If you’ve decided to start selling on Amazon, it’s important to understand what products you can offer and which ones are best to avoid. It’s not difficult, but there are a few nuances that will help you avoid mistakes and keep your account safe. Let’s break it down together.
What can you sell on Amazon?
You can sell almost anything on Amazon as long as it follows simple rules:
1. Legality. Your product must comply with U.S. laws and Amazon’s rules.
2. Quality and safety. It’s important that items are original, made of high quality materials, and safe.
3. Your rights. You must have the rights to sell these items (licenses, authorization from brands, certifications, etc.).
Great examples of categories where you can safely start:
- Clothing and Accessories
- Electronics
- Home Goods
- Kitchenware
- Books
- Toys
- Sporting goods
- Beauty and Health (but some restrictions apply)
What can’t be sold?
Amazon is careful to make sure no prohibited items appear on the platform. Here are the main groups of what you can’t sell:
1. Illegal goods: counterfeits; copyright infringing goods; drugs and illegal substances. For example, you can’t sell fake handbags from famous brands, but you can sell goods created by small productions with a private label or handmade.
2. Dangerous goods: guns and ammunition; expired goods; dangerous chemicals. For example, you won’t sell a gun, but you can sell knives.
3. Regulated goods: alcohol; medicines (without a permit); animals and plants (some species). For example, you cannot sell medicines without a license, but you can sell vitamins that have been certified.
4. Cultural and ethical prohibitions: goods with hateful or violent content; adult materials.
Before you start selling, be sure to check if your products are on the banned list. This can be easily done through Amazon’s official sources:
Amazon’s Banned Products Policy
List of restricted product categories
When working with Amazon, it is very important to constantly perform quality control of goods, make sure you have all authorization documents, keep in touch with suppliers and clarify details. This can be time-consuming, but the good news is that you can safely entrust this part of the work to a prep center. They can help you with:
- Inspecting the quality of goods. A prep center can inspect each shipment to make sure the items meet your requirements and Amazon standards. This is especially important to prevent negative reviews and returns.
- Packaging inspection. Prep centers make sure items are packaged according to Amazon’s guidelines: safely, aesthetically pleasing, and in compliance with all standards (e.g., FNSKU stickers).
- Defect detection. During the acceptance phase, the prep center staff identifies rejects or defects and informs you so that you can resolve the problem with the supplier in a timely manner.
- Solving logistical problems. The prep center can take care of re-sorting, labeling, repacking, and shipping to Amazon warehouses.
By doing so, you reduce the time it takes to process goods, minimize the risk of errors and fines from Amazon, and can be assured of the quality and safety of the items you ship.
Choosing the right products is the key to success on Amazon. To make your items sell well, use reliable suppliers, check the quality of goods and compliance with the rules of the marketplace. And US Prep centers are always ready to help with verification, processing and shipping. Ready to get started – fill out an application and go for more sales!
