This article intends to give Amazon sellers an overview of what Alibaba is and how to navigate the seemingly complex Alibaba to Amazon FBA method to avoid scams when buying Alibaba products and mitigate the risks involved in such a business transaction. 

What is Alibaba?: Alibaba vs Amazon Comparison

Alibaba is a leading global eCommerce platform that predominantly operates on a business-to-business (B2B) model. It has been considered a trendsetter in the eCommerce landscape because instead of following the existing trend of connecting consumers to retailers, Alibaba connects manufacturers and suppliers with sellers, including those individuals selling on Amazon.  

Unlike Amazon, where consumers purchase products on a retail basis, Alibaba facilitates bulk purchases for businesses to resell either in an online store or in physical stores. By linking resellers with suppliers, Alibaba allows for purchasing quality products at very low prices on the Alibaba website.

Alibaba paved the way for a much easier and quicker turnaround time for buying and selling bulk products. As a testament to Alibaba’s dominance, it ranks as the largest eCommerce platform as of 2022. Alibaba has an estimated $780 billion in annual online sales compared to Amazon’s $691 billion in sales as of last year. 

Top Reasons Why Alibaba to Amazon FBA is Popular Among Online Sellers

Both traditional retailers and online resellers turn to Alibaba for their product-sourcing needs. In particular, the vast majority of Amazon sellers turn to Alibaba.com for their inventory items. And here are some of the reasons why sellers prefer Alibaba to Amazon FBA setup for their eCommerce business. 

Lower Price: Unlike other wholesalers or distributors, Alibaba offers lower prices to business owners. The company offers the advantage of connecting resellers directly to Chinese manufacturers, in a way cutting the middleman in the process. 

Comprehensive Product Option: Business owners choose to buy from Alibaba due to  the product variety it offers. Alibaba can offer sellers a massive selection of inventory items that may not even be available through traditional and local suppliers, which sellers can purchase at a competitive price. 

Customization: In relation to product options, Amazon sellers prefer Alibaba for product sourcing because of the availability of item customization. Alibaba allows resellers to customize their orders according to specific requirements, such as adding a custom logo or packaging improvements. 

Minimum Order Quantity: Typically, dealing with suppliers means committing to a strict order quantity. However, an Alibaba to Amazon FBA transaction allows resellers to try out new products without committing to large orders with its Minimum Order Quantities (MOQ) feature.  

Versatile Marketplace: Amazon sellers buy from Alibaba because of its flexibility. Alibaba offers flexible payment and shipping methods and other customization possibilities beneficial to the seller’s branding. 

Payment Methods Available When Buying from Alibaba

As mentioned above, Amazon sellers buying their inventory can pay Alibaba suppliers through multiple payment methods available on Alibaba, including the ones listed down below:

• Bank Transfer (T/T) 
• Credit Card
• Online Bank Payment Western Union 
• Online Transfer
• Paypal, Apple Pay
• Letter of Credit (L/C)
• Documents Against Payment (D/P)

Since you will be dealing with suppliers abroad, it is best always to use secure payment methods. To avoid any delays or being victimized by bogus suppliers, it is best to avoid paying outside the platform. 

In dealing with suppliers who require upfront payments, it is highly suggested to pay only 30% of the cost. The remaining 70% should be paid when your order is completed via a third-party holding account like Alibaba Secure Payment service. 

Keeping Your Alibaba to Amazon FBA Transaction Secure

Aside from answering the common question concerning how to buy from Alibaba, you must first take into consideration the things you need to secure your Alibaba to Amazon FBA transaction. Here are some of the things you should remember when buying from Alibaba for your Amazon inventory. 

Checking Supplier’s Profile

When buying from Alibaba for your Amazon inventory, it is a must that you should scrutinize the profile of the supplier. When checking the supplier’s profile, you should take note of how long they have been in business and the number of completed transactions they have made throughout such years of business. 

Go for Alibaba Trade Assurance 

Although not mandatory, it is still more secure to go for reputable suppliers who are offering Trade Assurance. Trade Assurance is Alibaba’s free transactional protection service. 

The Trade Assurance protection benefits Amazon resellers when the inventory items or ordered products are not shipped on time or when the products shipped do not meet the quality standards as per the contract agreement. 

If there is an issue concerning your Alibaba purchases, you can be assured of favorable action, including potential reimbursement or reaching another agreement with a supplier. 

Look for the Verified Supplier Tag

Similarly, you should also look for suppliers with a Verified Supplier badge or tag. When an Alibaba supplier has this tag, third-party institutions have already inspected the supplier’s company profile and production capabilities and processes. 

According to Alibaba, they partnered with leading inspection companies such as SGS and TÜV Rheinland to perform the verification and quality control services. 

Avoid Brand Name Product

When dealing with suppliers, as much as possible, avoid suppliers that offer branded products. It is best to avoid such a supplier, for there is a great chance that such branded products are fake or imitated. Buying counterfeit items will not only merit a penalty that can adversely affect your Amazon seller Account, but may also lead to a lawsuit if you sell counterfeit items online.

Ask Questions and Additional Proof

In order to further appraise your potential supplier, you can ask them additional questions. Do not simply limit your knowledge about a supplier to what they present on their company profile. 

Once you have narrowed down your supplier list, try calling them or setting up a virtual conference with them. Ask about their business and also ask for a copy of their license, factory, and sample products. 

Since you will be doing business abroad, asking for everything that will make you feel comfortable conducting business with suppliers is better. Some ideal questions to ask suppliers are about the refund policy, payment details, actions in case of disputes, and seller guarantees. 

