Top products from r/FulfillmentByAmazon

We built our own inventory management system to help us track productivity.

• We track productivity by the team since we want them to function as a team. We have 12-15 on the inventory team which includes warehouse staff and inventory receivers. We just take the total number items sent to Amazon for the week (since we're almost 100% FBA) and divide by the number hours worked on that team.
  
  • You can do this without fancy software since you can get a count of how many items are shipped to Amazon from shipping plan and time tracking software will tell you hours.
    
• As far as motivation, this year we've started doing a book study with our team leaders on The 4 Disciplines of Execution and started implementing it and we have seen huge gains (like 30-50%) in productivity. It has also allowed our team to focus and our staff making the productivity steps much more efficient. It was one of the best things we've done as a company since I've started as an entrepreneur in 2005. I can't recommend it highly enough.
  
• As far as money, I have found that money is not a good long term motivator. It does motivate for a short time, but it's like drugs, you need more and more of it overtime to get the same effect. Instead of having goals and tracking productivity has really helped us much more.
  
  • We have found that you do need to be competitive with your pay in order to attract the candidates with the right skills, but doubling their pay is not going to get double their work as far as warehouse staff.
    
  • We do give out $30 gift cards when the team accomplishes their goals for the quarter.
    
  • We do also have have a team cash bonus for reaching growth goals, but nothing major, just a couple of hundred dollars for the year if we grow.
    
  • We also use the book Traction to create a 2 page strategic plan that details what our core values are and who fits those.
    
    • This has also allowed our team to know what the company focus is and what is expected of them.
      
    • This has allowed us to hire slow and fire fast to find the right people faster.

Hey there, and welcome to the forums.

Go to your inventory page on seller central. On the item that you want to try FBA out with, click on the "edit" button on that item. There should be an option that says "change to fulfillment by amazon". I would recommend to also click on "copy listing" so you can still sell your item and ship it yourself, in the time it'll take your items to get to amazon and be processed.

Once you have your listing as "fulfilled by amazon", click that same edit button as earlier and click send inventory. It'll prompt you through it, ask you how many you are sending, weight of the package, etc.

The FBA process it fairly simple. You'll ship them the 10, or however many products, all in a single box. You pay shipping, but it is discounted. I bet it'll cost you $5 in total. You'll need to create and attach an amazon barcode to each of the items, called a FNSKU. It's the same barcode for each like item. You'll have to either buy a label printer or get something like this Avery 5160 to print and attach with. The items need to be fully ready to ship, meaning amazon will pick your items out of a bin, and throw it in a box. They'll take care of adding bubble wrap or whatever they use to cushion it in the box.

FBA is the way to go. Customers love prime.

No need to apologize for "noob" questions. Every question sounds noobish to someone :)

I'm a huge fan of the Dymo 450 Turbo. It's pretty standard.

As for labels, I use HouseLabels labels. They're much more affordable. I used to use the 30252 labels (1 1/8" x 3 1/2"). However, I just switched to 30334 (2 1/4" x 1 1/4") and I love the size, plus it prints even faster (being horizontal instead of vertical. And it is a better size for the cosmetics. You also get 3,000 labels per roll, compared with 350. Much less frequent switching.

30252 on Amazon

30334 on Amazon


As for what goes on the labels, the best advice I can give is to review Amazon's labeling guidelines.

Guide to labeling your products.

Guide to the labels themselves

Let me know if any of that didn't make sense - I'd be happy to expand on it.

I have a DYMO 450 turbo also and I mainly use 30334 size labels. Both Amazon and Inventory Lab will print this size.
***
>I've seen a lot of people basically taking snapshots on every label from a 30sheet which seems kind of wonky.

If you want to use the Dymo with Amazon directly you need to use Amazon's Scan & Label page. Inventory > Manage FBA Shipments, then near the top of the page look for Scan & Label

It prints out labels for one SKU at a time.

