Amazon is the world’s biggest online shopping platform, which prides itself on providing its users with the most innovative and friendly platform. In order to flex its innovative muscles, Amazon keeps rolling out new policies and schemes to attract more and more prospective sellers and buyers to its platform. One of those schemes is the Launchpad for Amazon.
In this guide, I’m going to discuss the following core points. So let’s deep in:
Table of contents
What is Amazon Launchpad?
The premise of Launchpad on Amazon is simple: Amazon helps you launch your new product to the market, and charges a fee for it. Amazon Launchpad commercial differs from normal selling and drop shipping, in that it allows a retailer to procure or manufacture a brand-new, exotic product and introduce it to Amazon’s in-built legion of followers.
The concept of providing a platform for new startups for launching a new product to the market is not new to Amazon. Amazon Launchpad creators have been toying with this concept since at least 2015, when the Exclusive Program For Amazon was launched to allow retailers to sell their products on Amazon, as well their stores on other eCommerce stores, simultaneously. The exclusive program then went through a couple of name changes over the years, the latest being the Amazon Launchpad.
How does Amazon Launchpad Work?
Launchpad (and its past iterations) were inspired by the crowdfunding boom of the mid-2010s. Amazon has been collaborating closely with major crowdfunding services like IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, and Patreon, in order to encourage the successful startups on those platforms to introduce their products to the huge customer base of Amazon. The idea is that the customers will get to enjoy innovative products, the startups will make tons of money through high sales figures, and Amazon will make money through referral fees. It was a win-win scenario for each stakeholder, which a corporate behemoth like Amazon was not likely to miss out on, and they didn’t.
Amazon Launchpad Requirements
While all brands and retailers on Amazon are eligible to apply for the Launchpad program, there are some caveats nonetheless. Amazon’s business model is focused on providing the best possible shopping experience to its customers, and therefore there are a number of criteria each brand needs to fulfill in order to qualify for KickStarter Launchpad Amazon:
- Sellers should be on Amazon for less than 3 years and have generated sales below $5 million/year
- They should have a minimum of 5 product reviews
- Product rating should be at least 3.5 stars
- Sellers must have a Prime Badge to qualify for Launchpad eligibility on Amazon
- Products that are to be listed in Amazon Launchpad must be registered in Amazon Brand Registry
Once a seller forwards their Amazon Launchpad application, it enters the review state which might take anywhere between 1-2 weeks. Amazon lets you know whether you have been accepted into the Launchpad program or not after the Amazon Launchpad review is completed.
How to Find the Winning Product for Amazon Launchpad?
Launchpad Amazon has been hugely influenced by the success of crowdfunding platforms (if not being a downright copycat) and tries to replicate every strategy that is successful on those platforms. Aspiring Launchpad sellers should be regular visitors to top crowdfunding sites like KickStarter, Patreon, and IndieGoGo. The product ideas with the largest pledged amounts have the highest probability of being successful on Amazon, and prospective sellers should take notes.
The idea behind a new product should revolve around the fact that customers want them to solve their problems, which older products are not doing.
What is Launchpad Fee on Amazon and its Terms & Conditions?
Amazon charges an extra 5% fee for each sale, on top of all the regular selling fees, for Amazon Launchpad products sold through the program.
Also, since Amazon respects success above all else, if a business manages to be ultra-successful and generates total sales north of $1 million within a year, it will receive Amazon’s seal of approval through a fee reduction to 3%, and access to advanced analytical tools that are kept away from ‘smaller’ sellers.
If that does not run a chill down your spine, also consider the fact that Amazon can kick you out of the Launchpad program on Amazon unceremoniously at any time, without so much notice. This mostly happens to sellers whose products’ success is not deemed significant and innovative enough by the eCommerce giant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Amazon is a relentless corporate giant, which consistently looks at all the direct competitors (eBay, Shopify, Newegg, etc.), as well as indirect ones (KickStarter, IndieGogo, Patreon), and tries to replicate any of their business strategies that succeed. That was the driving factor behind the Amazon Launchpad for startups. It provides prospective sellers access to Amazon’s gigantic customer base, which other platforms just cannot match. Any seller with a unique and innovative product should utilize the strengths of the Launchpad Amazon program to reach new heights of growth and success while staying vigilant enough to minimize the possible pitfalls as well.
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