The Ultimate Online Arbitrage Shipping Amazon FBA Guide

In this blog post, we are going to embark on the most epic adventure, because we are talking all things from shipping to Amazon fulfilment centres, and everything you need to know from boxes, to pallets, to materials, the resources and everything step by step in a sequence, which allows you to learn everything you need to know about shipping hundreds of thousands of units to Amazon's fulfilment centres every single month. And throughout this blog post, I am going to share with you absolutely everything which Kev and Kylie have learned in their journey since 2015, when Kev and Kylie first started their business. 

This is the 4th part of The Ultimate Online Arbitrage Guide and if you haven't checked out the past 3 parts, then make sure you definitely do!

Watch below if you are interested! 

Online Arbitrage Business Overview Best Tips

The Ultimate Online Arbitrage Sourcing Amazon FBA Guide

The Ultimate Online Arbitrage Purchasing Amazon FBA Guide

Tools and Resources 

Before you get into Amazon seller central and you start creating shipments, there are going to be lots of different tools and resources that you need to be able to complete the shipments all the way until UPS come and collect your boxes. Amazon has specific requirements when it comes to creating shipments, so there are going to be lots of different tools and materials which I am going to be talking about.

One great thing about using Amazon FBA is we can ship huge amounts of volume to Amazon using their partner courier which is UPS at this point, they can then ship those products to Amazon's customers. So, when you get a sale Amazon will take care of it, everything from the picking the item from Amazon's warehouses, to getting it shipped all the way to the customer's door. But, the product have to be in a certain condition for Amazon to accept them at Amazon's fulfilment centres.

If you have got a product, let's say it is just a sensitive shower cream, you can't just ship this off to Amazon the way it is. Or let's say it is a glass jar, you can't just simply send this off to Amazon - you can't just put it in a box and send it off to Amazon, because Amazon need it to be ready to be shipped to the customer. There are specific requirements for each product. You have got liquids, glass, toys, baby products and more. There are so many different products, and Amazon will tell you what preparation is required depending on what product you are sending.

Boxes

We are going to need lots of different material. So, firstly, if you are going to ship to Amazon's fulfilment centre's yourself, if you are not using a prep service, you are going to need some boxes, 

Within our warehouse, we use boxes which we got from kite packaging. If you are interested in this then go check out the website here: https://www.kitepackaging.co.uk 

Bags

You may also need to bag some items. We use clear bags, and on the clear bags, we need a warning label. 

Labels

 We also use labels. You can get different labels. When you create the shipment on Amazon Seller Central, they give you the barcodes, because every product has a barcode. Every product should have a barcode. However, this isn't the barcode which Amazon actually use, they have their own barcodes. Once you have got the barcode, you have to cover up the existing barcode with Amazon's barcode, so that when it gets to Amazon fulfilment centres, they can simply scan and they will know that it is your product and where it is located. 

There are different labels which you may want to consider using. At the beginning, Kev and Kylie would use 21 labels per A4 sheet of paper, but now they use the 44. For every piece of paper, every A4, there are 44 individual labels. 

Tape

We use brown tape, which is just really helpful when putting boxes together. We also have some fragile tape. We try to put fragile tape at the top of each box, because it gives us fuel and ammo, if something were to occur; for example, it being broken, we can confirm that we had the tape on. 

There are going to be some scenarios when you are going to need clear tape. We have a roll of clear tape with a tape dispenser, and it makes it super useful and it saves a lot of time over time. 

Bubble Wrap

There are different types of bubble wrap. You can get bubble wrap bags and more. It is definitely recommended that you keep the bubble wrap and you save as much as you possibly can - from all the deliveries that you get, all the filler you get from the boxes, and the bubble wrap you get with the products already delivered to you. Save everything, because the materials are very useful.

Tape Measure

Sometimes, when you are using different size boxes, you are going to need the dimensions on the box to enter onto Amazon. 

Tape Gun

Tape guns are really handy, and it speeds up the entire process. 

For example, back in the early days, Kev used to do everything manually and just used his teeth to bite off tape etc. But, when you are shipping thousands of products, it just doesn't make any sense to do this, and it wastes a lot of time.

Stanley Knives

These box cutters are going to be really useful for you, especially when you have different boxes to cut up, or you have got tape and things to cut open. Stanley knives are very useful, especially for bubble wrap, like when you have big rolls of bubble wrap. 

You can order these from Amazon.

Caution Labels

If it is classed as over 15 KG, then Amazon will want you to put a caution label on it. This will notify them, when it is a heavy package. The limit currently is 23 KG, and when Kev first started, it was 30 KG, so you have to be super careful on the weights which you send off to Amazon, and you also must be careful of the sizes as well, as they are super strict on it. You are going to want to weigh your packages, you are going to want to know what box sizes you are using, and make sure you are not going above what Amazon see as above their criteria. 

Weighing Scale

You need to make sure that you are weighing your boxes correctly. Right at the start, Kev never used one of these, and he just used some weighing scales which you would find in your bathroom at home.

