Bands on Amazon: Selling Merchandise
An alternative to the merch.amazon.com option, bands can sell their already-created merch or future merch on Amazon to customers without having to deal with the disadvantages of Merch By Amazon.
Recently, “Amazon’s sales have drastically improved which is now placing them in direct competition with retailers such a Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Target” [1].
Amazon has become a large marketplace to order anything from tech accessories, clothing, water, office supplies, and the list goes on…
As a band or artist, those who support you are the most important. As a customer-first company, Amazon shares the same value: to make sure that your/their consumers have the best experience possible.
Bands on Amazon: Selling Merchandise – Advantages: Making A Profit
Amazon.com is a convenient way to sell a large amount of product without having to give the rights to your designs away, sign a non-compete with a company to sell your goods, or have fans buy merch in person at concerts. Amazon is a great option, because it is geared towards the everyday businessperson. It is easy to use the Amazon calculator under the Seller Central page to calculate potential profit.
Using Amazon to sell your band merch connects you to “at least 80 million potential customers worldwide”[2].
Not only will that help to reach your fans in different countries, but it will help you to acquire new fans.
Bands on Amazon: Selling Merchandise – Amazon’s Experience
Whether you use the fulfillment by Amazon feature (FBA) or package and ship yourself, it is undeniable that Amazon has become a big platform for clothing and fashion; no longer is it just a place to find a well-priced accessory that you can’t find anywhere else.
Amazon is experienced in fashion too, which should provide the band/artist with comfort as well.
“Amazon themselves have created their own clothing lines (…) these lines have brought Amazon up to speed with the rapidly changing, ever-evolving fashion world” [3].
Another aspect to consider as a band or artist is that because Amazon is cost-effective, especially for a creator starting out, “they can afford to donate large portions of their profits towards their selected charity” [4]. Doing so would help those in need, encourage fans/supports to also be philanthropic, and label your band as charitable. As a group or individual with somewhat of influence on others, using this system of giving can also be helpful to customers, as “Amazon has a program called Amazon Smile where Amazon donates 0.5% of your purchases to your respective charity” [5].
Some guidelines for bands/artists to follow include the requirements given by Amazon:
- All color variations must include a “child SKU main image” representative of that specific color.
- Images uploaded must be at least 1001 px on the longest size. Images can be up to 3000 px on the longest side and must be 2560 px on the longest side to take full advantage of our zoom capability.
- Each image should be tightly cropped to optimize the customer’s ability to evaluate the time.
- Images should not be visibly marked with watermarks, color palettes, or text.
- Background must be white, with image being of high quality and trust representative of the product being sold” [6].
Bands on Amazon: Selling Merchandise – Conclusion
As an upcoming band or already successful artist, choosing to sell your merchandise on Amazon can be a great asset to your business.
Donating some of your profits as well can help to make a difference and encourage your supporters to use the Amazon Smile feature. Instead of essentially gibing over the power to Merch By Amazon, some creators choose to just sell not manufacture through Amazon; it can be very successful.
[1] Rosenbaum, C.J. and Kulaga, Nicole, Fashion on Amazon, 2016, p. 5
[2] Ibid p. 8
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid. p. 10
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid p. 12