The beginner’s guide to

Selling on Amazon
Welcome to Selling on Amazon
It’s no secret: At Amazon, we obsess over customers. And
our customers want a trusted destination where they can
purchase a wide variety of goods—which is what makes
sellers like you so important. We’re always looking for ways
to add value for our customers and be Earth’s most customer-
centric company. As an Amazon seller, you take part in
offering those customers better selection, better prices, and a
top-notch customer experience.

Reach million active

This eBook contains high-level information that will help
customer accounts in 180+
you start your journey selling on Amazon. If you want to countries
dive in deeper on any subject, visit sell.amazon.eg for more
information about all the topics covered here.

The Amazon edge

When you start selling on Amazon, you become part of a
retail destination that’s home to sellers of all kinds, from
Fortune 500 organizations to local startups with unique
selection. They all sell here for a reason: to reach the
hundreds of millions of customers who visit Amazon to shop.

● Since 2000, Amazon has been helping businesses

increase sales and reach new customers.
● Sales through Amazon Marketplaces represent over
58% of all items sold on Amazon websites globally.

Is Amazon right for

your business?
The short answer is: yes. The largest household
brands sell on Amazon. So do emerging brands
that will pop on your radar soon. Small and
medium-sized businesses thrive here, and they
account for more than half the units sold in our
stores worldwide. Whatever your business is—and
whatever size it is—we’re excited for you to grow
with us. Find your fit and start selling today.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon How to list Welcome

products || 11
Before you start selling
Consider your product selling strategy What you’ll need to get started
In order to complete your registration, make sure you have
Brand owners manufacture their own products or source
access to your
goods to sell under a private label to offer shoppers
unique selection.  Business email address or Amazon customer account

Resellers find popular products that already exist and  Chargeable credit card
offer them in Amazon's stores.
 Phone number where you are reachable
You can choose whichever method works for your goals.
 Government issued national ID (e.g. ID (identity
How to register verification protects sellers and customers)

With two selling plans (they’re called Individual and  Bank account number,
Professional, but you can think of them as standard and
 For Businesses – Trade License if you are an owner
premium), Amazon offers you the flexibility to sell one item
and a Power of Attorney only if you are a legal
or sell thousands. Before you begin registration, decide which
representative
plan is a better fit for your business.
 For Individuals – Either of recent bank account
Good news is that for a limited time, we are offering our
statement, credit card statement or utility bill
professional plan free of cost. There will be no monthly
subscription fee for all Amazon sellers who would like to
sell in Egypt. Sellers pay as they sell. How much does it cost to sell on Amazon?
With this promotion, you get free of cost the below There are a few different types of selling fees you might pay,
mentioned benefits of Professional Selling Plan to grow depending on your selling plan and the types of products you sell.
your businesses with Amazon. When you register for a
selling account today, you will be automatically entitled to
a Professional Selling plan, which gives you access to ● Selling/Referral fees: Sellers pay a referral fee on
inventory tools to upload batch files and manage your each item sold which varies by category, for all
orders through feeds and additional business reports to products, Amazon deducts the applicable referral fee
give you insights on your performance. Additionally, percentage calculated on the total sales price,
some product categories are available only to Professional including any taxes calculated through Amazon
Sellers who apply for permission and meet requirements. VAT calculation services. The total sales price is the
total amount paid by the buyer, including the item
The Individual plan might be right if: price and the delivery charges.
• You don’t need advanced selling tools or add-on programs
• You’re still deciding what to sell ● Shipping fees: Amazon Easy Ship is a delivery service
for Amazon sellers. Amazon orders are picked up from
The Professional plan might be right if:
the seller's location by an Amazon Logistics delivery
• You plan to sell a lot of items
associate and delivered to the buyers' location with
• You want access to advanced selling tools minimal effort from sellers, for a small fee. Customers
• You’d like to apply for add-on programs like get track-able shipments and faster and predictable
• You’re an established ecommerce seller delivery time. In addition, buyers also get an option to
pay for orders at the time of delivery using the Cash on
Tools for brand owners Delivery (COD) feature that has been enabled for
sellers using Easy Ship.
If you own a brand, Amazon offers tools to help
you build, grow, and protect it. Enrolling in Brand
Registry can help you personalize your brand ● FBA fees: For products that Amazon fulfills for you
and product pages, protect your trademarks and (known as Fulfillment by Amazon, or FBA), there are
intellectual property, and improve the brand fees for order fulfillment, storage, and optional services.
experience for customers—along with unlocking (More information about FBA can be found on page 6.)
additional advertising options and recommendations
To review the fees that may be associated with your account,
on improving traffic and conversion.
Visit https://brandservices.amazon.eg/ visit the Selling on Amazon Fee Schedule.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon Before you start selling | 2

