Amazon FBA eCommerce Sales Figures – May to July
Considering selling on Amazon UK using FBA? Hopefully this update will shed a little light on what is possible.
We have just reached the end of July and it is time to find out how I progressed with selling on Amazon.
First of all, I haven’t done quite as well as I wanted but at the same time I haven’t done badly at all.
In my last post I showed you the Amazon sales figures at the end of April so let’s take a look at the sales figures for May and then we will continue though to July.
May 2014 Amazon Sales figures
You can see from the image above I managed to sell 248 items which was broken down into 237 individual orders. Now personally I don’t care about these statistics; what I want to know about is what is the value of the sales and we can see this was £4,915 (about $8,355) which isn’t too shabby.
If you focus on the bottom part of the image you can see a breakdown between the different categories I was selling in and the majority of items came from the toys category. You will see as I go further in this article my focus on toys changed but for May toys were the main items that I was selling.
Compared to April (which didn’t contain a full months worth of sales) the sales figures have increased quite well and I think this goes to show that with a bit of effort it’s actually quite obtainable to start seeing good-sized increases in product sales. The Amazon FBA program is a wonderful thing.
Let’s have a look at June’s sales figures.
You can see from the chart and the sales figures that June performed worse than May.
June 2014 Amazon Sales figures
The chart shows a decline on June 6th to June 11th. This was a period of nearly 6 days where I didn’t sell anything at all on Amazon. In fact it was only a few hours away from being 7 days.
Oh bollocks! What’s going on?
On June 6th Amazon in their wisdom decided to put my whole account into review which meant all the items that I had shipped to Amazon and I was selling as merchant fulfilled were sat in limbo. No Amazon customers could buy them and I have had no other sales channels to help move my stock.
So what happened? Well like I said Amazon put my account review and they sent me some e-mails telling me I needed to provide proof of identity for myself (not my company). Now this sounds pretty simple, all I would need to do is send them proof of ID such as a copy of your passport, a drivers license and utility bills etc… But as I am learning nothing is quite as simple as it seems when it comes to Amazon.
You have got to remember that Amazon is a massive company and I am a tiny tiny … tiny cog in their flywheel of operations. In order for them to keep their flywheel turning and delivering the best customer experience possible they have to ensure their selling partners, such as myself, do not in any way upset their own operations. So with this in mind I fully agree that they have to do with their due diligence and ensure that I cannot damage Amazon’s reputation no matter how minor my own actions would affect their business.
So, they wanted to make sure I am who I say I am and I live where I live. I had already sent them this information when I first set up the account so I have absolutely no idea of why they wanted this information again as they must already have proof of ID on file. Anyway, I sent them the information again and every piece of information, every document seemed to be scrutinised to minute detail.
I ended up sending around six individual documents – a mix of photo ID and utility bill documents just to make sure they were happy. Even though the whole process took almost 7 full days in total this was 7 days I couldn’t sell anything.
Why so long?
Every time I sent a document they responded with an e-mail around 12-20 hours later asking for more info. Now because of this not only could I not sell any items I felt I could not send any more items to Amazon because I had no certainty they would allow me to keep selling. What if they thought… this guy is dodgy.. seeya.
Calmer Waters
Anyway, long story short I had a period of time in June where I couldn’t sell anything and I couldn’t restock any items.
Once the account was active again I got back onto the bandwagon starting to find more items to send to Amazon. The result was a measly £3,250 (about $5,500) in sales.
Again you will see that Toys made up a large percentage of the monthly orders.
Cheers Bob
Oh, one thing before I forget… During this period of ‘Limbo’ it was good to hear a voice of reassurance from a friend across the pond in the US…. Bob Willey. I spoke with him about this whole adventure and it was good to hear he’s seen it all before and it was just a case of bending over when Amazon asks and taking it like a pro. Bob didn’t quite use those words but that’s how the US to UK translation went in my mind 😀
Check out Bob’s site if you want to know more about him. Did you know he runs the biggest online FBA forum?
