A seller’s goal this year: Losses cannot exceed 10 million! Is it no longer easy to do business on Amazon?

It ’s 2021, is Amazon still making money?

2021 is already halfway through, and the popular cross-border e-commerce industry has become even more popular recently.

On the one hand, cross-border e-commerce appeared as an important role in the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Accelerating the Development of New Foreign Trade Business Forms and Models", which caused a group of people inside and outside the circle to cheer: cross-border e-commerce really has a bright future!

On the other hand, Amazon's "thunderous power" has continued to exert its force in recent days . Cross-border sellers have been "beheaded" one after another, and hundreds of millions of stocks have nowhere to go. A large number of small and medium-sized sellers in the circle have started to engage in self-danger mode, and pessimism continues to spread: cross-border e-commerce is really a deadly industry!

This is an industry that has both red and black elements in its DNA, and it is becoming more and more popular amidst the heated discussions.

In 2021, capital giants such as Tencent and ByteDance have increased their investments, and their ambition to share the cross-border e-commerce pie is visible to the naked eye.

In 2021 , the number of cross-border e-commerce financings hit a new high. According to incomplete statistics from Baijing Chuhai, a total of 6 domestic cross-border e-commerce projects received financing in 2020, but as many as 23 in the first half of this year.

In 2021, cross-border e-commerce was praised by the big names of a certain audio and video platform: this is a very profitable industry. When cross-border e-commerce entered the homes of ordinary people, the cleaning lady was also tempted: I heard that Amazon is very profitable? I want to do it too!

Summarizing the public opinion, we find that making money is synonymous with cross-border e-commerce, and making a loss is also synonymous with cross-border e-commerce.

So, is cross-border e-commerce really profitable? Is Amazon still worth doing?

How much does it cost for a newbie to start an Amazon business?

When discussing whether Amazon is still worth doing, many people who want to join may have overlooked an important question: How much does it cost to do Amazon?

“Is 10,000 enough?”

An industry insider said that if they are already equipped with computer office and other hardware facilities , more than 50% of people would like to start Amazon with 10,000 yuan. However, it is simply a pipe dream to expect to make hundreds of thousands or millions of yuan with a starting capital of 10,000 yuan.

Many Amazon sellers believe that the threshold for entering the platform is getting higher and higher. To enter Amazon with a small cost, you need to start with 100,000, and even wealthy people need to start with 1 million .

"Is Amazon really burning so much money?" When those who are deeply trapped in the game are earnestly persuading those who want to join the game, some of them may also be muttering in their hearts: Amazon really doesn't make money? You must be lying to me, and then you make a lot of money quietly...

In fact, the principle of "if you want to make money you must invest first" is always true in any industry and at any time. If Xiaobai wants to start Amazon, he will definitely have to spend money. How much money will he have to spend?

Weibo blogger "Foreign Trade Captain" recently made a detailed calculation. If you start with a bowl and rely on picking up all the equipment, when Xiaobai wants to do Amazon, he must be prepared for the following expenses ↓↓↓

Basic monthly fee : US$39.99, one or multiple sites are both US$39.99. If you are building a European site , VAT costs will be additional.

Basic tools : SellerSprite , Jungle scount , keepa , etc. On Taobao, which is a universal platform, the total amount is about 500 yuan per month . Reason: You need to look at the data more. You can't just buy the product because the factory says it is a hot seller. As long as the factory sells it to you, he will make money, but if you can't sell it, you will be the one who suffers.

Trademark: The American standard is basically 3,000 yuan each, and the one with evidence of use is 3,200 yuan . Of course, there are also very low prices .

Testing : This is also the bulk of the expense. After selecting a product, it is necessary to send out 100 units for testing . Assuming that the cost of a product is 20 yuan, the value of 100 units is 2,000 yuan . By analogy, testing 10 units will cost 20,000 yuan .

Shipping: Now the air freight rate for general cargo is 43 yuan per kilogram, and the sea freight rate is 12 yuan per kilogram. It basically costs several thousand yuan or more to send a shipment .

Take photos and put them on the shelves : When you put Li Siting on the shelves, you need to prepare pictures. The cheapest set of 7 pictures costs 200 yuan . It costs more to advertise after the shelves are put on the shelves . The general budget is 20 to 30 US dollars a day. Whether it is sold depends on fate. The price of brushing reviews or reporting activities is another thing.

The foreign trade captain said that if all 10 products were out of stock, nearly 100,000 yuan would be gone ; if one product became popular, the seller would have to continue spending money and think: how much more stock should be added next, by sea or air? Should we distribute products in this category? If so, how many products should we distribute? …

" This will cost a lot of money, otherwise there will be no point in testing the product . " Therefore, in the eyes of the foreign trade captain, Amazon makes real money and loses real money .

An Amazon seller's goal for 2021: Loss within 10 million and survive

After all the preliminary preparations are completed, the novice seller asks sincerely: What should I do well on Amazon next?

“ The first step is to protect the principal .

The second step is to set a bottom line for losing money .

The third step is to think about what industry will be good to start next .

The fourth step is to sell the house .”

The old seller answered sincerely.

The editor found that many Amazon sellers are experiencing from their own experience how easy it is to "spend money" in the above four steps.