Get to know
Seller Central
What is Seller Central?
Once you register as an Amazon seller, you’ll have access
The Amazon Seller app
to your Seller Central account. Think of Seller Central as Did you know you can keep track of your Amazon
business even while you’re on the go? The Amazon
your go-to resource for selling on Amazon. It’s a portal to
Seller app lets you analyze your sales, fulfill orders,
your Amazon business and a one-stop shop for managing find products to sell, manage offers and inventory,
your selling account, adding product information, making respond to customer questions, capture and edit
inventory updates, managing payments, and finding helpful professional-quality product photos, and create
content to help you navigate your Amazon business. It’s also listings—right from your mobile device. Never be
more than a swipe away from your Amazon business.
where you list all your products.
Download it for iPhone or Android to get started.

Below are a just few of the things you can do from Seller Central.

(1) Create new listing, or manage your selling

1 2 applications from the Catalog tab

(2) Keep track of your inventory and update your

listings from the Inventory tab

(3) Use Performance tab to watch Seller

University videos or track customer
metrics tools to monitor your seller
performance

(4) Download custom business reports and

bookmark templates you use often from
the Reports tab

(5) Contact Selling Partner Support and

open help tickets using the Case Log

(6) Manage and track your daily sales for

all the products you sell on Amazon
on Orders tab

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon Get to know Seller Central | 3

How to list products
Listing your first product Successful listing = successful launch
To sell a product on Amazon, you must first create a product Following best practices for adding listings can have a big
listing. Either match an existing listing (if somebody else is impact on their success. Make it easy for shoppers to find your
already selling the same product on Amazon), or create a new offers by adding descriptive titles, clear images, and concise
listing (if you are the first or only seller). feature bullets to your items.

The specific way sellers upload and list their products varies Avoid these things that could negatively impact your launch:
depending on their selling plan. To put it simply: Sellers using
a Professional seller account have the option of listing their ● Variation issues: Products that vary only by color,
products in large batches using bulk uploading or inventory scent, or size might be a good candidate for listing as
management with third-party systems, while Individual variations. Ask yourself if the customer would expect to
sellers list products one at a time. find the products together on the same page. If not, list
them separately.
●
What you need to start listing products Image compliance: Your images must be at least 500
x 500 pixels (increase the size to 1,000 x 1,000 for
In most cases, products must have a Global Trade Item high-quality listings) and set against a plain white
Number (GTIN), such as a UPC, an ISBN, or an EAN. background. The product should fill at least 80% of the
Amazon uses these product IDs to identify the exact item image area.
you’re selling. If you match a listing, you won’t need to ● Product IDs: Make sure you’re meeting the requirements
provide a product ID since it already exists. If you’re adding for product UPCs and GTINs (Global Trade Item
a product that’s new to Amazon, you may need to purchase a Number). Consistency in these codes helps promote
UPC code or request an exemption. confidence in the range of products shown in the
In addition to a product ID, here’s some of the important Amazon catalog.
information that goes into each product listing:

● SKU
● Product title
● Product description and bullet points
● Product images
● Search terms and relevant keywords

