Amazon is launching soon, defying Gerry Harvey’s all the predictions. In fact Citi analysts claimed that Amazon will be launching any time during next month. Well this may be a sad news for Gerry, nonetheless it is great opportunity for entrepreneurs, small business owners and first time sellers alike. When the Amazon Australian Marketplace opens, sellers will have access to large number of customers, combined with hassle free fulfillment option in the form of FBA and upcoming Christmas shopping season, It is going to be a gold rush. But are you ready to capitalize on this opportunity?
Retailers are already learning the hard way that either one can be a part of Amazon marketplace or be competition to it. For medium to small size retailers competing with Amazon is not an option however joining Amazon is not only beneficial for existing retailers in fact it provides great opportunity for small size businesses and first time sellers. Following are few of the benefits of joining this marketplace.
Australian buyers are already planning their purchases for when Amazon opens up its Aussie Shop. Amazon has one of highest brand recognition in world and combine that with billion dollar marketing budget, Sellers on Amazon Marketplace are going to have large number of customers available at single place to purchase their products.
If you do not know about FBA, than read about Fulfillment by Amazon before proceeding further. The FBA program handles most demanding part of retail that is fulfilling the customers’ orders and that too at extremely low cost. Furthermore, FBA allows online sellers to just list their products and sit back as all the inventory management, order processing, product shipping, return handling and customer support is handled by Amazon.
According to latest Amazon Seller data, roughly one seller joins the marketplace every minute so you can imagine the size of this retail behemoth. This high rate of expansion is fueled by almost no entry to barrier. To join the marketplace, all you need is 30 – 60 minutes of your time and after that your products are available for customers to purchase.
With last quarter just starting up, Christmas is around the corner. Amazon is expected to fight hard this holiday season through competitive pricing. Aussie buyers are already planning their Amazon purchase so increased retail activity is highly anticipated in last quarter. There cannot be any better time to try out online selling than now.
It is now well established that Amazon provides a great opportunity for selling online in Australia. This cannot be denied but more importantly, serious entrepreneurs have already planned and placed orders with their suppliers in anticipation of Amazon launch in Australia. Let’s see, why are they in so much rush.
With Amazon marketplace maturing up, this US company has been streamlining brand presence on the marketplace. All seasoned sellers on Amazon know that the marketplace is now all about establishing reputation and having strong brand presence. With that being said, early movers will be capitalizing hugely through product reviews, product sales history (which effect BSR [more on it below]) and sellers’ feedback.
According to available reports Amazon is initially going to open up only its first 24,000 Sq Meter warehouse located in Melbourne. With the rush of sellers as Amazon launch dust settles, the processing times for product entry into Amazon FBA system can go up to 2-3 weeks. For successfully capitalizing on holiday sales, you product must be available to buyers before start of November.
Now we know that why smart entrepreneurs have already placed order with their suppliers. If you are going to source from overseas than add 4-6 weeks of additional time for production and shipping. If you are serious about starting off on Amazon as seller than their is no more time to waste.