Since Chrome changed, it's a little more difficult but you pick the product you need a label for by scanning it or entering your SKU. Then you can either print it or save it. If you print, the chrome print window opens and you need to play with settings to make sure the label fits.

1. Select the Dymo printer
   
2. More Settings > select paper size. 30334 if you are using that size. If you don't see it, you need to print using system dialog
   
3. No margins.
   
   You only need to do this for the first label.
   
   
   
   Inventory Lab is a lot easier. You run the printer setup under account settings to choose your label size. Then you choose if you want the label to print automatically when you list an item, or only when you click the print button.
   
   
   
   Keep in mind, you are suppose to use removable labels when applying directly to the products. That said, Amazon doesn't follow their own rule here and I've learned that the longer removable labels are on, the less removable they are.
   
   I've used a few label brands.
   
   

• Best quality is the DYMO brand but they are absurdly expensive.
  
• For permanent labels, I'm using https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IC8B5VA right now but I also have https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JPPLU32 sitting on the shelf. Both seem to work fine.
  
• For removable labels I use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CBAPJ30
  
• I also have some 3.5 x 1.125 labels I rarely use on some specific larger items https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AVNLHC
  
  ***
  
  As far as printers: I use the Dymo 450 turbo and brother laser https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LZS5EEI/
  
  I use the laser printer for shipping labels mostly but sometimes for product labels if I'm sending like 80 of the same thing.
  
  I spent a lot of time when I started, trying to decide what printer to get. I started with the laser because: 1. I can use it as a regular printer for non-fba stuff, 2. It will print both fnsku and shipping labels, 3. It is really inexpensive.
  
  I added the DYmo later because: 1. I hated all the wasted labels if I wasn't printing a full sheet, 2. I do RA and matching labels from a sheet with 30+ different products is time-consuming, 3. I often need 1 or 2 labels and it was difficult to do on the laser.
  
  I haven't looked in awhile but my dream printer would be a thermal transfer printer that is large enough to print shipping labels as well as fnsku. I just can't justify spending $500 on it.

You're right. I'm sorry I came off condescending. I just did research on all local options and you are absolutely correct, the prices are outrageous. Get amazon prime, or a free trial, and you'll receive it in 2 days. I understand since this is your first shipment, you wanna send it out NOW, but just wait til you get the scale. This is the one I own. Works great. You don't need a 330 lb scale. 75 lb is perfect. http://www.amazon.com/Weighmax-2822-75LB-shipping-Battery-Included/dp/B002U4OEDS

Anyone have a full sized thermal printer?

I have one that fits 8.5x11, but I can't seem to find the right labels for it. I want to get full page sticky labels for FBA shipments, and 30 sheets of address labels for FNSKU's but I actually can't find anything that big.

Is my best bet regular thermal paper and put it in one of those sticky clear "bags" that UPS puts on boxes? And then I think I can get address labels for my 4xl but seems tedious to have a giant roll of FNSKU's rather than say, 5 pages.

Edit: these are what I'm referring to:

Full page labels (except for thermal, not inkjet): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MNKMCDZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5A5IDb6WM9KNV

30 per page labels (again, for thermal): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006B8FZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_VB5IDb5GRKY8Z

Plastic bag things: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K89717B/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Jz5IDb6WCVR3N

I think I understand. How important are the other parameters? Using the above example, let's say that I want to win on the keywords "crew forming cream". Is there a difference if I use
http://www.amazon.com/Forming-Cream-Mens-Hair-Package/dp/B00JBDEXO6/&keywords=crew+forming+cream

VS

http://www.amazon.com/Forming-Cream-Mens-Hair-Package/dp/B00JBDEXO6/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1427354106&sr=8-11&keywords=crew+forming+cream

As far as I can tell, the 'ref' tag is important because it tells Amazon where you came from, and the 'sr' tag looks important also. However, it looks like the ref tag changes all the time as your ranking changes. Not sure how go about this if the rank changes constantly...

