$450 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

My membership website, Online Selling Coach is hosting a fantastic giveaway – and you don’t even have to be a member to participate or win! In anticipation of the busy holiday season, and to celebrate our sixth month online, we are giving away $450 in Amazon gift cards! One lucky winner will receive a $250 gift card, and four (4) winners will receive $50 gift cards and (5) Winners will also get a 1 year Premium Membership To OnlineSellingCoach.com.

The giveaway will run for the entire month of October and winners will be announced on Tuesday November 1st.

Click here to enter the giveaway and find out how to earn multiple entries for more chances to win! Good luck!

Selling Toys on Amazon this Holiday Season

Today’s post is contributed by my colleague, Kim Tarrant, who co-wrote our book, Amazon FBA Recipe for Success. Kim has sold on Amazon for several holiday seasons.

If you’re selling on Amazon there’s no doubt you’ve received the “Holiday Selling in Toys and Games” email from Amazon. These guidelines are implemented to maintain buyer confidence in Amazon during the holiday season. If you do not meet the performance criteria you will not be eligible to sell in the toys and games category from November 15, 2011 through the first week in January 2012. These guidelines are only applicable for merchant fulfilled items, they do not apply to items fulfilled by Amazon as long as your account is in good standing.

In order to sell in the toys and games category from November 15, 2011 and the first week in January 2012 you will need to meet these guidelines:

- Seller’s first sale on Amazon.com must be prior to 09/19/2011 (sale does not need to be Toy-specific).

- Seller must have processed and shipped at least 25 orders (do not need to be Toy-specific) during the 60 consecutive days preceding 11/1/2011.

- No greater than 1% short term order defect rate as of 11/1/2011.

- No greater than 2.5% pre-fulfillment cancel rate for the trailing 30-days preceding 11/1/2011.

- No greater than 5% late shipment rate for the trailing 30-days preceding 11/1/2011.

This email can seem intimidating at first but it’s really quite simple to achieve all the requirements. Amazon will periodically send emails to let you know where you stand on meeting the criteria. On or around September 21, Amazon sent an email to all sellers letting them know where they stand on meeting the criteria for the holiday season. Amazon will send several more notices out before the deadline of November 1, 2011. In my experience, these notifications will come around the end of September, the middle of October, the end of October and a few days before November 15, 2011. If you haven’t met the guidelines yet, don’t panic as there is still time. The sales quota guidelines (first sale prior to September 19 and at least 25 orders during the 60 days preceding November 1, 2011) can be met through merchant fulfilled orders OR orders fulfilled by Amazon.

If you’ve sold during the holidays in the past, you know it can be a wild a crazy ride. If you haven’t, relax, don’t get overwhelmed and take it one sale at a time.

Amazon Toy Selling Guidelines for Holiday 2011 Season

Amazon recently announced its requirements for holiday toy sellers. If you plan to take advantage of the Amazon platform selling toys this holiday season, it is time to get it in gear! Orders fulfilled by Amazon will not be subject to the holiday season restrictions, provided your account is in good standing. So, these guidelines only apply if you are shipping the items yourself. (Keep in mind that as time runs short before Christmas, you may want to merchant fill some orders. There simply won’t be enough time to ship your items to FBA, and then have Amazon ship to the final customer. For last minute sales, you will want to ship items yourself.)



Effective November 15, 2011, only those sellers who meet the following performance criteria will be eligible to sell in Toys & Games from November 15, 2011, through the first week in January 2012:

Seller's first sale on Amazon.com must be prior to 09/19/11 (sale does not need to be Toy-specific)

Seller must have processed and shipped at least 25 orders (do not need to be Toy-specific) during the 60 consecutive days preceding 11/1/2011.

No greater than 1% short-term order defect rate as of 11/1/2011.

No greater than 2.5% pre-fulfillment cancel rate for the trailing 30 days preceding 11/1/2011.

No greater than 5% late shipment rate for the trailing 30 days preceding 11/1/2011.

Click here to check your metrics and verify these rates on your seller account.



Amazon will provide final notification about your eligibility to sell in the Toys & Games store by the middle of November. Effective September 19, 2011, no new sellers will be approved to sell in the Toys & Games store until the holiday restrictions have been lifted.



Amazon sets these guidelines because customers have higher expectations for delivery during the busy holiday season. Amazon wants to make sure that new sellers are performing up to their standards before allowing them to sell during the busy season.



These restrictions do not apply to FBA sellers since Amazon assumes the burden for proper shipping, delivery time, and post transactional customer service.



Click here to read the complete announcement.



If you have not yet ventured into Amazon or FBA, here are some resources:



Free Report – Amazon FBA 90 Day Experiment



Amazon FBA Tutorials



Amazon FBA Revenue Calculator



Amazon FBA Recipe for Success

Amazon Testing New Service – Amazon Tote

A popular and often unknown niche for online sellers is non-perishable food products. Several members of my Facebook group discuss selling food items on Amazon using the FBA program. Now, Amazon is testing a new service that may really make this niche explode.

Amazon has created a new service called Amazon Tote. It’s a weekly grocery delivery service – and it’s free. You don’t have to pay any fees, order certain amounts, or subscribe to anything. Your purchases through Amazon Tote will be delivered for free in a reusable tote bag (large items are delivered as is, and are covered in bad weather). Amazon will make deliveries as often as 2 times per week. You will be assigned a delivery day(s) based on your zip code. Because this is a new program, only certain zip codes are eligible (98004, 98005, 98006, 98007, 98008, 98033, 98039, 98040, 98052, 98102, 98103, 98105, 98107, 98109, 98112, 98115, 98117, 98119, 98125, 98133, 98199).

There are several reasons that people chose to purchase their groceries online. Saving time is a big incentive. Because ordering online keeps you from having to go to the store, stand in line, search for exactly what you want, etc., it can be a great choice for busy people.

Ordering groceries online can save money as well. It may seem more expensive, but ordering online allows you to buy in bulk (which is almost always cheaper), plus you avoid the risk of impulse buys. Some online merchants will even accept coupons and run sales.

Buying groceries online is also much more convenient for people who live in a large city and rely only on public transportation. Ordering online lets you avoid lugging heavy bags through subways and crowds. Plus, you don’t have to climb stairs weighted down with bags.

The elderly and those with physical limitations can also greatly benefit from ordering groceries online (mothers of young children can too!). Plus, being a one car family is gaining in popularity (both for economic and eco friendly reasons). Ordering online means you have one less errand to fit into your schedule (which is especially helpful when you’re using one car for a large family).

As people’s lives become busier and busier, they’re looking for ways to save time and money and reduce stress. Ordering groceries online might be the next big thing for those looking to simplify their lives. Because of that, food products may be an excellent niche for online sellers.

Related posts:

Amazon Fulfillment Course

Amazon 90-Day Experiment