Is Fulfilled by Amazon really this complicated?

[IAmTheWalrus]

Hi,

So I watched a video on YouTube, the video lasts 20 minutes but is in itself a glance over the stages of from start to finish in setting up a business for Amazon FBA, however in the video he lists something like 40 steps per product and doesn't even go into detail on those so you have to learn even more. I am not afraid of learning but I just feel there is so much stuff going on it seems overly-complicated for online selling. Has anyone here been running a business successfully on Amazon and can you recommend any guides? Thanks in advance.

[IJ87]

40 Steps! If you already have a product and decent images etc converting to FBA does not take 40 steps. Depending on the item type you may need to apply amazon specific labels to cover any existing barcodes and then you need dimensions etc to confirm the costs and then you can ship in. Happy to point you in the right direction! (we are sellers and also consultants).

[IAmTheWalrus]

IJ87 said:

40 Steps! If you already have a product and decent images etc converting to FBA does not take 40 steps. Depending on the item type you may need to apply amazon specific labels to cover any existing barcodes and then you need dimensions etc to confirm the costs and then you can ship in. Happy to point you in the right direction! (we are sellers and also consultants).

OK well thanks for your response, I am looking to learn as much as a I can.

This was the video I Watched.

Oh I was mistaken, there are 48 lol, including finding an Amazon FBA aware accountant, I went to uni and did a degree in business and thought that was strange, surely you get sales figures off Amazon easily to put into your accounting?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcsTunFe6Jg&t=...

[22s]

Yes, it's complicated. Because the customer experience is simple, and instagram "gurus", people think that FBA is easy.

There are a myriad of rules and best practices you must follow to succeed, plus requires pretty constant oversight if you want to build it into a profitable venture.

And that's not to mention the upfront investment.

AMZ accounting is very complicated due to the myriad of fees they charged and how the money is disbursed to your bank account. You need someone who understands it (or will spend the time to understand it). And that's before you get into even thinking about selling internationally!

[IAmTheWalrus]

22s said:

AMZ accounting is very complicated due to the myriad of fees they charged and how the money is disbursed to your bank account.

Why is this an issue when it comes to standard accounting for self assessment?

[skwdenyer]

IAmTheWalrus said:

22s said:

AMZ accounting is very complicated due to the myriad of fees they charged and how the money is disbursed to your bank account.

Why is this an issue when it comes to standard accounting for self assessment?

Because you can't necessarily get anything as simple as a clear breakdown of charges, revenues, etc. AMZ is a nightmare on that front. The mixture of VAT regimes, VAT treatments, and so on just complicates it much further.

I understand you don't understand how bad it is. But some of us have to deal with AMZ professionally. We know

It of course isn't impossible. But the learning curve is steep, the learning required extensive, and AMZ have a habit of changing things around just when you thought you'd got the hang of it!

The other issues are around things like seller reputation, whether you can get the buy box, and so on. To borrow an old saying, if you want to make a small fortune selling on AMZ, just start with a large one

Of course some people do very well. But many others hire an expert to make it work for them. And still more frankly just break even.

[IAmTheWalrus]

skwdenyer said:

IAmTheWalrus said:

22s said:

AMZ accounting is very complicated due to the myriad of fees they charged and how the money is disbursed to your bank account.

Why is this an issue when it comes to standard accounting for self assessment?

Because you can't necessarily get anything as simple as a clear breakdown of charges, revenues, etc. AMZ is a nightmare on that front. The mixture of VAT regimes, VAT treatments, and so on just complicates it much further.

I understand you don't understand how bad it is. But some of us have to deal with AMZ professionally. We know

It of course isn't impossible. But the learning curve is steep, the learning required extensive, and AMZ have a habit of changing things around just when you thought you'd got the hang of it!

The other issues are around things like seller reputation, whether you can get the buy box, and so on. To borrow an old saying, if you want to make a small fortune selling on AMZ, just start with a large one

Of course some people do very well. But many others hire an expert to make it work for them. And still more frankly just break even.

Sounds awfully over-complicated. Does amazon itself teach you how FBA works? Whenever I search for info I get people on the net selling courses.