Drk9six,

First off, let me say welcome. Next, I want to advise that if you haven't read any information on FBA, that you purchase the book Retail Arbitrage by Chris Green. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009B3UYEO?pc_redir=1405962832&robot_redir=1

Not affiliated with Chris or his team, but it's a good beginners read. The market is plentiful as long as you're willing to put the man hours on learning. If you're going to a college town, then I'm sure there are plenty of thrift shops. You may not start with FBA. Maybe start with eBay sales and build capital for FBA inventory.

Printer wise I'd recommend a monochrome Brother printer for $100 if you need one. $20 in ink will last for 5 months. Works well with Avery labels for making ASIN stickers as well as shipping labels
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LZS5EEI/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_sd5.zbHBFTCKZ

http://www.amazon.com/Aviditi-SIZER-Carton-Sizer-Reducer/dp/B000ZJOGHE


One of these babies to save on packing materials and having to find the perfectly sized boxes.

That box on the bottom brings fond memories of starting out on Amazon. The days before I stumbled across a weird looking ruler with cowboy boot spurs on the bottom

Lumpy boxes are a rite of passage! =]

I would just get something like this:
http://amzn.com/B009LIOOPO

Then put the FBA label and any other labeling on the outside. Super cheap and nobody's gonna expect anything more.

You can place all 2,000 items in one box, but they must be individually bagged and labeled with that product's FNSKU (pronounced eff'in skews).

Use poly bags (or poly tube) and an impulse sealer ($40). Or use poly bags with a self-sealing strip.

Label the bags / tubes before inserting the item and sealing - easier and faster to get the label to fully adhere.

Get bags / poly tube with a <5" opening to avoid needing to apply suffocation stickers.

The minimum thickness is 1.5 mil.

Avery branded 30 up address labels ($25 for 100 sheets, 3,000 labels) and a <$99 laser printer. If you cheap out on the labels, you risk having stickers fall off or toner not fusing to the labels. Some people have had good experiences with cheap labels, some have not. My $80 Brother 2270DW has worked flawlessly for the past three years. Every couple of weeks, Amazon and Newegg briefly drop their prices on Brother printers.

I'm not particularly fast, and I can label well over 1,000 bags during the commercials and half time of one NFL game. And this is while sitting on a couch with the labels and bag boxes on a coffee table.

Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Avery3000/dp/B00006B8FZ

http://www.amazon.com/Adhesive-Resealable-Plastic-Cellophane-cello-D/dp/B00DEQ9QA2

Yep. Just bought this one.

Work great

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FLDEA4S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes exactly.

As for the label printer I've been very happy with the QL-700 but many others will do. Any label of ~62x35mm is ok.

Ehhh... Might want to price compare before they fulfill that order: http://www.amazon.com/400mm-Impulse-Sealer-Anti-rust-Shell/dp/B00FLDEA4S

https://www.amazon.com/Athletics-Portable-Premium-Paddles-Compact/dp/B07V3N1G38/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=ping+pong+set+a%2B+athletics&qid=1566183802&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Here's my listing. I actually do have a bag. But from what your saying, I should probably make the bag more visible. I should also have better descriptions. If you look at one of the reviews, I think the reviewer included a pic of the bag

https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Selling-Secrets-Extra-Products/dp/1500123684/

https://www.amazon.com/Bootstrapping-E-commerce-How-Sell-Amazon-ebook/dp/B01KMG7MT8/

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=manuel+becvar&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amanuel+becvar

Good books. All the info from any course for a fraction of the money.

Amazon price matched this as well. http://www.amazon.com/DYMO-1752265-LabelWriter-Thermal-Printer/dp/B0027JIIKQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413303204&sr=8-1&keywords=dymo+450

Amazon Selling Secrets

http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Selling-Secrets-Extra-Products/dp/1500123684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426894391&sr=8-1&keywords=amazon+selling+secrets

Decent

I use this one:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U4OEDS/

$20 and does the job.

