Amazon FBA?

Paaarp

Hi there,

I just listened to a podcast from an American couple who are doing pretty well from Amazon FBA.

Has anyone here tried it in the UK?

It sounds like it would be fun to give it a shot.

Anyone got any tips?

Thanks

whitelabel

fun ?

If your a business with stock, its a good way to increase sales

there are plenty of companies that offer Fulfilment by Amazon here in the uk

soolin

Paaarp wrote: »

Hi there,

I just listened to a podcast from an American couple who are doing pretty well from Amazon FBA.

Has anyone here tried it in the UK?

It sounds like it would be fun to give it a shot.

Anyone got any tips?

Thanks

Depends on what stock you sell, is your line suitable for FBA?

Really not sure about 'fun' though, I sell to make money, I have fun in much better ways.

BDDazza

Paaarp wrote: »

Hi there,

I just listened to a podcast from an American couple who are doing pretty well from Amazon FBA.

Has anyone here tried it in the UK?

It sounds like it would be fun to give it a shot.

Anyone got any tips?

Thanks

It's about the product, not FBA. If you have a product with no buzz customers won't buy it. Do you have access to popular product that you can source for ultra cheap. If not move along.

Paaarp

Sorry, I meant buying up discounted stock and then sending it to Amazon for them to fulfill the orders.

Fun as in scouting around shops looking for bargains, etc.

I know its big in America, but just wondered if it worked the same in the UK i.e. FBA arbitrage.

soolin

Paaarp wrote: »

Sorry, I meant buying up discounted stock and then sending it to Amazon for them to fulfill the orders.

Fun as in scouting around shops looking for bargains, etc.

I know its big in America, but just wondered if it worked the same in the UK i.e. FBA arbitrage.

FBA usually works best with a regular and large stock of items. 'Scouting round' for end of lines is unlikely to work. That is best controlled by direct shipping from home. Don't forget as well the requirement that items have a catalogue entry on amazon or have bar codes that you control and can upload yourself.

It also isn't free to use FBA and costs in Amazon can mount up quite quickly, so you will need a generous mark up and a popular item to stay afloat.

Paaarp

Yes the products exist on Amazon, so you would be looking for discounts in store such as BOGOF.

Then check the price on Amazon + FBA fees and then see what the margin is and then buy out all the stock in store.

soolin

Paaarp wrote: »

Yes the products exist on Amazon, so you would be looking for discounts in store such as BOGOF.

Then check the price on Amazon + FBA fees and then see what the margin is and then buy out all the stock in store.

The trick is to know what is going to be a future hit and have the money available to spend money chasing money.

I saw someone last week buy every single One Direction notebook set from a shop - she had a trolley load. I suspect she is going to sell them somewhere but as it isn't something I know much about (my children are grown up) I wouldn't spend the best part of £100 on low cost stock like that when perhaps the bubble has burst.

soolin

Out of interest I just checked ebay, I think this is the sort of pack she bought

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/One-Direction-ID-5-Piece-Stationery-Set-Notebook-Eraser-Ruler-Pencil-Sharpener-/151440424798?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PensPencils_WritingEquipment_SM&hash=item23428d7f5e

She paid 95p for them, so if she sold at £1.98 she would be making a little over 50p profit per book. That assumes that the £1.30 postage charged covers the postage, packing and ebay /paypal fees on the postage element. I have also assumed she has a paypal micro account

Personally I wouldn't risk near £100 to chase profit of around 50p per item- especially when these sets appear to be a non seller

I picked that listing out at random as the photo of the item looked right, but if I knew that seller I would be advising them to take care. They have very few sales, are wrongly registered as a private seller when they should be a business and must be losing money all over the place if they are holding so much 'dead' stock.

lovinituk

We use FBA a lot but sell the same items in quantities in the thousands. As above you have to have a decent product that can compete. I wouldn't want to use it for one off items.

Paaarp

soolin wrote: »

The trick is to know what is going to be a future hit

Or what is selling now. If you look at the product rank in Amazon when you find a discounted product in store, then use the FBA calculator to work out your margin, you could be good to go.

lovinituk wrote: »

We use FBA a lot but sell the same items in quantities in the thousands. As above you have to have a decent product that can compete. I wouldn't want to use it for one off items.

Do you import the products or make them yourself?

I think it can still work if you are buying in smaller quantities, such as 50 in store. £500 isn't to be sniffed at!