7 Tips for Selling Handmade Items on Amazon

Since 2015, crafters and artisans have been selling their handmade products to Amazon’s 250 million global customers. Handmade at Amazon marketplace is a great additional option, or alternative, to selling on Etsy.

If you’re an Etsy seller, or an artisan entertaining the idea of selling your creations online, you should consider Amazon Handmade.

To help, we’ve listed seven tips for selling handmade items on Amazon that’ll make your transition much more seamless.

#1 – Read the Fine Print

Amazon Handmade has similar rules and regulations as the original Amazon marketplace, but there are some that are different. Even if you’re an experienced online seller, it’s important to read the fine print.

Amazon provides all the information you need in this Handmade Resource Guide. It has links to numerous resources to help you with everything from listing products to search engine optimization (SEO).

#2 – Write Short Descriptive Product Titles

Keep titles of your products short and sweet. According to Amazon’s instructions, you don’t need to list attributes, customizations, or options in titles. Instead, use those keywords in your descriptions to generate better search results.

Here’s how Amazon puts it, “When listing a product, keywords will help your products appear in search, so you don’t need to add them to your product title.” Here is a great guide with various tips to optimize your product content to boost sales.

#3 – Use High-Quality Images

The images included in your product listings are the biggest deciding factor for potential buyers to make purchases. You must post only high-quality, professional-looking photos.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to hire a professional photographer though. Amazon provides some helpful tips to make the images you capture look professional in the Artisan Style Guide.

The key is to show off details of your workmanship with images taken from various angles. Include close-up images of any intricate details and avoid any additional props.

#4 – Write Unique and Detailed Descriptions

Your product description page is where to list all those details about your item we mentioned earlier. Share the features and attributes that make your handmade item unique. Remember, this is the section where your keywords make a difference in search results, so be sure to use them well.

It’s also important to specify any possible customizations in this section along with the types of occasions your product is perfect for. You’re allowed to pick up to four occasions, and you should use all of them – it increases the chance of customers finding your items for their specific events and holidays.

#5 – Get Your Pricing Right

One of the biggest decisions to make is how much to charge for your handmade products. It isn’t as simple as calculating the cost of the components to make the item. You also must include the cost of your time and expertise. Here, we’ve outlined how to properly calculate your cost of goods sold (COGS).

Once you understand the true cost of each product, you’re ready to price that product. To get an idea of how to price your items, analyze the market and your competitors to see what similar products are priced at. Here are a couple of great ecommerce pricing strategies to consider trying.

#6 – Don’t Forget to Advertise

Yes, Amazon receives a ton of traffic every day and your products are sure to garner some interest. That doesn’t mean you can neglect advertising. Promoting your products will net you the best return on investment. To that end, Amazon offers sellers three types of advertising campaigns:

• Sponsored Products– With this campaign, your products show up below the search results and are targeted based on broad keywords.
• Headline Search– With this type of campaign, your ads are placed above the search results and can lead to any page on Amazon Handmade.
• Product Display Ads– These ads are placed where you want them (you can target competitors’ items or complementary products) and are not based on keywords.

#7 – Consider Using Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA)

As your brand awareness and sales increase, you’ll be extremely busy designing and creating products. It may be worth using Amazon’s FBA program to make it easy to grow. This fulfillment program lets retailers send products to an Amazon warehouse where Amazon employees handle the picking, packing, and shipping processes for you. They even handle customer service issues, too.

Of course, you’ll need to weight the costs of using this program, however it’s a great way to get time back in your day to spend sourcing and creating new products.

Final Thoughts about Handmade by Amazon

Just like diversifying your investments for retirement, it’s important to diversify sales channels for your ecommerce business. If you make handmade items, then it’ll benefit your brand to list those products on Amazon Handmade. It’ll also benefit you to be aware of these common handmade mistakes and avoid them at all costs. Try the above tips as you get started to simplify the onboarding process and improve your likelihood for success.

Do you sell on Amazon Handmade? Share your experience with the marketplace in the comments.