At roughly 3 pm Pacific Standard Time on September 20th, 2011, my status went from New Merchant to Featured Merchant.
I've been selling cosmetics, fragrances, and beauty/health-care products on Amazon for several months now. Looking back, I'm quite proud of everything that I've done to lead my store to be featured today. Many many 2-hours sleep nights, and days where I only have time for 1 single meal (dinner). I literally poured in all my time, energy, effort into this business. And finally it's starting to pay off.
Before yesterday, I was doing on average maybe 15-20 orders a day.
From 3pm to 11:59pm yesterday, there were 60 orders, for a total of 75 orders for the day.
Many people already told me of how becoming a Featured Merchant would bring in so much more business. I didn't know it's THIS much more. I'm currently overwhelmed, with joy and happiness, but also physically. I'm thinking it's probably time to hire more people. I'm currently hiring 1 part time employee to help me with generally everything. But that won't be enough for the coming days ahead, especially with the holiday season approaching.
I've been making very very good money even with the New Merchant status. At this rate I'm hoping to be a millionaire in several years. A man can dream <3
September 20th, 2011 will mark a major milestone in my life.
Congratulations! I've always admired people who go out and start a business of their own. It can be a risky venture that requires a lot of hard work. Glad your hard work is paying off for you.
Thank you everybody for the encouragement, I really appreciate it.
On September 21 2011 23:05 UnRealXenoth wrote: Thats awesome! If you don't mind me asking, how many suppliers do you use? Just curious if its one or many.
No I don't mind at all. I'm currently ordering from about 5 different suppliers. When it comes to fragrances, you have to be really careful on who you order from, because not all of them carry authentic products. I've been doing this (not only on Amazon) for several years now, and these 5 suppliers are the culmination of all the time leading up to today.
I learned the hard way with many suppliers, having heard promises that they deliver authentic products, but failing to do so within a couple orders. Anyway if I can give an advice for people looking for a good supplier, it would be: "Don't ever give up no matter how many shitty experience you've gone through. Because there are many honest suppliers out there, you just have to look past the gimmicky 'great' prices to find them."
I sell pretty much everything. From diabetic products, soap, deodorant, toothpastes/brushes to makeup and brand name fragrances. Occasionally I also sell whatever I can make a profit from, like camera, usb cables.
Congratulations, it's the best feeling in the world when you worked really hard for something and it finally comes to fruition. I wish you all the best in the future.
Why did you decide to start selling beauty products? Do you know something about them or what? Just seems random for someone to just start selling beauty products for women, especially when you're a man. I mean, you gotta have to know something about the products right? Like what sells and what doesnt?
On September 22 2011 00:13 Manifesto7 wrote: Congratulations. Any advice you can give for someone who wants to get started like you did?
Sure Mani. Though my experience is costly (literally tens of thousands of dollars), I'm happy to share whatever I can without giving away too much of my trade secrets.
1. The source of your products is the most important thing (duh!). You won't be able to immediately find a good supplier on a first try. It's a trial-and-error thing that you would have to personally experience. My advice is to not commit too much financially on the first few orders. Don't be too hasty, just take your time and build up the mutual trust.
2. Good suppliers don't need you, you need them. Be very polite and accommodating to their (reasonable) demands. Trust me, you're only a small fish to them. For them to even spend a minute communicating with you is already nice enough on their part. They'd much rather sell to some bigger business than to a new merchant like yourself. That being said, don't be scammed by fake wholesalers. Use your common sense, and use a credit card (so you can dispute any fraudulent transaction later)! Don't ever EVER use cash/wire transfer/direct deposit as methods of payment.
3. This advice is Amazon specific. Even if you make a mistake (listing the wrong price, whatever), just accept the consequence. Don't try to avoid it. The money you may lose now will be a grain of sand compared to the money you can make down the road. Treat each and every single customer with the utmost politeness and respect, even the ones who try to scam you (trust me, this will happen every now and then, it's part of the cost of doing business on Amazon) like complaining they never received the order, that the order arrived defective, etc.. Just eat the cost and treat them like you would with the best customer. Scammers are plentiful, but compared to the honest buyers out there, it's probably 1 to thousands, so you won't lose much in the long run. Do keep in mind those suspicious buyers in case of future orders from them though.
