Irish sole trader

I am going to register as Irish sole trader company to sell on Amazon FBA at the beginning.
In the future, if my business will grow I would like to change to LTD.

What do you think? Should I expect any problems during changing my business to LTD on Amazon?

Do you think that Sole Trader on the beginning would be a good idea? Does it matter for the potential suppliers?

Would not my account be blocked then? Will I still be able to sell on Amazon as a sole trader until change to LTD?

Answer: There is no issue changing from Sole to Limited Company, however as you are changing legal entity it can take Amazon months to do, so bear that in mind.

You request amazon to change your account, you don’t touch any of the account details, so until they do you continue trading on that account.

The switch from sole trader to Ltd co. Went very smoothly with Amazon for me but I have heard of some awful experiences. 

How to add a variation to a product

How do you add a variation to a product that has been selling for 6 months and now I want to add a new variation to that?
What would be the process to create the new variation listing so that it appears together on the page with the old product as a variation ?

Answer: It can be down via a flat flat file. You need to fill in all the details and upload it and wait 15/20mins and it should work. Is a bit tricky but once you know how to do it you’ll get the hang of it.

Smartwatches on Amazon

I am currently selling very well on ebay and want to try Amazon.
Does anybody know whether you can sell smartwatches without meeting any requirements? Is it restricted category? I am not sure whethere it can be defined as electronics or watches category. If so, what are the requirements?

Answer: If its apple no chance. Everyone got kicked off except amazon. Still got hundreds of official iphone cases.

On time shippment below 99%

We always ship on time, deliver on time etc. Our SFP credentials for the past year are 100% for everything (on-time shipment, delivery, buy shipping services etc). We’ve not put a foot wrong.

We suddenly get a message from Amazon services to say that our on-time shipment has dropped below the 99% threshold for week 7 and even though no action is necessary it was a kind of passive-aggressive message to pull our socks up or we’ll suspend you.

We’ve tried to reply with screenshots of our SFP 100% stats and to ask where they’re obtaining this figure but no response. Then this week another warning for week 8 this time. And again I check in our seller central for our SFP stats and our stats are at 100% for everything.

I don’t feel like I can ignore this as we may risk suspension but at the same time we’re getting no response. Has anyone encountered the same scenario?

Answer: Yes I think this is a glitch. We had it as well. Raise a case and also send an email to seller performance with all the details. They won’t reply but if you keep them informed should be fine.

We also got this but they did turn off our prime badge. Within an hour we had received another notification which said ‘ please ignore the previous message’ Unfortunately, stress levels had already shot through the roof and it took them another 12 hours to turn our prime back on.

Videos in Listings

When do you get to upload product videos on a listing? I’ve got a good turnover, been on Amazon for 3 years, brand registered but no option for video. Anyone know?

Answer: Videos can be uploaded in the reviews/comments area of a listing in the UK. In the US, they can be added to a listing itself but this functionality has not been rolled out to other Amazon markets as yet.
If you are brand registered you can open a store. You can upload videos on your store. I was told this is being trialled in the uk to a few sellers by invitation only .

Samples from China

Do you guys always order a sample first of a new product from China?
Do you always arrange a third party inspection?
I have never ordered samples but I have arranged third party inspections in the past
I am considering not doing either with a new product I am ordered
I know it is a risk but it is a small trial order and the factory has sent me some images of the product (not glossy marketing images but real images of the product in their hands etc ) and it looks fine
I am writing in a clause re returns in my purchase order
Just interested to know how many of you would risk no sample and no inspection for a new product?

Answer:

I know it is a pain and time consuming but I feel more confident about a product once I have seen it. I have rejected a few that appear to be fine in pictures but I am sure would have created problems with too many returns eating into my profits.

Multiple sellers

I am littlebit confused n wanted to know how things work on Amzon when 1 product is being sold by 50 different seller under 1 listing and with huge price difference… e.g. I was looking at 128GB SD card and there are approx 45 sellers listed with price range from £18 to almost £30 so I am just wondering in this case seller who is selling above £20 how exactly they manage to get sale? Obviously 80 to 90% people would buy cheapest…
Could you please throw some light how all other sellers are making profits?

Answer:  Some sellers don’t make a profit. Some are unaware of all the costs associated with selling on Amazon. Others decide how much they need to charge for a product and maybe hope that other sellers might go out of stock at some point so they can attract a sale.
Selling on Amazon is high risk. Personally, if you are looking for products to sell, don’t bother with those who have high numbers of sellers.
Basics economics will show you that with a commodity product it’s just a race to the lowest price between the competitors.
Find a unique product, preferably one created by you if you truly want to make real money.

Limited and bank account

I wanna create a seller Amazon account. At the moment i am tryna to open Ltd in the UK but i cannot come down there to apply for a bank account any sooner. So it’s basically only Ltd without business bank account. So can i create a seller account with ltd on it but use my personal bank card as a charge method?

Answer: Ive done the same with a transferwise account

Product reviews

How do I get reviews on products. I know people pay to get reviews but what is the best honest way?

Answer: Ask customers directly send out pre created emails and text messages asking for them.

Coronavirus and shipping

I heard from one of my sources in China that even though production will restart soon or factories that had already restarted, there’s talk of shutting down logistics to contain the Coronavirus. Could you all please share what you’ve heard from your suppliers or freight forwarders in China.

Answer: I have just placed an order with my supplier who is quoting 25 days for production (it’s usually 1/3 of that). Factories in China can apply to the government for special permission to get back to work sooner and provided they can display the right measures to protect their staff from infection then the government will allow them back. I’m not sure about the situation at the port but I’ve not heard of things stopping. My forwarder doesn’t seem concerned either.

Only 1 of 3 of my manufacturers back and they are suggesting an order could be ready in 3 weeks and shipped straight away. But their production staff not back in yet – hoping for next week.