From time to time when you are adding a product, and adding a listing, you’ll see that the product or brand requires approval. In this issue we’ll go through one of easiest types of approvals.

Approval is Part of the Process

We understand this can seem frustrating and sometimes challenging in the beginning. However, the thing that we have realized is the more you sell, the more you get approved for products or brands the easier it will become.

As an established Amazon Seller, you’ll reach a point where you’ll get auto approved for products or brands. By simply pressing the “request approval” button, you’ll be automatically approved. Even after we’ve been auto approved for dozens of products, it’s a wonderful and empowering feeling to receive an auto approval.

Upon adding a product, you’ll see that the button states “Apply to sell.” Don’t be discouraged. This will happen. Sometimes we’ll get approved, sometimes not. Sometimes we’ll need to provide purchasing information from a wholesale distributor, or written approval from a brand holder stating that you have permission to sell this particular brand. We’ll cover this in future issues.

Sell Authentic, and Genuine Products

This is one of the easier ways to get approved. It’s providing proof that you know and understand that you need to sell genuine and authentic products. Amazon wants to make sure counterfeit and fake products are not being sold on the platform. We’ve been victims of this as well. I ordered Epson brand ink cartridge for my printer only to receive a generic knock off in Chinese packaging. Never attempt to deceive your customers or Amazon. This is totally uncool!

After clicking Apply to sell, you’ll need to click Request Approval, on what is called a Selling Application. We’ll cover more on Selling Applications and how to manage them in future issues. It’s a good idea to take note and review the information here. For Example, confirm this is, indeed, the exact brand you are applying to sell. As well as the condition such as Used, Refurbished, or New. You may quickly see that no seller can sell a particular condition. This typically happens, when the brand holder wants to maintain a level of control and/or they are the only seller on the platform.

The next steps are pretty straight forward. First, there is a short video the reviews an introduction to Amazon’s Anti-Counterfeit Policy and Compliance.

You’ll then need to answer a few simple questions beginning with your Amazon Business. In this example, we are only the Reseller, since we are not the manufacturer of this particular product.

Please be sure to read the questions thoroughly, and select the appropriate response. Again, this ensures we understand that we are only buying, and selling authentic and genuine non-counterfeit products.

After completing this process, and submitting you’ll most likely be instantly approved to sell this product. Congrats! You are approved to sell your product on Amazon.

Winning Product of the Week

Title: IRON °FLASK Sports Water Bottle - 64 Oz - 3 Lids

Platform: Amazon

Cost: 7.99

Selling Price: 39.99

Margin: 54% / $21.50ea

Tip or Trick of the Week

If you already have an office printer, feel free to get started using what you have however, there is a way you can save money when printing shipping labels! It’s actually free and easy to open a UPS Business Account. Once you have your UPS Account ID, you can call the UPS customer service center on 1-800-742-5877, and request your Thermal Printer. This type of printer doesn’t use ink!

Once you have your printer, you can also order free labels for your printer. Login to your account and head over the Order Supplies area. You can choose the appropriate labels for your printer.

Q&A

This week, we got the question:

Good Question from subscriber, Jean.

Here is a list of some basic supplies and materials resellers would have on hand:

Packaging and Shipping Supplies:

- Label Printer and Labels (See Above)

- Boxes

- Poly bag mailers, we have found this is one of the most versatile and easiest way to ship many types of products.

- Bubble mailers

- Packing Material (packing peanuts or equivalent)

- Packing tape… A lot of tape 🙂 

- Bubble wrap

-Tape Measure &/or ruler

- Box cutter, or utility knife or scissors

- Shipping scale, start with a bathroom scale if that is all you have, but we’d recommend getting a more accurate, digital scale.

- If you have room, it may be good idea to have some shelving, or bins to organize and store your inventory.

Thank you! We appreciate your support. If you found this helpful and may provide value to others, please forward this to your friend, colleague, neighbor or family member!