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Selling on Amazon vs Website

Which route would you recommend?

  • FBA

  • Website

  • Big Concept


Results are only viewable after voting.

felixwinkler

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I wanna start selling my own product soon (still have to look for one btw xD), however, I'm unsure whether I should start with my own website or with FBA.

Going for the website would basically be the concept MJ and Tim Ferriss (4-Hour Work Week) recommend, even though I don't quite know their opinion on selling on Amazon. I'd basically pick a niche, look for existing products and offers and skew value.
As for FBA, I have two courses that teach everything extremely well with clear criteria for products to look for.

Basically, the main difference between the two would be the sales channel, however, if I would be starting out with FBA I could always expand to my own website later and vice versa.

Also, this won't be a project for a lifetime for me, I'll always continue to work on further ideas and concepts, I just think this is a better idea than starting out with a giant project (think of something like Apple) right away as I currently don't have any real stream of income (even though I already have a lot of experience, a solid network, and some funding).

As for simplicity, I attached a poll below. I'd still highly appreciate a detailed answer about your opinion and why you think so. Thank you so much in advance!
 
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Kid

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Amazon -> Amazon + Your website -> Your website mostly.

You could start both (Am+your web), its really very little time to setup own e-shop (assuming Shopify or something).

Amazon- because its fastest verification of your product.
Your website, because it's where you have real control.

Product and value skew is much more important.
Sales channel is a secondary thing most of the time.


When you verify that there's demand for product, people might start looking for your brand in google so ultimately you should have your website there.
 

B.Cotter

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I'm fairly certain MJ detailed his opinion with selling on Amazon in his books. Amazon as your sole sales channel is bad news. You have no control. Amazon can ban/revoke your ability to sell in a heartbeat, and for nothing at all. From other horror stories I've heard, they can do it without warning and if you try to have your account reinstated it can be a long, painstaking process.

If you have your own website, you have the control. Then you can leverage other platforms such as Amazon to increase sales, marketing and exposure, but if something bad happens on one of those platforms you aren't left out in the cold scrambling to get back up and running.
 

SteveD

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I wanna start selling my own product soon (still have to look for one btw xD), however, I'm unsure whether I should start with my own website or with FBA.

Going for the website would basically be the concept MJ and Tim Ferriss (4-Hour Work Week) recommend, even though I don't quite know their opinion on selling on Amazon. I'd basically pick a niche, look for existing products and offers and skew value.
As for FBA, I have two courses that teach everything extremely well with clear criteria for products to look for.

Basically, the main difference between the two would be the sales channel, however, if I would be starting out with FBA I could always expand to my own website later and vice versa.

Also, this won't be a project for a lifetime for me, I'll always continue to work on further ideas and concepts, I just think this is a better idea than starting out with a giant project (think of something like Apple) right away as I currently don't have any real stream of income (even though I already have a lot of experience, a solid network, and some funding).

As for simplicity, I attached a poll below. I'd still highly appreciate a detailed answer about your opinion and why you think so. Thank you so much in advance!
I was in the exact same position as you, so can share my insights into your question. I sell a private label product and decided to start selling using Amazon FBA first.

My product has started selling well, so this has verified to me that there is a demand for my product and now I will look to create a shopify store. I plan to ship my product to a fulfillment centre which syncs with shopify to keep the process as automated as possible. Should anything ever happen to my Amazon account, I will have this sales channel to fall back on.

Hope this helps!

Steve
 
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Martzee

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I wanna start selling my own product soon (still have to look for one btw xD), however, I'm unsure whether I should start with my own website or with FBA.

Going for the website would basically be the concept MJ and Tim Ferriss (4-Hour Work Week) recommend, even though I don't quite know their opinion on selling on Amazon. I'd basically pick a niche, look for existing products and offers and skew value.
As for FBA, I have two courses that teach everything extremely well with clear criteria for products to look for.

Basically, the main difference between the two would be the sales channel, however, if I would be starting out with FBA I could always expand to my own website later and vice versa.

Also, this won't be a project for a lifetime for me, I'll always continue to work on further ideas and concepts, I just think this is a better idea than starting out with a giant project (think of something like Apple) right away as I currently don't have any real stream of income (even though I already have a lot of experience, a solid network, and some funding).

As for simplicity, I attached a poll below. I'd still highly appreciate a detailed answer about your opinion and why you think so. Thank you so much in advance!
So, to understand, you don't have a product yet (and still have to look for it) but looking for places where to sell it? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense...
 

Matt_2190

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You can do both.

Each has pros and cons.

Your website: you have more control, you can control conversions (and understand what marketing campaigns bring you sales), you can change the whole environment.

