The amazing guys at www.vittopro.com have kindly given us some insight on the trials and tribulations, trading on Amazon.
Owner & Entrepreneur, Phil Bone, is an expert in all sorts of support and protective wear for sports and has been a huge success selling on Amazon.
How did the great man do it?
Why did you start trading on amazon?
I started trading on Amazon in my spare time to make a bit of extra money on the side. I worked full time, and wanted a supplementary income that wouldnt take too much time.
Was it a success from day 1?
No, it wasnt a success straight away. It has taken time to fully understand the complexities of what makes products and brands successful on Amazon. However, as it was a side-hussle income, there was no pressure on it providing an amount of money to live off from day one. Once I had found my niche in the market and it had built up enough cash to be fully self sufficient, I started to consider the possibility that it could be successful.
What was the biggest hurdles?
There have been two main obstacles in the process. The first has been being able to fully understand what you need to do in order to get a high-ranked product. The second has been the management of cashflow in order to maintain availability of the range of products. There is nothing worse than a product running out of stock and losing its ranking, as you need to then build it up again, as you have lost some momentum. Amazon is all about building momentum.
Would you recommend selling on amazon?
I would honestly recommend selling on amazon to anyone and everyone. But you need to carefully think about what you want from it. It sounds cliche, but the more effort you put in, the more you will get out.
What websites/courses would you recommend to help start ups?
Once you sign up to sell on Amazon, there is a learning portal that teaches you a lot about what you should and shouldnt do. There are so many tutorials on the internet too, but a lot of these oversimplify the process and tell you how easy it is. External to Amazon, I would suggest reading as many articles on the Sellics site as you possibly can. The key to success is advertising, so if you can master that, you’re already 2 or 3 steps ahead. Sellics are specialists, and their articles are really helpful.
Whats day to day life like now that you are a successful amazon trader?
Its busy. Things have progressed much quicker than I was expecting, and there is a never-ending to-do list of things I can do to improve. But the stresses of a full time job just arent there anymore, so I am happier in my work than i ever have been before. If I want to take a day off for any reason, I can, and i know that sales will still be coming in from Amazon. Its a great feeling.
Well there you have it! Not every business will be as successful as Vittopro, but if you don’t try you will never know. Get on amazon straight away and give it a go!
