TAS 213 : How and When to Sell Your Products on Amazon Japan (step by step)

You may have noticed lately that Amazon is advertising within your seller account for their non-U.S. sales platforms. They are trying really hard to get current sellers to expand into different marketplaces. For some time Scott has been giving that option some thought but when he received an email from today’s guest, Nick Kemp, he was even more interested. Nick has been selling on the Amazon Japan marketplace for some time and is experiencing a good deal of success. In this conversation Scott and Nick chat about how it’s working, how he got into the Japanese market, and his road to private label success.

What do you do when your private label item is infringing on another’s patent?

Today’s guest was beginning to sell a lot of his product and decided that it was time to get more listings on Amazon. He chose a related items that was very unique because of its design and sourced it from a China supply company. But he soon discovered that the supplier had signed an agreement that they would not sell the product in the U.S. but hadn’t told him. He discovered that sad fact by receiving a letter from the patent owner’s attorney telling him he had to stop selling the product immediately or he would be sued. It was a $10,000 loss for him and he’s still recovering. Listen in to this conversation to get some tips on how you can avoid that sort of thing with your private label products.

Making money in the Amazon Japan marketplace faster than the U.S.

Within a very short amount of time after launching his products on the Japanese marketplace, Nick Kemp began to see sales. In his experience one of the advantages to selling on the Japanese marketplace is that you typically don’t have to get near as many reviews to begin selling your products. A well optimized listing seemed to be all it took and Nick was selling a good number of items per day within no time. On this episode Nick tells you how he began selling on the Japan marketplace step by step, so be sure to listen.

Ranking on page 1 within hours on the Amazon Japan market.

When Nick finally jumped through all the hoops to get his products listed in the Amazon Japan marketplace he wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. It was literally only a few hours after listing his products that his item was showing on the first page of the search results for his product niche. He was amazed, as most of us would be, and felt the impact of that in his sales almost immediately. But there are plenty of difficulties to face as well. You can hear Nick’s story on this episode of The Amazing Seller podcast.

Why the difficulties of getting on the Amazon Japan market are worth it.

If you’ve already experienced a good deal of success selling on the U.S. or U.K. marketplace and want to expand your sales, the Japan marketplace may be the way to go. Nick Kemp says that you’ll have to jump through certain hoops to make sure you’re doing so legally and in a way that works with the Japanese culture. That includes language barriers and other things as well. But he’s convinced that it’s worth doing simply because the Japanese marketplace is virtually untouched in terms of volume and competition. If you’re at that point of expansion, listen to what Nick has to share so you can assess the situation for yourself.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast. [3:45] Who is Nick Kemp and how did he get started selling in the Amazon Japan marketplace? [8:00] A first product flops because of patent issues. [13:30] Getting into the Japanese marketplace on Amazon. [17:00] Particular things needed to sell in Japan. [19:20] How Nick researches sales prospects in the Japanese marketplace. [21:13] Dealing with language issues: listings, products, labels, etc. [24:38] Jumping into a super competitive niche in Japan. [29:50] First steps to getting your products on the Amazon Japan marketplace. [33:00] Why the hurdles of selling on Amazon are worth the price. [40:52] How funds transfers and income works on the Japan marketplace. [43:15] Nick’s future plans for his business pursuits. [50:30] Final advice for people new to the Amazon marketplace. [53:30] Assessing the right time to move to international marketplaces. RESOURCES MENTIONED www.AmzShark.com www.CamelCamelCamel.com www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop - Get Scott’s free live workshop