Amazon: People trust and buy more easily knowing its guarantee and its speed of delivery.
 

amp0193

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I think this is a bad question, as the type of product you’re going to sell is going to, in part, determine where it’s best to sell.

And really, if you have a good product, it will virtually sell itself... and so the answer is everywhere you can.

So focus first on finding a strong unmet need and developing a product to meet that need.
 
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Clay Alexander

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Definitely start by selling on amazon. This is the fastest way to find out if there is demand for your product with the amount of eyeballs you will get on it. The razor sharp competition on there will sharpen your game.

If you instead build a website, no one will come to your website. Why would they. So now you must learn online advertising and spend $$$ to get traffic. Which would have been free on amazon.

The first reply in the thread by Kid was right. Amazon to start, always promote your site in packaging etc, build up your own site over time, aim to transition most sales to your website and away from amazon over time.
 

ijack

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It is really hard to get a new website that sells stuff that is also available on the 2 main platforms up the search ranking. I have 40 sales per day between amazon (by using amazon fba software) and eBay and 1 sale every 2 weeks on my website which I have had going for years.
 
Last edited:

olli_23

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I agree with the route discussed above : Amazon -> Amazon + own website -> Mostly own website

My personal experience with this: (had zero business experience)

I started out with selling phone holders as there was a particular one I really like. (magnetic)
Initially I started building a website but then someone suggested: "hey set up an Amazon listing just to see what kind of price point you need to go for". I got pulled into Amazon FBA, got quite a few sales, private labeled this product with my own brand, got loads of sales and ended up #1 in all EU Amazon marketplaces. That lasted for 2-3 years before the competition managed to catch up with amount of reviews etc.
I saw this coming and tried everything to get my own webshop going but it never got real traction. The problem in the end is the kind of product. With a price point of around 15 EUR my cost of acquisition with paid ads was way too high for the margin I made. So in short, it's a cheap product and most customers don't return for other products. (life time value was low as well). Amazon FBA remained 95% of my revenue.
So all this to say that the product matters. Mine was more a commodity in the end. But I learned a lot from it. MJ also talks about this in the rat race escape book. (see "job proxies")
With the right product I believe it is possible to move from Amazon to your own webstore. Amazon can help build your brand awareness.
 
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pumpkinman

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Amazon does violate the commandment of control over your own business, and they are notorious for screwing the seller over, but it's the second biggest search engine after Google so helps you to get sales initially.

I'm going through a similar thing at the moment and I have an execution thread on it as well. I have started my own WooCommerce store, but as you'd expect, sales have initially been slow, especially as I'm only really using social media and not paying for ads, yet. I'm planning to jump on Amazon to jump start things a bit but I will always keep my own site and the goal will be to push people there long term.
 

StevenGray

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FBA would be a good option in your case, you should take into account the shipping costs though and see if the effort is worth the money.
 

Martzee

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If you can do it on your own (some Webhosting providers can provide you with an app to install for e-commerce) and link your gateway to a PayPal account and do it on your own.
 

Walter Hay

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I have frequently suggested at least a partial solution to the dilemma of lack of control when selling on Amazon. Its success depends on getting around the Amazon TOS regarding contacting your (THEIR) customers. This how you do it:

First set up your website. Make it attactive. Possibly offer something special as an inducement for your customers to return and order again from your website. You won't be relying on organic traffic or PPC, you will be relying on curious customers who have already bought from you once. (Be sure to get their email address.)

If you are private labeling, put your URL on the product. You can do this by various means from as simple as attaching a label on your product bearing your URL, to having your URL incorporated as part of the product.

I give full instructions in my LabelsThatExploit book, but here are some pointers:

If your product is being molded, have your URL incorporated in the mold, but beware of cheating manufacturers who even though you paid for the mold have a tricky way of replacing your URL with a competitor's.

Have your URL embossed, debossed, engraved, or printed on the product. I advise doing this yourself or paying to have it done in your country not in China. It is usually cheaper in your own country.

Walter
 

StevenGray

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FBA would be a good option in your case. You should consider the shipping costs, though, and see if the effort is worth the money. Yeah, that's what I am talking about. I am an Amazon seller, have been using this extension from SellerAmp Review & Tutorial: The Best Sourcing Tool in 2022 and am pretty happy with it. It's sort of like an Amazon trader's multi-tool. I typically use it to evaluate if an item is worth buying and then sell to make a profit.
 
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Xeon

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Amazon only works if you're selling higher ticket items, otherwise you'll suffer losses with each product sold due to the fees and other nickel-and-dime-you-to-death-by-a-thousand-cuts.
 

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