Let’s Move Onto July
So I am nearly up to date. After the minor scare in June things picked up for July. Take a look at the sales figures and chart below for a breakdown.
July 2014 Amazon Sales figures
Things picked up! AND… take a look at the product category figures. Toys came in 3rd. Grocery products jumped to the top spot. I managed 467 order totalling sales of £7,360 (about $12,500).
In June I had started analyzing grocery products and found a few popular products I could source from local shops and one direct manufacturer.
I’m pretty happy with the results considering the items being sold are actually lower value items (see the average sales per order £15.75 … about $26.75). Now normally, a lower value item means a larger percentage of the sale goes to Amazon – and this is true. But, these grocery items are actually making me more money because of the mark-up I add.
Most of the items I can get very cheap but the prices stay high on Amazon …. and …. there is less competition. Bonus!
Moving into August
I am sourcing more grocery products. Although I don’t want to be reliant on one category, it offers a good return for me right now and I’d be silly to not to. I’m trialing some new products, ordering from different suppliers and finding backup suppliers to strengthen my own little supply chain.
Creating my own Seller Tools – A bit of technical fun
If there is one thing that I find a real pain in the arse it’s the mundane task of searching for new products to sell.
The actual task of searching for new products to sell can take a long time and it bores me to tears. No sooner do I start analyzing product costs, a new shiny-object website appears on my screen and within no time an hour has past…. I’ve read about something totally unrelated to the task in hand and more than likely watch a stupid video on YouTube (even though they are entertaining). Does this sound familiar? 🙂 May be right now!!! Stick around to the end, please 🙂
So… because I have a techie background I figured I’d use my knowledge to help with product sourcing.
I’ve started creating a few stand-alone applications that help me analyze product profitability:
- App Number 1:
- An App to download a websites product catalogue into a CSV file. This give me the item name, Price and UPC code.
- App Number 2:
- An App to compare a product CSV file from App #1 or a file from a wholesale supplier against the matching products on Amazon. This gives me the Amazon ASIN and price (including shipping) for each product.
- App Number 3:
- An App to get the Amazon FBA costs for each product using the ASIN.
- App Number 4:
- Well there isn’t a #4 yet but … more in the pipeline … like an Amazon Flip App.
These apps are ‘work in progress‘ but at their current state they are working pretty well and saving me days of manual product price analysis. One of the cool things with these apps is that I can run them on the same store whenever I like so I don’t miss any price changes that occur.
The aim is to get the apps stable and at to the point where they are set-and-forget – working day-in day-out whilst I watch funny YouTube videos… or do something a little more productive.
So there we have it. The May/June/July update is complete and a little peek into August – What do you think?
August 1, 2014 @ 1:15 pm
Pete,
Great job and very interesting post. I myself started in late May and my numbers are not that impressive yet but I am getting there. As I am a techie myself too I’ve been trying to see if I can automate some things. May I ask how these apps are written? If you ever need another user to test I’d love to take it for a spin.
Mario
August 1, 2014 @ 2:03 pm
Hi Mario,
thanks for stopping by the website and it’s great to hear/see another new seller.
It’s funny… being a techie we always want to automate if we can 🙂
I’ve tried various language for the tools from LivecCode through to Python… it always seems like a lot of effort, so I started using VBA in Excel to get things moving and it started to work pretty well. Research on the term xPath to get going. xPath works well in Google Docs too.
I moved on though to using ubot though. It takes a bit of learning but work well.
As for testing… sure. When I have the apps stable I’d be more than happy to see what you think. Send me an email through the contact form or facebook and we can chat.
August 1, 2014 @ 2:14 pm
Hi Pete, I am new to Amazon F.B.A. and would like to set up Amazon.uk, I live in the canary Islands (Tenerife) and here we have no V.A.T. so I don’t have a V.A.T. number, do you know if I would need one to be able to sell in the U.K.?
