Launch on Amazon first? A pre-launch check for new brands

Amazon’s seller page for India claims more than 300 million unique visitors a year to Amazon.in, and says that on average 60% of new sellers get their first sales within four weeks. These are Amazon’s own figures, shown without method. They describe the marketplace, not your product.

A marketplace sends shoppers who already search for a category. It does not create demand for a product nobody searches for. The first test is therefore free: search Amazon.in for the three phrases a buyer would use. If products like yours appear with ratings and plenty of reviews, demand exists and the question becomes how you compete. If results are unrelated or sparse, a listing will have little to be found by, and your own channels may need to create the demand first.

The India beginner’s guide lists what registration needs: an email address, an active mobile number, an active bank account, and either GST details or PAN details, with some categories GST-exempt. Tax obligations are separate from what a form accepts, so confirm yours with an accountant. Also check whether your category is open or gated before buying stock; Amazon mentions that authorised distributors can request gating approval, which shows category restrictions exist.

Brand Registry is free and can be joined without selling. It needs a pending or registered trademark for the brand name or logo, with that name or logo permanently on the product or packaging. Brands without a trademark can use IP Accelerator, which Amazon describes as a network of IP law firms. Trademark paperwork is often the slowest step, so start it before ordering inventory. Registration gives access to A+ Content, Stores, Sponsored Brands, Brand Analytics and Manage Your Experiments, according to Amazon.

Amazon.in’s fee formula is referral fee plus closing fee plus shipping fee plus other fees. The referral fee starts from 2% and varies by category. The closing fee varies by price range. The shipping fee starts from Rs. 28 per item for FBA and Rs. 38 for Easy Ship, while Self Ship costs whatever your carrier charges. FBA adds pick, pack and storage fees. Use Amazon’s Revenue Calculator for your exact product, and remember that Amazon calls its results estimates.

Here is an illustrative sum with made-up rates. A product sells at Rs. 999 and costs Rs. 380 landed. Assume a referral fee of Rs. 80, a closing fee of Rs. 25 and shipping of Rs. 60. That leaves Rs. 454 before advertising. If launch advertising costs Rs. 250 per order, the margin falls to Rs. 204. At Rs. 500 per order, each sale loses Rs. 46. The rule: launch only if the product stays profitable when ad cost per order is double what you hope for at steady state, since cost per order tends to run higher while a new listing has no reviews.

Launchpad is Amazon’s programme for startups and emerging brands. Its page asks for a market-ready, consumer-facing physical product available to ship now or within 30 days, and says unfunded brands are assessed case by case. The page lists no fees, so confirm terms before applying. Global Selling is a separate export route. Amazon says an Amazon India seller account is not needed, but registration asks for ID proof, a card with international transactions enabled and address proof, and some categories need separate licences.

New Seller Incentives are quoted differently on different Amazon.in pages (up to Rs. 36,000 on one, Rs. 41,000 on another) and carry date windows and conditions, such as adding listings and fulfilling orders within a set period. Read the current conditions in your account before budgeting around them. Amazon’s Seller Success Guide lists five steps for the first 30 days: listings, a shipping choice, Sponsored Products, competitive pricing and Brand Registry.

A website first makes sense when nobody searches for the product category yet, when the product needs explanation or customisation that a listing cannot hold, when the margin fails the fee test above, or when the category is gated. It also makes sense when owning the customer list matters more than speed, since marketplace sales come with the marketplace’s own relationship to the shopper.

The two are not exclusive. A brand can list on Amazon.in and run a store of its own, and the second gets easier once the first has produced reviews, photographs and customer questions. The decision is about order, and the checklist decides it.

Do three things. Run the three buyer searches on Amazon.in and screenshot the first page. Enter one product at your target price into the Revenue Calculator and add a doubled ad cost. Check whether a trademark application exists or can be filed.

If all three come back positive, launching on Amazon first is justified. If one fails, fix that before inventory.