How to Sell Internationally on Amazon.com?

Are you looking forward to expanding your e-commerce Business and sell your fine studded jewelry across borders?

Then I would suggest starting with Amazon.com i.e. through market places rather than trying to set up and build your own e-commerce website and start from scratch.

The advantage of tapping through marketplaces like Amazon is their very own existing customer base, Analysts estimate there are nearly 126 million members in Amazon’s Prime loyalty program in the United States as of this writing. By keeping Prime members satisfied, Amazon has built a loyal following of repeat buyers.

In this article, we will understand the steps to get on board as Amazon Seller and discuss how to leverage the platform for maximum profit potential.

Register for an Amazon Seller Account

If you are already, a registered Seller on Amazon India then getting the register for Amazon global selling program is easy, all you need to connect to amazon seller support from your admin panel and request for registration, you will be on-board. After you complete the KYC Process (the documents required for KYC will be the same as for the new Seller Account discussed below)

If you are starting afresh, No worries the process of getting registered as an Amazon seller is simple as follows.

1. Type in https://sellercentral.amazon.com

2. Click on Sign up, which will take you to the below sign up form.

3. You require to enter your Mobile Number, PAN (from Income Tax Department), GSTIN & IEC — Importer Exporter Code (from Directorate General of Foreign Trade — DGFT). Application for IEC can be obtained online at DFGT website by submitting the requisite documents. Visit DGFT (https://www.dgft.gov.in/CP) Site for more information on how to obtain IEC.

4. You will also require an Email Address, Address, Bank account where you wish to receive Payments, and International Credit Card for making Payments.

5. Amazon will ask you to complete a short tax interview online. This is done for Amazon tax reporting purposes. After answering additional seller information-related questions and taking a short survey, you will have finished setting up your account.

Congratulations! You can officially start selling on Amazon now!

By completing the above Registration Process, you are only allowed to sell Fashion Jewelry not Fine studded Jewelry, you will need GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) exception to sell under your brand name otherwise your Products will show under brand “Generic”.

How to get GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) Exception?

You need to contact Amazon seller support to get the GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) exception for Brand Registry if your Jewelry Brand is not Trademark Registered., You will be requested to share Few Photos of Jewelry showing Brand name stamped on Jewelry, Packing materials Printed Band Name of it.

More Details on how to get GTIN Exception?

If all goes well, you will get an GTIN within 2 working days against the case log in your amazon backend panel, after that, you can start listing your products under your Brand Name.

How to get Fine Studded Jewelry Selling Approval?

You need to apply for fine jewelry selling approval by opening a case log from your admin panel. Amazon used to charge USD$5000 towards Non-Refundable Deposit towards fine jewelry application but the good news is that there is no Fine Jewelry Application Fees now.

The Requirements of Fine Jewelry selling as follows.

• Duly filled Fine_Jewelry_Application_Template provided by Seller Support in reply to Case applied for Fine Jewelry approval.,
• Once they approve Template need to send 6 Physical Samples to 3rd party Lab at the address provided by them for Testing.
• All 6 Pcs Certified by Gemological lab approved by them.

For more information, see the following links:
– FTC Jewelry Guidelines: https://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/jewel-gd.shtm

– Tips for Listing Fine Jewelry: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/201827270?referral=A3O57EY3UVO08S_A38T65UHTDP37V

– Jewelry Quality Assurance Standards: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/201269180?referral=A3O57EY3UVO08S_A38T65UHTDP37V

***Please note that your jewelry items will be tested against your application template, the Amazon Jewelry Quality Assurance Standards, and the FTC Jewelry Guidelines for compliance. Failure to comply with these policies and guidelines could result in the denial of your fine jewelry application. ***

Once you send the Physical Fine Jewelry pcs to Amazon 3rd Party Lab, the Waiting time is 90 days for approval, most of the time you get approval within 30 to 60 days’ time.

In case there is some mismatch with Information provided in excel Template and Physical Samples, your application may get the result and you can’t re-apply again for 12 months.

Choosing Your Amazon Seller Account

There are two plans to consider: The Individual Seller Account and the Professional Seller Account.

The Individual Seller Account charges a per-unit fee per item sold, whereas the Professional (Pro) Seller Account charges a flat monthly subscription fee, no matter the number of units sold.

The below table shows the list of benefits that both plans provide.

For more details, you can visit here

Selecting the Fulfillment Options: Self-Fulfilled or Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

Next, you will need to decide whether you want to self-fulfill or have Amazon fulfill your customer orders.