Walk Away If Needed 

In general, if something appears too good to be true, it is likely not genuine. It is important to be cautious of pricing and promises that seem unusual or significantly different from what other suppliers offer for their Alibaba products. Be prepared to walk away from a deal if you have any doubts about it.

Alibaba To Amazon FBA: Additional Buying Tips 

Since you are dealing with a foreign supplier, buying from Alibaba comes with risk. To help you mitigate the risk of dealing with product sourcing issues, here are some additional buying tips you should note if you wish to sell Alibaba products. 

Product Inquiry

You should thoroughly inquire about the product you plan to sell on Amazon before placing an order. If you have already found a potential Alibaba supplier for your Amazon inventory, be sure to ask for more details about the product apart from what you see in the product description.

Send the supplier questions about the product, including its quotation, variations, and options for customization. However, leave the supplier with a manageable number of questions upon first contact. 

Remember that you are building a business, and as part of any business transaction, you must establish a rapport with your suppliers whom you could be dealing with for a long time. 

Additionally, ask for product samples to help you check product quality. Suppliers usually charge you for a product sample, especially if it is a customized item. A pro tip would be to stick to a reasonable price and not to bargain too much to not appear like a newbie. 

Apart from helping you check the product quality, having product samples can help you determine whether or not you are on the same page with your supplier. It can help you ensure that the one you see on the product detail page is the actual product. It can also be helpful if you intend to buy custom products.

Confirm Price and Shipping Costs

Once you have received a quotation from the supplier, be sure to ask for any potential additional expenses you may incur. When it comes to shipping, ask for multiple options available. 

As much as possible, shipping costs must be reasonable, depending on your target date. However, evaluate your options regarding shipping, and do not simply stick to the cheapest option, for it can sometimes sacrifice handling quality.  

Hire a Translator

If you are dealing with large orders, it is best to hire a translator to assist you in communicating with your suppliers. Having a translator can help avoid miscommunication that drastically affects the product-sourcing process. Try to break the language barrier with the help of a translator with knowledge about the industry. 

Check Details

Since your communication with Alibaba suppliers is primarily via email or chat, it is best always to review the details you will send to them. Crucial information such as warehouse addresses, names, and phone numbers should be double-checked to avoid costly errors. 

How to Buy From Alibaba for Amazon FBA | Essential Steps To Familiarize

As you will be searching how to buy from Alibaba online, it is safe to assume that you have already done your research about your niche and potential products to sell on Amazon. With that in mind, learning some essential steps when buying from Alibaba.com is crucial.

STEP 1: Like Amazon.com, you should create an account on Alibaba.com to proceed with your Alibaba Amazon FBA transaction. As requested, provide the necessary details, like your personal and business details.

STEP 2: After creating an account, you can now start searching for the products you have narrowed down on through your Amazon product research. Similar to Amazon, simply search for the product you want to buy by using the search bar or browsing through product categories.

STEP 3: As mentioned earlier, examining your product and supplier is best before proceeding with an order. Check first the product details and supplier information, including product specifications. Also, verify the minimum order quantity (MOQ), unit price, and delivery time of the exact product you have in mind. 

STEP 4: You can contact the supplier for more information and clarification, especially with the MOQ, price, and shipping time. Use the “Request a Quote” feature to contact the supplier and request a quotation for the product. 

STEP 5: Once you have reached an agreement with your chosen supplier, you can now place your order by using the “Place Order” button on the product detail page of Alibaba.

STEP 6: Subsequently, you must choose your payment method. As mentioned above, Alibaba offers various payment options, including credit cards, PayPal, and bank transfers. Choose the best payment method that fits your online business. 

STEP 7: Use Alibaba’s protection service to protect your payment. The service holds your payment until you receive your goods and confirm that they are satisfactory.

STEP 8: After payment has been made, you can track your order using the “My Orders” section on Alibaba.com. Additionally, for updates, you can also contact the supplier.

When you receive your order, inspect the goods to ensure they meet your specifications. If you find any issues, contact the supplier immediately.

New Product Launch Advertising Tips After Alibaba Amazon FBA Deal

Strategically launching your new product on Amazon is crucial for the overall success of the Amazon business. One of the keys to a successful product launch is to have a solid advertising campaign. To help you navigate the Amazon advertising landscape, here are some tips you should know. 

Aim for Product Discoverability

Improving the visibility of your recently purchased products is a fundamental goal for launching a new product. With the help of Amazon advertising solutions, your products can be strategically placed in relevant shopping results for better discoverability. 

Increase Product Awareness

Educating customers about your new product and its unique qualities is crucial to any new product launch. It is vital to select the advertising strategy or strategies that are most effective in conveying this information. Some options to choose from include Amazon Sponsored Ads and Sponsored Brands.

Enforce Remarketing Methods

Remarketing refers to targeting individuals who have shown interest in your product but have yet to purchase. By combining different advertising solutions, such as Amazon display advertising, you can increase your chances of converting these potential customers into actual sales and expand your customer base.

Creative Optimization Is a Must

When launching a new product, incorporating lifestyle images and video content can effectively convey your product messaging and give potential customers a more comprehensive understanding of your new product beyond what can be communicated through the text in the ad copy.

Final Thoughts

To succeed in your Amazon FBA business, conducting thorough product research and effectively managing your inventory is essential. By following the advice and recommendations provided earlier, you can make the most of Alibaba.com to enhance your Amazon business.

Moreover, apart from offering high-quality products, setting a reasonable retail price for your products is crucial for succeeding on Amazon. Using an Amazon repricer can help you provide competitive prices to attract more shoppers and improve your sales performance.

For Amazon sellers, Amazon Black Friday and Cyber Monday are important events as it presents sellers with an opportunity to increase sales and move overstocked or seasonal items. 

