Amazon FBA Private Label

Updated
June 7, 2023

If you’re looking to sell Amazon FBA private label products, you’re in the right place. Amazon Marketplace is thriving. In 2021, a survey concluded that 98.07 million U.S consumers accessed the Amazon app at least once per month. In the same year, Amazon reported there were around 2 million SMBs selling on Amazon. This makes an Amazon FBA private label venture potentially very lucrative.

However, with so many sellers getting in on the Amazon action, competition on the platform is high. As such, it’s essential for new and existing sellers alike to maximize their advertising efforts to stand out from the crowd.

That’s where Merch Jar comes into play. Merch Jar is a software that allows users to create automation ‘recipes’ that eliminate the need for endless manual ad optimization by automatically performing tasks like adjusting bids and pausing unprofitable ads.

If we’ve piqued your interest, stick with this article to learn exactly what Amazon FBA is and how to launch your business.

What is Amazon FBA Private Label?

FBA stands for Fulfilled by Amazon. It’s essentially a service that Amazon provides to simplify the process of selling on Amazon and gives sellers an extra layer of credibility. Sellers ship their products to an Amazon fulfillment centre, where Amazon stores the products in their warehouse and when a customer makes a purchase, Amazon packs it and posts it to the buyer.

As an added bonus, these products are included in the unlimited one-day delivery perk that Prime members can take advantage of.

Private label products are products that sellers buy from manufacturers and customize with their own branding, such as logos and company slogans. With private label products, entrepreneurs can build their own brand. This allows them to develop brand loyalty and enjoy less competition, while having greater control over their prices and promotions.  

Even Amazon has its own private label brands. Below is an excellent example of this in action with Amazon’s most popular private label brand, ‘Amazon Basics’:

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Although it’s clear from the name that Amazon owns this brand, it has carved out its own brand identity that’s a separate entity to Amazon itself.

How to Sell Private Label Products on Amazon FBA

There are numerous steps involved in selling online,whether you’re an MBA print-on-demand business or getting involved in arbitrage (selling other brands’ products).

Today, we’re now going to get into the nitty gritty of how to sell private label products on Amazon FBA.

1. Choose a Product

Product selection is one of the most important considerations when selling on Amazon. It’s not enough to simply choose products that appeal to you or you think other people might want to buy. You need to do research before committing to your products.

Here’s some criteria to consider:

High Demand

Buying trends typically fluctuate, with demand for some products lasting a short time and demand for others lasting longer. Your best bet for long-term growth is to identify products that people always need, like kitchenware for example.

To find out what’s popular on Amazon, you can check Amazon’s ‘Best Sellers’ list and track product categories over time to identify any trends. Alternatively, you can use an extension like Amazon Product Finder. This will tell you information like whether products are in high demand and what your profit margins could look like.

Once you have this in place, you can start honing in on the right products for your niche and brand.

Low Competition

While you want your products to be in high demand, the less competitors out there, the better. Check out the number of listings for your shortlisted products on Amazon.

However, don’t feel too discouraged if the competition is a little high. With tools like Merch Jar, you can develop a winning bidding strategy by sourcing the most impactful keywords for your product ads. This can give you a strong edge over your competitors.

Low-Risk Products

Low-risk products are products that are most likely to sell and/or generate a ROI. There are a number of aspects that make a product low-risk including low competition, which we talked about above. A low-risk product can also be attributed to high selling prices, market sustainability, and low-cost PPC ads. In essence, a low-risk product is that which carries minimal financial risk to the seller because of the high-reward potential.

2. Specify Product Attributes

Consider and research potential private-label products to sell on Amazon with the following attributes:

  • Small and light: Sell products that are under 1kg in weight to save on costs associated with manufacturing and FBA. Amazon storage charges reflect the space they take up in their warehouses. So, large items will cost you more.
  • Non-seasonal: While seasonal products can fly off the ‘shelves’ during special occasions like Christmas and Valentine’s Day, you should avoid seasonal goods when you’re trying to build a long-term, sustainable, and scalable business.
  • Easy to sell: Ensure your private label products are easy to sell by avoiding things that come with legal and compliance restrictions. With food products, for example, all ingredients must be legal to sell in the country you’re selling in, and all dietary requirements have to be clearly labeled on the packaging. Equally, selling products with batteries can come with complications.
  • Reliable: To avoid being flooded with returns and damaging your brand name, ensure you pick products that are reliable. When we talk about ‘reliable products’, we’re referring to those that continue to perform their intended function for an acceptable period of time. Naturally, the length of time depends on the product.

