I'm observing - on some Amazon seller help forums - some 'experts' who are turning their noses up at the prospect of selling high-ranking products on Amazon -------------------------->
By 'high ranking' I mean 'slower-selling'. On Amazon, high rank of (say) 6,000,000 is clearly a sales dud - a pretty low chance of getting sold. Alternatively, an item with a low sales rank (i.e. 1,050 ) - is a hot item on Amazon with a fast sell-through rate.
But these 'experts' - who, like me, don't know what Amazon's 'secret formula' is in assigning its bestseller ranks - strike me as being pretty snobbish. Let me explain.
Personally, I will sell any legitimate product on Amazon, within a pretty wide sales rank range. I don't turn much down, even if it ranks as high as 1,000,000 (as long as I can make a decent profit, of course).
On my new membership site, FBAFinds.com (which advises you exactly what to sell on Amazon, and exactly where to find it) you'll see that I won't recommend a product to you unless it has a sales rank between 1 and *150,000* - and I think we're being TOO careful!
But would you believe that some sellers are even scoffing at that? I had one guy recently tell me that I was crazy to recommend a toy with a sales rank of 36,000 - he said it's not going to sell!
Well, I will show you something that no other seller will - items with high sales ranks that, according to ALL those Amazon Seller 'experts', has NO CHANCE in Hell to sell!
Well, I just proved them wrong:
For instance: I bought this at a local Marshalls, for $5, in April 2011 (you can tell by my Seller SKU - it includes the date I sent it to Amazon - 040211). It just sold for $17.94. (Full disclosure - mine was the lowest price among the competing sellers - but my gross profit margin was over 175%) The sales rank WHEN I POSTED it was 450,000. Right after my item sold, the sales rank JUMPED to 53,000. If I were a betting man, I'd bet you that plenty of other sellers turned down buying that item to resell on Amazon, because of the sales rank.
Here's another example: I listed this audio book on Amazon a few days ago (I paid $3 for it). I just sold it on Amazon for $14.99 (over 275% Gross Profit Margin). Again, mine was the lowest price - but my profit margin was over 350% on that one. This item's sales rank when I posted it was 650,000! After my sale: The sales rank got worse: 885,000. But my item sold at a big profit within just a few days of listing it! Unnecessary 'Sales Rank Nervousness' debunked again!
(Side Note: You might be asking "J.B., How do you ensure you're always at the lowest price?" I use a repricer service - repriceit.com - for my Amazon FBA listings. I recommend a repricer (but it's not required) if you have a large # of items on Amazon (i.e. 100+ different ASINs). MOST of my items are repriced automatically - daily - to ensure they are the lowest price. You don't need a repricer to compete with other sellers effectively, but it does save you a boatload of time)
Now, is this high sales rank 'success' common? Nope. I have lower - and higher - ranking items that take 6 months to sell, 12 months to sell, 1 month to sell, etc. But I'd rather do that (think about my investment 'long term') than chasing the same hot products along with a ton of snooty, competing sellers, whom would thrust me into a price war. I won't follow that mentality.
If they all run West, I'll run East. You comin' with me? Good. Like the inimitable David Lee Roth once said, "We may be lost, but we're WAY ahead of schedule."
See Ya in the Forums,
-J.B. Malik
Founder, HonestOnlineSelling.com and FBAFinds.com
