Scanning For Beginners

What IS Scanning

I figure if your new to this all you're probably scratching your head wondering "What the heck is scanning"

I thought I would bang this out as a quick tutorial or explanation.

There is a camera icon in the top right of your seller central app. Press this and a bar code scanner comes up.

You scan the bar codes on the products.

You can also scan the product itself.

All of this on your smartphone.

What's This Have To Do With FBA?                             

Everything. 

What you are doing here is the very basics of getting going and continuing especially for RA and OA. 

What you are doing is looking for products that are already listed on Amazon! 

That's why the seller central app setup is important. This is where the app or Amazons logarithm tells you if your eligible to sell the product.

What DO I Look For

In the beginning everything, literally, scan everything to find the one that will get you going.

Look for 3 stars and up, a seller rank of 50,000 or under. The lower the better.

I know you can if you look in the right places find products that will have BSR`s (Best Seller Rank) down around 2K in Canada. 

In the USA I find BSR of 50k is good as it is equal to 5k in Canada, which is a fairly good rank. Things move way faster in the US.

Profit IS NOT Important YET

Don't look to make a killing here at the start, this is a long game. as long as the number at the bottom of your Seller Central app is green that's good enough.

For you starting everything is more expensive and harder to compete with.

If that product sells 10 a day, you would be able to go on 10 cents profit. Remember its the start.

WARNING: Double-check the product, make sure it is exactly what is being sold, there is an option when listing (if the product and weights amounts, etc are exact) to mention exact product but the packaging is different.  This is really important.

Suppliers change packaging frequently, perhaps to fend off counterfeit products.

 Product Sourced Now What

So you've found that first product that meets your criteria, hit favorite and save it in seller app, they will always be there for a while in the history., DONT RUSH.

Go home unless you are ok with in-store keepa checking, I do so on the spot.  

Check the stats make sure the sales are steady and not declining. 

 Make sure Amazon is not just out of stock so not showing on the listing.

Strategy                                   

                                        

Heres the trick.  Once you have identified the product hopefully at least 2-3, but 1 is ok too, all checked and ready to go, buy 5-10, label and package and ship.

Rinse Repeat

The thing is:  The more you sell, with good metrics (returns, problems bad reviews all hurt, etc) the faster you will become eligible to sell more products.

Ungating is Automatic depending on your metrics, I had poor metrics so it took longer, but 5 months and it started to open up.

DO NOT push the ungating keep going with the products you have, as long as they are good. Don't overbuy, Amazon could decide to start selling the product, and then you are done with it, you more than likely can`t compete. (more on that later)

You will begin to notice that things will start opening up for you, more products will become available. fees will be better from Amazon you will get more warehouse space. 

The more you ship the cheaper it will be. 

This will take time, DO NOT RUSH, don't waiver just stick to it and you will within a year be in great shape with a growing business. 

Maybe you will share the tips to your success with me!!

Just don't go the GURU root Don't be one Don't get ICON ed by one. ;)