A new seller said that from April when he started selling on Amazon to now, he has spent a total of 70,000 yuan, including the money for training institutions. He doesn’t know when he will get his money back, and he dare not even think about making 10,000 yuan back ...

An old Amazon seller who has been troubled by cash flow problems directly stated that his small goal for 2021 is to control losses within 10 million and survive!

"If you want to enter Amazon now, you must be prepared to lose 5 million first." It is understood that many sellers are pessimistic about Amazon in 2021. In the eyes of many sellers, Amazon is no longer a game that ordinary people can afford to play. You need money to do Amazon. If you want to make 3 million a year, you must invest at least 2 million first.

It is understood that in 2021, Tencent, ByteDance and others increased their investment in cross-border e-commerce. For example, after the industrial and commercial changes of Shenzhen Qianhai Paton Network Technology Co., Ltd., Xiaomi, SHEIN, and ByteDance's affiliated company Beijing Quantum Leap Technology Co., Ltd. became shareholders, holding approximately 9.36%, 4.68%, and 5.30% of the company's shares, respectively.

At the same time, senior executives of Linshi Wood Industry , a leading domestic Internet furniture brand , said that this year they will focus on Amazon's e-commerce platform , while increasing channel resources and traffic.

The fact that Amazon has been targeted by capital just proves the fact that this industry has unlimited prospects. However, the poor living conditions of many sellers is also a phenomenon worthy of deep thought.

Recently, top sellers have been cutting prices to make deals, new sellers are keen on doing charity, and all categories are experiencing a spiral of clearing inventory . Not only are sellers’ inventory capacities running low , but they are also losing money on every order they sell. Inventory pressure is increasing, rankings are being impacted , and a large number of sellers are being overwhelmed by the huge cash flow pressure .

Chinese sellers have been supporting freight forwarders, training institutions and other service providers on their own. If the sellers are in trouble, the factories and freight forwarders will also have a hard time. A factory manager said that his furniture factory now works one day and rests the next, and has weekends off. Many freight forwarders also said that the sellers' shipments have decreased recently, and the volume of cargo has dropped sharply. They are so poor that they have to eat instant noodles every day ...

Even though many Amazon sellers have now transformed themselves into philanthropists, the platform is still killing them indiscriminately. Sellers are frustrated and say: I am doing charity, why do you still block my account and stop me from doing charity?

The era of involution has arrived , and a group of sellers are struggling on the line between life and death: " It's so difficult, I can't do it anymore ! "

“You can’t be impatient when doing cross-border e-commerce. You need to have a bigger picture and persevere. It’s normal to lose some money in the beginning. After a long time, you will naturally go bankrupt.” This is a joke widely circulated among Amazon sellers. Whenever times get tough, they will bring up this sentence.

“ In the not too distant future, it seems that we will see a group of people coming in with smiles and leaving crying again . ” The former big boss with booming orders has been so idle lately that he can only watch melons every day: I don’t know how many people will be dissuaded by Amazon’s wave of rectifications!

Thinking: Is it no longer easy to do business on Amazon?

How difficult is it to do business on Amazon? That’s why a large number of sellers are suffering.

The captain of the foreign trade team said that registration, product selection, advertising and promotion will all be difficult for a group of sellers, but in his opinion, the above difficulties are not real difficulties. The supply chain, new regulations of the Amazon platform and the "cordial" greetings from competitors are the important driving forces that overwhelm the sellers.

" I'm not afraid of the pitfalls, but I'm afraid of my competitors. There are too many damn opponents on platforms like Amazon who make fun of others . " Pranks are rampant and the environment is turbulent. This is the intuitive evaluation of a large number of sellers on the platform. The recent frequent account suspension incidents have once again made sellers sigh that policies are changeable. A random change from Amazon can make many sellers go bankrupt.

So: Amazon is no longer a good place to do business?

Everyone has a different answer to this question:

Seller A said that Amazon is too introverted and all his colleagues have been laid off.

Seller B said that Amazon is very profitable. He has run his own company for less than a year with only 6 people and earns 2 million US dollars a month.

So you see, it is right to say that Amazon can make money, and it is also right to say that Amazon cannot make money.

Industry insider "Running Pharaoh" made an in-depth analysis and said that this is the worst era, but also the best era . Sellers should not focus too much on the negative and forget to analyze the opportunities in the crisis ↓↓↓

In terms of trends, China's supply chain still has a big enough advantage in the global market . European and American platforms will still be popular in the short term, and new opportunities will gradually emerge in other regions, such as Shopee and Lazada in the past two years , Jumia in Africa, and Meikeduo in South America. In terms of exchange rates, although the RMB is appreciating, the process is slow and will not continue to rise . In the long run, logistics prices will definitely return to rational prices, so there is still a lot of room for cross-border e-commerce in the future.

However, marketing specialization and channel diversification are the two most important points we need to consider in this large - scale account blocking crisis . If reviews are hit, then the promotion of platforms such as Amazon will focus mainly on advertising. The previous extensive automatic advertising model will gradually be eliminated, and the professional requirements for marketers will become higher and higher. In the future, Amazon may become just a cash register for your products like Tmall. In addition to obtaining traffic on Amazon, sellers also need to obtain it from other places based on product characteristics.

In terms of channel diversification , sellers can