What are restricted

product categories?
It’s important that customers are able to shop with
confidence on Amazon, which is why some product
categories (like certain grocery or personal care
products) are known as “restricted product
categories.” Amazon might require performance
checks, additional fees, and other qualifications
in order for you to sell certain brands or list items
within restricted categories. You’ll be able to request
approval from within Seller Central.
Visit Seller Central Help
https://sellercentral.amazon.eg/gp/help/help.html?i
temID=G200333160&language=en_AE&ref=asae_
soa_categories&ld=ASXXSOADirect

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon How to list products | 4

The product detail page
The product detail page: what’s what?
A product detail page is where customers view a product sold
on Amazon. If you’ve shopped on Amazon, you’ll probably
recognize the product detail page. It’s where customers can Amazon Brand Registry
find all the relevant information about a particular item. If you sell your products under a registered
trademark, you may be eligible to enroll in Amazon
When multiple sellers offer the same product, Amazon Brand Registry at no extra charge. Brand Registry
gives you control over product detail pages that
combines data from all the offers into one product detail page
use your brand name, and lets you add more rich
(so we can present customers with the best experience). You
media (like videos and enhanced text information)
can propose product information on a product detail page, to your detail pages.
along with other sellers and manufacturers, and request
Visit Brand Brand Registry
detail page reviews if you think the information is not correct.

As you’re building your product detail pages, try to think about

what will best help customers find your products, discover
answers to their questions, and make a purchasing decision.
Aim for the ultimate customer experience by making your
listings concise, accurate, and easy to understand.

(1) The title of the product (use 200 characters, maximum, and
capitalize the first letter of every word).
(2) 3-4 Images recommended of the product (make sure they’re
at least 500 x 500, and boost that size to 1,000 x 1,000 to
increase the quality of your listings).
(3) Any variations of your product you have available, which
may include things like different colors, scents or sizes.
(4) The bullet point information, which should be short,
descriptive sentences highlighting the products key features /
benefits and differentiating characteristics.
(5) Featured offer ("Buy Box") The featured offer on a detail
page. Customers can add to their cart or “Buy Now”.
(6) Other Offers, which is the section of the product page where
customers can add items to their card. or “Buy Now.” If
you’re one of multiple sellers advertising the same product,
research strategies for “winning” the Featured Offer to
improve your overall sales.
(7) The description, which can be optimized for search engines
using keywords to improve the reach of your product
listings.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon The product detail page | 5

How to deliver products
Selecting the right fulfillment option The benefits of Fulfillment by Amazon
Amazon sellers have two options for getting shoppers their You sell it, we ship it. Amazon has one of the most
stuff: You can do it yourself, maintaining your own inventory advanced fulfilment networks in the world. With Fulfilment
and shipping products to customers (merchant-fulfillment), by Amazon (FBA), you store your products in Amazon's
or have Amazon take responsibility for packaging, labeling, fulfilment centers, and we pick, pack, ship, and provide
and shipping products through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). customer service for these products. FBA can help you scale
Each method has its own set of benefits—you just have to your business and reach more customers. Your products will
decide which one is right for your business. be eligible for free shipping and lightning deals. Its cost
effective and simple.

If you’re fulfilling your own orders

Merchant-fulfilled just means you store and ship products How Fulfillment by Amazon works
directly to customers yourself. Merchant-fulfilled just means
you store and ship products directly to customers yourself. 1. Prepare your products to be "e-commerce ready," so
Amazon provides last mile delivery services through Easy they can be safely and securely transported all the
Ship fulfillment service where Amazon trusted network of way to the customer's hands.
shipping partners collect items from your store or warehouse.
You could also opt for Self-ship where you could use your 2. Ship your inventory to Amazon. It will be scanned
own delivery services. Amazon charges shipping rates based and made available for sale.
on the product category and shipping service selected by the 3. With each order, Amazon packages and ships the
customer, then passes the amount on to you in the form of a product directly to the customer.
shipping credit.
4. Amazon’s customer service team handles questions,
Visit Order Management Easy Ship & Self ship tutorials here returns, and refunds.

