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# **Selling on Amazon — Getting Started**

Everything you need to know to start and grow a profitable Amazon business — from product research to advertising.

## Why Sell on Amazon? Amazon is the world's largest e-commerce marketplace, with over 300 million active customers across 18+ marketplaces. For sellers, this means access to massive built-in demand — shoppers who are already searching for products and ready to buy. Unlike building your own e-commerce store, selling on Amazon lets you leverage their fulfillment network (FBA), customer trust, and search traffic from day one. The trade-off is competition and fees — but with the right strategy, Amazon remains one of the most profitable channels for physical product businesses. ## Business Models There are several ways to sell on Amazon. Choosing the right model depends on your capital, risk tolerance, and long-term goals. ### FBA vs FBM **Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)** means Amazon stores, picks, packs, and ships your products. You also get Prime eligibility, which significantly boosts conversion rates. The downside is higher fees and less control over inventory.**Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)** means you handle storage and shipping yourself. This gives you more control and lower fees, but you lose the Prime badge and must manage logistics at scale.**Start with FBA** For most new sellers, FBA is the best starting point. The Prime badge alone can increase conversion rates by 30–50%, and you avoid the complexity of setting up your own fulfillment. ### Private Label Private label is the most common model for Amazon sellers building a real brand. You source generic products from manufacturers, add your branding, and sell under your own brand name. This gives you control over pricing, listing content, and long-term brand equity. The key to private label success is differentiation — don't just slap a logo on an existing product. Use competitor review analysis to identify product improvements that customers actually want. ## Getting Started Here's the high-level roadmap for launching your first Amazon product:**1****Research your niche** Validate demand, competition, and margins before investing in inventory.**2****Create your seller account** Register for an Amazon Professional seller account in your target marketplace.**3****Source your product** Find a reliable supplier, negotiate pricing, and order samples.**4****Optimize your listing** Write keyword-rich titles, compelling bullets, and create high-quality images.**5****Launch with ads** Use Sponsored Products to generate initial visibility and reviews.**6****Iterate and scale** Analyze performance data, optimize your listing, and expand to new products. Each of these steps is covered in depth in the subsequent guides. Start with [Product Research](https://flapen.com/amazon/guides/product-research) to validate your niche before investing in inventory. ## Key Metrics to Track Successful Amazon sellers are data-driven. These are the metrics that matter most:**Unit Session %** Conversion rate — orders divided by page views. Healthy range: 10–25%.**BSR** Best Sellers Rank — lower means more sales. Track trends, not absolute numbers.**ACoS** Advertising Cost of Sales — ad spend divided by ad revenue. Target: 15–30%.**TACoS** Total ACoS — ad spend divided by total revenue. Shows true ad efficiency.**Net Margin** Profit after all costs (COGS, FBA fees, ads, returns). Target: 20%+. ## Common Mistakes Most failed Amazon launches share the same root causes: - **Skipping research** — Launching based on gut feeling instead of data leads to products nobody wants. - **Undercapitalization** — Running out of inventory during a launch kills momentum and ranking. - **Poor listing quality** — Driving traffic to a weak listing wastes ad spend and tanks conversion. - **Ignoring competition** — Entering a niche dominated by established brands with thousands of reviews. - **No advertising strategy** — Expecting organic sales without initial ad investment. The best defense against all of these is thorough product research. Head to the [Product Research guide](https://flapen.com/amazon/guides/product-research) to learn how to validate opportunities before committing capital.Was this page helpful? [**Product Research** Find profitable niches with demand and competition data.](https://flapen.com/amazon/guides/product-research)