Here’s how to sell things on Amazon. If you need to sell used or unwanted items on Amazon, our article below explains how. It’s fast, easy and doesn’t cost anything until your item sells.
How to Sell Things on Amazon
Let’s say you’ve got a used item like an iPhone 4 that you want to sell on Amazon. The first thing to do is to create a product listing.
The easiest way to create a product listing on Amazon is by clicking the “sell” link at the top of Amazon’s home page. (Or click here.) The link will take you to a web page where you can choose to sell as a professional or as an individual. Since we’re talking about selling a used iPhone 4, we’ll assume you’ll sell it as an individual.
Scroll down until you see the choice between selling as a professional or as an individual. Click the “sell as an individual” link. Or just click here.
To sell just a few items on Amazon, click the “sell as an individual” link. You can even do it by clicking the above image.
Amazon will take you to its “Sell Your Stuff” page. The next thing you’ll need to do is find the product you’ll be selling in Amazon’s database. For most used items, you’ll do this with their “Select Product Category” dropdown menu bar. Just click the bar and select the category your item fits into best. Since we’re selling an iPhone 4, we’ll choose “Electronics.”
Choose the category that best fits the thing you’re trying to sell on Amazon.
Next, type in the product name in the box (in this case “iPhone 4”) and click “Start selling.” Amazon will take you to a page with a list of items that match your item. Choose the one that best matches what you’re selling and click the button that says “Sell yours here” to the right of the item listing.
Amazon will display a list of items like the one you’re selling. Pick the best fit.
Related: 18 Big Ways to Save Money at Amazon
Finishing the Amazon Product Listing
Once you click the link for the thing you’re trying to sell on Amazon, you’ll be taken to a form that will create your listing. The first thing the form displays is a list of all the info Amazon has on the item. In the case of our used iPhone 4, Amazon lists the ASIN number, item name, manufacturer, category and product ID. It also shows some handy competing offer info, like how many are currently for sale and what their prices are.
The form then lets you select the quality of your used item. You can choose from New, Used and Refurbished. Used items can be designated as Like New, Very Good, Acceptable or Good.
You can then provide an optional condition note (ex: “Slight scratches but you can’t see them unless you’re really looking”) and the quantity, in our case, “1”.
Adding Images When Selling Things on Amazon
Amazon lets sellers add up to six images to product listings. The images can be in jpg, gif or png formats. To add an image, just click “choose file” and then find the image on your computer. Products with images tend to sell a lot better than those that don’t have images. In most cases however, Amazon has stock images of all the items in their database. So even if you don’t have an image, chances are good that Amazon will display one.
After adding an image, it’s time to choose a price. When selling something on Amazon, it’s a good idea to pay attention to the lowest price the product is being sold for. Note that in the picture above, the lowest price for a used iPhone 4 is $40 + $4.99 shipping. Since the info at the top of the form showed us there are 178 competing used offers, matching or beating the lowest price will get the item to sell faster.
Next, Amazon will ask if you want to ship the item yourself and what shipping speeds you’ll offer. Amazon will also reimburse you for the shipping cost in most cases.
Also see: Amazon vs Ebay: Where Should I Sell My Stuff?
Sell Things on Amazon: Product Listing Overview
Finally, Amazon will show a product overview of all the info that’ll show up in the listing for the thing you’re selling. If everything looks shipshape, just click “Submit your listing.” Note that it says, “You can always add information later” at the bottom.
Sell Things on Amazon: After the Listing
In most cases, if the thing you’re selling on Amazon is priced right for its condition, it’ll sell relatively fast. If it doesn’t, lowering the price can help.
When someone buys the thing you’re selling, it’s extremely important to respond quickly. Shipping the item as soon as the order is received is crucial. That’s because the seller will be given an opportunity to rate you and Amazon seller ratings stick like superglue.
Check out the two identical product listings below. Which one would you be more likely to buy?
The two items are about the same price. One is in “Very Good” condition while the other is “Like New.” However, one seller gets five stars and a 94% positive rating, while the other gets one star and a 0% positive score.
