Every seller listing a product on Amazon hopes for that listing to be a rollicking success. Sadly, the reality doesn’t always align with expectations. Many product listings fail to click with the targeted audience. As a result, those products start collecting rust in warehouses, forcing the sellers to pay hefty maintenance and storage fees, apart from dealing with the financial losses incurred by the product’s failure among customers.
As you would’ve probably guessed, Amazon has even this area covered: through their Outlet Deals program.
What is Outlet Deal?
Amazon Outlet is a feature on Amazon, where sellers can list their overstocked or clearance items from on a discount. Outlet deals come in many product categories such as electronics, apparel, home goods, and more. These products might be out-of-production goods or brand-new, unused versions from the previous year.
The reductions might be between 10% and 70% off the list price, and the outlet area is constantly being updated with new products. It’s a terrific way to locate discounts on products from reliable companies that are of good quality. But, bear in mind that depending on the location and time, availability of particular items and discounts may change.
How to List Items on Outlet Deal?
Here is how you put your items on sale in the Outlet Deals program on Amazon.
- Log on to You Amazon Seller Central account.
- In the ‘Inventory’ drop down menu, select the ‘Inventory Planning’ option.
- On the next screen, click on the ‘Manage Inventory Health (Excess and Aged Inventory)’ option.
- Under the ‘Recommendations’ menu, select ‘Create Outlet deal’ option, and then click on the ‘Create Outlet deal’ button to the right-hand side.
- On the outlet deal creation dialog box, select the price you want to create this deal with, and hit the ‘Submit’ button.
- Your Outlet Deal has been created. To check it, head back to your Seller Central account, and click on ‘Fulfillment’ under the ‘Reports’ drop-down menu.
- Now click on ‘Outlet deals’, and the next screen will show you the currently active outlet deals.
Outlet Deals status
There are three types of status your outlet deal could be in at a given time:
Submit
When outlet deal has been submitted by the seller to Amazon, and is currently undergoing review by Amazon whether to be listed on the outlet page or not.
Ended
Outlet deals can end in two different ways:
- The deal has been submitted, approved and has run successfully for 1-2 weeks.
- When the deal has been submitted by the seller, but not approved by Amazon. This causes Amazon to end the deal itself.
Running
When the deals have been submitted by the seller and approved by Amazon, they are displayed in the ‘Running’ status, meaning they’re currently active.
Things that Cause Approval/Disapproval of Outlet Deals
Many sellers present their outlet deals to Amazon, but Amazon is very picky about which deals it finally decides to feature on its Outlet page. Here are some key factors that help Amazon determine which deals it chooses and which deals it rejects for Outlet page.
Pricing
Pricing is the all-important factor for the customers. Outlet deals allow sellers to present a discount of anywhere between 20-70% for their products. Let’s suppose your competitor is offering a 40% discount on his outlet deal, you can potentially win over the deal by offering a 60% discount instead.
Images
Product images are very important as they provide visual details about your product, and customers as well as Amazon’s algorithm attaches a lot of importance to images. Having detailed, high definition and crisp images of your products goes a long way in convincing Amazon to feature it on Outlet page.
User Ratings
User ratings are a very important criteria, as Amazon can abruptly end an Outlet deal if its user ratings drop too low after it features on outlet page. Good reviews help sellers with Amazon and customers alike.
Inventory
Amazon does not like sellers who are sold out immediately after listing their items. It is pertinent to keep at least 1-2 weeks work of inventory of any product featured on the outlet page.
Overlapping with Another Deal
Outlet deal slots are limited, and Amazon only chooses the ones that it sees as best. It is very important for sellers to look out for outlet deals from competitors, and time their deals in a way so as to not get in competition with them.
Things to Watch Out for
There are various things you should look out for while listing items for outlet deals to have a smooth and hassle-free experience:
Automation Rules
Look for any price automation rules on the outlet deals page, and disable them if they’re in place.
Price Fluctuation
Check out for any price fluctuations in the concerned product niche, and adjust your prices accordingly to compete.
Eligibility
Amazon keeps changing eligibility rules for outlet deals. So constantly check for that, as a product eligible to be put on outlet right now might not be eligible next week.
How to Maximize Sales on Outlet Deals
The best way to maximize sales on outlet deals is to introduce discounts and coupons on the products. You can combine discounts and coupons for the maximum effect. For example, if you are offering a 50% discount on a product, it will be given a discount badge on the outlet page. By introducing a further 5% off coupon, you can combine two badges to make your listing look more appealing to consumers.
Benefits of Outlet Deal
While nobody like to sell their products for cheap, there are nonetheless many benefits of selling through Amazon’s outlet deal program, such as:
Increased Sales Velocity
Outlet deals are usually sold in big quantities, and successful sales mean more sales velocity, which is a critical indicator Amazon uses to separate good sellers from the bad ones.
Decreased Inventory
Keeping an inventory means steep prices to pay for storage and maintenance of items. By selling your products through outlet deals, you can save money by getting rid of those fees.
Improved Ranking
Most importantly, customers happy with buying products on the cheap can provide glowing reviews, which go a long way in improving a seller’s reputation in the eyes of Amazon.
Conclusion
Sellers hate selling their products on a reduced price, and quite understandably so. But there are times when one has to swallow the bitter pill and choose the best among the worst options. Outlet deal is Amazon’s way of facilitating sellers whose initial listings didn’t do well. This program helps sellers get rid of their non-selling inventory, remove storage and maintenance fees from their balance sheets, and provides them with much-need good user reviews to help them recover their losses later on.
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