Amazon sellers spend sufficient time planning their Amazon Cyber Monday and Black Friday sales, including inventory submissions to Amazon FBA warehouses. 

Amazon Black Friday vs Amazon Cyber Monday Sale

If you are new to Amazon, you might become confused with all the Amazon sale events happening throughout the year. Besides the Amazon Prime Day event, sellers also prepare for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. 

Both Amazon Black Friday and Cyber Monday offer deals and discounts to shoppers. The main difference between the two Amazon sale events are the categories highlighted and the bargains offered. 

Whether on Amazon or other platforms, the Black Friday sale is more focused on offering discounts and deals on top-selling brands of TVs, smart devices, and other electronics. On the other hand, Cyber Monday deals are more focused on home appliances and apparel.  

Regardless of the different offers presented to consumers during Amazon Black Friday and Cyber Monday, both shopping sale events allow online sellers to sell more products and move inventory items. 

FBA Inventory Submission for Amazon Black Friday and Cyber Monday Events

To maximize profitability and ensure that enough products are included in your inventory, Amazon encourages sellers to submit their inventory items before the aforementioned Amazon sale events. 

According to Amazon, the cut-off inventory date for FBA sellers is November 2, 2022. The cut-off date is a must-follow date for FBA sellers to avoid delays in order fulfillment. It is best to send your inventory items before the cut-off date so that you will not get caught up with logistics and warehousing problems. 

When an Amazon warehouse is overwhelmed with incoming deliveries, late shipments might be diverted to other warehouses, leading to sellers’ later delivery appointments.

Tips for Preparing Your Shipments to Amazon Warehouses

Apart from following the scheduled FBA inventory cut-off dates for the upcoming Amazon Black Friday and Amazon Cyber Monday, you should also follow these tips to mitigate or avoid Amazon inventory management-related issues. 

Plan Your Shipment Ahead of Time

When shipping items to an Amazon warehouse, you should not only consider the schedule for sending your items from your location to the Amazon warehouse. You should also include in your planning the supplier’s lead time and carrier lead time. 

Remember that it is not only the eCommerce industry that will be busy during the holiday season. The manufacturing, logistics, and shipping industries are likewise busy during this time. 

Check Recommended Replenishment Quantity

Amazon suggests checking your recommended replenishment quantity, especially during this holiday season. You might still have capacity available in different storage types even if restock limits are applied. 

Follow Amazon Prep Guides

In order to avoid delay or incur additional expenses, it is best to prepare your product appropriately. It means that apart from physically checking product quality, you should also check whether its packaging meets the Amazon standard. 

Amazon has set guides for sellers to follow when packaging and preparing the products they will send to Amazon warehouses. Here are the FBA inventory prep specifications you should follow.

Table Source: Amazon Seller Central

FBA sellers must follow the prep and packaging guidelines Amazon sets. Amazon has the right to “refuse, return, or repackage any product delivered to a fulfillment center with inadequate or non-compliant packaging at your expense.”

Double-Check Your Shipment

To avoid wasting your time and resources, ensure that nothing goes amiss when sending your inventory items to Amazon fulfillment centers. Always double-check your shipments before sending them over. 

Recheck your packaging, labels, fulfillment codes, and addresses. Ensure that the product quality and quantity are correct to avoid or decrease Amazon returns. 

Select the best freight forwarder to manage all your shipping needs, especially if you will be sending multiple items in various dimensions or sizes. 

Don’t Miss the Deadline, Ship Your Inventory Today

Do not miss the cut-off date set by Amazon for shipping inventory items. With Amazon Black Friday and Amazon Cyber Monday drawing near, you should have already started preparing your inventory products and overall business operations. 

Apart from optimizing your inventory management, you can also improve other aspects of your business, including your pricing strategy. To win more Amazon Buy Box and entice more Amazon shoppers with competitive pricing, you can use an Amazon repricer along with other Amazon seller tools. 

Unfortunately, there are consequences. For instance, Amazon Algorithm punishes those who run out of stock frequently or even once and decreases their ranking because it is recognized as customers having low interest in the product. So what could you do when your product gets back in stock, and what actions could you take to return the deserved placements?

Getting Close to Running Out of Stock

If you aren’t out of stock yet, but very close, try to increase the product price slowly and look what happens. The idea behind this action is to minimize the time you’ll be out of stock and not decrease sales velocity enormously. With a higher price, you’ll get fewer sales and save some time until the stock is back. 

Strategy 1: Listing and Product Detail Page Optimization

The goal after being out of stock is to rank higher for relevant keywords as soon as possible. It is likely, that profitability won’t be your priority until ranking higher again. Moreover, returning to a “big game” requires investments. 

When the product is out of stock for any period, you are not getting traffic, clicks, adds to card, conversions, etc. Because Amazon Algorithm builds the ranking based on the relevancy, activity on the product detail page, customers satisfaction, and conversion rate, it takes some work and time to start ranking back up. 

In order to improve all mentioned criteria that influence Amazon Algorithm, you need to optimize your listing and product detail page. Primarily, it’s essential for relevancy and attracting more traffic.

Listing and product detail page optimization includes the following points: 

• Keyword Optimization

Keyword harvesting is a repetitive process for all Amazon sellers because keyword trends are changing very fast. Even if you have no problems with stock, monitor keywords’ modifications constantly to display your product listing to the most trending search terms and drive only relevant traffic. 

When your product gets back in stock, the result you will get after this optimization is that Algorithm will recognize the activity on the listing and improve the ranking. After more traffic is driven to the product, the ranking increase will continue. 

The easiest way to find trending keywords is to experiment with the product name in the Amazon search bar and Google Trends to find out which keywords target the most in search results. 