Also for this item

https://amzn.com/B010Q3HY0E

How do you add the "Related Video Shorts" below the product details?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JBDEXO6/keywords=crew+forming+cream

That's the only portion you need to rank for those keywords. I've run many ad campaigns using links built this way and have ranked all of my products on page one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1566766885?condition=used

26 available: 1 FBA seller,
343,759 in Books

http://www.amazon.com/dp/097899972X

same general rank in books, around 400,000

Start with this book and you’ll be ahead of the game. Small Time Operator.

Also familiarize yourself with the IRS publications for starting a business.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/starting-a-business


https://www.amazon.com/Small-Time-Operator-Business-Yourbooks/dp/158979799X

Here is the URL without the affiliate link

https://www.amazon.com/DYMO-LabelWriter-Thermal-Printer-1752265/dp/B0027JIIKQ

> http://amzn.com/B009LIOOPO

Would these be appropriate?

Just as an example, these are the ones I use when I need removable labels. I'm not sure what kind of labels you use but there are removable ones out there.

For less messy amazon links you can extract the part after "/dp/" in

https://www.amazon.com/Chawoorim-12-Owls-Silicone-Chocolate/dp/B010Q3HY0E/ref=pd_rhf_eeolp_s_cp_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B010Q3HY0E&pd_rd_r=VWJCN8T30KPVYBRNYTMH&pd_rd_w=AYCIR&pd_rd_wg=Cbm8O&psc=1&refRID=VWJCN8T30KPVYBRNYTMH

and make it:

https://amzn.com/B010Q3HY0E

BEEP BOP

Plz send any recommendations via PM

Just to let you know that hubby tried the dymo printer with 3 different computers, bought the right paper, loaded it correctly and decided we have a faulty dymo. I contacted customer support and am returning the Dymo.

But their warranty is: I pay return shipping, they will try to fix my Dymo and if they can't fix it they give me a refurbished one instead.

Not a great experience.

Thinking of selling the Dymo when it comes back and buying this http://www.amazon.com/Brother-QL-700-High-speed-Professional-Printer/dp/B005TJMC0S/

It makes me wonder how many of those are scam accounts like the ones on this listing.

Hope this is the right place. I am not a newb per se I’ve been playing the retail arbitrage game for last 18 months, but decided to try flipping books which I am most definitely a newb at so thought I would throw this here. I just sent in 20 books and was looking for feedback on pricing. I won’t list all 20 here, this is just a sample of three but I think fairly representative.

Total Fishing Manual, paid $1, I’m listing for $15. Rank is 85K and lowest FBA price is $10.

Practical Research Methods, paid $2, I’m listing at $100. Book is 743K and lowest FBA is $199. New price is listed at 288. I am too low aren’t I?

Setting us Free, paid $1.5, I’m listing at $16.25. Rank is 1.9mm and lowest FBA is $80, but non FBA is $16.25 with free shipping.

I guess I will toss in a bonus one because I have no clue what to do with this. Paid $.50. Lowest price is $214. I was thinking of listing at $40. I saw it for sale online at Powell’s for that much. Figure they know what they are doing.

Yes, they are just scammers who open up hundreds of accounts and lists thousands or hundreds of thousands of products at ridiculous prices. They have no inventory. They all merchant fulfill. If you order from them they'll have ridiculously long shipping times. Then they'll give the buyer a fake tracking number, that isn't even for their shipment. That tracking number will end up tracking to a different location, and will show delivery in another city or state. Then the customer will contact the company and ask what happened, and they'll claim they accidentally shipped it to the wrong address. They'll claim to ship out a replacement, further delaying the scam. Their ultimate goal is to keep the account open for as long as possible and hope to collect a disbursement from Amazon without ever fulfilling any orders.

Check out this one listing from a private label seller:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01I21NBB8/ref=olp_page_1?ie=UTF8&f_new=true

Over 50 scam, just launched sellers with made up names. These types of scams are just killing customer's faith in Amazon, and I can't believe they don't have better controls to prevent them from happening. Not to mention they damage they do to the legit sellers whose business is killed when these scammers take over their listings.