Pallets 

When it comes to pallets, you may need some pallet wrap, and you must be careful on the restrictions Amazon has when it comes to pallets. So, make sure your pallet isn't greater than 500 KG, and it is not higher than 1.8 metres. 

It is a lot to learn, but don't be put off by it. It is just one of those things, where at first, you are not really sure. 

After all the prepping, it should look something like this - a bundle. This is a bubble wrapped bundle, with an Amazon barcode on and it will link to the actual product in the Seller Central. 

So, when this turns up by Amazon, it gets checked, then they are able to locate it and ship it out to the customer.

Recycler 

When you first get started, before you start adding expenses such as waste, Kev recommends that you do skip runs. It will probably be one of the best things to do at the start. Save money and invest it. 

Printer

If you are wanting to buy a printer which isn't going to cost u a fortune in ink, then you should definitely consider getting yourself an Epson ET-550. This can print out thousands of labels without having to top up the ink, which makes a huge difference.

Shelves

Shelves are great, because it means that you're not having to put everything on the floor. And shelves can be really handy if you get a good size. You can get super good inexpensive shelves. When the shelves are full, you then know that you are ready to create a shipment 

Shipment Table

When Kev first started, he didn't have any tables to begin with. He couldn't afford it. He was building everything from nothing. So, it is highly recommended that when you first get started, you limit as much expense as possible, because you may not be able to afford it. It is all about investing back into making profit. 

Kev first started getting tables when it first started making sense to. What he did was get his tables made. He got holes cut into the table tops.

Once the processors are done and the technicians have done the boxing, everything gets moved and quality control checked to make sure everything is accurate. Then, everything by trolly, gets moved over to the shutter doors, where it gets picked up by UPS. One thing Kev recommends is that you build a great relationship with couriers, treat them good, because it will really help you, especially when it gets to Q4. Help them put the items in the vans and just help them as much as you can. Get them a hot or cold drink, get them a box of chocolates, anything like that will really help you. 

Learn more about our tools and equipment down below!

Warehouse

some things you must consider when it comes to a warehouse, are the location, can you get things delivered there? Make sure you can get internet there, security - security cameras, fire exit, doors and more. You are going to need to make sure of your business rates, your electricity and utility. You are going to need to know all of this.

If you are ready for a warehouse, get looking at all the websites and have a drive around.

Learn more about warehouses and outsourcing to a prep service below!

If you are interested in our prep centre, click the link below!

https://www.systemisefulfilment.co.uk/

Creating the Shipment 

At this point, you should have a seller central account, and you are getting yourself familiar with what Amazon is all about. Have an explore, go through their amazon seller central and really have a good feel for things. There is nothing you can break, so have a really good look around and look at their reports, inventory, and absolutely everything you can, because the more you learn, the better.

If you are on Amazon, and you find a particular product, you may find that you want to purchase a product and sell on Amazon. 

First, we need to add the product to Amazon seller central, to see if you can sell the product. This is where we start talking about different brand restrictions, category restrictions and lots more, this is a huge topic. If you have just recently got an account, then it may work out, that you may be restricted in things, this is going to be part and parcel of you growing in this business model. 

Let's say for example, you wanted to sell these Roses, you need the ASIN, because you need to add it to your seller central account. 

Once you are on Amazon seller central, you want to go onto inventory and you want to add a product. Once you go into add a product, you will then see that you are on this page. You are going to find the ASIN, then you are going to search, and you are going to be able to see if you are able to sell it or not. If you can't sell it, it is going to ask at that point, whether you need to apply to un-gate yourself. This is where you need to manage your selling applications. You'll be able to see what you are restricted in and what you are not restricted in. If you're not restricted, you will see then, it will say sell yours. So, once you click sell yours, what it is going to do is open up another screen, and it will allow you to see what you are offering it for, and what the price is. Here you can also put the Seller SKU, there are lots of different things you can put here, like the date of purchase and the seller's rank which you purchased at. Then you click new. After this, it is your pricing, when it comes to your price, put it higher than the buy box. So, if the buy box is £9.99, put it higher - put it at £15.99, because what is going to happen a little later on, when you start to build this business, you are going to introduce repricing, and if you put it at the price it suggests now, £9.99 on screen, then it gets to Amazon, and let's say the price is there at £12.99, and you have just gone and cut the price, everyone is going to be upset with you and you are going to be the person that everyone is going to be looking at, and you don't want to be there. So, put yourself in high. What is going to happen, is once you put in the price £9.99, the fulfilment channel, is Amazon will dispatch and provide the customer service, you are not going to ship it yourself, that is FBM, that is fulfilled by merchant, this is a completely different conversation. But, when you are done, press save and finish. 

Learn more about Amazon seller central below!

 Further reading:

How to 4X Your Online Arbitrage Business with Sourcing Lists

How to 10x Your Business with Virtual Assistants

8 Considerations If you Are Going to Quit Your Job for Your Business