It is always great to sell more, right? Maybe not always. Your sales numbers might be going up and up, but, in terms of profit, you could still be losing money. That means the more you sell – the more you lose. This is why it is crucial to know the difference between raw sales and actual profits.
There are numerous costs associated with selling online that should be taken into consideration. Otherwise, sellers risk miscaluting their profits.
Here are 4 tips from sellerboard to help you understand your actual profit numbers.
- Track Your Profitability
This can be done with a simple spreadsheet or, even better, a special tool like sellerboard that calculates profit and loss in real time.
When sellers simply deduct their expenses for the month from their total sales, they can be in for a nasty surprise when they finally dig into the actual results.
- Consider ALL Costs of Selling
Cost of inventory is not the only expense associated with selling on Amazon.
Consider these:
- FBA Fees
- Storage Fees
- And Over 70 Other Potential Amazon Fees
- Don’t Underestimate Amazon Returns
Returns are more than just a loss of a previously-made sale. There are still fees associated with the original sale & the refund, plus the fact that the item may not be resellable.
One of the reasons that sellerboard shines is that it helps you analyze WHY customers are actually returning products. If you sell duplicates of the same products, this can really help you spot problems with that listing or product.
Finding a repeating reason for returns can help you adjust the listing so you can minimize future returns.
- Watch Out For Amazon FBA Errors
Amazon fees are not always 100% accurate. Sometimes errors occur in the warehouses, and that can cost you money.
When an error is detected in real-time, you can ask seller support to double-check the issue and fix the error so you can get your money back.
Some common errors that can cost you money:
- Lost & damaged inventory
- Returns that Amazon never received back
- Check-in errors for inbound shipments
- Fee errors for wrong weight/size
As you can see, it’s important to always keep track of your numbers and watch out for fees that might escape your attention.
Using a service like sellerboard can really help you stay on top of all of your actual profit numbers and can easily detect areas of your business that need your immediate attention.
There is also more. sellerboard offers these additional tools for Amazon sellers:
- Follow-up email campaigns
- Inventory management
- PPC optimization and bid automation
- Listing change alerts
You can get all of these features starting at just $15 per month.
There is even a 2-month free trial available so you can fully test sellerboard and how it helps you calculate your Amazon profit more accurately!
sellerboard.com to start your free (no credit card needed) 2-month trial today.