• High-Quality Images and Video

As you’re interested in all sorts of activities on the product detail page to turn Amazon’s attention to the product and prove that the product will be successful, don’t be afraid to invest in impressive pictures and video. 

Centralize products in the pictures and video, include relevant information, and create only high-quality content. Pay attention to A+ content as well. It refers to real-life situations where your product can be used. Such content encourages customers to purchase products. 

• Bullet Points, Descriptions, Customer Reviews 

First of all, written content must be helpful for customers who want to understand whether the item they’re planning to buy fits their expectations or any other requirements. Irrelevant information raises doubts about the product and brand image. Add product all measures, color, functions, etc. 

Secondly, don’t forget to include best-performing keywords in the title, bullet points, and description so that the product will be more relevant to these keywords. 

Finally, when sales start to pick up again, track the number of reviews you receive, and eliminate problems described in negative reviews. Amazon promotes thriving businesses that satisfy customer needs.  

Strategy 2: Amazon PPC Advertising

As we already know, ranking improves along with high activity on the product detail page and more driven traffic. The last one gets fulfilled with PPC advertising on Amazon. PPC advertising increases brand and product visibility, attracts customers’ attention to the products and secures business owners from irrelevant visitors. 

PPC ads with the proper campaign structure also boost brand profitability, but profit isn’t the priority after being out of stock. 

• Optimize PPC advertising after getting your items back in stock, but turn it off when you’re out of stock. At this time, ads are unnecessary.
• Make sure you target proper keywords for the ads. Irrelevant traffic is a waste of budget.
• Don’t be scared to increase bids when your product ranks not as high as you want, but not extremely. 
• Launch all types of PPC advertising to develop a brand and product awareness, “steal” buyers’ attention from competitors, and maximize products’ presence on the search result page.

Strategy 3: External Advertising

External advertising is the best tool to promote products and maximize the amount of driven traffic. Big plus: Amazon sees external traffic as organic traffic, unlike internal ads. That’s why external traffic is directly influencing organic ranking. 

The rule is simple:

• Analyze popular third-party platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
• Launch relevant ads.
• Monitor the results.

Amazon encourages sellers’ wish to lead customers from different websites. That’s why Amazon recently introduced to users Amazon Attribution. This tool allows sellers to track customers’ activity that came from external platforms. Amazon Attribution is available only for registered Amazon brands.

Case Study

Let’s look at the Profit Whales case conducted with the Amazon brand that was out of stock since the beginning of November. The graph below illustrates the change in Best Seller Rank positioning over the year.

It took time until February to solve the problem with stock, and until April, return the leading positions with the help of combining the strategies described above.

Conclusion 

Either you have too much inventory and pay an additional fee for it, or at some point, you run out of stock. Because every Amazon seller runs out of stock eventually, it’s just a part of the business. Especially during the pandemic, when customers switch to online shopping and sales data from previous years isn’t helpful anymore, planning stock is complicated. 

The most effective way to high positions in the Amazon ranking is to combine all the aforementioned strategies. Nevertheless, analyze your budget to understand what strategy fits you the most and apply it to succeed. 

——

About The Author:

Vitalii Khyzniak is an Amazon advertising expert, CEO at Profit Whales, a full-service marketing agency for Amazon brands that accelerates sales growth using ON & OFF Amazon traffic. Trusted Amazon Advertising partner.

Obsolete Inventory Explained

An obsolete inventory, or sometimes referred to as excess inventory, is an inventory that has not been sold for an extended period of time. In addition, this type of inventory is nearing the end of its product cycle. 

Some of the reasons for excess inventory include mainly poor forecasting, issues with the product itself, and other inventory management failures. 

In the context of Amazon business, excess items or customer-returned inventory items can hurt the business if not managed properly. Thus, requiring Amazon sellers to learn proper inventory management to mitigate the impact of obsolete inventory on their business. 

Amazon FBA Liquidations Explained

It is essential for sellers to know market trends and to closely monitor their inventory levels to maximize profitability. However, in the case of unavoidable excess inventory items, sellers should likewise know how to recoup for profit. There are many ways for sellers to recover profit from excess or customer-returned Amazon products, one of which is via the Amazon FBA Liquidations program.

What is FBA Liquidations?

FBA Liquidations is a program designed by Amazon to assist FBA sellers in recovering value from customer-returned items and excess inventory. This also helps sellers avoid paying storage fees for obsolete inventory items stored in the Amazon warehouse. 

In a sense, the FBA Liquidations program is a profitable way of disposing of unsold items from your Amazon inventory. 

How Does FBA Liquidations Work? 

When sellers participate in the Amazon FBA Liquidations program, sellers can choose to have their obsolete or excess inventory liquidated through a wholesale liquidation company. This means that Amazon will arrange a buyer for the items that sellers have deemed excess and subject to liquidation. 

For sellers participating in this program, the excess or returned inventory items will be liquidated, allowing them to recover a portion of their inventory cost. The net recovery value will appear on the seller’s account within 60 days and no later than 90 days following the submission of the liquidation order. 

In order to identify the net recovery value of the items to be liquidated, Amazon will determine the average selling price through a multiple factor evaluation. Some of the factors to be evaluated include:

• Your Sales History 
• The Sales History of the Specific Asin
• The Average FBA Selling Price on Amazon

For about 5% to 10% average selling price (ASP), the wholesale liquidators will purchase this inventory for a gross recovery value based on the contracted rates. Afterward, Amazon will then deduct fees before paying the seller the net recovery value of the liquidated items. 

What Fees Are Involved in FBA Liquidation?

Beginning June 1, 2021, Amazon started charging FBA Liquidation fees. The seller will incur these fees once the inventory item leaves the fulfillment center. Sellers will still incur fees for those liquidation orders submitted before June 1 if they have been shipped on or after the aforementioned date. 