I did write to AmazonU.K. but didn’t get a reply.
Than You.
Wolfgang
August 1, 2014 @ 3:46 pm
Hi Wolfgang,
Tenerife.. lovely place. If you are running your business from inside the UK or you live there then there is no need to register for VAT as long as your turnover for VAT taxable items is less than £81k in the previous year (or you expect to do more than this in the current year within the next 30 days). If you run your business from outside the UK and wish to sell in the UK then there is no option… you have to register for VAT.
I doubt Amazon will help out much with this type of thing. They try every trick in the book to pay as little tax in the UK as they can and probably will not want to give any advice. Here is a web-page that gives the details.. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/start/register/when-to-register.htm
August 1, 2014 @ 3:50 pm
Here is a company that will assist in your getting a VAT # (the regular site can be confusing), they do charge for the service, but many people find that it is money well spent.
With VAT I would always suggest people living outside the UK / Europe to use http://www.accordancevat.com/
August 1, 2014 @ 4:26 pm
Thank you very much Pete, it has taken me some time to get going, (private label product) but my first shipment to Amazon.com, should be there in about a week.
Thank you for your help, that explains why I didn’t get a reply from Amazon, I would like to sell internationally, but intend to get my products moving in the U.S.A. first.
I will read the article that you have pointed me to, and if you ever come to Tenerife, I would love to meat up with you (you have my email address now).
Regards,
Wolfgang
August 1, 2014 @ 3:21 pm
Great post Pete! I’m just starting out and still learning. This is extremely valuable evidence based information.
Thank you
August 1, 2014 @ 3:51 pm
Hi Tally, thanks for stopping by and reading the post. Starting out on a new venture is great fun but can seem a little daunting at times when there are so many unknowns. Fortunately this business is pretty easy to set-up compared to most and I think it is hands-down the easiest way for people to start making money on-line. I’m not saying you don’t make money on-line already, just that from the many on-line ventures I’ve tried this method is proving to be the I wish I would have started with.
August 1, 2014 @ 3:29 pm
You are doing fantastic Pete! Glad to see that you are posting your results and journey. That will be an inspiration to many.
August 1, 2014 @ 3:52 pm
Hey Bob. Thanks for the kind words. It’s much appreciated. I’ve got a long way to go before I can match the shopping cart photo’s you’ve been posting recently 🙂 With your help though… I’m getting there!
August 1, 2014 @ 5:51 pm
Hi Pete, the number from “Ordered product sales” is gross sales or net profit?
August 1, 2014 @ 6:19 pm
Hi Eduardo, thanks for stopping by. All the figures that you see in this post are sales figures. I don’t intend to publish the actual profit I made from all the sales but to give you an idea all in all the profit will be around 50 to 60%.
August 2, 2014 @ 11:29 pm
Hi Pete – saw your post on Facebook and popped over here to take a look at your website. Really impressed to see your progress in such a short time period. It is a great inspiration to see others from the UK making this model work. Be great to speak further at some point – maybe at the UK gathering for the screening of the conference that was being discussed..
August 3, 2014 @ 10:09 am
Hi Rob, thanks for taking the time to read the article. It would be great to meet up and share ideas and get to know others. I’m not sure what progress has been made on the group screening of the conference. I spoke with Andrew the other week and it has been difficult getting a venue that can guarantee good internet reception as well as proving conference room space into the early hours. We discussed maybe meeting up afterwards for a day. The Autumn Fair is on at the NEC in Birmingham shortly after the conference; may be that would be an ideal time to meet-up …. we can go to the trade show and arrange a time to meetup. What you think?
August 3, 2014 @ 1:02 pm
Hi Pete – thanks for the reply. Yes – I would love to meet at the Autumn Fair. I have already registered and was planning on going but was a little apprehensive about going on my own. Have not been to any trade shows before so it will be a new experience for me. I will add you on Skype and see what develops.
