Some good reasons to consider Fulfillment by Amazon

For a while now I've been reading an excellent blog by Randy Smythe, who provides some interesting statistics about his Amazon selling, especially how Fulfillment by Amazon has been getting additional sales for him.

Randy ran his numbers this weekend and found a unmistakable pattern:

In January, FBA shipped 796 orders for me.

• Amazon Prime Customers- Made up 20% (157) of those orders.


• Super-Saver Shipping - Made up 53% (423) of those orders


• Regular Shipping - Made up 27% (216) of those orders.

As you can see, free shipping is a huge incentive for buyers, and it seems FBA orders are making up a growing percentage of Randy's business. (You can list some of your items via FBA while continuing to sell other items directly to buyers.)

Why do I even mention these numbers? Because, if you are not listing and selling using FBA, you are missing out on a huge number of Amazon buyers, who want free shipping (I still sold 27% of my orders to customers who paid for S&H as well).

Read the rest of Randy's post for an illustration of why buyers regularly choose items listed with FBA. (Hint: It's all about the shipping fee and the sorting advantage FBA gives your listing.)

Judging from the FBA Message Board, Amazon is still working the kinks out of this program. Hardly a day goes by without an FBA merchant screaming about how Amazon has fouled up their account. Perhaps the problems are confined to particular warehouses, while other warehouses are managing FBA without too many hiccups.

Judging from Randy's reports, FBA seems to be developing into an important sales tool already.