Amazon charges a PROCESSING FEE per item and REFERRAL FEE based on the item category. For guidance, the processing fee and corresponding referral fee are shown below:/

PROCESSING FEES

Seller Central: A screenshot (cropped) of FBA Liquidations page, Date Retrieved: June 3, 2021; Retrieved From:  https://amzn.to/3cfMtjL

REFERRAL FEES

Seller Central: A screenshot (cropped) of FBA Liquidations referral fee page, Date Retrieved: June 3, 2021; Retrieved From: https://amzn.to/3vSX1NO

Seller Central: A screenshot (cropped) of FBA Liquidations referral fee page, Date Retrieved: June 3, 2021; Retrieved From: https://amzn.to/3vSX1NO

Seller Central: A screenshot (cropped) of FBA Liquidations referral fee page, Date Retrieved: June 3, 2021; Retrieved From: https://amzn.to/3vSX1NO

Seller Central: A screenshot (cropped) of FBA Liquidations referral fee page, Date Retrieved: June 3, 2021; Retrieved From: https://amzn.to/3vSX1NO

Amazon FBA Liquidations | Frequently Asked Questions 

• Is FBA Liquidations Open for Non-US Sellers?

The good thing about the FBA Liquidations program is that it is open for all sellers selling in the US marketplace, regardless of whether they reside in the United States or not. 

• Who are These FBA Liquidators?

The liquidators involved in the program are reputable wholesale liquidators who sell Amazon-owned and FBA inventory to downstream consumers. Since Amazon contracts them, these liquidators cannot resell the FBA liquidated products on Amazon. 

• Can my Liquidation be Canceled? 

Yes, a seller’s liquidation order may be canceled by Amazon if the inventory is not ready for removal. These include instances when an item is still part of a pending customer order. If canceled, sellers will see in the Removal Order Detail report page that the item is marked as “Canceled.” Canceled liquidation items will be returned to the seller’s inventory. 

• What are Some Other Ways to Earn From Excess Inventory? 

Apart from the FBA Liquidations program, sellers may also opt for Amazon Outlet to recover value from the excess inventory. 

A Profitable Solution

If you are having trouble with your Amazon inventory, address the issue’s root before deciding to liquidate Amazon products via the FBA Liquidations program. 

Carry out effective product research to identify popular and fast-moving items. Additionally, the use of Amazon repricers will also aid in developing a competitive pricing strategy for better product movement. 

However, if all else fails and inventory is not moving, consider the Amazon FBA Liquidations program to recover some value from excess inventory or returned customer items. 

Last July 2020, Amazon announced that they would limit the quantity of FBA products to be accepted in the fulfillment centers. Amazon opined that this ASIN quantity limit would prevent FBA products with high inventory levels but low customer demand from being sent to the FBA warehouse. 

However, the concerns raised by FBA sellers since the implementation of ASIN-level quantity limits came to the attention of Amazon. This resulted in the introduction of restock limits by storage type instead of continuing the ASIN quantity limits.

In Amazon’s own words, the eCommerce-giant stated that “we’ve heard your feedback, and are continuously improving our policies and programs to better receive and store your products.”

How ASIN Level Quantity Limits Impacted Sellers  

The goal of the update back in 2020 regarding ASIN-level quantity limits on FBA products was to maximize the selection for customers during peak season. In theory, this change seemed beneficial; however, its application was a bit troublesome for Amazon FBA sellers. The ASIN-level quantity limits changed the way some FBA sellers conducted their business. FBA sellers who usually send 500 to 1000 units of product from their suppliers directly to the Amazon warehouses were forced to decrease their inventory of new items up to 200 units only.

Consequently, the quantity limit imposed by Amazon forced some FBA sellers to utilize 3PL warehouses to house items that exceeded the ASIN quantity limit.

Impact of the New Amazon Inventory Update

Unlike the previously introduced Amazon inventory update, the new update does not rely on the ASIN-level limit.  Instead, the inventory update is based on restock limits that are calculated by storage type and past & forecasted sales. Thus, enabling sellers to dispense these limits over ASINs.

To help sellers identify the storage type, Amazon listed down four main storage type categories that include:

• Standard-size includes items not exceeding 18” x 14” x 8”; should weigh 20 lbs or less.
• Oversize includes items exceeding weight and/or dimensions listed for the standard size.
• Apparel includes wearable clothing and accessory items
• Footwear includes shoes, boots, slippers, etc.

If you think of circumventing the restock limits by changing the storage type of a product, Amazon has it covered already. Amazon stipulates the storage type to which a product will belong is gleaned from the characteristics of the inventory item. To understand storage type categories for your products, check FBA Inventory Age. 

How Does Restock Limit Affect My Amazon Inventory?

With the new Amazon inventory update being implemented, the quantity of inventory you can send to FBA centers is likewise affected. 

In order to determine how many items you can send to fulfillment centers, check your restock limits monitor via the Amazon seller dashboard. This allows you to check the maximum shipment quantity by storage type. 

Here is a quick guide on how to navigate your way to restock limits monitor.

Seller Central Dashboard: A screenshot (cropped) inventory page via seller’s dashboard; Retrieved May 10, 2021, From: https://amzn.to/3w7DAR5

STEP 1: After logging into your Seller Central Account, CLICK on the INVENTORY tab. 

STEP 2: From the dropdown menu, CLICK on the MANAGE FBA INVENTORY tab.

STEP 3: Once redirected to the FBA Inventory page, CLICK on the SHIPPING QUEUE menu.