August 3, 2014 @ 11:14 am
Hi Rob. Like yourself my wife and I are both starting on the FBA path. We have made a few sales but nothing like your impressive figures. It really is inspiring. Like Pete it would be great if the UK sellers could get together. We would certainly be up for meeting at the NEC.
August 3, 2014 @ 11:54 am
Excellent. We definitely need to arrange a meetup.
Here is my Skype ID: pete_m1 sent me a message and we can arrange something.
September 2, 2014 @ 1:26 pm
Great article Pete, thanks for sharing all the trials and tribulations!
I know you’re a Udemy instructor (as am I) and I went through Alun’s detailed FBA course a couple of months back, considered it, explored some products and then parked it! You have re-ignited my interest in this.
Thanks again
Gary
September 2, 2014 @ 1:55 pm
Thanks for stopping by the site Gary. FBA is definitely worth looking into if you a looking for an extra income stream. I’ve seen Alun’s course too, but don’t follow his method of doing things… just so you know.
September 15, 2014 @ 11:44 am
Interesting to know Pete, actually I’m in the UK too would love to hook up on skype for a chat about general FBA (not niche specific)/newstand publishing, perhaps I can offer some advice with Udemy, I have close 19K students and 10 courses. My skypeid is the same as my name!
September 15, 2014 @ 12:30 pm
Hi Gary, Thanks for visiting the site. It’s great to see another UK FBA seller. I’ll send yo a Skype message and we can have a chat.
November 17, 2014 @ 2:36 pm
Hi Pete
My name is Ola. Thanks for posting your impressive midyear Amazon results on your blog page, I found your page through You tube. I am just about to sign-up for Jim’s course and also Amazon FBA
If you don’t mind I have a few questions
• Are you working on mostly UK Sales, or Amazon US, would you recommend one starts with the UK, and the gradually move to US Amazon
• Also it seems like with Jim’s course, he recommends one goes to town looking for solid bargains, to prize up on Amazon, have you found this approach profitable or easy, or would you recommend the private label??, have use sometimes had to really dig around hard to find great bargains
• Do you have any tools / software that you can recommend which I can use to query Amazons top selling products above the 100 listed??, it will be great to find out what is in demand, may be Jim course may recommend such software
• Do you only sell products within the top 100 category
• Within Amazon itself, have you had to do lots of optimisation, get reviews etc…to rank high and be found
I am so keen to hear from you, I believe selling on Amazon is what I would be doing FROM THIS Dec and all next year
Thanks, Ola PK
December 4, 2014 @ 11:20 am
Hi Ola, sorry for not replying sooner. No excuse, just didn’t get round to it.
Anyway I started to write a response and figured I’d write a new article for you answering your questions. Here’s a link to it… http://www.nichespin.com/dont-spread-thin-focus/
June 4, 2015 @ 4:20 pm
Hey pete i am using fba here in the u.k just going through review process now to and had no sales and afew fba sales sent bussiness information n personal information how long until i get reactivated do you think thanks for your time
June 4, 2015 @ 7:36 pm
Hi Joseph,
Amazon are pretty responsive and I would think everything would be don within 7 day max. Keep checking your seller central account in case they request more information from you. I had lots of back and forth with them when I first setup. they are very particular when it comes to paper work.
June 5, 2015 @ 7:19 am
Ok Pete i will do thanks for your help and wish you all the best takecare.
June 8, 2015 @ 5:31 am
Hi Pete,
I have been asked to upload a electric mobile bill e.t.c which includes my business name of and registered address but the address is the same as my home address and only just got it officially set up and accepted on 02/06/2015 and don’t use it for any of those expenses just soley for amazon i was sent a letter with my business address on it from companies house couple of days after registering but that all i dont have anything else with my bussiness name on it help will be appreciated.
June 8, 2015 @ 8:36 am
Best thing to do is speak with Amazon support and explain the situation. From past experience they can be very picky about this type of thing but it is best to speak with them directly and find out what they will accept.
June 8, 2015 @ 10:59 am
Ok will do so