It’s happened to me.
I’ve been gleefully watching my stock fly out, my sales figures soar! When one day… it stops.
Frustrating isn’t the word. So today we’re going to look at why this may have happened to you and what you can do about it.
Reason #1: Your product is seasonal
Are you trying to flog Christmas crackers in June? Or Halloween decorations in December?
Okay, some people like the ‘goth look’ all year round, but still, don’t expect a lot of sales in these cases.
The solution
This is a simple one.
- Only sell seasonal products 3-4 weeks before the season starts.
- Diversify your inventory – don’t rely solely on your seasonal products.
Reason #2: Your product has gone out of fashion
Remember fidget spinners? They sold like CRAZY… for a few months then completely died a death. People just stopped searching for them.
Maybe your product has had its moment in the sun and now it’s as cool as a Sony Discman.
Solution
Get out now!
Time to move on and diversify your product range and most of all, don’t buy massive amounts of high-risk, faddy products. I recommend buying no more than 100-200 units.
Reason #3: You’ve lost your search results ranking
New products are being launched all the time and your position in the search rankings could be usurped. If you’ve slid off page 1 then alarm bells should be ringing.
The solution
Assuming your title, description and pictures have all been optimised and you STILL find yourself in the pits of the search results then it might be time for a relaunch.
What does Airbnb, Pizza Hut and the Spice Girls have in common? Yes! They’ve all made successful comebacks and a properly-done relaunch could be just what your product needs.
A relaunch sounds daunting but it’s pretty easy to do. All we’re doing is ‘re-teaching’ Amazon about your product, so when people search for your niche they find and buy your item. Thus, making you and Amazon money who will reward you with a lovely spot at the top of the search ranking.
Win-win.
Here’s how to do it…. once you’ve relisted the item you need to follow the process of search, find and buy. It’s as simple as it sounds, you only need 2-5 people, spread over a week, to type in your search term, find your item and buy it. Just 5 people doing that is enough to re-boost your product onto page 1.
Note: Although this works on Amazon Australia, bigger markets like Amazon.com may be too competitive and will need much more.
Go and call in some favours!
Reason #4: You’ve got too much competition
Maybe the competition in your niche has exploded, leaving you with the scraps.
It happens sometimes, things move fast on Amazon.
I’ve found a niche with little competition, done loads of research, found a supplier, then after a couple of months, I launch my product… to a completely saturated market. It seems in those couple of months I spent researching and sourcing my product, everyone and his son had the same idea.
Solution
In a similar way to out-of-fashion products, if your market has too much competition, get out. Sooner rather than later.
This is another reason why I don’t recommend buying too much stock when you’re in a new niche. Buy 100-200 units at most. Don’t get stuck with lots of stuff you can’t sell.
In summary, if you’ve done all you can, maybe relaunched your product and still no joy, then it’s best to cut your losses and get out. Find another niche and focus on that.
Well guys and gals, I hope that’s helped some of you. If you’d like to learn more about my adventures in the world of Amazon FBA please check out my other articles.
Hugs!
Stacey xx