4. If you want to make it big, make sure this is really your passion, make sure you actually enjoy doing this, because otherwise you'll be burned out very quickly.
On September 22 2011 00:25 Deadlyfish wrote: Why did you decide to start selling beauty products? Do you know something about them or what? Just seems random for someone to just start selling beauty products for women, especially when you're a man. I mean, you gotta have to know something about the products right? Like what sells and what doesnt?
Anyways, congratulations!
Hmm long story short, one thing lead to another, really. No specific reason. Actually if I have to say, it'd probably be because in my country (Vietnam), beauty products have to be imported, and there's a really good profit margin for stuff made in the US. That made me got into the business, but I gave up trying to get into Vietnam because of the bullshits I have to put up with their customs bureaucracy. So now I'm only doing business on Amazon, catering only to US customers.
edit: congrats! now you can start lots of giveaways and raffle prizes and stuff on beauty forums and stuff with that extra money to get even more money!
On September 21 2011 22:55 Sky101 wrote: Many many 2-hours sleep nights, and days where I only have time for 1 single meal (dinner). I literally poured in all my time, energy, effort into this business. And finally it's starting to pay off
The "secret" to getting better at StarCraft 2 revealed!
Congratulations on it. If you could share, what country do you get your most supply from?
I sell mostly domestic brands (Olay, Neutrogena, Aveeno, Clean & Clear, Revlon, Maybelline, etc..) so naturally I get all my products from the US. I used to order make-ups from Chinese manufacturers, but in my experience my customers didn't really like them.
On September 21 2011 22:55 Sky101 wrote: At roughly 3 pm Pacific Standard Time on September 20th, 2011, my status went from New Merchant to Featured Merchant.
I've been selling cosmetics, fragrances, and beauty/health-care products on Amazon for several months now. Looking back, I'm quite proud of everything that I've done to lead my store to be featured today. Many many 2-hours sleep nights, and days where I only have time for 1 single meal (dinner). I literally poured in all my time, energy, effort into this business. And finally it's starting to pay off.
Before yesterday, I was doing on average maybe 15-20 orders a day.
From 3pm to 11:59pm yesterday, there were 60 orders, for a total of 75 orders for the day.
Many people already told me of how becoming a Featured Merchant would bring in so much more business. I didn't know it's THIS much more. I'm currently overwhelmed, with joy and happiness, but also physically. I'm thinking it's probably time to hire more people. I'm currently hiring 1 part time employee to help me with generally everything. But that won't be enough for the coming days ahead, especially with the holiday season approaching.
I've been making very very good money even with the New Merchant status. At this rate I'm hoping to be a millionaire in several years. A man can dream <3
September 20th, 2011 will mark a major milestone in my life.
That's great man! Good for you! Any tips for a slacker that wants to make more money and do less work?
congrats! I know exactly what you mean when you're saying you're physically overwhelmed. I used to sell products such as books, toys and antiques on ebay and amazon for this SPCA thrift store about a year ago, and it is such hard work both physically and mentally. Having to keep track of all your orders, making sure all your products get shipped out on time is a lot of work!
On September 21 2011 22:55 Sky101 wrote: At roughly 3 pm Pacific Standard Time on September 20th, 2011, my status went from New Merchant to Featured Merchant.
I've been selling cosmetics, fragrances, and beauty/health-care products on Amazon for several months now. Looking back, I'm quite proud of everything that I've done to lead my store to be featured today. Many many 2-hours sleep nights, and days where I only have time for 1 single meal (dinner). I literally poured in all my time, energy, effort into this business. And finally it's starting to pay off.
Before yesterday, I was doing on average maybe 15-20 orders a day.
