Your Store was Approved! What’s Next?
90-Day Probation Overview
- Amazon has approved your store! They believe you’re a real person and not a bot! Congrats. Now Amazon starts the process of evaluating if you’re a QUALITY seller. The next 90 days are very important to establish trust with Amazon. Let’s dive in!
- Purpose of the Probation Period: Amazon monitors the store to ensure you’re a “good actor” and not selling harmful or faulty products. Over the course of the next 60 days or so we will ship in a handful of products you’re currently allowed to sell to show Amazon we know how to use their systems and ship properly.
- Limited Activity: Sales and transactions are limited to allow Amazon to assess your reliability without risking their customers’ experience, so we don’t want to ship in TOO much at first. We are trying to ship in enough to be evaluated, but not too much, so we don’t tie up your capital while we know the store is artificially slowed.
- Factors to Consider:
- Shipping too few items: Amazon can’t evaluate your store properly.
- Shipping too many items: ties up more capital than necessary since Amazon slows your store’s sales artificially.
Ungating Process – Getting unlocked to access more variety and more profitable products:
Goal: Unlock the ability to sell in restricted categories or brands (e.g., Grocery and Gourmet).
Steps for Ungating:
- We will purchase 10 Sellable Units with your credit card and ship them to your address on file:
- We’ll buy from verified retailers like Target or WebstaurantStore on your behalf. We email before we charge, but sometimes folks don’t see the email. If you see a charge on your card that’s unfamiliar it’s most likely us, but feel free to email the back office to verify.
- We must use the same billing address and shipping address associated with your Amazon account when we order from the retailer to ensure invoice alignment. Amazon’s machines are looking to ensure the product was purchased by you, with your card and shipped to you.
- Next we submit the Invoice from that transaction.
- Once we complete the order and it’s in the mail we’ll be emailed a paid invoice. We then submit that invoice to Amazon through our user permissions on your account to get approval for the specific category or brand.
- Then You’ll Receive the Shipment usually in a small box or boxes:
- The products will arrive at your registered address.
- Keep the items in their box until Amazon approves or denies the application (usually within 7-10 business days).
- Do not discard the packaging during this time.
- We’ll email you a shipping label once the application is approved.
- Once approved here’s what you can do with the box… you have options:
- Ship to box to the company warehouse for processing and we’ll send it into your Amazon store. We’ll generate the shipping label for you.
- Return to the retailer for a full refund. We’ll generate the shipping label for you.
- Keep the products for personal use. No shipping label required.
Why Do We Focus On The Grocery and Gourmet Category?
- It’s Beginner-Friendly and Great for Young Stores:
- No product returns from the customer are allowed (due to the nature of edible items).
- Low-cost units, reducing upfront capital risks. We can buy more units for less money.
- Brand Versatility:
- Unlocking one brand (e.g., Bob’s Red Mill) often grants access to a wide array of products under that brand.
Important Notes:
- Ungating Misconceptions:
- Only 10 units are required, not 10 pallets.
- You have to be home to receive your box(es). You don’t. If it sits on your porch for a few days because you’re out of town it doesn’t slow us down. We just needed the invoice as proof.
- Every application is approved. They often aren’t and we have to reapply several times to get the product or brand ungated.
- Once you’re ungated you can always sell that brand or product. Unfortunately, from time to time Amazon may restrict previously unlocked brands. We can always reapply.
- Only 10 units are required, not 10 pallets.
- Key Deliverables for Approval:
- Invoice accuracy is paramount. The physical products themselves are less critical during submission, but the invoice has to be perfect or the machine that reviews it will not approve it.
- Group Meetings:
- Regular Zoom meetings (second Thursday of each month) provide a forum for updates and Q&A.
- Recordings are available if you cannot attend.
- Common Concerns:
- Don’t panic about the box; Amazon primarily needs the invoice.
- I don’t have my business credit card with zero interest yet. That’s okay, the first 60 days we will only spend a few hundred dollars as we grease the wheels and get ungated. You’ll need your business credit card by day 80 when we prepare your first large wholesale order.
- What if I open the box by mistake? Totally fine! You can even keep the product if you wish. If you open the box by mistake you can always just tape it back up and ship it in with the shipping label we provide.
- I got my box, but I don’t have the shipping label yet. That’s okay. Just hang on to the box for a bit and we will email you once we are approved and we will supply the label at that time.