How to Choose Wholesale Products to Sell on Amazon?
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This guide will help you get started, understand the basics of Amazon selling, and explain in simple words how it all works.
As a wholesale seller, choosing profitable and low-risk products to sell is imperative. That is because you buy products in bulk and can lose a lot of money should something go wrong.
Therefore, conducting thorough product research is a must. However, this process can be time-consuming and effortful. To make it more efficient, you can use Seller Assistant App, one of the best product-sourcing tools available on the market.
In this post, we will tell how wholesale works and how to choose high-margin and low-risk products with Seller Assistant App.
What Is Wholesale?
The wholesale business model involves buying products in large quantities at a lower price from a manufacturer, supplier, or distributor, and then reselling them to Amazon customers for a profit. The difference between the wholesale and retail prices is where the profit comes from.
As a wholesaler, your key task is finding brands, manufacturers, or distributors that will offer low prices for popular products. That can be challenging since many popular brands have a rigid distribution network. However, your efforts to get in will pay off because you can earn really big money.
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How Does Wholesale Work?
Wholesale differs from other business models by reselling products in bulk. The key target of wholesale sellers is to get the lowest possible prices for popular products and the best purchase conditions. That is because they resell these products on Amazon and want to maximize the profit per unit.
To get the best prices, wholesale sellers must approach the brand, manufacturer, or big distributor who can offer good purchase conditions. In that case, the cost per item at is significantly lower, which can result in higher profits.
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Key points to remember about wholesale
Wholesale works differently from other business models, and there are several essential things to remember about it.
Product research is crucial
Wholesale sellers buy in bulk, which means they have to invest a lot of money upfront to purchase the products. Therefore, it's important to make sure that the products you buy are a profitable deal and will sell well. Also, you must make sure they will not create issues when you sell them (IP complaints, restrictions, product flags) because that can lead to money loss.
Supplier network entry challenges
Since you want to get the best product price, you want to buy directly from the brand or manufacturer. However, popular brands often have an already existing sales distribution network, and they may be reluctant to change it. Therefore, wholesale seller must convince a brand to accept them as one more distribution channel in their network.
Supplier channel preferences
Suppliers may not want to work with Amazon sellers because they prefer sellers who trade through multiple channels. They may view adding more sellers as increasing competition. However, if you see other Amazon sellers selling that brand’s products, you can use that to persuade them to work with you.
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Minimum Order Quantity
Big brands and manufacturers often have high Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ), the least number of products you must buy from them to complete the order. The fixed amount can be quite high depending on the brand, and you must be prepared to invest big money upfront.
Building supplier confidence
Building a solid relationship with a supplier takes time, and you must use your negotiation skills to convince them that you are the best candidate to grow their sales. You need to demonstrate your Amazon sales experience and ability to sell volumes. Once you have access, you can discuss discounts and better conditions.
Low advertising costs
Since you'll be selling a popular brand that already exists on Amazon, you won't have to invest much money in marketing and advertising. That is because the brand has already taken care of the promotion.
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Steps to wholesale on Amazon
- Step 1. Find a supplier
You'll need to find a brand, manufacturer, or big distributor that sells the products you want to sell. There are many ways to do this, such as searching online directories, attending trade shows, or contacting manufacturers directly.
- Step 2. Negotiate with a supplier
Reach out to suppliers, get quotes, and compare prices, terms, and minimum order quantities.
Negotiate price, and explain your value as a seller and your potential order volume. Aim for a price that allows a sufficient profit margin. Negotiate payment methods, credit terms, and potential discounts for larger orders.
- Step 3. Research and choose high-profit products
Get a list of products your supplier offers. Use product research tools like Seller Assistant App to analyze sales data, product issues, and profitability estimates. Look for products with high demand, low competition, good profit margins, and positive reviews. Validate your findings and ensure you will get the projected profit and ROI.
- Step 4. Purchase inventory
Once you've selected and validated your products, you can purchase inventory from your supplier. The minimum order quantity (MOQ) will vary depending on the supplier and the product, but it's typically in the hundreds or thousands of units.
- Step 5. List your products on Amazon
Once you have your inventory, you can list your products on Amazon. As a rule, you will sell products that already exist on the Amazon catalog. Add your offers to existing listings. Make sure the products exactly match the listings where you add them.
