In recent years, competition among major domestic e-commerce platforms has been fierce and the market is saturated. The escalating price wars and high promotion fees have made many sellers miserable. At a time when the e-commerce industry is undergoing an accelerated reshuffle, how small and medium-sized domestic e-commerce sellers can stand out from the competition has become a new challenge.
It is an indisputable fact that domestic e-commerce is currently on the decline. In addition to the increasingly weak customer base and returns due to bad reviews, which seriously affect the weight of stores, the concept of shopping around has also caused the profits of domestic e-commerce to decline again and again. Instead of squeezing and bleeding for a small piece of the pie, it is better to turn your attention to the world.
Amazon may not have developed very well in China, and many friends who have not been exposed to e-commerce may not have even heard of it. However, at the beginning of this year, a new way of playing for Amazon suddenly broke out on the Internet, attracting a large number of sellers to settle in Amazon. That is Amazon's no-source model.
1. What is Amazon’s no-source model?
Amazon's no-source model is to open an Amazon store, and then collect products from major domestic e-commerce platforms through the ERP system, upload them to the Amazon store after screening and modification, and sell them at a higher price to earn the difference.
If a customer comes into our store to make a purchase, we use our ERP system to find the source of the product, then place an order and have it shipped overseas. The biggest advantage of Amazon's no-source model is that you don't need to stock and ship goods yourself, nor do you need paid promotion.
All operational processes can basically be completed through the ERP system (which has functions such as translating multiple languages, collecting products, listing products, and filtering products). This is also the advantage of Amazon's no-source model. As long as there is the help of the ERP system, it is not difficult for one person to operate multiple stores. You can choose to open dozens or even hundreds of stores, and turn them into studios or companies, so that your profits are guaranteed.
Opening stores in batches based on a single store is a store group without source of goods. Just like the products on the production line, the same gameplay is replicated in a standardized manner to achieve more satisfactory results and multiply the store's profits.
The main purpose of establishing a group of stores without source of goods is to achieve a monopoly on the entire category and individual products by continuously distributing goods, thereby increasing the probability of customer purchase. When customers search the page, they will see all our products, which will eventually lead to clicks, thus achieving the goal of encouraging consumers to buy.
2. What are the advantages of Amazon’s no-source stores compared to domestic e-commerce?
1. Compared with domestic e-commerce platforms, the threshold for opening Taobao and Pinduoduo stores is too low, there are too many sellers, and the profits are very thin. The threshold for opening a JD store is too high. The deposit, rent, and platform service fee for a store would cost about RMB 100,000, which is out of reach for an average family.
2. Domestic e-commerce competition is increasingly fierce. The same product may be sold by dozens or even hundreds of stores. The high competitive pressure leads to the continuous compression of profits. The management of the Amazon platform is relatively strict. Multiple stores are not allowed to sell the same type of goods at the same time, which is a good protection policy for sellers.
3. For the same product, after deducting costs, packaging, promotion, and logistics fees on traditional domestic e-commerce platforms, the actual profit is very meager. The customer group that Amazon faces has a high quality of life and has no concept of exchange rates. In their eyes, a few dozen euros are equivalent to a few dozen yuan. They rarely give bad reviews and rarely return products, which is much better than domestic e-commerce.
3. How long can the Amazon store group without source of goods last?
When doing a project, we must consider the project cycle so that we can learn systematically, make long-term plans, and achieve lasting benefits. It’s not that we can’t do projects with short life cycles, but they can only be a supplement to our main business. Even if they bring huge profits in the short term, they cannot change their identity and nature as our secondary business.
So, how long can Amazon's no-source store project operate? First of all, we need to clarify our positioning. We opened a store on the Amazon platform and made profits by selling goods, so we are closely associated with the Amazon platform. Theoretically, as long as Amazon does not collapse, the group of stores without source of goods can continue to operate.
What issues should we pay attention to during the operation?
1. Never make fake orders
Many friends who have worked in e-commerce know that domestic e-commerce companies basically gain sales by means of fake orders, because on domestic e-commerce platforms, if you do not fake orders, your store will basically have no traffic and sales.
However, when doing business on Amazon, you must remember not to fake orders. Even if you really want to fake orders, you must be careful. Because once Amazon finds that your store is suspected of false orders, your store will be closed.
2. Infringement issues
When collecting and uploading products, it is not recommended to collect products from international brands. Big brands have registered international trademarks and international patents, so it is best not to sell them. In addition to your own review, be sure to remove some brand names when uploading and strictly follow the process, and the risk of infringement will be greatly reduced.
3. Store registration
There are two types of Amazon registration, one is self-registration and the other is registration by a business manager. The difference between the two is that the chance of passing if you register by yourself is very low, basically only 50%. Once the registration fails, your set of registration materials can no longer be used to register an Amazon store. Wasting the materials is equivalent to losing the capital to register a store, so as a novice, you must pay attention to these to avoid registration failure.
4. The product lacks relevant certification
Certain products need to obtain relevant certifications before they can be sold in certain countries, such as product authorization certification, safety certification, etc. In European sites, electronic products, toys, medical devices, etc. need to obtain CE certification. Policy violations are cumulative and difficult to reverse.
5. The product does not match the picture
In order to improve the conversion rate, we can continuously optimize the product details, but be careful not to exaggerate when following sales. Write the product description based on the actual situation. The uploaded pictures must be consistent with the shipped products, otherwise returns and bad reviews will lead to account suspension.
In conclusion:
In general, Amazon's no-source model is still a blue ocean project and does not require excessive capital investment. In addition, the country now strongly supports cross-border e-commerce, and cross-border e-commerce is still in its early stages with only a small number of sellers. It can be said to be a rare good entrepreneurial project.
