Selling on Amazon can feel like a shortcut to online success. You’ve got the world’s biggest marketplace at your fingertips, millions of ready-to-buy customers, and a system that takes care of a lot of the logistics. Sounds easy enough, right?
But anyone who’s actually been in the game knows it’s not that simple. Success on Amazon isn’t just about listing a product and waiting for sales to roll in. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes; bits that many sellers either don’t understand or just plain ignore.
If you’re running (or planning to run) an Amazon business, there are a few things you really can’t afford to overlook. These are the difference-makers; the things that keep your store running smoothly, your customers happy, and your profits moving in the right direction.
1. Treating Your Store Like a Real Business
Too many Amazon sellers treat their store like a side hustle, even when it starts pulling in real money. Yes, Amazon makes it easy to start, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a proper business. If you’re selling products, managing stock, handling customer service, and tracking income, you’re a business owner, whether you like it or not.
That comes with responsibilities. You need to be thinking about cash flow, taxes, record-keeping, profit margins, supplier relationships, and customer experience. You don’t need to be perfect at it from day one, but you do need to take it seriously.
Amazon can shut down a seller account in seconds. Having your house in order is the best way to avoid nasty surprises.
2. Hiring an Amazon-Specific Accountant
This one gets ignored far too often. Sellers either try to manage their books themselves or hire a general accountant who doesn’t understand the Amazon model.
Here’s the thing: Amazon accounting is not like regular accounting. You’ve got transaction fees, fulfilment charges, returns, multi-currency payments, VAT implications (especially if you sell internationally), and payouts that don’t always line up neatly with your sales reports. Trying to untangle that on your own or with someone who doesn’t know the ropes can get messy fast.
A specialist Amazon accountant knows how the platform works. They know which reports to pull, how to handle inventory accounting, and how to make sure you’re not overpaying tax or missing critical deductions. More importantly, they can help you actually understand your numbers. Not just how much you sold, but how much you made, where your margins are tight, which products are worth scaling, and where your cash is tied up. When you’re running on thin margins or scaling fast, that kind of insight is essential.
3. Not Relying Too Heavily on One Product
It’s tempting to double down on what’s selling well. And sure, if you’ve got a clear winner, lean into it, but don’t bet everything on it.
Amazon is constantly changing. A single policy update, a new competitor, or a tweak in the algorithm can wipe out your best seller overnight. If all your eggs are in that one basket, it’s going to hurt.
Spreading your product range—even just a little—can help protect your store. You don’t need to launch ten products at once, but aim to build slowly and intentionally. Look for complementary products. Use your existing customer base to guide you. That way, you’re building a brand, not just selling stuff.
4. Understanding Fulfilment Options (and Picking the Right One)
FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) is convenient. No doubt about it. But it’s not always the best choice. FBA comes with storage fees, long-term holding charges, and less flexibility over how your products are packed or presented. For some sellers, that’s fine. For others, it eats into profit or clashes with how they want to run their business.
FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) gives you more control, but it also means more responsibility: packing orders, dealing with returns, and hitting Amazon’s shipping deadlines.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. The key is to run the numbers for your own setup. Sometimes a hybrid model (doing some FBA, some FBM) works best. Don’t just default to what everyone else is doing.
5. Preparing for Q4 Well in Advance
October to December is wild on Amazon. Sales spike, stock runs out, and fulfilment centres get clogged. You don’t want to be caught off guard.
Make sure your stock levels are sorted long before the surge starts. Don’t rely on suppliers being able to rush orders. Shipping times stretch out, prices go up, and Amazon can put limits on storage space if you’re not already moving product.
Plan your promotions, check your listings, and get your ads running early. Waiting until Black Friday to sort it all out is too late.
6. Optimising Listings Isn’t a Set-and-Forget Task
A lot of sellers put up a listing, tweak it once or twice, and then leave it alone. That’s fine if it’s working. But chances are, it’s not as dialled in as it could be.
Your listing isn’t just a description; it’s your sales pitch. That means images that actually show the product in use. Bullet points that focus on benefits, not just features. A title that’s keyword-rich but still easy to read.
And here’s the part most sellers miss: your market changes. Competitors update their listings. Customer preferences shift. Reviews highlight things you hadn’t considered.
Checking in regularly, even just once a month, to see how your listing stacks up can make a big difference over time.
7. Knowing When to Invest and When to Hold Back
There’s always something else to spend money on—new tools, software, courses, consultants. And some of it really does help. But not all of it is necessary, especially in the early days.
Focus on what moves the needle. For most sellers, that means:
- Product research – Get this wrong and nothing else matters
- Listing optimisation – It’s your shop window
- Customer service – Keeps you in Amazon’s good books
- Financial clarity – Know your margins, know your growth
Everything else can come later. Keep it lean until your numbers justify the spend.
Not Just a Side Gig
Selling on Amazon can be incredibly rewarding, but it’s not magic. It takes proper planning, good financial sense, and a willingness to treat your store like a real business. Miss these pieces, and you’ll feel like you’re constantly playing catch-up. Get them right, and you’re not just selling products, you’re building something sustainable.