From 3pm to 11:59pm yesterday, there were 60 orders, for a total of 75 orders for the day.
Many people already told me of how becoming a Featured Merchant would bring in so much more business. I didn't know it's THIS much more. I'm currently overwhelmed, with joy and happiness, but also physically. I'm thinking it's probably time to hire more people. I'm currently hiring 1 part time employee to help me with generally everything. But that won't be enough for the coming days ahead, especially with the holiday season approaching.
I've been making very very good money even with the New Merchant status. At this rate I'm hoping to be a millionaire in several years. A man can dream <3
September 20th, 2011 will mark a major milestone in my life.
That's great man! Good for you! Any tips for a slacker that wants to make more money and do less work?
Hey I was a slacker just like anybody else when I was younger. It took me a while to realize what I really wanted to do. Once figured out, everything will eventually fall into place.
1st update on being a Featured Merchant: My sale revenue was nearly $2,400 yesterday. That's roughly 5 times my usual. Can't wait to see what today holds.
Congratulations, have any books that you can share to help those of us who want to at least enroll for some sort of affiliate program on Amazon? I wonder if that or becoming a merchant is more cost efficient in the long run. (I need to sell books related to the site I run to make some moolah).
so you bought some cheap wholesale products and advertised them on amazon and sold them for profit?
you figured out some products that are really good to buy and resell and it just started to happen?
and you invested in large bulk buys of quality branded products like loriel and stuck them on amazon and people located and bought them giving you a profit?
you didnt even have to do anything tricky, you just needed enough money to bulk buy so you can provide an attractive price? but how did you specifically lure customers to your store and not one of a million other stores? is it because of your product choice? how did you advertise or did it just start to happen on amazon
edit: also is it "hard work" because you're sorting and mailing all of the orders nonstop?
On September 22 2011 11:58 FFGenerations wrote: good god
so you bought some cheap wholesale products and advertised them on amazon and sold them for profit?
you figured out some products that are really good to buy and resell and it just started to happen?
and you invested in large bulk buys of quality branded products like loriel and stuck them on amazon and people located and bought them giving you a profit?
you didnt even have to do anything tricky, you just needed enough money to bulk buy so you can provide an attractive price? but how did you specifically lure customers to your store and not one of a million other stores? is it because of your product choice? how did you advertise or did it just start to happen on amazon
edit: also is it "hard work" because you're sorting and mailing all of the orders nonstop?
I don't understand your post. If my blog came off too flashy-showy that it had to trigger a condescending mockery like yours, then I think you're reading my blog wrong.
I don't know if I should address every single point in your post, because I'm not sure if you wrote it in an inquiring manner or just plainly mockingly.
Maybe all the praising replies angered you so, that you couldn't just see a guy simply happy because all his work is paying off?
On September 21 2011 22:55 Sky101 wrote: At roughly 3 pm Pacific Standard Time on September 20th, 2011, my status went from New Merchant to Featured Merchant.
I've been selling cosmetics, fragrances, and beauty/health-care products on Amazon for several months now. Looking back, I'm quite proud of everything that I've done to lead my store to be featured today. Many many 2-hours sleep nights, and days where I only have time for 1 single meal (dinner). I literally poured in all my time, energy, effort into this business. And finally it's starting to pay off.
Before yesterday, I was doing on average maybe 15-20 orders a day.
From 3pm to 11:59pm yesterday, there were 60 orders, for a total of 75 orders for the day.
Many people already told me of how becoming a Featured Merchant would bring in so much more business. I didn't know it's THIS much more. I'm currently overwhelmed, with joy and happiness, but also physically. I'm thinking it's probably time to hire more people. I'm currently hiring 1 part time employee to help me with generally everything. But that won't be enough for the coming days ahead, especially with the holiday season approaching.
I've been making very very good money even with the New Merchant status. At this rate I'm hoping to be a millionaire in several years. A man can dream <3
September 20th, 2011 will mark a major milestone in my life.
That's great man! Good for you! Any tips for a slacker that wants to make more money and do less work?
