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Ashley Coblentz is a lifestyle blogger currently writing for Synccentric and political journalist. After graduating from college, she worked as a Registered Nurse at one of the largest hospitals in South Dakota until deciding to be a full-time mom. She remains very passionate about the nursing profession and often volunteers in her extra time to teach community education classes on first aid and other related topics. She has one amazing child who keeps her on her toes. Who knew 10-year-olds could have so many questions? If you want to keep up with her and see what she’s writing next you can find her on Twitter or check out her portfolio for other fun reads.
Selling on Amazon is a good way to turn a profit if you use the right strategies. Amazon is an extremely popular way for people to shop online and Canadians are definitely no exception. Selling on Amazon Canada can be a little more challenging at times but if you know what you’re doing it’s still entirely possible to make a great income this way.
The key is knowing about tips that work for all Amazon sellers, as well as knowing about tips that work specifically for sellers in Canada. While some tips are universal, some are definitely more geared towards sellers who deal with different sets of rules and fee costs selling in Canada. The way you make great profits is going to vary slightly because of this.
If you’re thinking about becoming a seller on Amazon’s Canadian website, there are some things you should know. Luckily, there are a lot of great resources out there like Amazon fee calculators to help you along the way. Here are five tips and tricks on how to sell on amazon canada.
1. Your FBA Products Need To Be Worth It
Using FBA (fulfillment by Amazon) in Canada is a little different than using FBA on Amazon.com. The ideas are the same but as other Amazon.ca sellers will tell you, the costs are a little higher. Because of this, you’ll want to make sure your FBA items are making a good profit. Some sellers who have already tested these things out suggest at least a $10-$15 profit.
Keep in mind that your cost of shipping is higher in Canada so you need to account for that in your item choices. If you can’t make enough in profit to cover higher fees, then choosing a different product is a better idea. You can use an FBA fee and profit calculator to help you make good decisions about profitability too.
Whatever you choose to sell with FBA the key is to make sure it’s worth the extra costs. This is always going to be the case for any FBA seller but it’s especially true for those who have to accommodate larger fees. Be smart about the products you choose to sell so you don’t end up losing money where you should be making money.
2. Be Aware Of Special Rules
There are a few differences in the prohibited and restricted items when you’re selling on Amazon.ca. You’ll want to make sure you’re aware of those before you start selling so you don’t run into trouble. Not all of these differences are just because of Amazon rules. Many are based on what is able to be shipped into Canada legally.
Amazon clearly lists the rules for both prohibited and restricted Amazon.ca items so you won’t have to guess at what’s in the clear. Remember that some of the prohibited items aren’t just about risking your Amazon account if you sell them. You could end up losing money because the items can’t get past customs or have to deal with other legal ramifications.
This tip shouldn’t scare you away from becoming an Amazon.ca seller, it’s just something you should be aware of. Just like any other venture you go on to make money, being as informed as possible is important. With Amazon.ca one of the things you need to know is all the rules that might be different from other sellers. It’s just good to be informed before you start.
3. Monitor The Right Bestsellers
Sometimes there are tips about using the Amazon Bestsellers list to monitor what’s selling well in each category. This is great advice and there are sales rank tools you can use to help you monitor those things more effectively. Just keep in mind that these tips are often written from Amazon.com sellers.
While the advice about monitoring the list closely is great, you need to make sure you’re watching the Amazon.ca bestsellers instead of the Amazon.com best sellers. This tip might seem too basic to mention but it’s a common mistake first-time Amazon.ca sellers make. Knowing that there’s a separate list for Amazon.ca sellers will put you ahead of the game.
4. Keyword Tools Are Especially Important
Amazon.ca has fewer sellers than Amazon.com, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It is something you want to be aware of though. It will affect how you list your items. While some advice out there will tell you to look at what competitors are using for keywords that’s not as effective for Amazon.ca.
With fewer sellers, you’ll have more listings you have to create from scratch. That means your keywords are going to be especially important. You won’t have templates from other sellers to use so a keyword tool is going to be your best friend when you’re figuring things out. Use a keyword tool to guide what you list your items as for better results.
Keywords are a big part of how a customer is going to find your listing so you can’t risk guessing at what’s going to be best. Tools that show you what words are popular in relation to the item you want to sell are an invaluable way to make sure your listing will be more successful in the end.
5. Selling On Amazon.com Can Be A Good Thing
After you’ve figured out how to turn a decent profit on Amazon.ca you might get curious about branching out to Amazon.com too. This isn’t a terrible idea and if you do it right you can really increase your profits by a significant amount. You just need to make sure you’re ready to handle selling on both sites.
Amazon.com will have smaller profit margins that you’re used to seeing so you should be aware of that upfront. Keep in mind that your sales volume is likely to be much much higher and because of that, the smaller margins make up for themselves quickly. If you’re aware of this from the beginning, you’ll be less likely to be discouraged when you see those small margins at first.
Keep in mind that you may have access to items in Canada that will sell well on Amazon.com because they’re harder to find in the US. this can be a huge advantage for you, so if you’re thinking of branching out consider items that are rarer in the US and see how those are ranking on Amazon.com. It could be well worth the effort to list them on the .com website.
Conclusion:
Selling on Amazon.ca isn’t always something that’s as popularly discussed as selling on the Amazon.com website. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth your time and effort. If you keep these tips in mind and seek out other Amazon.ca sellers for advice when you’re unsure about something you’ll be thrilled with how your efforts pay off. You might have a little more work cut out for you but when you see the money rolling in it will be worth everything you’ve put in.
