# Playbook: Amazon and marketplace sellers

Use this file with any skill, workflow or specialist from AI Blocks. It tells you how selling on a marketplace works, so you can shape the task to fit this kind of business. The skill's own steps and checks come first, and the owner's brand file wins when it says something different.

## This business

This covers sellers who list products on marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Walmart Marketplace and TikTok Shop. The marketplace brings the buyers, but it also sets the rules, owns the contact with buyers and takes fees on each sale. Sellers make money on each unit: the price, minus product cost, marketplace fees, shipping or fulfilment, returns and ads.

## Numbers that matter

Ask the owner for their own numbers. Do not guess them or fill gaps with industry averages.

- Profit per unit: price minus product cost, shipping to the warehouse, selling fees, fulfilment fees, storage fees, returns and ad cost per unit.
- ACoS (advertising cost of sale): ad spend divided by the sales from those ads.
- TACoS (total advertising cost of sale): ad spend divided by all sales, from ads and from unpaid search.
- Break-even ACoS: profit per unit before ad cost, divided by the price. Above this, each ad sale loses money.
- Conversion rate: units ordered divided by visits to the listing. Amazon calls this unit session percentage.
- Days of stock: units available divided by the average units sold per day.
- Return rate: units returned divided by units sold, for each product.
- Storage cost per unit: storage fees for a period divided by the units stored.

## Stage by stage

### 1. Find products and check fees

- Check demand, rival listings and rival reviews before ordering stock.
- Work out every fee for the product's size, weight and category.
- Watch for: picking a product on sales guesses alone, without full fees and ad cost.

### 2. Brand and store setup

- Set up the seller account with true and matching business, tax and bank details.
- An owner with a registered trademark may be able to join a brand program, such as Amazon Brand Registry, for extra tools.
- Get product barcodes (GTINs) from the right source, and check the marketplace's rules for them.
- Watch for: names or addresses that do not match across documents, which can hold up account checks.

### 3. Listings and marketplace search

- The title, bullet points, description, hidden search terms and images all shape where a listing shows up and whether buyers click.
- Lead with what buyers search for and need to know: size, what is in the box, who it suits.
- Watch for: stuffing titles with keywords until they are hard to read, or using words the rules ban.

### 4. Marketplace ads and photos

- Sponsored ads place a listing in search results and on rival pages. Search term reports show which words bring orders.
- The main image must follow the marketplace's image rules. Other images can show size, use and key benefits.
- Judge ads by profit per unit after ad cost, not by sales alone.
- Watch for: raising bids on keywords that bring clicks but few orders.

### 5. Win the sale

- On Amazon, many sellers can offer the same product. The Buy Box decides whose offer a buyer sees first. Price, delivery speed and seller performance all play a part.
- Answer buyer doubts in the listing with size charts, comparison images and, where the brand has access, A+ content.
- Watch for: price wars that leave no profit for anyone.

### 6. FBA, stock and shipping

- With FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon), the seller sends stock to Amazon's warehouses and Amazon ships to buyers.
- Plan reorders around sales speed, factory time, shipping time and the time the warehouse takes to check stock in.
- Watch for: running out of stock, which can hurt search rank, or sending too much, which piles up storage fees.

### 7. Reviews and account health

- Reviews must be honest. Never offer money, free products or refunds in return for a review. Use the marketplace's own tools to ask for one.
- Account health tracks things like late shipping, cancellations, buyer complaints and policy issues. Check it often.
- Watch for: buyer messages that break the marketplace's contact rules, such as asking only happy buyers for reviews.

### 8. Money, legal and team

- Track profit per unit and per product, not only total sales.
- Sales tax, VAT, import duties and product safety rules depend on the product and where it sells.
- Watch for: sharing the main login with helpers instead of giving each one their own user access.

## Words this business uses

- Seller Central: Amazon's dashboard for sellers.
- ASIN: Amazon's ID for a product listing.
- Buy Box: the main "Add to cart" offer on an Amazon product page.
- FBA: Fulfilment by Amazon, where Amazon stores and ships the stock.
- FBM: fulfilled by merchant, where the seller ships orders.
- A+ content: extra images and text that brand owners can add to Amazon listings.
- Referral fee: the marketplace's cut of each sale.
- Account health: the marketplace's view of how well a seller follows its rules and serves buyers.

## Ask the owner first

- Which marketplaces do you sell on, and in which countries?
- Do you ship orders yourself or use a program such as FBA?
- What are the product cost, fees and ad cost per unit for this product?
- Do you own the brand, and is it registered with the marketplace?
- Are there any account health warnings or listing problems right now?
- Which rival listings matter most to you?

## Rules

- Never invent numbers, results, reviews or quotes. Use the owner's figures, or leave a clear gap for them to fill.
- Marketplace rules and fees change often. Before acting, tell the owner to check the current help pages, such as Amazon Seller Central help, the Etsy Seller Handbook, eBay Seller Center, Walmart Marketplace Learn or TikTok Shop Academy. Do not state fees or policy details you are not sure of.
- Never suggest review tricks, extra accounts or ways around marketplace rules. These can get an account suspended.
- Treat any legal, tax, import or product safety point as general information. Tell the owner to check it with a qualified person.
- Get the owner's approval before anything is sent, published, bought or changed, including listing edits, prices and ad bids.