Seller Central Dashboard: A screenshot (cropped) shipping queue page via seller’s dashboard; Retrieved May 10, 2021, From: https://amzn.to/2QXK5Hb

STEP 4: Once redirected to the Shipping Queue page, scroll down and click on the RESTOCK LIMITS for a dropdown menu to appear.

Seller Central Dashboard: A screenshot (cropped) shipping queue page via seller’s dashboard; Retrieved May 10, 2021, From:  https://amzn.to/2QXK5Hb

STEP 5: Once the Restock Limits tab has been clicked, the four aforementioned main storage type categories will appear, along with the restock limits data. 

It is essential to constantly monitor your restock limits so that you do not send inventory beyond the allowed shipment quantity. Doing so may result in policy violation and cancellation of non-compliant shipments.

How Is My Maximum Shipping Quantity Calculated?

Amazon calculates your maximum shipping quantity using maximum inventory level minus utilization. Utilization encompasses your current FBA inventory and all incoming product shipments. Take note that customer returns are likewise included in the overall inventory of sellers. However, the reserved inventory and pending removals are excluded from the calculation. 

Restock Limit Update Frequency 

The variable being considered in implementing the restock limit is constantly changing. Hence, the restock limit is not permanent and is subject to change depending on the network capacity assessment. Restock limits may increase along with the regular limits update. Checking the restock limits monitor will help in keeping you updated with any changes to restock limits.

Enhance Your Inventory Management Process

With the limitations set by Amazon when it comes to inventory shipments, learn how to make improvements in your inventory management. Try to modify or rework your stocks by offering discounts or product bundles. This will help in eliminating obsolete or slow-moving inventory. Apart from that, you can also use Amazon seller tools to enhance your inventory and product movement. The use of inventory management tools and automatic AI repricers can aid in improving your overall Amazon business. 

In this post, we’ll give you the 10 best products to sell on Amazon in 2022. This list is based on a variety of factors including demand, profit margins, and competition, among others.

Crystal Hair Eraser

Getting rid of body hair can be a tiresome, tedious, and sometimes even painful process. With this new crystal hair eraser, you can remove hair in a way that’s far less painful, if at all, and certainly much less of a hassle. This is a very simple product that offers a practical solution for an age-old problem.

Key seller benefits:

• Medium to low competition:This niche is a perfect example of one that’s on a rise, with very few competitors, and of those, very few have managed to establish themselves.
• Great average selling price:The average selling price for this niche is between $20-25, which is right in that perfect private label sweetspot.
• Amazing sales:The average sales on the items from page one are just around $50,000 a month, which makes this niche an absolute gem, especially when we consider all the other facts that make it so attractive.

Handheld Garment Steamer

Handheld garment steamers give you a portable way to remove wrinkles from your clothes. The steam helps kill germs and bacteria and some models can be used on furniture as well.

They are growing in demand as more people become more conscious of the cleanliness of their environment. 

Try AI repricing today to maximize your profit and avoid Amazon price wars.

No set-up required, simply turn repricing on and let the AI do all the work

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Key Seller Benefits

• Great visibility:Only a small amount of sellers have noticed the niche so you have the opportunity to get in early.
• Very high monthly sales:The product generates high sales each month. The current top two organic listings have an estimated 39,000 and 7,000 sales per month.
• High margins:You can earn a solid percentage profit on each sale. Top-performing products have an average net margin of around 70%.
• Low-quality competitor listings:The top-ranking competitor listings are not very well made so you can easily create the best listing for the product.

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Swimsuit for Women

If you’re looking to sell apparel products, women’s swimsuits are a solid option. The products are easy to source and have an extremely high demand come summertime.

Key Seller Benefits

• High margins: Top ranking listings have an average net margin close to 70%
• Very high sales: Top ranking listings average over 8,500 sales per month.
• Unsaturated niche: You only need to compete with a few other sellers.

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Ionic Hair Brush

Ionic hair brushes add negative ions back to your hair, making it look and feel smoother. They are growing in popularity as technology improves and people share their personal experiences.

The target customer for this niche is women who want to improve the health of their hair.

Key Seller Benefits

• Good prices:The average price of $18.86 balances profitability and sales quantity.
• Very high sales:These products average over 7,600 sales per month.
• Limited strong sellers: There aren’t any strong sellers so you can easily work your way to the top of the niche.

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Mini Portable Projector

Mini portable projectors are small, pocket-sized devices that connect to your laptop, phone, or other media devices to create a video projection.

They are growing in popularity as they provide a more flexible alternative to traditional projectors which need to be wall-mounted.

Your target customer could be people with smaller living spaces or those who travel frequently.

Key seller benefits

• Solid margins: These products have an average net margin of over 82%
• High sales: These products average almost 4,000 sales per month, showing a high level of demand.
• Few competing sellers: The niche is new and relatively undiscovered, making competition less intense.

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Wi-Fi Smart Lock Keyless

Wi-fi smart locks provide keyless entry and allow you to lock your home using your smartphone. 

They are in high demand as they give you a more robust way of securing your home. You can check your phone at any time to see if your doors are locked. You also have the ability to lock your home remotely.

Your target customer would be property owners, particularly those with children.

Key Seller Benefits

• Very high margins: These products have an average net margin of over 80%.
• Low competition: There are few sellers in this niche. Plus, many of the listings are low-quality.
• High revenue: The average monthly revenue for this niche is over $144,000.

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Waterproof Phone Pouch

There are some phones that are waterproof, but not all are. This very simple product makes your phone effectively waterproof. We all enjoy taking pictures when we go on vacation, and now you can even take pictures underwater!