If you find out what you love and you do what you love all day long you will fix your problem.
How long since you first started getting into the business until now?
Edit:
Also, due to my limited internet shopping history, I wonder how a merchant stays competitive in such a cut-throat business?
I mean, the cost of opening an internet store is much lower than the cost of opening a physical store, not to mention the ease and convenience so entry into the market is very easy. Also, since I'm buying big brand products (identical from store to store) online, all the physical shopping factors such as store location, atmosphere, etc. become irrelevant so my only real concern is price. Moreover on this point, due to the wonders of the internet, I can price discriminate perfectly. So what's stopping other stores from lowering their price of an identical product and attracting all your customers? Is it selection and trustworthiness or something else?
For example, a quick search of your product "Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System" yields many hits, some cheaper than yours from other stores. This is probably true for most of your other products as well, someone's bound to be more competitive in pricing. So how much of that product are you selling and when? After all the stock has been depleted from cheaper stores?
What's even more puzzling to me is the fact that internet merchants are able to secure products at a discount deep enough from wholesalers to make a profit. In traditional sales requiring a physical storefront, deep discounting to merchants is justified because the time/money that a merchant spends distributing products warrant their profits. However, there is no storefront costs, no transportation costs or any other significant distribution costs that internet merchants have to cover. So why don't wholesalers have their own internet stores selling products for cheaper? And if there are, then how are internet merchants still making a profit?
Thanks, I'm studying this topic and also want to start an internet business myself. Cheers.
On September 22 2011 11:58 FFGenerations wrote: good god
so you bought some cheap wholesale products and advertised them on amazon and sold them for profit?
you figured out some products that are really good to buy and resell and it just started to happen?
and you invested in large bulk buys of quality branded products like loriel and stuck them on amazon and people located and bought them giving you a profit?
you didnt even have to do anything tricky, you just needed enough money to bulk buy so you can provide an attractive price? but how did you specifically lure customers to your store and not one of a million other stores? is it because of your product choice? how did you advertise or did it just start to happen on amazon
edit: also is it "hard work" because you're sorting and mailing all of the orders nonstop?
I don't understand your post. If my blog came off too flashy-showy that it had to trigger a condescending mockery like yours, then I think you're reading my blog wrong.
I don't know if I should address every single point in your post, because I'm not sure if you wrote it in an inquiring manner or just plainly mockingly.
Maybe all the praising replies angered you so, that you couldn't just see a guy simply happy because all his work is paying off?
Ignore it. Anything where you put time and effort into, and was rewarded, deserve praise. Congrats and job well done. I hope you can treat yourself a bit for making this milestone.
Got a question if you don't mind answering/if you got the time. PM is cool too.
I'm already a PowerSeller/Top Rated on eBay. What are the fees like on Amazon? Is it directly linked to PayPal like eBay? Pros/Cons? What does it take to become a featured merchant?
On September 22 2011 13:24 HardMacro wrote: How long since you first started getting into the business until now?
Edit:
Also, due to my limited internet shopping history, I wonder how a merchant stays competitive in such a cut-throat business?
I mean, the cost of opening an internet store is much lower than the cost of opening a physical store, not to mention the ease and convenience so entry into the market is very easy. Also, since I'm buying big brand products (identical from store to store) online, all the physical shopping factors such as store location, atmosphere, etc. become irrelevant so my only real concern is price. Moreover on this point, due to the wonders of the internet, I can price discriminate perfectly. So what's stopping other stores from lowering their price of an identical product and attracting all your customers? Is it selection and trustworthiness or something else?
For example, a quick search of your product "Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System" yields many hits, some cheaper than yours from other stores. This is probably true for most of your other products as well, someone's bound to be more competitive in pricing. So how much of that product are you selling and when? After all the stock has been depleted from cheaper stores?