Fees for using Fulfillment by

Amazon (FBA)
There are two types of FBA fees: fulfillment fees
(which are charged per unit sold and include
picking and packing your orders, shipping
and handling, customer service, and product
returns), and inventory storage fees (which are
charged monthly, and are based on the volume
of inventory being held in an Amazon fulfillment
center). For more information, refer to the
FBA features, services, and fees page.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon How to deliver products | 6

You’ve made your
first sale. What’s next?
Managing your Amazon business
Your first sale is a big milestone—but it’s just the beginning
of your growth opportunities selling on Amazon. Once your
store is up and running, there are a few important things to
keep in mind.

Performance metrics
(and why they matter)
Amazon sellers operate at a high standard so we can
provide a seamless, delightful shopping experience.
We call it being customer-obsessed, and as an Amazon
seller it means keeping an eye on these key metrics:

● Order defect rate (a measure of a seller’s

customer service standards): < 1%
● Pre-fulfillment cancel rate (initiated by the seller
before shipment): < 2.5%
● Late shipment rate (orders that ship after the
expected date): < 4%

You can keep tabs on your performance and make sure you’re
meeting your targets in Seller Central-Account Health
Dashboard.

Customer reviews
Seller University
Customer product reviews are an integral part of the
Seller University is an online resource from Amazon,
shopping experience on Amazon, and they benefit both
with videos featuring step-by-step guides, tutorials,
customers and sellers. Make sure you’re familiar with the and training to help entrepreneurs start (and grow)
right way and wrong way to get more product reviews and their Amazon business.
avoid policy violations.
Visit the Seller University and start learning today.

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon You’ve made your first sale. What’s next? | 7
Opportunities for
business growth
This is only the beginning Promotions and coupons
The moment you’re selling on Amazon is the moment you can Customers want to save, and promotions are an incentive to
start growing your Amazon business. Once you’ve launched make a purchase now. There are three types of promotions:
your business, Amazon has tools in place to help you take money off, free shipping, % off and buy one get one free.
your business to the next level (or the next couple of levels). You
can also offer percentage or money-off discounts with
digital coupons.

Advertising – Coming Soon

Amazon’s advertising solutions create new ways for you to
reach and engage shoppers, regardless of whether they’re just
Stay in control of price changes
starting to compare products, or ready to make a purchase. Setup free automatic pricing rules, helping you to remain
Ads show up right where customers will see them (like the competitive on the marketplace. Watch this video to know
first page of search results or product detail pages). more.

Amazon offers three advertising solutions, and all of them are

accessible through Seller Central. Global expansion
Selling globally is a huge milestone for any business. It
1. Sponsored Products means hundreds of millions of new customers and the
Sponsored Products are ads for individual product listings potential for a big boost in sales. Global expansion has a lot
on Amazon, so they help drive product visibility (and of moving parts, but with Amazon Global Selling, you get to
product sales). They appear on search results pages and use Amazon’s global infrastructure to get your products in
product detail pages. front of a worldwide audience.

2. Sponsored Brands When it’s time to take your business to the next level, use
Sponsored Brands showcase your brand and product Amazon Global Selling to list and sell your products on any
portfolio. They’re search-result ads that feature your brand of our online stores in MENA, Europe, and Asia or North
logo, a custom headline, and up to three of your products. America.

3. Amazon Stores
Stores are custom multipage shopping destinations for
individual brands that let you share your brand story
and product offerings. (And you don’t need any website
experience to use them.)

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon Opportunities for business growth | 8

What makes a
great seller?
A checklist for growth
Your first 90 days
Opportunities for growth are all around you—but here are a
The first three months after you launch your Amazon
few things to try in your first 90 days as an Amazon seller.
business are an important time for establishing
practices that will boost your performance from
there on out.

Keep an eye on your account health in Seller Central

Use Fulfillment by Amazon and offer great delivery

options for self-fulfilled products

Advertise your listings or offer deals and coupons

Enroll in Brand Registry and create enhanced brand content

Expand your selection by listing more products

Use the Automate Pricing Tool in Seller Central

The beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon What makes a great seller? | 9