How Amazon Sellers Can Prepare for Q4

In this guest post, Victoria Sullivan of Payability shares strategies for preparing for Q4 as an Amazon seller.

Prime Day has come and gone and now sellers everywhere are on the fast track to Q4. The Q4 holiday shopping rush is the season for sellers. Before you know it, Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be here bringing with them sales, sales, and more sales.

But how do you get a leg up in this competitive marketplace during the most competitive season of the year? Luckily, there are tools and strategies you can use to do just that. To make sure you’re prepared and ready for every growth opportunity Q4 has to offer, we're sharing a few suggestions and tips:

Check Future Pricing/Rankings

Sales almost always increase in Q4, so you need to stock up on even more inventory. When choosing items to stock up on, don’t just check their price and ranking today. See how they rank and what prices they are going for in Q4.

After all, there are plenty of seasonal items such as holiday decor and toys that shoot up in price and ranking during the holiday shopping rush. These are great opportunities to buy inventory at a low price and sell high.

Pro Tip: You also might want to reevaluate and readjust your prices regularly throughout Q4. As your competitors stock out and the last-minute demand for holiday gifts rises, you may be able to enjoy higher margins.

Consider Switching to FBA

Last-minute holiday shoppers love Amazon’s two-day shipping guarantee and your bank account will, too. If you aren’t currently using Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA), Q4 is prime time (no pun intended) to get started.

Not only will two-day shipping get more customers to buy, but it will also free up more of your time so you can concentrate even more on scaling your Amazon business during the biggest quarter of the year.

Revamp Your Ratings/Listings

Aside from not having Prime’s two-day shipping guarantee, another thing that stops Amazon customers from buying is negative reviews or the complete lack of reviews. Make sure you respond to all negative reviews and do what you can to get them removed. You can use tools like FeedbackFive to get higher rankings and more product reviews.

Prior to Q4, it’s important to go through each of your listings with a fine-tooth comb. Not only should you make sure you are using the best keywords and have strong photos that are compliant with Amazon’s standards, but you should also make sure your product descriptions are accurate and up-to-date. This can help drive more sales and even prevent returns come January.

Amp Up Your Buying Power

If you can’t buy as much inventory as you can sell in Q4 and restock quickly when you need to, then you can’t reach your full potential in Q4 or any time of the year. Amazon’s 14+ day payment terms can make it challenging to reinvest in your business in real time and keep up with demand.

On the other hand, if you don’t have a surplus of cash prior to Q4, it can be difficult to stock up on all of the inventory you need for the holiday shopping rush. Allow us to propose a solution.

Payability, a financing company that provides Amazon and marketplace sellers with daily cash flow and growth capital, can help you out of both of these all-too-common seller dilemmas. We currently have two products, Instant Access and Instant Advance.

Instant Access provides Amazon and marketplace sellers with daily cash flow. Here’s how it works: Payability will advance you 80-90% of yesterday’s Amazon payout today. The remaining 10-20% stays in a reserve to cover returns and chargebacks and is released to the seller on Amazon’s regular payment schedule for a 1-2% fee on gross sales.

Instant Advance is a product that Payability recently launched just in time for Q4. It’s a purchase of future sales, giving you up to a month’s worth of payouts today. This can give you the buying power to take advantage of bulk discounts and stock up for Q4. See just how it works in this short video.

Sign up for Instant Access and/or Instant Advance and receive a $200 sign-on bonus. Both work well in conjunction with each other and with outside financing such as Amazon Lending. You can find out even more about Payability on Trustpilot, Glassdoor, and BBB.

Best of luck as you prepare for Q4!