What's even more puzzling to me is the fact that internet merchants are able to secure products at a discount deep enough from wholesalers to make a profit. In traditional sales requiring a physical storefront, deep discounting to merchants is justified because the time/money that a merchant spends distributing products warrant their profits. However, there is no storefront costs, no transportation costs or any other significant distribution costs that internet merchants have to cover. So why don't wholesalers have their own internet stores selling products for cheaper? And if there are, then how are internet merchants still making a profit?
Thanks, I'm studying this topic and also want to start an internet business myself. Cheers.
I'll pm you when I have more time.
On September 22 2011 14:51 mlee wrote: Got a question if you don't mind answering/if you got the time. PM is cool too.
I'm already a PowerSeller/Top Rated on eBay. What are the fees like on Amazon? Is it directly linked to PayPal like eBay? Pros/Cons? What does it take to become a featured merchant?
Sure.
Amazon's fee (15%) is actually lower than eBay after you factor in everything. I know because I sell on eBay too. I believe it was something like $0.50 for a fixed-price listing, plus like 9% or 12% I can't remember when my products are sold, plus PayPal fee. After everything adds up, it came out to more than 15%. Amazon pays you directly (ACH Transfer to your bank account) which is really convenient.
Amazon pro's: slightly lower fee (generally) compared to eBay. Massive retail customer base (vs eBay which I think is more auction oriented??? I know there are many retail stores on eBay, but overall it just feels that Amazon is a bigger online retail entity than eBay). Listing a product is MUCH easier (which helps if you have nearly a thousand items like me. I know my store says I only got nearly 700, that's because the rest is temporarily out of stock :D ). Plus everything just seems more intuitive and user friendly (the interface, the whole process, etc..).
Cons: Err maybe 15% is still too high? :D Super competitive, so much more than eBay, in the way that Amazon listings work, you compete directly with other merchants. I can't exactly put it into words, but if you ever start on Amazon, you'll see what I mean.
What it takes to become a featured merchant? Well, generally, just be outstanding in every aspect but the most important thing is: Volume (the more you sell, the faster you can become a featured merchant). Also they take into consideration your cancellation rate, feedback, refund rate, late shipment rate, response rate to customer emails, and many other things... But those are what come to mind first.
On September 21 2011 22:55 Sky101 wrote: At roughly 3 pm Pacific Standard Time on September 20th, 2011, my status went from New Merchant to Featured Merchant.
I've been selling cosmetics, fragrances, and beauty/health-care products on Amazon for several months now. Looking back, I'm quite proud of everything that I've done to lead my store to be featured today. Many many 2-hours sleep nights, and days where I only have time for 1 single meal (dinner). I literally poured in all my time, energy, effort into this business. And finally it's starting to pay off.
Before yesterday, I was doing on average maybe 15-20 orders a day.
From 3pm to 11:59pm yesterday, there were 60 orders, for a total of 75 orders for the day.
Many people already told me of how becoming a Featured Merchant would bring in so much more business. I didn't know it's THIS much more. I'm currently overwhelmed, with joy and happiness, but also physically. I'm thinking it's probably time to hire more people. I'm currently hiring 1 part time employee to help me with generally everything. But that won't be enough for the coming days ahead, especially with the holiday season approaching.
I've been making very very good money even with the New Merchant status. At this rate I'm hoping to be a millionaire in several years. A man can dream <3
That's great man! Good for you! Any tips for a slacker that wants to make more money and do less work?
Hey I was a slacker just like anybody else when I was younger. It took me a while to realize what I really wanted to do. Once figured out, everything will eventually fall into place.
1st update on being a Featured Merchant: My sale revenue was nearly $2,400 yesterday. That's roughly 5 times my usual. Can't wait to see what today holds.
Sweet man, can you describe exactly what it is you do and how you came to start doing it? September 20th, 2011 will mark a major milestone in my life.
