Let’s recall the days when products were delivered on wooden ships, taking months and even years to finally arrive. Those did not have enough strength to withstand mighty waves of never-ending seas and oceans. Let’s remember how difficult it was to ship products from A to Z, since there were no mechanisms to help us, no complicated strategies and no proper electricity. Even though motor transport was widely used after WWI, it was still hard to create and organize delivery system among great distances. Who would have thought that after some years of hard work, creativity and technology, something like e-commerce would be the leading industry of our everyday world? Now we can certainly say, we have seen everything!
Now let’s get back to earth. In e-commerce reality, one of the leading figures is Amazon which is exceedingly growing throughout the whole world. Since our main topic for today is shipping, let’s talk about shipping services and opportunities Amazon has for its sellers.
The first and most popular one is Fulfillment by Amazon. This shipping method is widely used among sellers as it eases their burden of preparing, packing and shipping the product. FBA gives us the opportunity to handle this tiring process and send your product directly to the customer. When everything is handled by Amazon, chances of losing and breaking your products are lower. The only thing you should do is to send the products to one of Amazon’s warehouses, and check the availability of your products. When there are no products in Amazon’s stock, you can send additional items so that you can confirm and fulfill your orders If your items are small, light and expensive, and in demand, FBA will definitely be a good fit for you.
Another popular shipping method is Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM). Unlike many other marketplaces, Amazon allows you to have your own logistic strategy and your own couriers. This means that everything relies on you, as you are responsible for not only confirming the order, but also preparing, packing and sending it to your customer. If customers don’t receive their orders, you will be the one to blame. If your products are heavy, big, and cheap it’s a good idea to make use of FBM.
To conclude, let’s give e-commerce a big hand for what we have now. What concerns Amazon’s shipping methods, at the moment, it is difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, since every program is very individual for each seller. Come to think of it, Amazon has devised a special FBA Calculator. The latter will let you calculate all the expenses, pros and cons of using FBA. All you have to do is simply choose and kickstart your orders!