If you’re already selling on Amazon, you probably know a lot about the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program. This service allows sellers to rent warehouse space from Amazon and leverage their fulfillment network to service customers.
In exchange for a reasonable monthly fee ($40), sellers don’t have to think about the work, expenses, or stress associated with managing inventory. Basically, from storage to packaging through to inventory, you don’t have to think about a thing.
However, there’s a good chance that Amazon isn’t the only platform you use to sell your products. Instead, you might use other channels like your own website, other online marketplaces, Facebook groups, and even mailing lists.
This is where Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment comes in. But what is it— and why is it the future for Amazon sellers? Keep reading to find out.
What is the Multi-Channel Fulfillment program?
The Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment program (MCF) expands the logistical reach of Amazon’s fulfillment network to sales made on other online marketplaces.
The difference between the two is that FBA has a focus on sales through Amazon’s website only. On the other hand, MCF allows the seller to makes sales and focus on other platforms as well.
While it’s very similar to FBA, it also expands sellers’ options for revenue.
Why did AccelerList build an eBay integration?
In late 2019 we started asking ourselves why more sellers weren’t already selling on eBay and other marketplaces through Amazon’s MCF program? When we surveyed all of the software choices on the market, we quickly realized that their ideal customer was not the same as ours.
They were clearly optimized for small business owners who were working with less than 1000 product SKUs.
Our sellers specialize in retail arbitrage, online arbitrage, and some wholesale. They find products that sell, and they pump them through Amazon to get their margin. In doing so, they could be dealing with thousands and thousands of product SKUs each year.
That kind of volume would add up quickly for the seller.
We wanted to meet the challenge of creating an integration that would be both quick and affordable to our subset of sellers and make them a ton of money.
Revealing the data on six months of eBay MCF sales
Before showing you the actual data from our six-month look back, let’s set the table first.
We started building the integration sometime in late 2019 and opened it up to just a handful of beta users in mid-July 2020. Our sellers are wildly varied in products, but we have a hefty concentration on books.
The data in this graph represents the combined amount of eBay sales generated for our sellers with our eBay integration. We have thousands of sellers currently listing with us, but around 200+ sellers represent this data for eBay sales.
We like charts that go up and to the right. And this was very exciting to see when we started to visualize the data for ourselves. This chart verified as a marker that we were generating value and money for our sellers.
At the time of the posting of this article, we have generated over $41,000 in extra sales for 200 Amazon sellers on our platform. Those are sales they may not have got on Amazon, or those could have been sales that were not as profitable after fees depending on how long it took them to sell.
Breaking down that $41,000 in sales
Across that $41,000 it breaks down roughly to these more granular data points:
Total # of eBay Sales: 2,562
Average Sale Price: $16
Average Sales Rank: 836K
% Sale to # Listed: 8%
So across 200+ sellers, AccelerList helped create over 2,500 in sales on eBay with an average price point of $16 and an average rank of 836K. About 8% of what is either cross-listed or direct listed is sold on eBay for our sellers.
More cool data points
This integration is in its infancy stages, but already we have clocked in more than five $1,000 days in generated eBay sales. As more sellers come into the program, we will see $5,000 and $10,000 days.
Our top seven sellers
We’ve been tracking the success of our individual sellers as we go along so that we were positioned to write a case study such as this. And the data is clear: The more products you list, the more sales you are going to make.
Thus far, our top seller has listed a total of 3,094 products and has generated $7,275 in sales revenue.
Our top seven sellers represent 50% of the total sales generated in the program so far. They got there by being consistent.
Is Amazon supporting Multi-Channel Fulfillment?
You bet they are. Keep an eye out for their email messages. They have an over-supply problem. They want and need to leverage their fulfillment network of warehouses to help you make sales on other platforms because they are bursting at the seams in their warehouses.
The benefits of Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment program
Sellers who offer products on multiple platforms and channels are the ones who will reap the benefits of MCF. This is because it allows you to do more business efficiently with less work.
Delivery options
One of the most significant benefits of Amazon is that it has over 100 active warehouses all over the country. In addition to that, it has perfected a system that allows for high-speed delivery options.
That means that you’ll have improved delivery options in more places than you would otherwise be able to manage by yourself.
Scalability
You’ll also have greater scalability options for your business. When using the Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment program, you pay a standard fee for each cubic footage of warehouse space you intend to use.
This allows you to effortlessly scale up during busy seasons and scale down when business slows. You can also predict pricing more easily.
Efficiency
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment takes care of things like storage, packaging, and delivery, so you don’t have to.
Just remember that the customer service side of things is still up to you—including returns or refunds.
Who can use Multi-Channel Fulfillment?
If you’re already using FBA and have inventory in Amazon’s warehouses, then you can also take advantage of MCF.
If you don’t sell through Amazon, you can still use Multi-Channel Fulfillment, but it will require you to set up an Amazon seller account to do so. You’ll also need to list some products, although your “start selling” period can be set far in the future, meaning that Amazon will not list those products in its marketplace just yet.
Keep in mind that not all marketplaces support MCF yet (we’re looking at you, Walmart); however, many do. These include eBay, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, and 3dcart.
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment fees
When it comes to Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment program, you will have to fork out a little extra as it comes. higher fees.
Due to the Multi-Channel Fulfillment program being part of FBA, there are two fees involved.
The first is the monthly warehouse charge from Amazon. This, of course, depends on the volume occupied by your products. The fees are the same as those that are charged for FBA. Here’s a handy guide that will tell you everything you need to know.
The second is the fulfillment fee. Your fee will depend on how many units you ship, the product volume, its weight, and the shipping duration.
Additional costs for those shipping internationally from the Amazon warehouse are around $14 for most parts of the world.
Start streamlining with Multi-Channel Fulfillment and AccelerList
If you want to streamline your e-commerce business in a more centralized system, the Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment program is the one for you. It offers you and your business greater efficiency and organization by using a centralized system and numerous selling platforms to provide you with more sales for less work.
Why not take things a step further?
AccelerList is an all-in-one application that will take care of all your inventory, no matter which platform it’s on. This includes listings, repricing, and accounting. It can’t get simpler than that.