It’s hardly fair. The seller with one star only has one rating. But that one rating won’t go away. It’s going to be very hard for that person to sell anything on Amazon ever again.
Giving Good Customer Service for Things You Sell on Amazon
Because of seller ratings, it’s very important to address any buyer concerns after the sale. If the buyer calls and says they didn’t receive the item, or it arrived damaged or they have a question about it, answer them immediately. It’s important to bend over backwards to make the customer happy. Doing so can avoid getting a black mark on your Amazon seller score that will never go away.
What if you shipped the item but the buyer claims they never got it? This is why it’s a great idea to pay a little extra for delivery confirmation when you sell things on Amazon. Scammers can’t scam you if you’ve got a receipt that says the item was delivered to the correct address.
Also see: How Not To Lose Money on Tax Return Amazon Gift Cards
How to Sell Things on Amazon With iPhone
It’s fast and easy to sell things on Amazon with an iPhone. Just go on Amazon and search for the product you’re trying to sell. When the product detail page comes up, scroll down a bit to find the “Sell on Amazon” button. Click the button and fill in the form. If you have trouble finding the button, downloading the Amazon Seller app can help. For more details on how to sell things on Amazon with iPhone, click here to see our full article.
If You Don’t See the Thing You’re Trying to Sell on Amazon
Sometimes Amazon won’t have the thing you’re selling in its database. In that case, things get a little trickier. You can try finding out the item’s ISBN, UPC or ASIN number and returning to the “Sell Your Stuff” page. Below the “Select product category” drop down menu bar, there’s a section for finding items by these coded numbers.
If you absolutely can’t find the thing you’re selling in Amazon’s database, you can try to add the item. However, adding an item to Amazon’s database requires at least an ISBN or UPC number. If the item in question doesn’t have one of these, it’s possible to get one, but unfortunately buying UPC numbers is more of a professional seller concern. Since we’re dealing with selling used items here, pro seller issues fall outside the scope of this article.
If the thing you’re selling isn’t in Amazon’s database, it’s probably a good idea to try to sell it on eBay instead. For more info, see our article on selling used things on Amazon vs selling them on eBay by clicking here.
There are a couple of alternate ways to sell things on Amazon. We’ve listed them below.
Sell Things on Amazon Alternate Method #1: Find the Product First
The second way to sell things on Amazon is to find the exact product you’re trying to sell on Amazon first.
To use this method, start at Amazon’s home page. Type in the name of the thing you’re selling, in this case “iPhone 4.” Hit enter and then choose the item that best matches yours.
When the item detail page comes up, click where it says “used,” highlighted in blue in the image below.
Next, Amazon will take you to a page that shows all the used offers on the site. At the top of the offers, click where it says, “Have one to sell?” We’ve highlighted it in blue in the image below. From there, Amazon will take you directly to the “create a product listing” page we described above.
Sell Things on Amazon Alternate Method #2: Use Amazon Seller Central
Amazon Seller Central is a home page sellers can use to sell things on Amazon. To access Amazon Seller Central, click here.
Once on Amazon Seller Central, click the “Inventory” menu item in the top menu bar and select “Add a Product” from the drop down menu.
You’ll be taken to an “Add a Product” form very similar to the one we described above, but with more details to fill in. This added level of detail is nice for people who have several of the same item to sell. Generally, Seller Central is better for professional sellers than for people just selling used things on Amazon.
Amazon Seller Central also lets users make changes to inventory easily, manage orders and reports and track their performance. Seller Central is for people who really want to control the fine details of their seller identity on Amazon.
How to Sell Things on Amazon FAST
Can’t wait to sell your item on Amazon? They’ve got a trade in feature on many items that let you get fast cash for your item on an Amazon Gift Card. You won’t get as much for a trade in as you would by selling the item to another Amazon customer, but it’s a lot faster.
To trade in an item on Amazon, just go to the product detail page, as in “Amazon Alternate Method #1” above. Then look for where it says, “Sell yours for a Gift Card” on the right side of the page. We’ve highlighted it in blue in the lower right corner of the screen grab below.
Here’s Amazon’s video about selling on Amazon: