What I Wish I'd Known in My First Years Selling on Amazon
Hi everyone, I'm Sarah, Founder of Sarah Wells Bags.
I love helping sellers who are earlier in the journey, so I wanted to share a few things I wish I'd known when I was starting out.
I started my business in 2013 from my living room with a single product: a bag I designed for carrying a breast pump and keeping milk cold, because I couldn't find one that was functional and something I actually wanted to carry. Since then, Sarah Wells Bags has grown into a brand with a full product line, and much of that growth happened through selling on Amazon.
If you're early in selling on Amazon, here's what I'd tell you to focus on, and a few pitfalls I wish I'd sidestepped.
First, focus on your product listings. Clean images, clear bullet points, and accurate descriptions matter more than most people expect early on. The Amazon search algorithm rewards listings that convert, so investing time in getting your listings right will pay off.
Second, pay attention to your numbers from day one. I know it can feel overwhelming to track costs and margins when you're just getting started, but the sellers I see struggle most are the ones who weren't watching their numbers early enough. Know your fees, know your margins, and know your break-even point. Amazon's FBA Revenue Calculator is a great starting tool for this.
Third, get familiar with Brand Registry and your trademark sooner than you think you need to. Protecting your brand early saves a lot of headaches down the road.
Now for the pitfalls. The first is chasing sales volume at the expense of margin. It's tempting to lower prices to get more visibility or win the Buy Box, but I've seen sellers run their margins into the ground doing this. Protect your pricing floor.
The second is neglecting customer feedback. Reviews and questions from customers are some of the most valuable data you'll get about your products and listings. Pay attention to them, respond to them, and let them guide your product and listing improvements.
There's a lot to learn and it can feel like a lot to manage. Be patient with yourself, and keep going.
What about you? What's the one thing you wish someone had told you in your first year? And if you're in it right now, what's your biggest challenge?
I'd love to hear it, please drop a comment.
Helpful resources:
Amazon Brand Registry:
https://sell.amazon.com/brand-registry
New Seller Guide:
What I Wish I'd Known in My First Years Selling on Amazon
Hi everyone, I'm Sarah, Founder of Sarah Wells Bags.
I love helping sellers who are earlier in the journey, so I wanted to share a few things I wish I'd known when I was starting out.
I started my business in 2013 from my living room with a single product: a bag I designed for carrying a breast pump and keeping milk cold, because I couldn't find one that was functional and something I actually wanted to carry. Since then, Sarah Wells Bags has grown into a brand with a full product line, and much of that growth happened through selling on Amazon.
If you're early in selling on Amazon, here's what I'd tell you to focus on, and a few pitfalls I wish I'd sidestepped.
First, focus on your product listings. Clean images, clear bullet points, and accurate descriptions matter more than most people expect early on. The Amazon search algorithm rewards listings that convert, so investing time in getting your listings right will pay off.
Second, pay attention to your numbers from day one. I know it can feel overwhelming to track costs and margins when you're just getting started, but the sellers I see struggle most are the ones who weren't watching their numbers early enough. Know your fees, know your margins, and know your break-even point. Amazon's FBA Revenue Calculator is a great starting tool for this.
Third, get familiar with Brand Registry and your trademark sooner than you think you need to. Protecting your brand early saves a lot of headaches down the road.
Now for the pitfalls. The first is chasing sales volume at the expense of margin. It's tempting to lower prices to get more visibility or win the Buy Box, but I've seen sellers run their margins into the ground doing this. Protect your pricing floor.
The second is neglecting customer feedback. Reviews and questions from customers are some of the most valuable data you'll get about your products and listings. Pay attention to them, respond to them, and let them guide your product and listing improvements.
There's a lot to learn and it can feel like a lot to manage. Be patient with yourself, and keep going.
What about you? What's the one thing you wish someone had told you in your first year? And if you're in it right now, what's your biggest challenge?
I'd love to hear it, please drop a comment.
Helpful resources:
Amazon Brand Registry:
https://sell.amazon.com/brand-registry
New Seller Guide:
16 replies
Sandy_Amazon
I Love this! Thank you for sharing your story and tips @Seller_LTCo1Y1OVUdTC
-Sandy
Seller_5fCflqlkDGtFh
Thanks Sarah!, but how i can answer my costumers or make contact with them?
i have costumer that didnt understand how to connect my product
i really dont want him to change his review or something , just want to help him
Seller_0737vXk8LFiLc
Amazon has changed....Brand registry doesn't mean anything when overseas gets the pass. Amazon doesn't protect copyrighted material. Fact: when you create something like directions and pictures they are automatically protected. Well >>> overseas has copied our product because the patent is up...I get that part. What I don't get is Amazon has been notified multiple times they are using our instructions word for word, drawing for drawing and we get no help. How can you give new sellers advise when just talking with anyone is impossible.
Violet_Amazon
@Seller_5fCflqlkDGtFh Great question. You can reach your customer through Buyer-Seller Messaging. Go to Orders > Manage Orders, find the order, and click "Contact Buyer." You're allowed to send product support messages to help with usage questions. Just keep it focused on helping them use the product.
@Seller_0737vXk8LFiLc I hear your frustration. If you haven't already, I'd recommend submitting your copyright claims through the Report a Violation tool in Brand Registry (https://brandregistry.amazon.com/report-a-violation). Make sure you're selecting "Copyright" as the infringement type and including specific evidence of the copied content. If you've already done this without resolution, please open a thread with your case ID and I can look into it further.
Seller_N8qT7Hl1mxNbG
Great advice, Sarah. One lesson I learned early on was not to buy too much inventory just because a product looked profitable. Starting with smaller quantities gave me the opportunity to validate demand, understand the competition, and avoid costly mistakes.
I'd also add that regularly monitoring Account Health and reviewing Seller Central metrics can help identify potential issues before they become bigger problems. Small, consistent habits have made a big difference in my business over time.
Seller_ZUQsB26G7ZQxn
Sarah, Thank you for sharing this with us. we truly appreciate your words to all of us. but as you know tarriffs hurt us a lot. all the whole sales raise their prices and the customers are not like nefore as inflation going up!
all I can say we are just keep going as we shall see whats gonna happen for the future.
but all i can say to every seller, just keep going and don't stop for shasing your dream.
thank you!
Seller_x7B6NTF8xTSmM
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for making me not feel so alone lol! our product is headed to the port as we speak so we are doing the "Amazon behind the scenes stuff" it's so intimidating, but I think the thing that intimidates me the most is PPC, thank goodness for AI helping with that because there is very little help anywhere for Private Label advise of any kind.