Received PM from Sky01, his answers to my questions were really detailed and insightful. Congrats again and here's to hoping I get to his point one day;)
On September 22 2011 11:58 FFGenerations wrote: good god
so you bought some cheap wholesale products and advertised them on amazon and sold them for profit?
you figured out some products that are really good to buy and resell and it just started to happen?
and you invested in large bulk buys of quality branded products like loriel and stuck them on amazon and people located and bought them giving you a profit?
you didnt even have to do anything tricky, you just needed enough money to bulk buy so you can provide an attractive price? but how did you specifically lure customers to your store and not one of a million other stores? is it because of your product choice? how did you advertise or did it just start to happen on amazon
edit: also is it "hard work" because you're sorting and mailing all of the orders nonstop?
I don't understand your post. If my blog came off too flashy-showy that it had to trigger a condescending mockery like yours, then I think you're reading my blog wrong.
I don't know if I should address every single point in your post, because I'm not sure if you wrote it in an inquiring manner or just plainly mockingly.
Maybe all the praising replies angered you so, that you couldn't just see a guy simply happy because all his work is paying off?
lol noooo, i was genuinely super impressed about what you'd done and wanted to get the exact specifics of what exactly you'd done and how you'd done it.
you guys totally mis-read me, i wasnt being sarcastic or whatever
edit: i had some weed so the concept (and the super success you were describing) sounded seriously awesome to me, hence the "good god"
after/before i read your post i was watching dragons den uk s9, i love business stuff tho ive never been involved in it!
Thank you everyone, I really appreciate the encouragement.
Peter <3 what you been up to?
Update on yesterday: Sales were around $2,900, which is a nice increase from my 1st day of being a Featured Merchant. But today felt slow (relative to the first 2 days) so far, let's see how it's gonna end.
Vent:
So there is this jackass called Warren Dyer who purchased 2 items from me. Normally a lot of merchants on Amazon don't give discount for additional items purchased within the same order (for example: I buy 3 items at $1 each and $5 shipping. The total normally would be $6 x 3 = $18), but I do. Every additional item purchased in the same order will only be charged a $3 shipping (vs my standard shipping rate of $5.49).
So anyway, this Warren only found out about that after he already placed the order. So he sent me an email begging me to give him discount on 1 more item that he wanted to purchase (separate order). To be honest, it's only a couple bucks, doesn't make a dent in my pocket. But I explained to him that because the way that Amazon works, additional item discount doesn't work for separate orders, and if I wanted to give him the discount (I really did) I would have to do a partial refund on his new order.
The thing with Amazon is, they generally discourage refunds (partial or full, doesn't matter). Every time a merchant issues a refund for whatever amount, the refund rate in the merchant performance chart goes up. Now if you just want to sell a few items, no problem. But if you want to have the best score possible to achieve (and to maintain) Featured Merchant status, you better keep those grades up. Having a high refund rate hurts your score, and in turn, hurts your status.
So long story short, I told him I really wanted to give him the discount, but Amazon has my hands tied. Then the dude emailed me back, calling me a liar basically. He claims he himself is also an Amazon Merchant, and he says there is no such thing as refunds hurting your score. So I replied, pointed this dumbass to the exact score chart. And after that he's all, "Oh thank you for telling me all that..." blah blah blah
Long story short, I've been very polite and elaborative with him. After seeing his last reply (see line above) I was generally pretty satisfied thinking to myself even though this guy is probably disappointed I couldn't give him the discount, at least now he knows why, and would appreciate my time spent explaining to him how Amazon works...
So today he left me a 1 out of 5 star feedback, this is his exact word:
I will never purchase anything for from this company it is a scam. The prices are not as it seems the shipping cost is 4 times the amount for the product . Which is how the seller gains there money. You would do better going into the store and purchasing the product it will be cheaper.
The dude purchased 2 Neutrogena face wash for $1.97 each. His grand total was $12.43 total for something that retails anywhere from $6 to $8 each plus tax ($12 to $16 total before tax). Seeing how he penny pinched me for a couple bucks of discount, I doubt that he would have purchased my items to begin with if he didn't know for sure it was the best price possible.
On top of that he also claimed he received no customer service from me. Kinda made me regret ever spent time explaining to him over several emails at all.
EPT
