What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

The first-ever PROSPER Show was held earlier this month in Salt Lake City and was attended by 800+ professional sellers and service providers. Founded by James Thomson and Joseph Hansen, PROSPER was set up to share education and best practices for operating successful and profitable Amazon businesses. I attended the two-day conference with the team from eComEngine and brought back many valuable insights. I’ll share two here.

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

I’ve seen sellers jump into the Amazon marketplace believing that if they simply create a listing and ask for some product reviews, then sales will just start coming in. However there is so much more to it than that. From tax requirements and inventory management to customer service and marketing strategies, there is a great deal to consider in a successful eCommerce business. The breadth of topics that were presented at PROSPER illustrated this with 30-plus topics presented by more than 60 industry experts.

In a panel on international logistics and exporting, one freight expert was asked about the biggest mistake she sees sellers making. Her response: Sellers lose a lot of money when they jump into international sales too quickly and without understanding the market, including customs and product regulations. She stressed the importance of educating yourself and gathering all the facts before expanding internationally using Amazon’s marketplaces.

During breakfast with an Amazon seller, I hear this again. We were joined by a tax expert, and the conversation turned to sales tax requirements. As we talked, the seller discovered that his sales tax liability was potentially much more than he had estimated. He had no idea that he was required to pay sales tax in every state where Amazon was storing his inventory (as many as 17 states). As someone who had intended on complying with all tax laws, he was shocked to learn that he wasn’t in compliance.

You Don’t Have to Be the Expert - Seek Help

This show was full of experts, not only the presenters but also the exhibitors and other attendees with deep knowledge in their particular fields. While you should become familiar with all aspects of your selling on Amazon business, there are plenty of service providers out there who can probably do it better and faster than you, allowing you to spend time on what you do best, growing your business. Even hiring a virtual assistant to take care of the mundane day to day details can be a great investment. If you are in your start-up phase and spending constraints prevent you from hiring an expert, there are countless articles and blogs published by these experts that you can use to educate yourself (including here at eComEngine).

If your goal is to grow a successful and profitable eCommerce business, start learning what it is you don’t know. Become familiar with topics like pricing, inventory management, marketing, logistics, international sales, feedback management, accounting, sourcing, etc. If you feel that you are lacking in certain areas, or simply don’t have time or really enjoy some of the tasks required to manage your business, turn to the experts for help and advice. To get you started, over the next few months I will be publishing a series of articles and sharing with you my expertise on what it takes to get a product launched and selling on Amazon. So stay tuned!