Selling via Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) – Status update (Part 1)

Ok, this will be a short post and will be a continuation of my previous post.

So what is my progress as to the FBA experiment since my post on 25 Sept 2016? See below:

1. Yes, I managed to create a Seller Account with Amazon.
2. I think I would like to try a Private Label route (read here on how one does wonder with by selling via Private Label), instead of Retail Arbitrage method which is buying stuff in a store then turning around and selling it for a profit on Amazon.
3. Had spent time browsing the best sellers on Amazon, and finally thought of what I can sell.
4. Managed to list a product. (PS: I have been watching some Youtube videos on how to create a product in the Amazon Seller Website and shipping to Amazon).  That would include buying a UPC code online (approx. USD 7). However, the product is not active as there is no stock :p
5. In the meantime, I have been liaising with the manufacturers from China (via Alibaba). Think I have contacted 5 or 6 suppliers. This is the time-consuming part. I wanted to find out the type of products, price, quantity and shipping cost etc. Next, I want to know if the manufacturers do packaging. I reckon packaging is very important (as well as the quality of the product itself), and I wanted to design my packaging with logo. So far I have shortlisted 2 good ones.
6. Concurrently I have searched for a name for the brand. The website – namecheckr (click here) is a great tool. With this website, I can check if the name I created is not used in other domains or sites.
7. With the brand name decided, I decided to do a logo. I went to the website – Fiverr (click here) to ask someone to help me create one in 3 days (for approx. USD 6). Should be getting the first draft tomorrow.
8. At the same time, I have been designing the packing myself (minus the logo).
9. So once the logo is delivered and confirmed, I will have the packaging design ready. And with this, I can send to the 2 manufacturers to ask for Samples to be delivered to me in Singapore. 1 sample is approx. USD 100 as the packaging is customized. Yup – the next milestone, will be reviewing samples and taking photos (to post on Amazon should I want to sell that product).

Total amount spent so far: USD 13