Key Seller Benefits

• Really cheap to source: Every time we launch a product, we can’t guarantee success. This is why spending a small amount of money in order to test the viability of a product is always wise.
• Very light and small: We want to save as much money as possible on shipping and FBA fees. The smaller and lighter the product is, the more room you’ll have in your margins for profits.
• Extremely high sales: The first page of results for this product averages around $230,000 per month, which makes this niche very attractive for those who have a special knack for getting to page one and creating a competitive offer.

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Grill Brush

Grill brushes allow you to clean your grill without damaging it. Like other home goods, the niche has grown in demand as people are spending more time at home.

Your target customer would be people who actively grill.

Key Seller Benefits

• Good prices: The average price of $18.86 balances profitability and sales quantity.
• Very high sales: These products average over 7,600 sales per month.
• Limited strong sellers: There aren’t any strong sellers so you can easily work your way to the top of the niche.

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Pet Fountain

Pets need to stay hydrated to stay healthy. The circulating water stream offered by pet fountains encourages them to drink more.

Per fountains are growing in demand as more people own pets than ever before.

Your target customer would be dog and cat owners.

Key Seller Benefits

• Ideal prices: The $33 average selling price is perfect for maximizing sales and profits.
• High margins: These products have a 64% average net margin.
• Newer niche: The niche is still young and has plenty of room to grow.

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Broom Holder

Broom holders are wall-mounted devices that allow you to organize your brooms and other cleaning equipment. 

This is another home goods item that has grown in demand with people spending more time at home.

The target customer for this niche is people focused on cleanliness and organization.

Key Seller Benefits

• High sales: These products average over 3,500 sales per month.
• Light competition: There are a few sellers in this niche and no real strong sellers.
• Lightweight: Most of these items weigh under one pound. As a result, your FBA fees are low.

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How to Find New Product Ideas

To have success with any product on Amazon, you need to know the item’s best keywords to be able to optimize your listings accordingly.

With the reverse ASIN keyword tool, you can quickly find relevant keywords for any item on Amazon. You simply type the ASIN into the tool and you’ll get a list of all the terms the product ranks for.

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It includes the estimated monthly search volume, the number of sales you’ll need to reach page one, and a relevance score (measures how closely related the keyword is to the product).

When you click on a term you’ll see all the different products that rank for it. You can use this to find new product ideas. When searching the product database for the keyword you found using the ASIN tool, you’ll often discover product ideas that complement your existing offering.

Conclusion 

Finding the right product is critical to the success of your Amazon business. If we go back to our list of top products, we’ll notice some common themes.

The best products have (1) high margins, (2) high sales volume, (3) low competition, and (4) easy to ship. Look for these when researching products, and you can find even more winning products to sell on Amazon. 

To further increase profitability, you can use other Amazon seller tools like AI repricers in conjunction with a product research tool. The confluence and proper use of Amazon seller tools will help you sell more products in 2021. 

An inventory-based e-commerce business is undoubtedly one of the most potentially lucrative businesses that you can start in this day and age. This is because we are now firmly in the digital age, and online shopping is fast becoming most people’s preferred way of acquiring goods. 

In fact, in 2018 alone, an estimated 1.8 billion people worldwide shopped online — a figure which has undoubtedly escalated since.

Despite its earning potential, carrying and moving inventory does have its fair share of challenges. Unable to understand and recognize them could result in inefficiencies, such as wrong or inadequate items sent out, or inventory becoming stale, and so much more. 

These, in turn, could then translate to lost revenue and unhappy customers. These, of course, are outcomes that you want to avoid at all costs, so let’s explore the best ways you can do exactly that. 

Make Efficient Inventory Management Your Main Objective

In an inventory-based business, it can be said with certainty that inventory management is king. 

In a nutshell, inventory management refers to the flow of inventory, from acquisition to storage to order fulfillment. In some businesses that involve manufacturing, this can also include the handling of raw materials, production, quality control, warehousing, and the like. 

It goes without saying, therefore, that for your inventory-based business to prosper, you need to make efficient inventory management central to your operations. This will invariably entail streamlining your workflow and processes to ensure that everything moves smoothly and without interruptions. 

This, by the way, is easier said than done, which is why it’s also important to employ methods such as demand forecasting, automate where possible, and even optimize warehouse and storage layout. 

Another idea is to utilize RFID tags for fast inventory processing. As a bonus, you also potentially increase productivity while reducing costs at the same time with these measures.

Invest in the Right Platforms and Tools

It is a fact that much of the inefficiencies that occur in inventory management are due to outdated systems and human error. 

Needless to say, to be able to cut down on the many possible inventory management mishaps from occurring and damaging your business, you need to invest in the right platforms and tools to keep your workflows really flowing without a hitch.

Know that there are a number of inventory management software packages available today, but they are absolutely not created equal. It’s important, therefore, to really do your due diligence and get to know the best inventory management platforms on offer and see how they are able to serve your particular operational needs before making your choice. 

Equally a good idea is to explore added features and tools that could prove to be beneficial to your workflows, as well.

Bring in the Pros to Help Elevate Your Operations

Of course, it’s also a distinct possibility that out-of-the-box solutions simply will not serve you and your business, especially if there are unique parameters to consider. With this in mind, it can also be worth getting expert help. 

Consider hiring freelancers like an e-commerce specialist to build a web dashboard or a full inventory management system that can help you manage your inventory more efficiently. 

The best freelancing sites are a great source for business owners like yourself when you’re in need of individuals to help you in certain areas of your business, running the gamut from technical tasks to admin support.

Suffice it to say, putting in place a seamless inventory management process for your e-commerce business can be a demanding task that requires you to invest in the right tools and possibly expert help, as well as leverage appropriate resources. 

This, in turn, keeps your workflows streamlined and your processes efficient. But with happy customers and a healthy bottom line to look forward to, you know for certain that it’s ultimately well worth the effort.

