When you decide to sell private label on Amazon instead of a manufacturer’s items, a lot of the selling rules still apply. However, there are a few things you need to do differently if you want to succeed, and eDesk has the guide for you. It’s time for you to shine under your own spotlight, young grasshopper, and make your profits and business grow bigger and better each day.
Step 1: Find the Best Private Label Items to Sell
There are two types of private label products you can sell on Amazon: the ones you like, and the ones that make you money. If you’re lucky, you’ll get the best of both worlds. But for now, it’s important to focus on the latter.
Researching hot products is where you’ll want to first start out, and you can search this on either Amazon or with extensions/add-ons like Keepa or camelcamelcamel. Look at the product’s selling history and decide if it’s a good option for you.
Head to Amazon’s Best Sellers pages so you can see who the cream-of-the-crop competitors are that you’ll be facing in any given category. Study their pages and look for commonalities that you can apply to yourself.
Next, scope out what keywords are best for each product on Google Ads. The metrics you’ll want to pay attention to are Searches (2000+ a month) and Competition (Medium or Low are your best bets). Also make a note of which keywords are used on which devices, as you’ll need this information later on.
Step 2: Hook Up With Suppliers
Now that you’ve found the items you want to sell, the next step is finding a supplier to supply you with them. Alibaba is one of the top names to go with, as it contains millions of products in just about every category. IndiaMart and Global Sources are also good places to look, as you never want to put all your eggs in one basket.
A tip: if you come across a supplier you really like but they don’t specifically say that they offer private label products, ask anyway! Sometimes suppliers forget to include this, or sometimes it’s an extra little thing they don’t like to advertise. The worst that can happen is you’ll hear ‘no’ and you’ll move onto the next name on your list.
As well, Google can be a great resource for finding private label suppliers, especially if they’re not listing themselves on the big online sites.
Step 3: Get Quotes and Sample Products From the Suppliers on Your Short List
Now that you’ve narrowed down suppliers to the names you really like, it’s time to ask them for quotes and product samples so you can choose the suppliers you want to work with.
To get the best idea of what you’ll have to pay on your end, make sure the quote includes:
- How much you’ll have to pay per unit and what the total overall cost will be, including taxes or import requirements.
- If there are any private label or packaging fees you’ll have to pay them for selling the product.
- What the shipping fees are to have the items sent to the fulfillment center you choose.
Be aware that you may have to pay for product samples, especially if you’re not an established or well-known seller. This is standard practice and suppliers are not being shady with you. Once you get to know suppliers better and/or establish your reputation, you may be able to get product samples for free.
Step 4: Figure Out What Your Look Will Be
When we talk about ‘your look’, we mean your design brand, your logo, and your packaging. Are you going to be associated with a dominant colour and use that in your packaging supplies? Will your logo be simple yet instantly recognisable? What is your brand all about and how does it relate to the products you’ll be selling?
Take McDonald’s as an example. They’re synonymous with the colours red and yellow, and their signature golden arches. You know whenever you see these that it’s McDonald’s and not, say, Apple or Walmart. They include red and yellow on almost all of their packaging to keep things consistent, and you’ll want to do the same.
Step 5: How Will Your Buyers Receive Their Products?
When you’re first starting out, it’s tempting to save on costs by fulfilling the items yourself. But if you’re thinking of the long game, this can get quite tedious and time-consuming, and it’s almost always a far better option to use a fulfillment service to do the work for you.
When selling your private label products on Amazon, using FBA is your best bet. While they’ll charge you a portion of your profits, it’s an incredibly easy and hassle-free way of shipping items out. And if you choose FBA, then your products become Prime-eligible, which opens you up to a ton more potential buyers.
Step 6: Write Listings for Your Products
Once you’ve ordered your products, while you’re waiting, start writing descriptions for your items. Amazon makes it really easy to do this because you just have to put the information in the right boxes, but it can be tricky to know exactly what to write.
Remember in the first step when we said to make a note of keywords? And which ones are used for different devices? This is when you put it into practice. It’s also a time to go back and look at your competitors’ sites and see how they’ve set things up.
Don’t forget about the seeming details, like high-quality photos, the order of descriptors in the title, and what to put in the bullet points (3-5 is usually best, descending in order of most to least important). If this step takes you a bit more time than you originally thought, that’s okay! It’s better to have awesome descriptions out of the gate than discovering later on — and the hard way — that your listings just aren’t up to snuff.
Final Thoughts
One of the most important things when it comes to selling private label items on Amazon is having favourable reviews to back up your claims. Buyers need to know and trust that you’re selling quality products, and the reviews of others are one of the top and most important ways of achieving this. To maximise your chances of getting great feedback, eDesk Feedback will help you with a consistent and professional approach every single time.
