Online marketplaces increasingly are popping up everywhere. Many brands have found that it is much easier to sell their products through existing marketplaces than try to draw attention to their proprietary websites. Even major companies like Wal-Mart are now letting other brands sell directly to consumers via their hubs.

Amazon is without a doubt the biggest online marketplace for consumers and sellers alike, making it a very attractive target for small businesses and brands. However, it’s important to consider a variety of elements before launching your plans on the platform. Today, let’s examine what you should consider before you begin selling products on Amazon.

Evaluate the Competition

A huge part of evaluating how successful your Amazon endeavors will be is to consider the nature of your competition. Specifically, are the products you’re offering unique, or are they sold by other businesses?

For brands that make their own products, pinging users with unique benefits and selling points becomes easy. Additionally, you do not have to worry about price competition from other vendors selling identical products. If, however, you’re selling items such as electronics that are also being sold by others, you’ll need to consider exactly how you can compete – especially considering that Amazon does not allow for custom store-fronts and the like. If somebody else can beat your prices, then how realistic is selling on Amazon?

Determine Which Selling Method Is Best

Amazon offers three different selling options for businesses and brands. They are commonly known as FBA, FBM & DS.

FBA means Fulfilled By Amazon: your products are delivered to Amazon and they personally ship out your items whenever an order is placed. This can be a convenient way to handle expanding your business, but it also results in additional fees on each sale.

FBM means Fulfilled By Merchant. This is the standard form of sales with which you’re already accustomed. Whenever somebody places an order, it is your responsibility to ship out the order.

DS means Dropship. This is perfect for businesses that don’t handle physical inventory, but rather earn their profits by buying from other businesses, marking up the costs, and having the items shipped to the customer.

Examine Your Likely Audience

Breaking through on Amazon can be tough if you’re selling obscure products or have a lot of competition. As such, it is vital that you determine exactly how much of a potential audience exists. Especially true for those providing their own proprietary products, it can be hard to generate sales when there are no reviews for your business or product. Amazon offers solutions for earning reviews (the most popular solution is the Early Reviewer Program), but even with reviews, if the audience is relatively small, then you might find it difficult to attract new shoppers via the marketplace.

Selling on Amazon can be a huge boon for businesses – but it’s not right for everybody. Before jumping onto the marketplace, consider what effects any competition might have, ensure your products are capable of pinging users in a large enough audience, and carefully determine which selling method is best for your brand’s particular needs.