- Step 6. Fulfill orders
When a customer orders one of your products, you'll need to fulfill the order. You can do this yourself, or you can use Amazon's Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service. With FBA, you'll ship your inventory to Amazon's fulfillment centers, and they'll pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for your orders.
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Why Use Seller Assistant App for Wholesale
Wholesale sellers must do extended product research of all products they are going to sell. That is because they buy hundreds if not thousands of each product units and if the product is incompliant or does not sell, the wholesale seller will lose a lot of money.
To effectively research and validate wholesale products, sellers use product sourcing tools. The popular tool widely used by wholesale sellers is Seller Assistant App. This all-inclusive tool for product sourcing is unrivaled in its ability to locate high-performing items that can be successfully sold on Amazon.
Seller Assistant App is an excellent tool for product research and verification. Displayed across Amazon search, product, and inventory pages, the tool conveniently shows all essential product information in one place and helps quickly decide if an item is good for selling.
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Seller Assistant App’s solutions for wholesale sellers
Alongside the typical product research capabilities, it includes a distinct IP Alert database to steer clear of problematic products, a UPC/EAN to ASIN converter to identify ASINs corresponding to manufacturers’ UPCs, a Bulk Restrictions Checker for efficient selling eligibility checks, a Quick View feature for quick product research, and various other helpful functionalities.
UPC/EAN to ASIN converter
Seller Assistant App’s UPC/EAN to ASIN Converter feature is a useful tool that allows you to convert UPCs and EANs to ASINs effortlessly. With just one click, you can automatically discover the ASIN that corresponds to your UPC or EAN. To use this feature, you simply need to upload your UPC or EAN codes to the converter. The feature will then automatically detect whether the code is a UPC or EAN and search for the matching ASIN. You can convert up to 1,000 UPCs or EANs in bulk using this tool.
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Bulk Restrictions Checker
The Bulk Restrictions Checker feature identifies if a product is restricted or not eligible for sale on your Amazon account. With Seller Assistant App’s custom Bulk Restrictions Checker, online arbitrage sellers can check restrictions for up to 5000 ASINs at a time and obtain a report with the results.
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Advanced IP Alert
An intellectual property (IP) complaint can occur when a brand files a complaint with Amazon regarding the unauthorized reselling of its products. Seller Assistant App's advanced IP Alert feature notifies you if a product you intend to sell has IP claims or other Amazon policy violations. The IP Alert uses a unique Amazon policy violation database that is updated daily and provides details regarding the type and date of policy violation.
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Buy Box percentage
The Buy Box is a section on the Amazon product page that allows shoppers to purchase a product with the "Buy Now" button. If a seller dominates the Buy Box, they are likely to receive a majority of the sales. Seller Assistant App displays the percentage of sellers in the Buy Box, which helps to identify if there is a dominant seller with whom it may be challenging to compete.
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Quick View
Quick View is a widget that appears on Amazon search pages and presents key product details. This feature helps you estimate whether it is worth researching a product or not. Quick View provides information such as the product's ASIN, BSR in its main category, the FBA and FBM product offer count, product restrictions, and IP Alerts, if Amazon sells the product.
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Export to Google Sheets
With Seller Assistant App, you can easily export your product research data to Google Sheets in a single click. You can choose from over 100 product characteristics for data export and save results directly to Google Sheets to analyze them further.
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How to Choose Wholesale Products with Seller Assistant App?
With Seller Assistant App, wholesale sellers do in-depth product research and ensure the products will sell, will be profitable, and will not pose risks. By that, they verify they will not lose money on the products they will resell. Below you can find detailed steps to product research with Seller Assistant App.
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13 Steps to do product research with Seller Assistant App
- Step 1. Remove referral links
Delete referrals from the product links to ensure accurate data. Eliminate the "ref=" portion from product links.
- Step 2. Check for private label brands
Verify that the product is not PL to avoid potential IP complaints. Look for products where the seller count is more than 1 FBA and there are no IP complaints in Seller Assistant App.
The IP Alert feature shows a red triangle icon if a product has IP complaints.
- Step 3. Research FBA seller count
FBA seller count helps identify the competition level. An ideal range of seller count is between 3 and 15 for balanced competition.
Seller Assistant App displays the seller count and the FBA and FBM seller count offering the Buy Box price +5%.
- Step 4. Avoid competing with Amazon
Skip the products where Amazon dominates the Buy Box because it’s extremely difficult to compete with them.
