Going Global via Amazon in the Wholesale Business

In the modern corporate world, business is increasingly embracing the concept of monopoly. In particular, businesspersons and organizations are learning that their profitability increases parallel to the expansion of their operations. In simpler terms, businesses can only sell more if they have larger inventories. Wholesaling is a traditional business concept that subjects businesses to intense competition. However, companies with the right resources, expertise, and schemes can perform exceptionally well. Going global requires wholesalers to partner with multinational ecommerce companies like Amazon, Alibaba, Google, Walmart, Zappos, and others.

However, working with a multinational corporation like Amazon is never easy because they subject sellers to an “ungating” procedure as a measure for protecting the consumers. “Gating” denotes a process that Amazon uses to lock out deceitful sellers out of product categories like arts and entertainment, automotive, grocery, sexual wellness, health, wine, beauty, and many others. All products from a specific seller must gain approval to sell in the categories above, which can only be given by Amazon’s Seller Central team. Individuals wishing to engage in wholesale business, particularly the arts and entertainment category, may have no idea on how to become ungated for a category on Amazon. Such parties only need to follow seven key steps to attain their goal. These include:

Step #1: Sign up for a professional Amazon seller account

Every wholesaler must sign up for a wholesaler account before submitting requests to Amazon. The creation of the account requires the wholesaler to have the support of a distributor already operating in the grocery, health, and beauty clusters. DollarDays and USGrocer are prime examples of renowned distributors. 

Step #2: Select diverse products in the gated categories

The wholesaler ought to select at least three distinctive products for purchase. Experts advise new entrants to select and place orders for products that have dissimilar Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASIN). Though the wholesaler may make a profit, the key focus of this step is to gain approval.

Step #3: Information verification

Upon receiving the order from the distributor, the wholesaler must verify the data in the invoices and the details used when creating the professional Amazon account. The key focus should be on the addresses, contact, and names. Any discrepancy subjects the wholesaler to a repeat purchase! 

Step #4: Invoice scanning

Amazon only accepts images of the invoices taken using phones or scanners due to digital fabrications. The wholesaler is required to do light editing using a photo editing software to incorporate the ASIN number into the image. 

Step #5: ASIN Screenshot

The wholesaler should login to the Amazon account to find the product information. The objective is to capture the ASIN, Item model, and UPC number through a screenshot. The screenshot must be clear. 

Step #6: Request submission

Visiting the main page of the arts and entertainment category is the next step. The page contains information about the category that wholesaler wishes to be ungated. The wholesaler should follow the steps provided there to submit all images. An image of the wholesaler’s business license is also required.

Step #7: Response

The response normally takes between three (3) hours and three (3) days. Observing normal business hours is vital to fast-track response.