Testing Amazon’s courier service for FBA sellers
If you have been considering selling books on Amazon, did you know there are two main methods of selling: either as a Merchant seller or FBA seller?
You may have looked at my two courses (SDNG) and (AAP) and wondered which programme would suit your circumstances.
is a method of selling as a merchant seller: you list and price your books and store them in your home. When you make a sale you pack the order and go to the Post Office.
is a method of selling using ‘fulfillment by Amazon’ (FBA) – you also list and price your books , but instead of storing them at home, you pack them into boxes and send them to Amazon. When you make a sale, Amazon pick, pack and post your order to your customer.
One reason you may decide not to sell using FBA is that the concept of sending boxes of books to an Amazon fulfillment centre appears daunting.
In the I do advise to contact couriers to ascertain a cost to do this.
However, you may not be aware of it, but Amazon have recently partnered with a courier service to offer a discounted collection/delivery service.
This week, I decided to try the service.
My usual cost of taking a consignment of books to Amazon amounts to around ￡65/￡75.
The consignment consisted of over 500 books.
First I opted to use UPS – Amazon’s courier partner. Amazon quoted for the consignment, and I had 24 hours to cancel the option.
The quote Amazon gave, which I accepted, was:
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC (Amazon Partnered)
Billable Weight: 208.00 kilograms
Shipping Charges: ￡69.07
The process of using UPS was very efficient: once the consignment quote was accepted, I contacted UPS via their website to book a collection slot. Availability was for the following day.
It was very convenient: the driver came to my residence and collected the boxes and the shipment arrived at Amazon’s fulfillment centre the following day.
So if you would like to begin a new venture working from home selling books, but don’t fancy storing books at home or dispatching books yourself, then is probably a great option for you.
Amazon’s partnership with UPS might make a big difference: you can send small consignments and perhaps one or two boxes on a regular basis, helping you build an inventory as quickly or as slowly as suits you.
Of course, if you wish to start selling books on a smaller basis, then will probably suit your circumstances.
Alternatively, if you would like to sell books online but don’t fancy buying any upfront stock, dispatching, or storing books, then look out for my brand new programme – out really soon!
What do you think?
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