When you first decide you want to start selling on Amazon, you can easily get overwhelmed by the amount of information on the internet regarding what you’ll need to get started, how to scale and what tools you’ll actually need to get the job done.

I’m a bit of a minimalist in all aspects of my life, including how I run my wholesale Amazon business.

I don’t want an endless amount of tools at my disposal – that’s the definition of decision fatigue. Instead, I want just enough tools to get the job done in the most effective AND efficient manner.

Everything has a purpose and nothing gets to hang around simply because I think it’s cool and everyone else is recommending it.

I wanted to create a simple resource for those getting started selling on Amazon, including exactly what you’ll need to start selling wholesale specifically and nothing else.

This isn’t a list of every possible tool you can use, but the critical few that have stuck around and consistently show up with other successful wholesale sellers.

Pre-Reqs before you can start selling on Amazon

Before we can get into the actual tools there are a few “pre-reqs” you’ll need before you can start opening wholesale accounts – An LLC, EIN number and a Resell Permit in your state.

 

How most of us feel when it comes to LLCs, EINs and Resell Permits..


Although not the more fun side of this post it’s critical none the less. An LLC takes hardly any time to set up yourself – without using a service like LegalZoom that upcharge you – and the EIN number and Resell Permit follows after you have your LLC set up.

An EIN number is basically a social security number for your business. It’s an identification which you’ll need to apply and receive your Resell Permit.

To keep it simple, follow this process to get your business started; Set up an LLC -> Request an EIN number for your LLC on your state’s website -> Request a Resell Permit using your EIN number for your LLC.

Still with me?

 

Hardware – Two Critical Things

Pretty simple of a section but worth diving into. You’ll mainly need just two things – a computer and a phone.

Computer – Don’t worry about having some incredibly – read latest and greatest – machine to run your business from. It’s exciting when you start a new business, you want all the things. Rather than spending $2,000 on a brand new MacBook (which I do have and love) use what you have and purchase a better computer as you grow using your profits.

I had one of the bigger iMac desktops and it was an amazing machine. I used two monitors and was considering expanding into using three. I couldn’t imagine using anything else. I felt so productive.

Eventually, that computer crashed out of the blue and I faced a choice – replace that very expensive computer that I couldn’t be mobile with or go the full laptop route.

I realized a laptop was plenty to run and successfully continue to grow my business from anywhere. Of course, this is a personal decision but my point is that you really don’t need much for what we’re doing here. I even ran my business from a $250 Samsung Chromebook for a month or two before purchasing the new MacBook as a test run with zero issues.

Phone – It really doesn’t matter what phone you use but it does matter that you use it. Suppliers find it easier to decline your request to open a wholesale account or simply delete your email than they find it declining you over the phone.

Don’t want to give out your personal number? Not a problem, use something like Google Voice and you’ll be ready to go!

 

Software – Tools That Make It All Work

This is where people typically get confused or even find themselves running down the “shiny object” hole.

As I stated above, this section isn’t every single tool or resource you can use in your Amazon business but the tools you should use in your business to get the job done.

DS Amazon Quick View – This amazing little Chrome Extension allows you to quickly scan through products on Amazon to see it’s Best Seller Rank, how many FBA sellers there are and if Amazon carries the product or not.

 

Look at all that data!

This one tool immediately saved me 20+ hours a week while sourcing and scanning through potential products I wanted to source using the Reverse Sourcing method.

You can get DS Amazon Quick View here.

Keepa Chrome Extension – Similar to DS Amazon Quick View, Keepa allows us to see historical and statistical data on products we’re considering carrying. Want to know if the price for a product has been consistent for the last 3+ months or if Amazon has ever carried the product? Keepa can easily do that for you.

 

Here’s an example of a Keepa chart for a product

You can get the Keepa Chrome Extension here.

DocHub – Although I don’t consider myself “paperless” there’s something to never printing out a form and signing it ever again. After getting really annoyed having to print, fill out and sign, and then scan every single application I found DocHub.

It hooks directly to Google Drive which I’m a huge fan of. You can fill out a paper form just like it was on your desk, apply your signature and email it off in less than 5 minutes.

DocHub helps me keep everything streamlined and allows me to never look at a printer again.

You can sign up for DocHub here.

Vendrive (our own tool!) –  Before we built Vendrive for ourselves, we relied heavily on Gmail folders, Google Drive storage, and Spreadsheets. We were able to bring all of those tools into one organized tool to help us further streamline our wholesale businesses.

Instead of having pricing sheets and applications in folders all over the place, we now upload them to the supplier’s profile inside Vendrive.

Instead of trying to remember where each supplier was in our heads or yet another spreadsheet, we simply move them forward using our built-in pipeline feature.

Inventory Lab – Hate “keeping your books”? Me too. Inventory Labs hooks to your Seller Central account and logs every sell, including your Cost of Goods Sold and gives you an up to date look at your Profit and Loss statement.

You can easily input any recurring or non-recurring expenses into the tool and know exactly how much profit you’re making per ASIN or in total.

I really like using this tool to measure the total profit each ASIN produces each month. I can easily see which 20% of my inventory produces 80% of my sales so I can make sure I have an amazing relationship with my supplier, consider ways to get further discounts or even consider how I can further grow the sales.

You can open a trial account with Inventory Lab here.

Restock Pro – Placing your first restock order is a massive win. It means you’ve found a winning product that you can carry for many months, if not years, to come. How do you actually know how many units to order though?

You’re not just placing the same size order every time you run out of stock are you?

Restock Pro does the heavy lifting when it comes to calculating how much you should restock and when you should place your order to capture the most opportunity for each product you carry.

Like most tools, it will hook directly to your Seller Central account and watch your sales as it’s algorithm determines the optimal restock order size. I have mine set up to keep no more and no less than 2 weeks worth of inventory on hand.

Each Thursday morning I log in and see what orders need to be placed and place them.

You can start a free trial with Restock Pro here.

There you have it. A simple checklist of everything you actually need to successfully start selling on Amazon using the wholesale model.

By using this list, you’re better able to manage your monthly expenses and keep them at a reasonable level while also get an insane amount of value from the tools you’ll be using to grow your business.