers playground for the VIPs, the top competitive sellers of any product. The buy box is full of competitive sellers that sell the most products and collect the biggest checks. They get a lot more time in the buy box than non-competitive sellers. But, there are factors that can help you pinpoint and beat competitive sellers.
The first is about the Fulfillment Method, or the way products are processed and sent to the consumer. There are several different fulfillment methods offered by Amazon:
- Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA)
- Fulfilled By Merchant (FBM),
- Merchant-Fulfilled Prime Offer
Remember how Amazon product descriptions will say “Ships from and Sold By Amazon,” well an FBA offer will say “Sold by Company X and fulfilled by Amazon.” Now, a Merchant-Fulfilled Prime Offer would say “Ships from and sold by Company X.”
Why is this important? If you want to be profitable, it is vital to understand the fulfillment methods, develop an Amazon buy box strategy, and start collecting buy box wins.
Hack #3: Amazon Pricing Strategy: How to Price a Product
Your selling price for the products you sell can be extremely helpful in beating Amazon top sellers but needs to be done very carefully and intentionally. Selling your product at the lowest price imaginable will not yield a massive profit and could be potentially harmful to your business. A product price too high may be a deterrent from potential buyers who value lower prices and want the best price. The goal is to find the perfect price that will boost Amazon sales and welcome new customers.
To pick the best price, it’s important to note that the price is based on more than just the cost of the product. You want to familiarize yourself with the total landed price. Rather than just the product price, sellers should account for all additional costs that come with selling a product. This may include fees like shipping prices, seller fees, and additional service fees. We discuss a bit more about fees in our last article on the 7 Steps To Activate Your Amazon Seller Central Account in 2021.
We have learned that to compete against the top FBA sellers, the ones who dominate the buy box, your price needs to be within 2% of the lowest FBA price to be eligible for the buy box. When sellers account for the total landed price (cost of goods plus additional costs), they need to compare that total landed price with the lowest FBA price. If the lowest FBA price is larger than the total landed price, it ensures that the selling price will offset the total landed price so that the sale will be PROFITABLE.
If you’re outside that range, you can kiss the product, buy box, and profit good-bye! If the price is within the 2% of the lowest FBA price and is still profitable, this is a great indicator that you could rank in the buy box and that this could be a winning product.
Building Your Amazon Business Strategy vs. Amazon Seller Competition
Now, you should have a good idea of what to look for. First, research, research, research. Whether you are using tools or performing manual research, product research will always be the first step if you want to build a successful, profitable online business. Next, identify competitive sellers that utilize Amazon FBA and set them as an example to chase. Lastly, check selling prices within 2% of other Prime offers and compare them to the total cost of a potential product.
Tomorrow’s industry leaders started yesterday. If you want to become one of Amazon’s bestsellers, you need to start developing your business strategy NOW! These hacks will help you get there, but it’s up to you to take the next step and start building your business. Check out more of our guides, tips, and tricks at Sellgo.com and make your name known. Let’s get to work!
