Maximize Earnings on Amazon This Holiday Season

Ten billion dollars – that’s how much more revenue Amazon generally makes during Quarter 4 compared to Q1, for example.

We’re used to seeing big numbers in relation to Amazon, but that’s pretty significant.

I’m pretty sure that you already know that Q4 is the time of year you can make the most money selling your products on Amazon, particularly if you are using the FBA services. But do you know how to maximize this amazing opportunity?

What most people will tell you to do:

Buy lots and lots of toys and you are guaranteed to make a fortune.

Well, not really. Yes, toys are incredibly popular to buyers during Q4, but they are also incredibly popular with sellers, too. And if you know anything about supply and demand, you’ll be aware that the more sellers of a product there are, the more likely the price will drop.

And lower prices rarely mean more profit.

So here is my guide to Maximize Earnings on Amazon This Holiday Season – and yes, toys are still involved, don’t worry!

1. Hot Toys Lists

The problem with the best selling toys, as I’ve already mentioned, is that they are very competitive. So even if you can access a good supply of them (often difficult due to their popularity), you take the risk of the price tanking as the listing gets flooded. However, we can still use the list of “this year’s must-have toys” that we see on various websites to our advantage. Most toys have accessories that complement them – the best selling doll, for example, will often have outfits, pushchairs etc. that go with them that will also maximize earnings.

You can also use the best selling toys list to give you ideas to find similar products that will also sell well due to their similarity with the well-known version. And another way to utilize these lists is to find other products from the same manufacturer of the “hot” toy.

2. Open Your Sales Rank Mind

Most of us buy products under a certain sales rank, because we know that they will be more likely to sell (I do hope that you don’t just take the rank for that particular day, but look at the average over the last few months or so. That’s a chat we need to have on another day).

Well ranked toys sell more during Q4 of course, but less popular toys also sell, whereas at other times of year they may not. So instead of limiting your selection criteria to within a certain sales rank range, move it further out. You can also check how well a product sold during Q4 last year by looking at the sales rank charts on either Keepa or CamelCamelCamel.

 

3. Open Your Product Category Mind

Yes, toys are great for maximize earnings in Q4, but it’s not just kids that get presents at Christmas. If you are ungated in the Beauty category you will find that there are a ton of gift packages that sell really well during Q4. Think about what you are buying for others for Christmas and see if you can source those to sell on Amazon (this also means you could potentially buy your gifts at a discount too – double win!)

4. Flash Sales & Emails

Years ago stores would start having their sales in January, but now they seem to start at the beginning of Q4 and carry on all of the way through to February. I probably sourced 70% of my products for Q4 last year through flash sales that kept popping up. Set up a new Gmail address, sign up for every store email list that you can and in Gmail set it up to forward the emails to your normal email address in the settings section:

You’ll find out about the store sales as soon as they get announced which means you can buy your stock before your competition does. You can turn off the forwarding after Q4 if you want to.

5. Don’t Just Sit At Your Desk

If at all possible try and combine Retail Arbitrage with Online Arbitrage. Sure you can do well with the online sales, but you can find less competitive products when you source physically in the store. I live on a small Spanish island, which means I have to fly back to the UK to do this, but it’s well worth it.

6. Think About Your Prepping

Where is your time best spent, sourcing or prepping and shipping? If you can find a reliable prep center who is able to maintain decent turnaround times during Q4 then seriously think about outsourcing your prepping to them. There will be a cost associated with this, but surely you can make that money back, and more, by sourcing and repricing rather than sticking labels on products.

If a prep center isn’t an option for you, ensure that you are organized with your own setup. Have a dedicated space to prepping and have everything ready in advance – boxes, tape, labels and for goodness sake plenty of printer ink.

7. Develop A Relationship With Your UPS Man or Woman

Hang on a minute, I don’t mean like that.

In my experience, the same UPS person came to collect the boxes I was sending into Amazon every day. I developed a rapport with mine (he was called Mark. Probably still is.), helped him with the boxes, chatted about his day etc. and in return, he was really flexible about pick up timings and how many boxes he would take for me. This saved me time and effort and got my products into the Amazon warehouse quicker.

8. Keep A Closer Eye On Pricing

You make money when you sell something, not when you buy it. Pay close attention to updating your BQool repricing as soon as possible, and consider setting your selling pricing higher than you are actually expecting to sell for. Some prices go up during Q4 and you want to be in a position to take advantage of that to maximize earnings. You can always set your pricing range lower if you need to.

And ensure that if a product starts selling as soon as it hits the warehouse, you jump onto it and see if it is something you can raise the price on. Maximize earnings at this time of year to really maximize earnings at Q4.

There’s nothing left for you to do but put your Q4 plan into action, so go out there and kill it. Tell Amazon I sent you!

Biography: Dan Ashton is an experienced Amazon seller and entrepreneur. Due to the success of his online businesses over the past two years, Dan has moved from Liverpool, UK to the beautiful Mediterranean island of Mallorca, where he continues to work to build and expand them further. Dan shares his experiences and helps others to establish their financial freedom via his website

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BQool Marketing

October 27, 2017

Pauline's passions lie in eCommerce and supporting individuals in their online selling endeavors. Currently, as a frequent contributor to the BQool Blog, she channels her passions into creating informative contents that break down the complex challenges Amazon sellers face on a daily basis.