Artists who want to sell their work face many questions and challenges. Those who take on the distribution themselves have to invest a lot of time and energy, often take a high financial risk and quickly lose focus on the actual creative work. Those who rely on a studio or publisher instead often wait for years – often in vain – because usually only the projects that promise the highest profit receive support. With Amazon Advantage, Amazon opens the doors to artists of all sizes and gives them access to millions of potential customers.
How does Amazon Advantage work?
Studios and other media producers to include their products in the Amazon product catalog. In a direct seller-vendor relationship, Amazon buys the products from the Advantage member and then resells them independently on the platform – as the new owner. To get started, you create an Advantage account on the Amazon vendor website. After successful activation, you can list the products you want to sell. As an Advantage user, you design the content of the product detail pages yourself – including personal information, cover design and other details. As soon as you have entered your items, you inform Amazon about their availability. Amazon then places an order and you receive a notification by email. As a rule, this order is placed weekly – depending on the calculated demand. You send the goods independently to Amazon, where they are offered for sale after being checked and processed. You can sell books, calendars, simple magazines, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, records, software CDs and video games.
Participation requirements for Amazon Advantage
You must be the owner or originator of the products offered, have Internet access and an e-mail account, have a bank account in the country of sale and provide each product with a scannable barcode (ISBN, UPC or EAN).
What does Amazon Advantage cost?
Membership costs €99 per year. This includes the placement of an unlimited number of products, support from the Vendor Service Team and access to the vendor management tool.
You are responsible for shipping the products to the Amazon logistics center and therefore also bear the shipping costs.
In addition, by agreeing to the terms of use, you agree to sell your products to Amazon at a discount of 55% of the list price – so you receive 45% of the sales price. If Amazon decides to reduce the price as part of a discount campaign, Amazon itself will bear the difference. Payment is made monthly, 30 days after the end of the month of the sale.
Is Amazon Advantage the right way?
Even if Amazon Advantage sounds like a great opportunity for large and small media professionals, there are points that can speak against it.
Sales figures are usually low, especially at the beginning – or when there is little awareness. The regular deliveries can then put a strain on the already tight margin due to the shipping costs. And as access to Amazon’s platform is very easy, competition is not long in coming. This leads to a high level of market saturation, which can make life difficult for smaller suppliers.
Nevertheless, you have the chance to reach millions of customers interested in buying on Amazon. Thanks to the algorithms and data structures, your target group will become aware of your products, even for niche products. Amazon treats the products in the Advantage program like its own stock – including discount promotions, product recommendations and prominent placements. The products are also available with free shipping and are integrated into the Prime program.
Despite the collaboration, as an artist you remain comparatively independent with Amazon Advantage and avoid many hurdles and middlemen. In addition, the collaboration is not exclusive – you can sell your works on Amazon as well as through other channels.
Although the 55% discount is high compared to traditional publishers or studios, access to Amazon’s tried-and-tested sales mechanisms and the outsourcing of payment processing, shipping, returns and customer service offer enormous added value. In this context, the costs seem quite fair.