Q4 is underway. Amazon sellers should be prepared for the most important part of the year. Many Amazon sellers think that it’s best to try and focus on one particular part of their Amazon business in order to crush it and grow rapidly. The truth is that it really takes a focus on a few key functions. Doing this helps Amazon sellers maximize the opportunity that is available to them. Here are a few important things to focus on during Q4.
Amazon sellers need to make sure that every single product that they have in stock, whether on FBA, or in their own warehouse, is available for sale on Amazon.
Pay close attention in your Amazon Seller Central account for any FBA stranded inventory. FBA stranded inventory happens for numerous reasons, like pricing error, customer complaints that need to be resolved, and many more. No matter the reason for stranded inventory, it’s important to resolve the situation right away.
Amazon sellers also need to check on suppressed inventory. This inventory status is a bit different from suppressed inventory. A suppressed listing is technically available for purchase on Amazon only if someone uses the URL of the listing page. The listing itself is not available for people searching for products on Amazon because Amazon is suppressing the indexing and discoverability of the listing. Suppressed listings occur for many reasons, but the most common are missing or incorrect information on the listing page. Resolve listing issues so none of your Amazon inventory is suppressed.
Another inventory management challenge in Q4 is trying to predict how much inventory to stock up with. The truth is that every product and seller are different from each other. Sellers should make a calculated decision on how much inventory to source and stock up based on all the data that is available to them. Another thing to consider is if you overstock this Q4, will you be able to afford it? Or will you be able to easily liquidate it during Q1 of 2022? If on any of these questions that answer is yes, then go ahead, stock up with inventory and try to maximize every little bit of demand from the Q4 craziness.
Q4 is the prime time season for selling on Amazon. Make sure to have all your listings optimized to the brim before reaching Black Friday which kicks off the holiday sales season. A simple and great tip is to add visuals or videos that are showing your products as great holiday season gifts to increase your conversion.
There is a super important update that Amazon has announced regarding shipping inventory on time to FBA to be available for consumers to purchase for the Christmas season. The new update date is Dec 2, 2021. The original date was December 11,2021. If you want your products to sell on FBA during the crazy peak days towards Christmas, all of your inventory needs to be received by FBA by that date. Inventory received past Dec 2, 2021 will miss the peak, and will be available for sale during Q1 of 2022. Make sure to adjust yourself accordingly to this deadline!
Many Amazon sellers are facing serious challenges with sourcing in Asia and shipping from Asia to the US. Factories are increasing prices and delaying production times. Stranded shipping containers and sluggish logistics companies are compounding the problem. Amazon expects inventory to arrive at FBA earlier than usual and has imposed FBA storage limitations. Many sellers are trying to resolve such challenges by ordering big quantities from Asia, storing the inventory in 3PL centers in the US, dripping inventory into FBA, and also offering their products as Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM).
There will be many eyeballs browsing through Amazon during Q4. Most of these eyeballs have full intent and ability to make a purchase. This means that sellers should drive as much traffic as possible to their listing and blow up in sales. Optimize listings for maximum conversion. The conversion percentage Expect ad bidding costs to triple or more. Especially for the increase in keyword bidding prices. Do not be cheap. Be bullish on spending only if your listings are calibrated properly for conversion. Oh yeah, also make sure you can financially afford the bidding war. If you are tight on cash, it’s better to play on the safe side.
If you are sourcing from China, you should already have your inventory where it needs to be. Nevertheless, you should be placing orders during Q4 from China if you want to have enough inventory for Q1 and beyond. The Chinese New Year will take place in early February into early March of 2022. Make sure to adjust all your orders accordingly so you do not stock out because of the Chinese New Year vacation break.
Amazon sellers should go to Seller Central and check if they have any Performance Notifications from Amazon. If they find any notifications regarding warnings, violations, complaints and other issues, they should address and fix them right away. If you don’t address issues like these, Amazon might suspend your listings, or even worse, suspend your entire account. At all costs, Amazon sellers need to stay in the Q4 game, so make sure to be on top of your account health performance and quickly react to any issues that arise during Q4. The faster you respond, the better.
We hope that the key functions provided in this article are useful and helpful for Amazon sellers. We wish you all great success this Q4 season and that you continue to grow and succeed on Amazon.
Yoni Mazor is co-founder of GETIDA, an Amazon solution provider that offers robust
auditing services to sellers, helping them to reconcile inventory, file claims and
maximize reimbursements.
