Amazon Questions Answered, and Some New Info
July 27, 2008 | Filed Under Past Issues | 2 Comments
Personally delivered to you by Steve Lindhorst, author of
"Selling on 'the River' - The eBay Seller's Guide to Amazon.com"
The response to Instant Website Empire was tremendous. People are also snapping up Skip McGrath's new ebook about selling books online. This week I concentrated on a new niche using phpBay Pro. My collective average for all active eBay affiliate sites is up to $14.54 for every 100 clicks. This month my affilate sites have generated $183.99 so far. Here are the topics for this month's newsletter:
In This Issue
- Instant Website Empire - Reader Response, and a Sample Site.
- Learn to Sell Books Online - Skip McGrath's New Book
- Your Amazon.com Selling Questions Answered
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1.Instant Website Empire - Reader Response, and a Sample Site
You readers really responded wildly to the Instant Website Empire. I found out a little more about the product that I wasn't aware of last week.
After digging around a little more I found out that the DVD you get contains over two gigabytes of ebooks, software tools, and graphics with resale rights. That means you can resell them under your own name. So besides the website templates, articles, and graphics, there is a second way to make money on this product.
Before I began writing this newsletter, I wanted to see how long it would take me to build a simple HTML website using a domain name I had sitting around. I only used the files from the DVD, and edited the header image with Photoshop. I built a five-page site in about one hour. It contains ads, an Amazon affiliate widget, and five articles that came on the Instant Website Empire DVD. It would be easy to expand on this, or tinker with the design. But here's my one-hour site virtually out of the box: www.OfficialFoodie.com.
It would be easy to add more articles, ads, or affiliate products from here. Or just not touch them again. Imagine if you had about 20 or even 50 of these sites generating $10-$20 per month.
In case you haven't checked it out yet, it's Instant Website Empire.
Now let me tell you about another thing...
2. Learn to Sell Books Online
The interest was also really intense for Skip McGrath's new book. It has a long title, but it's long on information too. It's a great companion to my book Selling on the River - the eBay Seller's Guide to Amazon.com (wait, maybe Skip got the long title thing from me...
Anyway, his book is called, How To Make Good Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon.com and The Internet and it's full of information specific to used books. It covers scouting for books, grading and pricing, and then talks about selling on the various platforms of eBay, Amazon, Abebooks, and your own websites.
My sales have slowed a bit this summer, maybe yours have too. Now is the time though to hit the garage sales, and yard sales. I'm still finding great books out there. One of my recent finds is a book on the Black Panthers from the early 1970's for a buck. It's listed all over the internet for nearly $100. Now I'm just waiting for my buyer...
3. Your Amazon.com Selling Questions Answered
I have received many questions about selling on Amazon over the past couple of months. I have been on the phone directly with Amazon support this week getting answers straight from the "horses mouth." Please remember, I don't make Amazon's rules - I'm just reporting what they have to say. I have told them about you, and that I would pass this information along - so they realize the importance of accuracy.
Before I get started, let me say this: Amazon reported their earnings for the second quarter of 2008 this week, and sales were up 41% over last year. eBay could not say the same. People are buying product on Amazon, and sellers are selling. You may hit some roadblocks for now, but don't give up. I was told twice by Amazon employees this week that while restrictions exist for some sellers now, they are interested in accommodating as many sellers as possible and are working to do so. So if you've hit a roadblock, just stay tuned, they know you are there and want to help you sell.
Question #1 - "My country's Amazon site only allows sales of media items such as DVDs, CDs, Videos. How can international sellers take advantage of the US site?"
Answer: To sell on the US site, a seller must have four things:
- United States telephone number
- United States checking account
- United States billing address
- Credit Card
There are some international sellers who have managed this, with the help of friends or relatives. Otherwise, you may have to wait for more opportunities to open up in your area.
Question #2 - "Is it true that Amazon requires a UPC for every item? How can I sell my one of a kind or antique item without a UPC?"
Items such as antiques, handmade items, or other items without a UPC can still be sold on Amazon.com. If you have such an item, and you have a Pro-Merchant account, you can still create a product description page using the Everything Else category. A word of caution though: If your item SHOULD have a UPC and there is a category specifically for it on Amazon, you may not use the Everything Else category as a work-around. In other words, don't try to cheat. Everything Else means "everything else" other than categorized items. Amazon is pretty strict about keeping the site well organized.
There are two things you can do to try to get around the UPC requirement. First, you can talk with a rep on the phone. If you've been frustrated with eBay phone support - you'll be happy with Amazon. From your Manage Your Inventory Page, in the upper right click "Seller Help" and have Amazon call you. Then ask them what you should do to be able to list your item.
Second, if you hit the UPC wall, you can email Amazon and ask for an exception to the rule for your product. There is a good chance you can get one if you make your case well. Be polite, and don't get nasty if you can't get an exception right now. They assure me they are working on a number of things to accommodate the large number of eBay sellers beginning to sell there. (I predict a "Collectibles" category in the future - you heard it here first.)
Here is some information directly from Amazon you should find helpful:
Currently, we require a Universal Product Code (UPC) or a European
Article Numbers (EAN) for many products submitted through our Create a
Product Detail Page feature. We require this identifying data for the
following products:* Baby Products (UPC or EAN)
* Camera & Photo (UPC or EAN)
* Electronics (UPC or EAN)
* Home, Kitchen & Garden (UPC or EAN)
* Music CD or Cassette (UPC or EAN)
* Musical Instruments (UPC or EAN)
* Software (UPC or EAN)
* Tools & Hardware (UPC or EAN)
* Toys & Games (UPC or EAN)
* Video & DVD (UPC)If the item you would like to sell falls under one of the categories
listed above and does not have the required product identifier, it
cannot be listed using the Create a Product Detail Page feature.
However, if the item being sold was manufactured or printed prior to
the establishment of UPC codes, you can write to our Seller
Performance group to request permission to create the catalog page
without the UPC. You can contact this department via email using the
following address:For more information on obtaining a UPC or EAN, please contact:
Uniform Code Council Inc.
8163 Old Yankee Road, Suite J
Dayton, OH 45458 USA
Telephone: (937) 435-3870
Question #3 - "Why can't I see the instructional videos, and other announcements on Amazon Seller Central? How can I get access to Seller Central?
Seller Central is for Amazon's Merchant Sellers. They are the upper tier sellers who sell things other than media items. They are generally bigger, more professional sellers, and they are allowed to set their own shipping prices. Think of them as Amazon's "Powersellers." Most of us sell in the Amazon Marketplace (Marketplace Sellers) and while we may have a Pro-Merchant account, we are not Merchant Sellers per se.
See you next time everyone! Thanks for being there!
