10 positive actions Amazon sellers can take during quarantine
Whether your 3P account is large or small, take action today
It’s a tough time for Amazon sellers – or any small business. With the situation changing every day, it’s easy to become paralyzed. Instead, how about choosing one of these 10 small ways to move your account forward – either by driving cash flow or improving listings for the future.
- Sling your own boxes. Amazon’s FBA operations will remain unreliable for at least a couple of months, as supply chain issues are smoothed out. This is your chance to gain a competitive advantage by merchant-fulfilling your products (MFN). The process is simpler than most FBA sellers assume it will be. Also, if you’ve got a spouse or kids home from work and school, it’s their time to contribute to the family income!
- Find a fulfillment house. If it’s not possible – or attractive – for you to pack and ship boxes, hire a fulfillment house. This is a great long- term strategy as well, since there are times during holidays and crises when MFN listings can out-perform FBA. If you need a referral to a high-quality fulfillment house, contact Riverbend Consulting. We can give you options.
- File for reimbursements. If you’re an FBA seller, Amazon likely owes you money. Inventory gets lost, damaged, not received and not returned. When these things happen, Amazon sometimes automatically reimburses your account. But more often, you must file a case to ask for the funds or inventory back. Reimbursement cases can go back 18 months, so starting now can provide a much-needed cash boost for your account. Want help? Call Riverbend Consulting. We will file your cases and only take a fee if we get you money.
- Source products for the future. Quarantine creates its own possible revenue streams for the future. For example, is it reasonable to expect a baby boom in 9 months? If you think it may, now is the time to find sources for baby clothing and gifts.
- List your death pile. There’s an old eBay reference called the “death pile.” It’s the stuff lurking in closets and spare bedrooms that was sourced – but then never listed. eBay sellers aren’t the only ones with death piles. Amazon sellers have items lurking in warehouses and closets, too. If it’s not listed, it won’t sell! Get those items listed and merchant-fulfill them.
- Clean up your catalog. Most sellers have dozens to thousands of inactive listings in their inventory. If you won’t sell these items again – delete them! If not, they become an enforcement magnet for Amazon, which sees any listing as an item you intend to sell again. This makes you susceptible to listing suspensions for restricted products, price gouging and more.
- Work your PPC ads. When sales are slow, the strong advertise. Refine your pay-per-click Amazon ad campaigns. Improve your targeting and keywords. If you need help, contact Riverbend Consulting! We can refer you to affordable, high-quality resources for PPC.
- Built out A+ content. If you own a brand, now is the ideal time to improve your listings quality. Add video and compelling text to your listings. Explain why your product is superior to the competition. Get creative and build pages that draw in customers.
- Re-shoot lousy listing photos. It’s a good time to revisit the images on your listing detail pages. If the primary image doesn’t follow Amazon’s standards (product only, no text, pure white background), shoot a new one. If you don’t have secondary images and “lifestyle” photos, add some. These help pop your listing higher in search results – and improve conversions.
- Learn to love another platform. Times are tough on all online platforms right now. But this crisis proves – yet again – that diversification is key. Some sellers are seeing impressive success on eBay. Others are pushing on Poshmark, Mercari, and other “secondary” platforms. Do the research and find another place to roll out your products.
Amazon sellers, we are here for you and your business! Let’s talk 877-289-1017 or visit our website.
Author
Lesley is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, where she oversees the firm’s client services team. She has personally helped hundreds of third-party sellers get their accounts and ASINs back up and running. Lesley leverages two decades as a small business consultant to advise clients on profitability and operational performance. She has been an Amazon seller for almost a decade, thanks to her boys (21 and 15) who do most of the heavy lifting.
