TAS 169 : Ask Scott Session #48 - Amazon FBA Questions

Welcome to this episode of the Ask Scott version of the Amazing Seller Podcast. This is where you can get your Amazon private label questions answered by Scott Voelker, an experienced Amazon seller. He’s had all kinds of successes and failures from which he is able to draw answers to the questions that come his way each week. If you’d like to submit a question for Scott to answer about your private label efforts on Amazon, you can submit your question by going to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask - and let Scott know what you’re having trouble with.

My manufacturer asked me a strange question about “shipping marks.”

A listener to the podcast was working with her supplier to get the products shipped and the supplier asked her what “shipping marks” she could supply for the packaging. She’s not sure what that really means so she turned to Scott to get his input. You’re going to be surprised at the simple advice Scott has for this listener and how easy it might be for her to get this issue resolved, so be sure you listen to this episode in case you ever run into this issue with your supplier.

Amazon assigns products their own barcode, so why do I need a UPC number for each product?

The issue of UPCs and Amazon assigned barcodes can be one of the most confusing things for new private label sellers. Why do you need a UPC if Amazon assigns its own? The simple answer is that Amazon requires you to have a unique UPC code for each of your products before you’re able to create a listing for the product on the Amazon platform. So you’ve got to do it. Period. Beyond that, Amazon does use its own barcode for internal and sales purposes. You can hear why this is the case and how it impacts your product selection and bundling of products on this episode.

I understand why it’s important for me to capture my customer’s emails, but I’m not sure how to do it.

Once you have people buying your products on Amazon you want to create a way to capture their email address. Why? So that you can market to them the next time you have a new or related product to sell. Those people who have already purchased from you are most likely to buy your new product. But how do you get those emails? What’s the best system to follow in order to make it easy, and to do it within Amazon’s terms of service? Scott’s got an in depth answer for you on this episode of The Amazing Seller.

I’m ready to decide on my first product. Should I select a product that has variations like size, color, or style?

There are so many options when it comes to selling products on Amazon through private label sales. How do you go about picking the right one with the right features. A listener to the podcast asks Scott if she should steer clear of products that have variations like size and color - and Scott recommends that she DOES steer clear of them for her first product. Do you know why he’d say that? You can find out on this episode of The Amazing Seller podcast.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER

[0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [0:20] How you can submit your own question for these Q&A episodes. [1:15] A post from the TAS Facebook group that you can join! [3:49] QUESTION ONE: My manufacturer has asked me for “shipping marks” - what is that? [7:30] QUESTION TWO: Do I have to use my own UPC labels since Amazon has their own type that they use? [11:50] QUESTION THREE: I’m a bit stuck when it comes to capturing emails from my customers. How can I do it? [20:55] QUESTION FOUR: I’m setting up a new product and I’m curious if I should start with a product that has multiple sizes and/or colors? (variations) www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask - Ask your own question! www.TheAmazingSeller.com/24 - How Scott gets email addresses and creates insert cards. www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - Join the TAS Facebook group.