5 Essential tips to sell successfully on Amazon

Amazon, Inc. is one of the world's largest and most influential companies in both e-commerce and cloud computing, operating at virtually every level of the value chain. Founded as an online bookstore, it quickly evolved into a global marketplace where consumers can purchase almost any type of product, from everyday essentials and consumer electronics to digital content and subscription services. In parallel, through Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company became a leader in cloud infrastructure and platform services, enabling busineses of all sizes to run applications, store data, and scale their operations with high reliability and security.

Their motto, “From A to Z,” reflects this breadth and ambition. It not only suggests that they offer everything—from “A” to “Z”—but also conveys their commitment to covering the full customer journey, from product discovery and purchase to delivery and post-sale service, supported by advanced technology, logistics, and data-driven innovation.

It is a Marketplace that allows selling products worldwide and especially in North America. In order to understand its dimension, here are some numbers:

• More than 300 million registered customers globally.
• Amazon reported North American net sales of $67 billion, representing a 21.9% increase in the second quarter of 2020.
• International sales exceeded $30 billion, representing a 35.5% increase from a year ago.
• Finally, worldwide revenues were $113 billion, up 27.2% from the previous year.
  
  

Clearly analyzing all of the above we can see the importance and interest that many have in selling through this platform, since they probably see it as the easiest way to take their products to international markets and especially to the United States.

Selling on Amazon 

Now, the first thing is to clearly understand who is actually eligible to sell on Amazon—what type of person or company can open a seller account, what basic information and documentation are required, and what responsibilities this implies. The second thing is to define what you can sell on the platform: which product categories are allowed, which ones have restrictions or special conditions, and how to decide which part of your portfolio is strategically most suitable for Amazon.

Who can sell on Amazon?

In principle anyone can sell on Amazon, to register the requirements are very simple:

• Business email address or Amazon customer account
  
• Valid credit card
  
• Government ID (identity verification protects sellers and customers). 
  
• Tax information.
  
• Telephone number. 
  
• A bank account to which Amazon can send the proceeds from your sales to you. 
  
  

And it is particularly convenient for manufacturers and producers, since they are direct sellers and can offer more competitive prices.

What can I sell on Amazon?

To determine what you can sell on Amazon, you should first review the official list of Product Categories. This list specifies the types of products and categories that are generally open to all sellers and do not require prior approval, meaning you can list them more quickly and start selling with fewer administrative steps.

In addition, Amazon maintains another list called Categories with Restrictions. These are product categories that require you to meet specific conditions before you can sell in them—for example, submitting additional documentation, complying with safety or regulatory standards, obtaining brand authorization, or going through a formal approval process within Seller Central. Only once you meet these requirements and Amazon approves your application can you list products in those restricted categories.

Understanding both lists is essential before defining your portfolio for Amazon. It helps you identify which products you can list immediately, which ones will require extra time and compliance efforts, and whether it is strategically worthwhile to invest in meeting the conditions to participate in certain high-potential but more regulated categories.

How to decide what to sell on Amazon?

You should carefully analyze which products to sell on Amazon. In most cases, it will not be efficient or strategic to list your entire portfolio on the platform from day one. Instead, you will want to prioritize the items that have the highest potential in terms of profitability, operational simplicity, and alignment with Amazon’s rules and customer expectations. To support this selection process and help you focus your efforts where they will generate the greatest impact, here are some key criteria you can use to decide which products to include in your initial Amazon portfolio:

• Market: in case you have the possibility to focus on a niche market this can become a competitive advantage on Amazon, which will prevent you from having to operate in a highly competitive market against large sellers and companies, you will have a better chance to stand out and satisfy the demand of your customers.
  
  
• Demand: it is important to ensure that there is demand for the type of product you want to sell, regardless of whether you operate in a niche. We should avoid products that everyone is selling, especially large companies, where competition will be too difficult. That said, to assess market demand, you can do a Google search for the products, review best seller lists on Amazon and other sites, as well as review search volume tools, such as SEMrush, which gives you an idea of how many people search monthly for the potential products you are interested in marketing.
  
  
• Competition: Competition is directly related to both the market and demand. Ultimately, you will want to try to find the right space that is in demand, but not too competitive. Again, you'll want to avoid product areas that are already fully covered by big brands as well as other Amazon sellers.
  