Seller Assistant App alerts you with a red Amazon icon on the product pages and an orange Amazon icon on the search pages if Amazon is a seller.
- Step 5. Check product sale length
Verify the listing age to ensure enough sales history (6+ months) and price, sales consistency, and seasonality insights. You can discover how long a product has been on sale from a Keepa chart Seller Assistant App shows on the product pages.
- Step 6. Analyze BSR trends
Look up BSR trends for consistent sales and downward trends.
Seller Assistant App displays the average BSR, its trend and drops during 30, 90, and 180 days, and monthly product sales based on BSR and category.
- Step 7. Research Buy Box offers
Analyze Buy Box price offers to ensure stable pricing trends and avoid intense competition.
Seller Assistant App shows the Buy Box trend, average Buy Box, and minimum FBM Buy Box price. The Buy Box percentage per seller in the Offers list helps understand if there is a dominating seller in the Buy Box.
- Step 8. Analyze variations
Verify variations to check compliance with Amazon's variation rules. They must be attributes of the same thing (size, color, etc.), and which variation sells the best.
Seller Assistant App's Variation Viewer reveals all product variation data, rating share, total ratings, and the rating percentage per variation.
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- Step 9. Review product ratings
Research product ratings to aim for a 4-5 star average and minimal negative reviews.
Reviews are available on the separate Keepa chart built into Seller Assistant App.
- Step 10. Check eligibility and restrictions
Ensure you can sell the product on your Amazon seller account and product restrictions.
Seller Assistant App’s Restrictions Checker shows a green open lock icon if you can sell a product, and a red closed lock means you can't sell it.
- Step 11. Identify product flags
Check products for flags to be aware of potential issues, like oversize, hazardous materials, meltable, etc.
Seller Assistant App flags products with a сlosed red lock icon (you can't sell the product on your account or it belongs to a restricted category), red box icon (product is oversized), red glass (product is fragile), red drop (product is meltable), hazmat icon (product belongs to hazardous materials), 18+ (product belongs to Adult goods), red Amazon icon (Amazon is a Buy Box seller), and GB icon (generic brand).
- Step 12. Get sales estimate
Estimate sales to understand your sales potential based on current competition.
Seller Assistant App shows the estimated product sales in the 'Est' line if you become one more seller on the listing.
- Step 13. Calculate ROI
Calculate ROI to ensure profitability with a target of 10% or higher.
Seller Assistant App's FBM&FBA profit calculator shows your ROI on the Amazon product pages in the ROI line.
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FAQ
Where to buy wholesale products to sell on Amazon?
Sourcing wholesale products for Amazon can be done through brands, distributors, manufacturers, and trade shows. Always research products with the tools Seller Assistant App, and compare prices, minimum order quantities, and quality before committing.
How to find Amazon wholesale products?
There's no one-size-fits-all approach to finding wholesale products for Amazon. Explore options like wholesale directories, industry trade shows, and reaching out directly to brands and manufacturers. Always prioritize trusted suppliers and compare pricing, quality, and minimum order quantities before committing.
How to sell wholesale products on Amazon?
Find wholesale suppliers through directories, trade shows, or directly contacting manufacturers. Research demand and competition. Set up an Amazon seller account, optimize product listings, comply with policies, and choose fulfillment (FBA or self-fulfillment). Track performance and adapt your strategy for success.
How to send wholesale products to Amazon?
When selling wholesale, you have two options: FBA and self-fulfillment (FBM). With the first one, send your products to Amazon's fulfillment centers for storage, picking, packing, and shipping. This simplifies your process but incurs FBA fees. With the second one, store and fulfill orders yourself, offering more control but requiring more time and resources. Choose the method that best fits your budget, resources, and volume.
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Final Thoughts
In conclusion, while finding Amazon suppliers is a key task of wholesale, researching products is equally important to make sure you will earn money on them. That is why it is crucial to make use of comprehensive tools for sourcing products to achieve success.
One such popular tool is the Seller Assistant App. It is an ultimate product sourcing extension that can assist in finding profitable products.
With its advanced features such as FBM&FBA Profit Calculator, Quick View, ASIN Grabber, IP Alert, Restrictions Checker, and other product research functionalities, you can automate product data collection. This will provide you with crucial insights into product profitability, competition, demand, and other essential product information. By leveraging this information, you can select high-margin items for your store.