Self-fulfilled Option:

The orders which require Customization like Sizing etc. self-full filled is the best way as you can choose to use your own preferred carrier and postage label, but following the strict deadlines of handling time is a major concern or else the late shipping rate may go high and affect seller ratings which can increase chances of order cancellations.

When we started 7 years ago this was the only option available for us as we were not having much Live Inventory, We used to ship individual orders to end buyers.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

Amazon FBA, or Fulfillment by Amazon, is a service offered to sellers whereby Amazon warehouses your products, ships, and handles all customer service and returns on your behalf.

In order to add FBA services to your seller account, you will need to register for it first. This can easily be done by signing in to your seller account and going into your “Account Settings” tab. There, you will be able to turn on the option for FBA

The FBA program is open to all sellers, whether you’re on the individual or professional seller account plan. If you decide to use FBA services, you will need to send the stock of your item to Amazon’s warehouse.

THE BENEFITS OF USING AMAZON FBA

• Your products will be available for Amazon Prime shipping (2 Day, Next Day, Same Day Shipping)
• Scale faster by outsourcing employees, warehousing, packaging, and shipping, etc.
• Amazon’s award-winning 24/7 customer service for your FBA products
• Business automation so you have more free time to work on your business instead of in your business

Add Product to the Amazon Catalog

Once you get the Fine Jewelry Selling Approval and you have your product ready, you will need to create a new product listing in Amazon’s catalog in order to list your item for sale on the site. You will need to do this since you are selling a new product under your brand name that has never been sold on Amazon before.

This can be done through your seller dashboard. From your “Inventory” tab, you’ll be able to access the feature to add a new product to the catalog.

Amazon Keyword Research

In order to get your product visibility and being found by a potential customer is knowing what search terms they are entering on Amazon. Search is the primary way that customers use to locate your products on Amazon.

Knowing how to do appropriate keyword research will go a long way in gaining visibility of your product on Amazon. These keywords will be used to create your title and product descriptions, as well as in the backend of your product listings.

The easiest and fastest way to do keyword research is to use Amazon-specific search tools such as Jungle Scout, AMZ tracker, Sonar, Merchant Words, Keyword Dominator to name a few.

CREATING AN SEO OPTIMIZED AMAZON PRODUCT TITLE

Your product title is one of the highest weighted areas when it comes to optimizing your Amazon product page.

Here are some components of a good Amazon product title:

• Keep Within the Character Limit: Keep the title under 200 characters in length.
• Add Product Specific Keywords as Metal Purity, Diamond Quality, Certified from Lab, Sizes, and Color etc.
• Amazon may suppress your listing if it’s longer than 200 characters.
• Use Your Keywords: Include the most important product keywords in your title on the left side of the Title.
• Include Your Brand Name: The title should also contain your brand name
• Add the Quantity of Product: The title should contain the quantity count within the product package, if applicable

HIGH-QUALITY AMAZON PRODUCT IMAGES

In the eCommerce business, having great product images will further increase the chances of your product being sold. You should be prepared to invest significant time and money into getting your product photography right to get higher chances of a sale.

Here are some components of good product images on Amazon:

• Use a White Background: Main images must be on a clear white background
• Optimize the Pixel Density: Images must be at least 1000 pixels on the longest side and at least 500 pixels on the shortest side in order for it to be zoomable on the page
• Take Real Photos: Use real pictures of your product, when possible, instead of computer-generated images
• Include Lifestyle Shots: Show your product in use, when possible
• Add Detail and Alternate Angle Shots: Take close-up pictures of your products and photos from various angles

WRITING DETAILED AMAZON PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

A descriptive and in-depth product description will convert potential customers is a big market these days.

• Discuss the Features & Benefits: Present product features alongside their relevant consumer benefits, Highlights Metal Purity, Metal wts, Diamond Details & Carats wts.
• Solve a Problem: Reference the problem you are solving with your product. For e.g. is your product a good fit for Gifts, Engagement & Wedding or Anniversary
• Make it Relatable: Frame a picture in the consumer’s mind of how this product can be relevant to them,
• Assurance of Returns and Refunds: Assure hassle-free return or refund guarantee to buyers.
• Add a Call-to-Action: End with a strong call-to-action. Tell the customer to buy!

Amazon Brand Registry

After we start uploading our products into the Amazon Catalog, it’s necessary for Jewelry Brands to register their brand with the Amazon Brand Registry. This, in essence, is expressing ownership of your products to Amazon. It will help to add a layer of protection to your brand and product listings, as well as open more seller brand marketing features to you, such as Enhanced Brand Content.

You will need to apply and complete an application in order to be entered into the Brand Registry.

