Any "Fulfilled by Amazon" sellers here?

[MitchT]

I'm pondering ways to make money and wondering if selling on Amazon could be an option. I'm particularly interested in the "Fulfilled by Amazon" option and was wondering if there's anyone here who's making it work for themselves. At face value it appears that the seller acquires goods from a wholesaler, ships them to an Amazon fulfillment centre and then waits for the money to roll in.

The costs, as far as I can tell, would be:

Wholesale cost of goods.
Cost of shipping goods to me.
Cost of shipping goods to Amazon.
Amazon's charges for storage.
Amazon's cut from sale.
Tax on my profit.

Also, as I understand it my goods basically go in the warehouse and are then in a queue. If someone else put stock of the same stuff in the warehouse before me then their stuff will be sold first. Right? Can I run my own website/social media/etc. with direct links to my stock on Amazon to help move my own stuff more quickly or will the links just go to a generic Amazon listing that's shifting everyone's stock?

I'm guessing the best stuff to sell will be stuff with high turnover and reduced potential for returns, so small consumables rather than clothing, which appears to be a minefield, and big ticket items.

Am I missing anything? Any advice?

[MitchT]

LordHaveMurci said:

What are you going to sell on Amazon that they themselves aren't already selling, or a dozen other Companies?

Nothing at all. The impression I get is that I can be one of numerous people selling the same stuff with some of the orders placed on Amazon being fulfilled from my stock, that's all. I'm not trying to be Richard Branson, just to make a few quid, hopefully. Just wondered what people's first hand experiences were and if I post links to my stuff elsewhere will people who click through specifically buy my stock or will it be a generic link to an Amazon listing which may be fulfilled from someone else's stock?

[MitchT]

Thanks all - some interesting perspectives and info there. I have searched for, and read, other threads but I did wonder if people's experiences had changed since as things do tend to evolve quite quickly these days.

Ean218 said:

NoIP said:

The only reason Amazon offer FBA is because basically you're saving them the cost of a sales rep.

And you're paying for their future market research....

And you're funding the stock!