How to Sell on Amazon : Food Products and edibles part 2


I get emails all the time from people who have interest in selling food products ( hand made ) edibles and they want to know what is required to get started ? Do they need business license do they need a facility etc etc .. So to clear up some of the confusion I will breakdown what our company had to provide to Amazon to get approval for selling in gourmet food/ Grocer category.

1. Number one You need to be a business ( an official licensed business in whatever state you are in ) this is NOT a recommendation of MINE you have to have a license . Amazon will ask for this when you apply for the category. YES there is a category that will require approval by Amazon prior to you selling on Amazon in that category.
2. Number two if you are in a facility it has to be licensed with ( in most states) the department of agriculture and they will inspect your facility based upon their scheduling and their timeline. They will have a list of things that will have to be present in your facility contact them in your are for more specifics every state, county, district etc have their own rules and regulations, and these are enforced by them.
3. Number three  sales tax certificate from the state you are operating from. Contact the state revenue office in your state to apply for the a certificate that will grant you the ability to collect tax for sales within the state. Normally these taxes are reported on a monthly basis.
4. Amazon will ask what type of products the bulk of the catalogue  of items you offer will be. Basically they ant to see the types of items you wish to sell. Once we established the list if a few items they kind of get the idea for what you will sell and you can add to the list of products. We currently offer over 300 items almost all them hand made with some that are premade.

Great way to get your products viewed more by doing 1 single tip! If you have an item and you make it in several different ways say "different Flavors" make a listing for each flavor. This may sound like a no brainer, but you can also create a listing with a drop down menu and you would only have a single listing, but when you make a listing for every flavor a customer will see all the variety of products you have when they are looking for a specific flavor and you will end up selling much more product ! This has worked for us and customer love to see a seller with a huge variety of product!

When you can offer a variety of food products do it !!! You will have customers looking for a variety of gourmet food items, and if you don't list a huge selection you will miss out on the additional sales !