3. Find a Reliable Manufacturer

Now it’s time to find your manufacturer. Don’t assume the cheapest manufacturer is the best option. You want your products to be good quality so that you can build a brand reputation for selling dependable products. You’ll find that customers are often willing to pay a little more for higher-quality items.

Read reviews online for different manufacturers and check aspects like minimum order quantity. When you’re just starting out, you’ll want to test the waters with smaller quantities before diving into large orders.

Come up with a shortlist of 3-5 potential manufacturers. You can then email each of them with questions like:

  • How much do you charge to manufacture customized products?
  • Do you provide sample products? If so, how much do these cost?
  • What is the manufacturing time for X product?

Once you’ve opened up this line of communication, keep track of how long it takes for each manufacturer to respond. The prompter, the better.

Remember, a sample product is an essential part of the process. This is how you determine the quality of the products you’re going to sell, along with the reliability of the manufacturer. It’s also the baseline for negotiating prices with your manufacturer.

If you’re choosing to go down the ‘print-on-demand’ route, Merch by Amazon is a good way to go. You don’t need to handle any products you sell. You simply sign up, upload your designs, and Amazon will print them onto t-shirts and ship them out to customers who buy them.

4.  Design your Private Label’s Logo and Packaging

Once you know what you’re going to sell, you can design your logo and packaging for your private label FBA business. Your designs will reflect your brand and how your customers view it. Branding elements, like logo and color scheme, will help form your brand identity.

If you’re not a whiz with logo and packaging design, work with a graphic designer. There are many affordable options on the web, whether you choose a graphic design company or a freelance designer.

5. Create Amazon Product Listings

Create your Amazon product listings with clear and crisp images of your products. You want to showcase them with good lighting and from different angles. When it comes to your product descriptions, consider working with a copywriter to craft concise descriptions that not only convey the features and benefits of your products but also incorporate your brand’s personality into the text. Scannable bullet points are also a good way of sharing the most important information quickly.

Side note: Amazon has a brand registry program for private label sellers. This is optional, but signing up for this program will protect you from things like copyright infringement and will also allow you to access some additional marketing tools.

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6. Create Your Landing Page

When you’ve registered your brand, you can create a free branded landing page for your business. This will help to reinforce your brand image and convey professionalism. Below, you’ll see an example of a landing page for Carote; a kitchenware store that sells products that are ‘Inspired by nature’.

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You’ll notice that you’ll get a good feel for the brand’s values and identity just by looking at this page. The colors are consistently neutral - in line with their ‘nature’ values. And, there are lots of great quality images of their products.

7. Invest in a Professional Amazon Advertising Service

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Investing in a dependable and professional Amazon advertising service can give your Amazon FBA private label business a significant boost in sales and exposure. Merch Jar specializes in Amazon PPC ads. With our solution, users can put their advertising on autopilot with automatic bid adjustments through our Smart Bids feature.

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Configure your settings to reflect your minimum and maximum bids, along with your target thresholds. Then, sit back and watch your PPC ads become more efficient and effective with 24/7 bid automation.

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Using a top Amazon advertising tool like Merch Jar, Amazon sellers can save an enormous amount of time adjusting their bids and maximizing their campaigns. Avoid the trap of micro-managing and spend more time sourcing and listing your products while being confident your ads are targeting the right people with the right keywords. Set daily budgets and customize your bid triggers with recipes.

8. Fulfill Your Orders With FBA

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Your last step in launching your Amazon FBA private label business is to sign up to make sure your orders are fulfilled. You then send your products in bulk to an Amazon warehouse. Amazon will subsequently handle returns and refunds in addition to shipping your products to your customers. This is the most efficient way of selling on Amazon.

Is it Time to Begin Your Amazon FBA Private Label Business?

An Amazon FBA private label business does not have to be as complicated as you might think. With the proper tools and resources, you can work on developing a scalable business with good-quality products, and quick and reliable service.

Automating your Amazon ads will save you considerable time. It will also ensure you are making the most of your advertising budget. With Merch Jar, you can prune bad keywords so you’re only focusing on the best-performing ones.

If you’re ready to begin automating your Amazon ads, simply register to begin your 30 day free trial.