As you might have gathered from my recent posts, the past year was one of the most difficult times in my life. I was in a really bad place mentally and physically. The result was less travel, which meant less entries on the blog and YouTube channel. There have been a lot of questions, in regards to the status of the blog. At one point, I wanted to do away with the entire thing because keeping up on it (or lack thereof) was weighing on me heavily. After some conversations with close friends/mentors, I decided to not only keep the blog but I added Phillips Loop Amazon Seller page to the mix.
Steps to become an Amazon Seller:
1. Find a product to sell. There were a lot of videos that gave ideas on what products to sell. It is hard to sift through the legit sites/videos as opposed to the scams. Be careful paying for any kind of online seller class.
2. Open an Amazon Seller Account by using an email or existing account. Next, I had to input all of the specifics about my business (name, physical address, telephone number, etc.) Tax information (EIN if an LLC or SSN if individual) and bank/card information. The bank information was needed before I could choose individual or professional account. In the simplest terms, select individual if you plan to sell a few items a month in limited categories. I selected a professional account, not because I planned to sell a lot of items in a variety of categories, but just in case I ever did. The professional account costs is $40/month while the individual account charges $1 per item sold.
3. Order and Ship Products. There were tons of options out there to acquire products. I saw a lot of blogs pushing Chinese manufacturers. I chose to go with a wholesaler in the United States due to delays in the supply chain from China and to help local companies.
4. Choose Fulfill by Amazon (FBA) or Fulfill by Merchant (FBM). I chose to use FBA as opposed to FBM so Amazon handles everything in regards to the product. With FBM, I would be tasked with storing, packaging, shipping, returns, complaints, etc. there was a steep learning curve with printing SKU and shipping labels using my Rollo Thermal printer.
Currently, I have two items listed on the Phillips Loop Seller page: 1) hinged soap dish and 2) 4-pack toothbrush covers.
These travel products seemed like safe, easy ones to begin my seller journey since and it goes along with the travel oriented direction of my sites. The plan is to incorporate one or two more items in the spring to include Phillips Loop branded shirts.
Final Word
I am have only been dabbling with Amazon Seller for five/six months so I do not know all of the ends and outs of the program. The customer service department is responsive and Amazon Seller discussion boards have great advice and lessons learned. The plan is to learn everything I can during the first year of selling on Amazon and increase blogging, traveling, posting when I retire for the United States Air Force in the coming months.
