When 'Poor' Amazon Sales Ranks = Hot + Profitable

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

If you sell items on Amazon, you are likely always asking "what's a good Amazon bestseller rank?" when selecting your inventory.

Despite what other 'experts' tell you, the answer isn't definite. Bestseller ranks vary and change widely, and I have discusssed how snobbish sellers are being too restrictive at their own peril. 

Now I've realized that when you find an item to sell on Amazon and it's sold out on Amazon, bestseller rank is almost irrelevant.

Why? When you're replenishing that item that's currently sold out, you're helping meet a customer demand that (typically) far outweighs the current supply on Amazon.

The (typical) result is when you're one of the first (or only) sellers to replenish a sold-out item on Amazon, it gets snapped up right away by an eager buyer.

Examples (with 'Profit Proof'):


> I found this used toy at a thrift store for $3.99, sent it in via Amazon FBA and it sold for ~$19 within a few days. (Sales Rank: 175,000).

> This product (bought for $5.99 at a yard sale) sold for $30 within just a few days. (Sales Rank: 313,00!)

> This toy (bought for $5 at a thrift store) - with a sales rank of 459,000! - sold within a few days for $39.


The common thread for all these items is that before my 'stock' was received at Amazon, they were 'sold out' (Amazon calls it 'Currently Unavailable'.)


Now that I know these items are in short supply on Amazon, I can keep my eyes peeled for them or place a free 'wanted ad' on Craigslist or Freecycle to ask local folks if they have any - used or new - that they'd like to sell (you'd be surprised at how many people respond to such ads).

So next time you're out scouting and you scan an item with a 'poor' bestseller rank, check the # of sellers. You can likely flip the item for a good profit very quickly, especially if you're the only seller of it.

FREE: I go more in-depth with similar Amazon selling strategies with my e-book bundle.

Also FREE: If you haven't sold on Amazon yet, learn how, step-by-step, with this guide.

Do you have an example of a quick-selling product that was previously 'sold out' on Amazon?

Happy selling,

-Jordan

Amazon Begs Sellers, Part One: 9,231 Toys Wanted

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

Some/all Amazon FBA Sellers (including myself) got the below email from Amazon today. This is a gold mine of information - Amazon is essentially giving you the exact information about 9200 HOT HOT HOT 'Toys and Games' items that they are running low on. Read more below. 


Why is this information a 'gold mine'?  Because these items have extremely good sales ranks AND they are in short supply in Amazon, you (as an Amazon seller) can essentially 'name your price' (within reason) if you are able to source any of these. (Good-bestseller-ranked items in short supply mean that customer Demand is far outpacing Supply. Pure 'economics' lets you raise the price of an item in short supply, that is in high demand. That's just the nature of efficient markets). 

How can you find some of these 9,200+ toys? Some are impossible to find, of course, but you can do a search on TheFind.com (which searches multiple online stores), or place a Craigslist.org wanted ad in your local neighborhood (a successful method many of my subscribers have had via my instructions in this guide).

Amazon's email to sellers is below:

Dear FBA Seller,

Thank you for selling on Amazon.com with our Fulfillment by Amazon service (FBA).

Right now, there are Toys products that have high customer demand but that aren't being fulfilled by Amazon (but may be in the future). If you have any of these products or can get them, you might want to list them on Amazon.com and fulfill them using FBA.  Note that, at this time, we are looking for products in new condition only.   

We know that customers love buying items with FBA benefits, such as FREE Super Saver Shipping, Amazon Prime, and Guaranteed Accelerated Delivery, so this is a great time to consider testing a small quantity of these items in FBA.

See the list of 9,231 products here:  (Link will expire in 14 days)

Thank you again for selling on Amazon.com.
Sincerely,
Amazon Selling Coach