  
• Pricing: In terms of pricing, you will also want to try to strike a balance. Aim for products that are not too expensive but can sell for a fair amount. While it might seem advantageous to buy more expensive products that you can then sell for a higher price, it can be much harder to succeed on Amazon this way.
  
  
• Size: one of the biggest costs of selling on Amazon is shipping. When trying to decide which products to sell, think about shipping costs. Look for products that are small and fit easily into the packaging; after all, the smaller and lighter the product, the more affordable your shipping costs will be.
  
  

What's next?

Before you start selling on Amazon, it’s essential to prepare your business strategically rather than simply opening an account and listing products. The platform offers enormous reach, but it is also highly competitive and governed by strict operational, tax, and compliance rules. Taking time to understand how Amazon works, what it expects from sellers, and what type of profitability you need to achieve will help you avoid costly mistakes and protect your brand’s reputation from day one.

These first steps include clarifying whether you or your company meet Amazon’s eligibility requirements, defining which products from your portfolio truly make sense for this channel, and validating that there is real demand and a viable margin for each selected item. It also involves analyzing your internal capabilities—catalog management, logistics, pricing, and customer service—to ensure you can deliver a consistent experience that meets Amazon’s standards and customer expectations.

In the following sections, we will walk through five essential steps you should complete before launching: defining a value proposition tailored to the US and global Amazon audience, preparing your catalog in multiple languages, setting up robust inventory and logistics management, and designing an omnichannel strategy that connects Amazon with your other digital channels. By treating these steps as part of a broader go‑to‑market plan, you transform Amazon from “just another marketplace” into a scalable, profitable sales channel for your business.

1. Define the value proposition for the US market: this is the main offer you provide to your customers that adds value to them, to their lives. By adding value to your customers, this offer becomes compelling to consume. In this way, if we find ourselves with an undecided customer, this value proposition is the one that helps to finalize the sale. To learn more we invite you to visit:

• Why generate a digital value proposition?
  
• Value Proposition Canvas in less than 800 characters 
  
  
  

2. Multi-languages: as we saw Amazon allows us to reach the whole world and mainly the United States, this means that we must be able to have the information of our catalog in at least two languages, Spanish and English.

3. Inventory management: inventory management is key to sell successfully on Amazon. Put yourself in the feet of the buyer, you know how it feels to click on an item you want or worse you need, to discover that it is out of stock, this will make you lose great sales opportunities. To solve this you should consider:

• Choosing a broker: to import your goods to the United States you will need a customs broker, unless you are shipping by UPS, DHL or FedEx, in which case it is included as a service, but it makes the product more expensive.
  
  
• Warehousing: you must consider the demand and rotation of the products, to have a place to store them and according to the rotation time, so will be the associated costs.
  
  

4.  Ominicanality: establishing a digital strategy brings the challenge of having to manage many channels, this adds a lot of complexity, as each platform requires administration which translates into a lot of work, the only way to manage this is through an ominicanality that allows us from a single platform to manage all the digital channels that we have enabled.

Selling successfully on Amazon is not just about “being present” on the Marketplace; it is about designing a scalable, profitable and differentiated channel within your broader commercial strategy. When you clearly define your value proposition for the U.S. (and global) market, adapt your catalog to multiple languages, manage inventory and logistics with discipline, and orchestrate an omnichannel model instead of isolated channels, Amazon becomes a real growth engine—rather than an experiment that consumes margins and operational capacity.

For CEOs and senior leaders, the key is to treat Amazon as a strategic project: with clear objectives, defined KPIs (conversion, contribution margin, inventory rotation, CAC/LTV), and governance over price, assortment and service levels. This way, every decision—from which SKUs to list, to how you structure pricing and promotions—supports long‑term brand positioning and profitability, not just short‑term volume.

At ICX, we help companies integrate Amazon into a robust go‑to‑market and customer experience strategy:

- Aligning the value proposition and pricing with target segments and competitive dynamics.

- Redesigning key journeys (search, consideration, purchase, post‑sale) to maximize satisfaction and repeat purchases.

- Connecting Amazon with your CRM, analytics and marketing stack to gain a 360° view of the customer and manage the channel with real data.

If you are evaluating how to enter or scale in Amazon while protecting margins and brand equity, this is the right moment to structure your strategy. With the right methodology and governance, Amazon can become one of your most efficient levers for international growth and customer acquisition.