Are you looking to leverage Amazon for selling clothes? If yes, then that’s actually a good idea. It is one of the largest online marketplaces in the world and dominates this landscape. Although many mega-corporations have storefronts on Amazon, there is still plenty of room for smaller businesses and independent sellers.
Selling apparel on Amazon is not only financially rewarding but also fiercely competitive. You’ll need to do more than simply sign up for a seller’s account and list a few products if you want to succeed. Research, perseverance, and a thorough grasp of market trends are necessary elements for long-term success.
This article revolves around everything you would need to start selling apparel on Amazon.
The Foundations of Selling Clothes on Amazon
Assuming that you have never used the platform as a seller, this article will guide you to understand the basic framework of selling on Amazon.
Create A Seller Account
The first step in setting up an Amazon store is to register as a seller on Amazon. It’s fairly straightforward to create an Amazon seller account; you can read more about it on Amazon’s website.
There are two price options on Amazon. You are charged $0.99 for each product sold under an individual plan. Or you can also subscribe to the $39.99/month professional plan if you are selling more than 40 items in your shop. The exact cost might differ depending on whether you ship your products yourself or let Amazon handle fulfillment.
You must have a credit card on file that would be used to pay seller fees, as well as your company’s contact information, in order to complete the process.
Brand registration is the next step after launching an Amazon shop. Your brand name or logo must be prominently displayed on each of your products if you want to be listed in Amazon’s brand registry.
Additionally, you must have a trademark that is either active or pending in the nation where you want to sell your products.
If you fulfill these requirements, you can start the enrollment process. You have to enter your seller account, choose the national marketplace where you wish to sell your clothing products, and finish filling out the rest of your demographic data.
Create Product Listings
Customers navigate over to your product pages through product listings. You should include the following:
· Identifiers for products such as titles, barcodes, and labels
· Pricing and delivery options for the products
· Quantity of goods that are available for sale
· Details about the product, including its category, comprehensive description, and professional photos
An image-rich listing performs exceptionally well on Amazon. People are more likely to buy apparel from your business if the product photographs are clear, large enough to see the details and display all possible wearing angles.
Every listing can contain a maximum of five photos. So, be sure to present your clothes in the finest possible manner in your photo collection.
You should be mindful of the following guidelines while managing product photos for your apparel store:
· Never display your apparel on a mannequin, holder, or hanger; always use a live model.
· Always use a pure white backdrop when you are shooting models for the lead image. For the other product photos, you can choose lifestyle settings. Nevertheless, make sure that your photographs’ backgrounds don’t distract customers from the merchandise viewing experience.
· Always utilize images that show the entire product without any cropping.
· The colors seen in the photos must correspond to those of the real clothes being sold.
· Models should not be crouching or lying down while being photographed.
· Selfies shouldn’t be used for product photos
The following are some of the technical requirements for product photos prescribed by Amazon:
· Image size: On the longest side, the image must have at the very least 1001 px. You can also use 2560px on the longest side to take advantage of the maximum zoom capabilities. The maximum permitted size is 3000 pixels on the longest side.
· Color variations: Because you could have several SKUs for a given product depending on various colors, you should also create a “child SKU main image” for each of the colors.
· The main image should only show one product; multiple products should strictly not be included.
If you want to improve your conversion rates, you should make use of photo editor apps like Blend where you can upload your raw product photos and the app will create a platform-friendly version of the image with the right dimensions and background, as per the Amazon guidelines.
Your ultimate goal is to ensure that your clothing stands out at first look in a sea of multiple options.
Pick A Fulfilment Method
How will consumers receive their clothing? Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) are your two options.
Selling clothing on Amazon FBA means that Amazon takes care of inventory, packaging, delivery, consumer complaints, as well as returns. Although you’ll have to pay for these services and fees, it will help you avoid the cumbersome heavy lifting. It also gives you access to additional selling options, such as Amazon Prime eligibility.
The FBM approach, on the other hand, gives you more control over delivery and customer support. You can write special/personalized remarks, ensure that your products are packaged safely, and much more. Thus, you will have to do more work, but your store’s margins will increase.
Payment Setup
Typically, Amazon will make a payment to your bank account after 7 days of registering your seller account. The settlement procedure is then repeated every two days.
In order to receive payments, you need the following:
· A positive seller account balance, which indicates that the revenue you generated from sales is higher than your incurred fees and refunds.
· Your valid bank account details.
Final Thoughts
Amazon is one of the largest clothing marketplaces in the US and globally. With immense competition on the platform, you can still make huge profits as a seller by following the methods mentioned in this article.
Just make sure that your store has a professional appearance, be laser-focused on your chosen brand and customer base, and provide exceptional customer service for guaranteed success. Good luck!