To complete a Brand Registration application, you will need to provide Amazon with the following:

• An image of your product packaging with branding visible on the packaging
• An image of a product with your branding visible on the product itself
• Link to an active website that displays your brand or products
• Trade Mark Registration Number or Application Copy which shows TM applied.

Once you have these items in place, you can sign in to your Amazon seller central account and apply directly from there. Generally, Amazon will notify you of your acceptance into the Brand Registry in a matter of a few short days.

How to Get Your First Sale on Amazon?

After we list our products on Amazon, the first and foremost goal is to get the first Sale, Scaling from zero to one is always challenging. New products on the site are generally buried in the search results so it’s imperative to immediately get sales as soon as your product goes live on the site. The primary objective of getting the first few orders is to give your product a boost in its product ranking to start gaining organic visibility

If you have an offline presence or have some customer database then emailing your customer list with a specially discounted Amazon coupon code for your product will help to generate these first few sales.

If you don’t have a customer list available to you, then below are some options to use for obtaining your first orders.

Facebook / Instagram Promotions:

Try promoting your Amazon Products through your Facebook Business Page, offer Discounts Code / Coupon, Expedite Shipping to get Initial reach and conversion.

Facebook Ad Promotion for the first few Sales is also helpful.

AMAZON PRODUCT PROMOTIONS

Running a promotion for your product is a great way to entice buyers to purchase. In your seller central dashboard, Amazon has a variety of options that you can choose from to run a promotion.

One of the most commonly used promotions to run is the “Money Off” promotion. This is where you can create a special discount code to distribute to potential buyers, whether it is for boosting ranking during your product launch or otherwise.

AMAZON Campaigns

You can create a campaign for a specific line of products, for a specific timeframe, or for any other theme that helps you manage your ads. Each campaign contains one ad type and aligns with the main goal you want to achieve, such as sales or brand awareness.

#1 Daily Budgeting and types of Targeting: Automatic and Manual

Automatic Targeting is where Amazon automatically creates the Target Keywords, the Advertiser has no control over Keywords selection, and this type is recommended for beginner’s level where one has Zero-Knowledge about Amazon Campaigns.

Manual Target is more practical where the advisers get the control over Target keywords, Bidding strategy and user can try and optimize campaign more smartly and efficiently

#2 Campaign bidding strategy

• Dynamic bids — down only: We’ll lower your bids in real-time when your ad may be less likely to convert to a sale.
• Dynamic bids — up and down: We’ll raise your bids (by a maximum of 100%) in real-time when your ad may be more likely to convert to a sale, and lower your bids when less likely to convert to a sale.
• Fixed bids: We’ll use your exact bid and any manual adjustments you set, and won’t change your bids based on the likelihood of a sale.

#3 create an ad group: An ad group is a group of ads sharing the same set of keywords and products. Consider grouping products that fall within the same category and price point range. You can edit your campaign after launch to create additional ad groups in the campaign manager.

#4 Add Products to Campaign: start adding products to your campaigns.

#5 Lastly Add Negative keywords to your campaign, Keywords that you don’t want to get hit and charged for, keywords that are not relevant to your product category.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

Now that sales are coming in, it’s time to reach out to customers and ask for feedback on your product. Product reviews help educate potential buyers on whether they should purchase your product. These reviews are important for gaining new customers and also for helping to further rank your product in the search results.

This process can easily be automated using software services such as Feedback Genius and Feedback Five.

Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Providing round-the-clock Customer Service is the backbone of any business, responding to customers in a professional, helpful, and meaningful manner will determine whether people choose to buy from you again or go to your competitors instead. When responding to a customer query, aim to solve all problems in your response and remove any potential obstacles preventing an individual from making a purchase.

Providing the best customer service can increase loyal customer’s base as well as repeat purchases. You need to go above and beyond when dealing with both prospective, current, and returning customers.

Providing Best Solution in case of A to Z Cases, Returns helps to increase to maintain healthy Seller Ratings

In case you get any negative feedback or complaints about your products, tackling these positively and professionally can turn a negative exchange into a profitable one.

Conclusion

So guys getting into an online business is an affluent way to trade e-commerce goods and launch a whole lot of new brands while letting the online platform do all the job for you. As an online seller, you’ll have the potential to plug into a highly successful eCommerce environment and tap into a large buyer network. Add Amazon FBA to your seller account to further automate your business and build your business on near-autopilot.

I have also written an In-depth article “12 eCommerce SEO Strategies To Drive More Traffic To Your Store” please click here to visit my blog post.

Happy Selling!