Yoni began his e-commerce career while still in college, discovering he could
double his return by selling his textbooks online, instead of a trade-in at the local
bookstore. In 2009, working as Operations Manager of a supplements company, he
continued to expand his e-commerce knowledge, managing sales on the company’s
website, eBay, and Amazon. In 2013, Yoni became the Chief Operating Officer of the
May Group, a multi-category distributor that grew from selling watches and jewelry to
cosmetics and apparel. With an expansion to the Amazon marketplace, online sales
rapidly increased to 20 million.
Dealing with significantly escalating volume, Yoni and his team created solutions to
help manage inventory and accounts. In 2016, as other sellers began seeking Yoni’s
assistance, he and his co-founder Max Borin formed GETIDA, providing sophisticated
data analytic tools to assist Amazon sellers with auditing, reimbursement and inventoryreconciliation.
As spokesperson of The Ecom Cooperative, Yoni is mission-driven and
dedicated, a quick action man who gets the job done. With exceptional leadership
skills, Yoni brings positivity and good spirit into all of his interactions. Forward-thinking and growth-oriented, Yoni’s drive to be impactful and offer value is clear, using creative intelligence to advance and achieve.
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Frank Acosta is the founder of Creative Percent, a branding agency serving clients in
the e-commerce sector, helping them to create distinctive, alluring brands.
Frank began his career in 2009, working for Alerta TV as a broadcaster’s
assistant, and advanced to serve as Broadcasting Director in 2012. Honoring his love
for all things creative, Frank founded Creative Percent in 2016, a niche agency
designed to build iconic brands, launching new companies and reinventing established ones. As the business evolved, Creative Percent responded to clear market demand for video production and, in 2019, created a dedicated studio space for filming dynamic product videos for their e-commerce base.
At the core of Frank’s success is his focus on the client: in-depth market research
and a thorough delving into the customer’s world provide a precise understanding of
needs and ensure aligned visions. Bestowing each client with a fresh perspective,
Creative Percent is renowned for producing notable brands.
As Creative Director of The Ecom Cooperative, Frank’s passion for community
and connection fuels his craft. A creative hustler, he is always ready to work and take
bold, innovative steps. Frank is a strong, well-liked leader and brings great energy,
spirit, and a high dose of perfectionism to the team, perpetually contributing to the
pursuit of growth and advancement.
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Lenny Ash is the co-founder of AZSeller Kit, a custom-designed software solution
for Amazon sellers which utilizes business intelligence tools to present actionable data.
Lenny began his e-commerce career while still in college, selling collectibles on
eBay in significant volumes. After completing his undergrad degree, Lenny began
working in a Manhattan-based retail store, Media Mix Distribution, and pioneered their expansion into wholesale distribution and online sales. By 2003, with the company heavily selling on the Amazon marketplace, software developers were employed to streamline inventory management.
In 2015, Lenny and his partner Jason Hanan began offering consulting services,
sharing their vast experience with other Amazon sellers. With both client and personal
business needs unsatisfied by cookie-cutter approaches, Lenny gained expertise in
data science and data management, and in 2020, launched AZSeller Kit with Jason.
This Amazon integrated software offers price optimization tools and provides key
insights which help shape vital decisions.
As Chief Technology Officer at The Ecom Cooperative, Lenny’s analytical approach and technical prowess add steady efficiency and continuous advancement to the team. With his easygoing, empathetic and methodical nature, Lenny gains a chasmic understanding of situations and provides on-target solutions, consistently plugging away to accomplish goals.
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Jason Hanan is the co-founder of AZSeller Kit, a customized software solution that
provides data insights and helps Amazon sellers manage their accounts and make
logistical decisions.
After graduating college with a degree in business management, Jason joined his brother Adam in owning and managing Media Mix Distribution, a Manhattan-based retail store. As retail sales began to taper, they moved into the wholesale and online marketplace, gaining a unique understanding of the e-commerce industry.
In 2015, Jason began offering consulting services with partner Lenny Ash to other
Amazon sellers, developing software that helped manage online sales. Ahead of the
curve in e-commerce experience, Jason and Lenny leveraged this knowledge to launch
AZSeller Kit in 2020. Built from the perspective of a seller, it provides valuable business intelligence tools that give clients key insight into their business’s wellbeing.
As treasurer for The Ecom Cooperative, Jason takes a thought-out, focused
approach to achieving financial goals. A leader by nature and a hardworking and
dedicated team contributor, Jason’s empathy and free-thinking offer valuable insight and perspective.
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