Introduction to
AMAZON
By Goat Consulting
ABOUT US
Goat Consulting provides management
and marketing solutions for brands,
manufacturers and retailers selling on the
Amazon.com Marketplace through Seller
Central and Vendor Central. Our goal is to
protect, manage and grow your brand on
Amazon.com. WHAT SETS US APART
We have experience growing sales for brands and manufacturers in
multiple industries.
We test and try industry leading software and can provide an unbiased
suggestion
We speak candidly at all the major industry conferences and discuss
best practices with other experts, allowing us to keep our finger on the
Amazon.com marketplace pulse
We have a deep understanding of the nature of the Amazon.com
marketplace and can provide a selling strategy for any business model
that is looking to sell or grow sales on Amazon.com
ABOUT THE FOUNDERS
Reed Thompson (left) ­ Managed
several $100mm/yr Target stores before
applying retail best practices to the
Amazon.com marketplace
Will Tjernlund (right) ­ Experience
growing sales from $0­$10mm/yr on
Amazon.com for manufacturers.
Table of Contents
WHAT IS AMAZON.COM?
VENDOR CENTRAL VS. SELLER CENTRAL . . . . . . . . . 5
FULFILLMENT BY AMAZON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
WHAT IS THE BUY BOX?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
WHAT WE PROVIDE
ACCOUNT OPTIMIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
ACCOUNT GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Amazon Seller Central is when you sell on the Amazon
marketplace as a third party seller. Anyone can sign up for this
program and it cost $40 a month to be a member. When you sell
on Seller Central, you control the price the product is sold at and
decide how much inventory you would like to have in stock at
Amazon.com
Most sellers on Seller Central take advantage of Amazon's
Fulfillment by Amazon program. This works as a consignment
type business agreement where the seller sends inventory to
Amazon's fulfillment center. In this situation Amazon provides
the customer service and fulfillment for a fee.
In the Amazon Vendor central program, you sell to Amazon.
Vendor Central is invite only and is usually reserved for
manufacturers and brand owners. When you sell your products
through Vendor Central, the products appear as "shipped and
sold by Amazon.com" Amazon sets the price in Vendor Central
and will place weekly purchase orders.
Vendor Central integrates easier into traditional B2B business
processes. You still pay fees in Vendor Central but they are
significantly less. You are assigned a buyer and will get access
to extra marketing techniques through Amazon Marketing
services. FOUR
Paid every 2 weeks
Paid when product is
sold minus all fees
Paid either net 30, 60 or 90 days Paid via purchase
orders, not individual
orders
You control the retail price of
your product
Only control price you sell to
Amazon, Not retail price
You will have to compete for
the Buy Box
Almost always win the Buy Box
Very easy to update your
catalog
Can take longer to update your
catalog
Fees depend on Category
15%­30%
Fees depend on Category
10%­15%
Access to Amazon Marketing
Services
Click below to use our
Vendor Central vs Seller Central
calculator
Dedicated Amazon
representative
FIVE
FULFILLMENT BY AMAZON
1. Set up FBA.
If you already have a Selling on Amazon account, Add FBA to your account. If you
don't have a Selling on Amazon account, Get started today.
2. Create your product listings.
Add your products to the Amazon catalog one at a time, in bulk, or by integrating
your inventory­management software with Amazon's API.
3. Prepare your products.
Make sure your products are "e­commerce ready," so they can be safely and
securely transported all the way into a customer's hands. Need supplies? Get
Amazon preferred prep and shipping supplies delivered to your door.
4. Ship your products to Amazon.
Create your shipping plans, engage discounted partner carriers, and ship and track
your shipments to Amazon fulfillment centers. Amazon's online seller tools can help
you through the process.
5. Customers order your products, and Amazon picks, packs, and ships them.
Prime customers get fast, free shipping on your products, and all customers can
qualify for FREE shipping on eligible orders. Amazon fills those orders quickly and
efficiently using our advanced, web­to­warehouse, high­speed picking and sorting
system. Customers receive tracking information from Amazon.
6. Amazon provides customer support on products you sell.
Our world­class customer­service team manages customer inquiries, refunds, and
returns for orders on Amazon marketplaces, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
To learn more watch our
"intro to FBA" video on
YouTube
THREE
THE BUY BOX
The Buy Box is the box on a product detail page where customers can
begin the purchasing process by adding items to their shopping carts.
A key feature of the Amazon website is that multiple sellers can offer
the same product. If more than one eligible seller offers a product,
they may compete for the Buy Box for that product.
To give customers the best possible shopping experience, sellers
must meet performance­based requirements to be eligible to compete
for Buy Box placement. For many sellers, Buy Box placement can lead
to increased sales.
SIX
HOW TO WIN THE BUY BOX?
Pricing
Price competitively. Customers trust that they will find low prices on
Amazon.com. Watch your competition to stay competitive. View the price of
the offer that is currently winning the Buy Box. On the Manage Inventory
page, click the Preferences button, and select Show when available for the
current Buy Box winning price. Buy Box winning prices are displayed for
"New" condition listings only.
Availability
Keep stock available. If you have no current stock for a product, you cannot
win the Buy Box. Use inventory planning best practices to keep your popular
products in stock.
Update your inventory
Customers who submit orders for products that are not in stock are likely to
leave negative feedback, especially around the holidays. To ensure that
buyers cannot place orders for out­of­stock items, keep your inventory
updated.
Plan vacations. If you are going on vacation, make sure that customers are
not left waiting for orders to arrive. See Listings Status for more information.
Fulfillment
Offer multiple shipping options on your products, including free shipping. You
can manage your available shipping options in Shipping Settings.
Customer service
Customer service is measured in numerous ways. Excelling in all areas can
help you succeed on Amazon. The Account Health page on the Performance
link can help you track your customer metrics.
SEVEN
THE BUY BOX
View the customer sees
Who sells the
product and who
fulfills the order
List of other sellers
competing for the
Buy Box
How many sellers are
selling that SKU and
what's the lowest price
Inside the Buy Box
Seller feedback rating
Merchant Fulfilled, not
fulfilled by Amazon
Seller's Name
EIGHT
WHAT WE PROVIDE
ACCOUNT OPTIMIZATION
We will do a complete Audit
of you products and your
existing Amazon account
Next we will clean up and
optimize all of your Amazon
listings so that the copy and
images look appealing as
well as include proper search
terms
After that, we will fix any
pricing issues and handle
any MAP violations
Lastly, we will set up Amazon
advertising to optimize sales
NINE
WHAT WE PROVIDE
ACCOUNT GROWTH
We will run your your
Amazon Marketing Services
including Amazon Sponsored
Product Campaigns.
We know all the experts and
speak at many conferences
to stay on top of the
newest best practices.
We will monitor your account
to make sure your sales grow
while making sure your
account never gets
suspended.
We will watch other third part
sellers to make sure no one
is selling below MAP
TEN
Any Questions?
Have any questions?
Contact Us
Goat Consulting
[email protected]
[email protected]
100 W. Franklin Ave Ste 203
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404
651­400­0509