Do you want to start your ecommerce business with Amazon, but aren’t ready to invest significant capital into inventory? Try selling without inventory.
Selling without inventory can help you experience what it’s like to be an Amazon seller, and give you time to decide how you want to scale your business. Read on to learn more about:
- The benefits of selling without inventory
- 4 ways you can sell in the Amazon store without inventory
- How to dropship, use Amazon Merch on Demand, and more
- Tips and tricks that can help you be successful
Can I sell on Amazon without inventory?
You can sell and make money in the Amazon store without inventory. There are a variety of inventory-free options that let you explore selling in the Amazon store, like dropshipping, Amazon Merch on Demand, and Kindle Direct Publishing.
Selling without inventory can be a great way to get started as an Amazon seller and experiment with creating an online storefront. As you get more comfortable, you can scale up your online business to include inventory.
What are the benefits of selling in the Amazon store without inventory?
Some of the benefits of selling without inventory include:
- Low startup costs: Not having inventory means not needing to invest in storage facilities, fulfillment logistics, or order-processing resources. Using an existing infrastructure for your online storefront also reduces your startup costs.
- Less financial risk: Another benefit of no inventory? There’s less risk of losing money from over-ordering products, unsold products, or lost merchandise.
- Quick startup: You can start listing and selling products as soon as you figure out what you want to sell, and identify gaps in the market that your store can fill.
- Multi-channel selling: In the case of dropshipping, you can use it when selling in the Amazon store, on your own website, on social media, or across all three.
- Flexible operating location: Selling without inventory can give you the option to fulfill orders from anywhere.
- Easier scalability: Two of the biggest financial hurdles associated with scaling can be storage and inventory fees. Without those barriers in the way, you can accept more orders without much impact to your operating costs.
- Product flexibility: Whether you’re not sure what to sell, you’re selling trending items, or you want to test out new things, you can explore different options to see what sells best without having to worry about selling out of what you already have in stock. Plus, you can sell a wide range of items to increase your earnings.
- Global customer base: Depending on which inventory-free option you choose, you may be able to sell your products to a global audience in the Amazon store.
4 ways you can sell on Amazon without inventory
Interested in exploring an inventory-free ecommerce option with Amazon? Here are four ideas:
- Dropshipping: Dropshipping is a form of ecommerce fulfillment where sellers can outsource buying, storing, and shipping products to a third party, usually a supplier. The dropshipper can handle some or all of the steps in the fulfillment process. This tends to appeal to sellers who want lower costs, but outsourcing the fulfillment process can lead to complications with the customer experience.
- Amazon Merch on Demand: If you’re an artist or graphic designer, you can use Merch on Demand to print your creations on graphic t-shirts, bags, mugs and more. Just upload your artwork, suggest a list price, and Amazon will print and ship when an item sells. You’ll earn monthly royalties based on every item sold.
- Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing: Writers can reach millions of readers around the world with Kindle Direct Publishing, which gives you access to a suite of tools to help you self-publish print and digital books. You can easily self-publish your book in more than 10 countries and in over 45 languages, all while retaining the ownership of your content. When selling physical books, we’ll print your books on demand and ship them to customers around the world. You can earn up to a 70% royalty and see your book in the Amazon store in as little as 72 hours.
- Amazon Associates Program: While not directly selling a product, the Amazon Associates program lets content creators, publishers, or bloggers monetize their traffic by offering followers product suggestions in the Amazon store. They can earn up to 10% in commissions for qualifying purchases and programs. They can also use customized linking tools to help earn money for customer purchases and select actions, like signing up for a free trial program.
How to dropship in the Amazon store
Start by creating an Amazon selling account. This will give you access to the tools and dashboards that will help you launch your ecommerce business with Amazon.
Next, find a dropshipping supplier. Make sure you research potential dropshippers to work with one you can trust. Try to find a dropshipper that has worked with Amazon before. Ask them where they get their products and if they have letters of authorization from brands or manufacturers that prove they have permission to sell the products you want to offer.
Once you’ve found the right supplier, you can start creating listings for the products you want to sell, or match offers to existing listings in the Amazon store.
How to use Merch on Demand
Sign up for Merch on Demand with your existing Amazon selling account, or create a new one to get started. Then upload your artwork. Make sure you’re using your own original artwork that doesn’t violate any existing trademarks or copyrights. Your image should be clear and high-resolution so it prints properly on your merch.
Next, choose a product type and color, and add a description. Set the price of your product so it’s enticing to potential customers, but also covers your bottom line and helps you turn a profit.
Once your product is reviewed and approved, we’ll create a product page in the Amazon store so customers can find your merch. When a customer buys your product, we’ll handle the production, shipping, and customer service—all with no upfront costs.
How to use Kindle Direct Publishing
Create a Kindle Direct Publishing account and log in. Before you upload your book, make sure your manuscript is error free—the Kindle Previewer can help you find errors so you can correct them. You’ll also want to format your book correctly so it’s easy for people to read on their Kindle.
Once your book is ready, you can upload your manuscript in a Word document, Adobe PDF, Plain Text, MobiPocket or ePub format. Next, share general information about your book, any pertinent publishing details, and relevant metadata so customers can find your book in Amazon search. Make sure you have a well-designed book cover that’s clear and easy to read, but also eye-catching to stand out.
Select Save and Publish, then your book will be submitted to Amazon for approval. Once it’s approved, it will be available for sale in the Amazon store.
How to work with the Amazon Associates program
If you’re a creator, publisher, or blogger, you can sign up for Amazon Associates and submit an application. Your site will need to meet content requirements. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll have access to a variety of tools to help you create shoppable links you can share on your website and across social media, and track your sales progress.
Amazon will review your application once you’ve driven at least three qualified sales within 180 days. If you meet all the program requirements, your application will be accepted.
Tips and tricks for selling without inventory
If you decide you want to try going the inventory-free route, here’s some things to keep in mind:
- Familiarize yourself with product restrictions. Amazon has restricted products and product compliance guidelines, even if you’re dropshipping. Stay within those guidelines to keep your account in good standing.
- Have clear communication with your customers. When it comes to dropshipping, it’s important to be up front with customers about issues like shipping delays, product availability, and any complications that may prevent them from getting their product quickly. Because you’re relying on a third party to produce and ship your inventory, it’s important to inform customers so they know what to expect when they shop with you.
- Collaborate closely with third parties. Sellers should work closely with their third-party suppliers to ensure product quality and head off any potential inventory or shipping issues.
- Address customer feedback. It can be challenging to get negative feedback from customers, but your best chance of turning them into loyal shoppers is to hear them out, provide solutions, and work with them to meet their needs.
- Automate your process. The more you can rely on automation tools to do things like help dropshippers fulfill orders or initiate shipping notification and tracking for your customers, the less you have to worry about potentially providing a negative customer experience.
- Stay on top of trends. Is a particular product trending on social media? Is a turn of phrase taking off and inspiring your artistic interpretation? Has a new genre of book set the literary world on fire? Following trends can help you determine what the next best seller might be, and how you can meet the demand with your virtual storefront.
- Do product research. Sometimes trends only tell half the story. Doing product research by using tools like Product Opportunity Explorer can help you identify profitable niches based on customer demand, search terms, and more.