To learn more about using Seller Snap’s AI algorithmic repricer to optimize your sales, call +1 (262) 735 5767 today!

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About The Author:

Marcus is an abilitator: one who helps people with differing abilities start their own businesses through training and/or mentorship. He created his site, Abilitator, as a way to reach out to those who are disabled and show them that becoming an entrepreneur is a goal they too can achieve. 

Amazon inventory sometimes becomes stagnant, leaving Amazon sellers with low to no sales at all. Many Amazon sellers experience Amazon inventory that just does not sell. Instead, such products end up sitting in the Amazon warehouse, incurring storage fees.

The reason behind stale Amazon inventory can vary from one seller to another and there are many factors to consider when it comes to selling on Amazon. Some of these factors can be categorized into pricing, Amazon FBA Buy Box, Amazon listing optimization, and customer service-related issues. 

Improving Amazon FBA Buy Box Win Rate Through Proper Optimizations

To give you an overview of what might be causing such slow-moving Amazon inventory, here are some of the top reasons Amazon sellers should be wary about. 

PRICING – AMAZON BUY BOX OVERSIGHT

One of the reasons why an Amazon store or Amazon inventory is not selling is lack of access to the Amazon Buy Box. and proper buy box optimization. Some reasons why sellers are not awarded the Amazon Buy Box are highlighted below. 

1. Off-Site & On-Site Product Price Discrepancy 

When it comes to product pricing, Amazon has an advanced algorithm to check for the average product price online. The Amazon algorithm can easily check whether an Amazon listing item is priced too high or too low for its particular category.

Amazon technology goes beyond its own platform, its servers can also scrape data from other online selling platforms. This allows the algorithm to suppress the Amazon FBA Buy Box for Amazon inventory with a big pricing discrepancy.  

Experienced Amazon sellers make use of automated Amazon repricers to help them combat this and ensure that their Amazon inventory prices fit the current marketplace situation and adjust accordingly to competitor’s pricing behavior. This aids in optimum buy box optimization. 

2. Amazon Buy Box Glitch

There have been reported instances where Amazon sellers are not being awarded the Amazon Buy Box, despite being the cheapest or most competitive item. 

That is why sellers who are still having issues with a particular Amazon inventory should check for possible system glitches. The so-called Amazon Buy Box glitch is not the first time Amazon has encountered some error. 

In the past years, there have been a number of system errors observed by Amazon sellers, and some of these system issues were even acknowledged by Amazon. 

OPTIMIZATION MISTAKES

Besides the pricing and Amazon Buy Box oversight, an optimization mistake, including Amazon mobile optimization, is among the factors that influence poor Amazon inventory movement. Slow product movement may be caused by various optimization mistakes.

3. Listing Non-Amazon Sanctioned Categories

When it comes to listing optimization, sellers must be aware of the qualifications and approval requirements of certain Amazon inventory. In particular, sellers are required to get approval from Amazon before they can list a product to a specific category. 

If you are planning to list a certain brand, as part of the optimization process, you should first identify whether the inventory item requires approval or not. To know which products and categories require approval from Amazon, you may CLICK HERE. 

4. Product Title Guideline Violations

Another commonly violated rule by some Amazon sellers would be the product title guideline. When listing Amazon inventory, it is recommended to optimize the title of the listing. However, some sellers end up overly optimizing the title section of the listing.

When it comes to adding titles to your product listing, Amazon is very stringent with the rules. Amazon sellers should follow guidelines and avoid adding identifying details about the item in the title. To avoid this mistake, here are some title guidelines coming directly from Amazon Seller Central. 

• Title containing promotional keywords and phrases (for example, free shipping, 100% quality guaranteed, etc.)
• Title containing non-readable characters including emojis.
• Title exceeding more than 200 characters.
• Title not containing any product identifying information (no product type name and no product characteristics – for example, a single word title such as N/A)

5. Your Amazon Listing is Not Optimized Enough 

Another optimization mistake that hinders inventory movement is inadequate listing optimization. Optimizing the product title is not enough when it comes to scaling up your Amazon store. 

Other aspects of product listing should be optimized as well. As well as the title, sellers should optimize images, key features, product descriptions, and as mentioned before, pricing.

CUSTOMER SERVICE-RELATED CONCERNS

Customer service is another key factor for sales when it comes to Amazon. For sellers experiencing issues with their Amazon inventory movement, be sure to check customer service performance and other related aspects of customer service. To serve as a guide, here are some of the factors affecting product movement in relation to customer service:

6. Not Having Enough Good Reviews

Research shows that 84% of online shoppers trust online reviews. Whether it is on Amazon or other online platforms, good reviews really matter. In order for Amazon sellers to improve their chances of selling Amazon products, having good reviews is a must. 

Similarly, 22% of online shoppers would stick to Amazon if they could find products suitable for their needs and wants. And one of the criteria of a reliable and trustworthy Amazon product is the good reviews associated with it. 

7. Response Tone 

Another component that is influential to Amazon inventory movement is the review response and its tonality. Getting upset with customers is always a NO-NO when it comes to the Amazon business. 

It cannot be helped that some customers complain, demand, argue. Arguing leads to negative feedback, which can have a really negative impact on your business.

Misunderstanding How Amazon Works

Perhaps one of the most prevalent and yet less commonly acknowledged factors for slow Amazon inventory movement is the lack of proper knowledge on how Amazon really works. Some Amazon sellers who have experienced selling on other platforms are guilty of misunderstanding the Amazon interplay upon their first try with Amazon Seller Central.

To avoid committing mistakes when it comes to setting up and running it, you should do prior research. Understanding the guidelines set by Amazon will also help increase your Amazon inventory movement.