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10 Common Mistakes New Amazon Sellers Make (and How to Avoid Them)
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Entering the world of Amazon selling can be both exciting and overwhelming. While the platform offers tremendous potential, many new sellers quickly discover that succeeding on the marketplace isn’t as simple as listing a product and waiting for sales to roll in.
In fact, the path to success is often littered with costly mistakes.
In this blog post, we’ll highlight the 10 most common mistakes that new Amazon sellers make and provide practical solutions to avoid them.
By addressing these critical areas early on, you can position yourself to thrive in Amazon’s competitive marketplace and build a solid foundation for long-term success.
Mistake #1: Mispricing Products
New sellers often struggle with setting the right price. Overpricing a product can scare away customers, while underpricing may hurt your profit margins.
Additionally, many sellers forget to account for Amazon fees, shipping costs, and market dynamics, which leads to either uncompetitive pricing or slim-to-no profit.
How to Avoid It:
Research the competition. Use tools like Helium 10 to study the prices of similar products in your niche. You want to price your product competitively without racing to the bottom.
Factor in Amazon’s FBA fees, referral fees, and shipping costs to set a price that covers your costs and leaves room for profit.
Monitor pricing regularly. Adjust as needed based on demand, competitors, and seasonal trends.
Mistake #2: Poor Inventory Management
Stockouts and overstocking can be costly. If you run out of stock, your product loses its sales momentum and search ranking.
On the other hand, overstocking ties up capital and incurs unnecessary Amazon storage fees, particularly if you’re using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
How to Avoid It:
Start small with inventory and scale based on the sales data you collect.
Forecast demand by analyzing historical data, and plan for busy periods such as Black Friday or holiday seasons. Avoid large upfront investments in inventory until you understand your sales cycle.
Mistake #3: Ignoring Amazon Fees
New sellers often fail to consider all the fees associated with selling on Amazon.
These include referral fees, FBA fees, storage fees, and long-term storage penalties, all of which can eat into your profits if not properly calculated upfront
How to Avoid It:
Use Amazon’s Revenue Calculator to estimate your fees and profitability before listing your products.
Regularly audit your Amazon account to ensure you're aware of all deductions, and track how fees impact your margins.
Always plan for contingencies like increased storage fees or shipping cost fluctuations, especially if your inventory sits in Amazon warehouses for long periods.
Mistake #4: Not Optimizing Product Listings
A poorly optimized listing will hurt your chances of ranking on Amazon and lead to lower sales.
Many sellers overlook the importance of quality images, proper keyword usage, and compelling product descriptions. This often results in lower visibility and conversions.
How to Avoid It:
Your product listing should be optimized for both Amazon’s algorithm and potential buyers.
Here's how:
- Images: Use high-quality, high-resolution images that clearly showcase the product from multiple angles. Amazon allows up to 9 images—leverage them!
- Title: Include your most important keywords while keeping the title readable.
- Bullet Points: Highlight key features and benefits, using relevant keywords naturally.
- Description: Offer a detailed yet concise product description that answers common buyer questions. Use keyword research tools like Helium 10 to identify which keywords to target. Remember, the better your listing, the higher your conversion rates, and the more sales you make.
Mistake #5: Neglecting Customer Reviews
A lack of customer reviews—or worse, bad reviews—can seriously affect your product’s success on Amazon.
New sellers fail to have a review strategy in place, and many don’t take negative reviews seriously enough, leading to poor ratings and a loss of trust.
How to Avoid It:
Take negative reviews seriously by responding quickly and professionally. Use negative feedback to improve your product or service and show potential customers that you care about their experience.
Also, make sure to address any product issues brought up by reviewers before they escalate into a wave of poor ratings.
Mistake #6: Using Inadequate Product Images
Low-quality images fail to showcase the product effectively, leading to lower conversions.
New sellers often think they can skimp on photography or fail to follow Amazon’s image guidelines, which require a pure white background and high-resolution photos.
How to Avoid It:
Hire a professional photographer or invest in high-quality product photography.
Include images of the product from various angles, in use, and with zoom functionality.
Customers want to get a good sense of the product before purchasing, especially when they can’t see it in person. Additionally, make sure the first image complies with Amazon’s guidelines to avoid rejection.
Mistake #7: Failing to Use Amazon FBA
Many sellers hesitate to use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) due to perceived costs, choosing to handle fulfillment themselves.
However, self-fulfillment often leads to slower delivery times, poor customer service, and lost opportunities with Amazon Prime shoppers.
How to Avoid It:
Consider the benefits of FBA—especially for new sellers. FBA allows you to tap into Amazon’s vast fulfillment network, which ensures quick delivery and access to Prime customers.
Use the FBA Revenue Calculator to compare the costs of self-fulfillment versus FBA. Even with fees, FBA’s ability to help you scale, automate logistics, and increase customer trust can far outweigh the costs.
Mistake #8: Overlooking Amazon’s Rules and Policies
Violating Amazon’s rules can result in account suspension or product delisting, which can have a devastating effect on your business.
Sellers often miss updates to policies or neglect to read the fine print regarding restricted products, advertising guidelines, or customer communications.
How to Avoid It:
Make sure you are regularly updated on Amazon's policies and guidelines. Bookmark the Amazon Seller Central Policy page and review it often.
Pay attention to new policy updates, which may include changes to restricted products, returns, or advertising rules. Following Amazon’s policies not only keeps your account safe but also ensures you’re providing the best possible customer experience.
Mistake #9: Focusing Only on Amazon Traffic
Relying solely on Amazon’s internal traffic is a common mistake for new sellers.
While Amazon has a massive audience, the competition is fierce, and relying only on organic or PPC traffic can limit your potential.
How to Avoid It:
Drive external traffic to your Amazon listings through social media advertising, micro influencer marketing, and email campaigns.
Check out this blog post to discover 3 ways to boost your visibility on Amazon.
Using external traffic sources also boosts your product’s ranking on Amazon, creating a sales momentum that fuels your business growth.
Mistake #10: Not Using Product Testing Campaigns
Many Amazon sellers launch products without gathering real-world feedback, leading to product issues, poor reviews, and high return rates.
A lack of testing leaves you flying blind, hoping your product will resonate with customers.
How to Avoid It:
Invest in Product Testing Campaigns to gather valuable feedback on product design, usability, and listing accuracy.
By testing your product with real customers, you can identify potential issues, improve your product, and optimize your listing for higher conversions for Prime Days.
Here’s how this strategy can help:
1. Gather Valuable Feedback: Amazon product testing allows you to see how your target audience interacts with your product and whether it meets their expectations.
2. Fine-Tune Your Product and Listing: Use the feedback from testers to improve your product, packaging, and Amazon listing, ensuring everything aligns with customer expectations.
3. Drive External Traffic and Sales: Product testers often share their experiences online, organically promoting your product.
4. Build Sales Momentum: By securing early sales through testing, you create sales momentum that boosts your product’s ranking in Amazon’s search algorithm.
5. Minimize Returns: Testing helps you proactively resolve potential issues, reducing the risk of returns and increasing customer satisfaction.
Product Testing Campaigns are a powerful tool that can help new Amazon sellers avoid costly mistakes, optimize their listings, and build lasting success.
Whether you’re launching a new product or improving an existing one, this approach gives you the insights needed to win on Amazon.
Are you ready to start your Amazon journey on the right foot?
Get in touch with us today to learn how intelliRANK’s Product Testing Service can help you avoid these common mistakes and skyrocket your Amazon business to the next level!
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