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Amazon Renewed and Amazon Refurbished

In one of the biggest online selling platforms in the world, there is a product for everyone's budget! You can find great new but also refurbished items for an excellent price. Also, there are always new ways of making money, even if you don't own a brick and mortar store. Amazon Renewed program is another great opportunity to earn money on this platform, but many people still haven't heard about it. 

This article covers all you need to know about the Amazon Renewed Program, such as:

  • What is the Amazon Renewed Program?
  • How to get started with Amazon Renewed Program?
  • What are the requirements for the sellers who wish to sell renewed products?
  • How to be successful in selling certified-refurbished goods?

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What is Amazon Renewed Program?

Amazon Renewed is Amazon program verifying for pre-owned and certified refurbished goods. This is an excellent opportunity for customers who are looking to save as much money as possible. For example, you want to purchase a new iPhone device, but you simply don't have enough money for a new device. If customers buy items that are pre-owned or refurbished products that don't come from the original manufacturer, they are risking it big. 

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No one would like to cash out for a new phone, laptop, computer, or power tool only to discover that the device is not working out of the box or gets broken within a matter of weeks. To minimize the customer's risk, the Amazon Renewed program gives guidelines to brands which they must follow to guarantee refurbished goods are still of high quality, working correctly. 

Brands that use Amazon's Renewed Program have a higher chance of getting discovered by the customers and selling their products because of the extensive marketplace. In contrast, customers can purchase those products without a doubt in their quality and fear that products won't work properly in just a few weeks. 

There are three different types of goods you can sell on Amazon Renewed Program:

  1. Refurbished - Used or unboxed items that the buyer bought and sent it back because he decided he no longer needs it, or the product was faulty.
  2. Pre-owned - Items that were most likely used, but they are in a better state when returned than a refurbished product may have been.
  3. Open-box - Products that haven't been used, but they were opened from the original packaging. 

Certified Amazon Renewed retailers must professionally check, inspect, test, and clean renewed and refurbished devices, so they look the same as when they are brand new, and of course, they must function perfectly, same as new products. They must do all of this before they can repackage and resell the products. With the program's guarantee, customers can feel safe and assured that products they buy within the renewed Amazon program are good as new. 

What certified refurbished products can you sell online on Amazon Renewed?

Amazon Renewed is a program that allows goods that can't be billed as "new" (but are in high-quality enough shape to meet Amazon's criteria and customers') to enter the Amazon marketplace.

Merchants can sell restored, pre-owned, and open-box merchandises in these categories:

  • Automotive Parts
  • Cameras
  • Headphones & Audio
  • Home Appliances
  • Home & Industrial Tools
  • Kitchen Appliances
  • Laptops & Computers
  • Musical Instruments
  • Outdoors & Sports
  • Office Equipment
  • Smartphones
  • Tablets
  • Television Sets
  • Video Game Consoles
  • Watches

Amazon Renewed Guarantee

The product must operate and looks the same as new. And customers get a 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee.

These pre-owned items have been examined and tested by Amazon-certified suppliers. The product's box and accessories must be generic. All Renewed goods purchased through this program comes with the 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee.

But keep o your mind that when you buy an Amazon Renewed product, you are actually buying from a 3rd party dealer that is licensed to sell on Amazon. All sellers are not created equal, particularly when it comes to refurbished objects.

The sellers who try to earn money quickly and trade goods that aren't the same as the new product or in any way fail to live up to Amazon's requirements will quickly be removed from the online platform and won't be able to sell on Amazon. In case that you are the unfortunate buyer who bought from an unqualified seller at the time, you will most probably receive used, dirty, or just threw in the box product.

How to recognize that your merchant is qualified and won't end up with an awful product that someone is selling from their garage? 

  1. Understand what you're purchasing and buy from a reliable seller - Renewed products always have this word in their product title. All products with (Renewed) as their first word in the title mean that they are refurbished. Always go to the seller's page and inspect. Gather all information possible to be able to decide whether this seller is reliable.
  2. Google knows everything - Always research the seller of your desired product outside the Amazon. Research the seller on Google and try to find any customer testimonials and company reviews. Companies with no information on Google, no business website, or customer reviews may be potentially dangerous to purchase from. If you are still not sure what to do, call the company. Ask everything that crosses your mind and see where that leads you. With that, you will also be able to see their relationship with customers. 
  3. Verify the compatibility with the professional - With the multiple devices, you would connect a headset with, it's always smart to reach out to a specialist who distinguishes all headsets and can confirm the compatibility before you make the purchase. By doing this, you avoid the possibility of ordering a headset that you assume is compatible, but it turns out it doesn't fit your device at all. Or you may also find out that you need to purchase additional accessories to connect it with your device. Amazon has great customer service, but it may not know much about its specifications or compatibility. 
  4. Check whether the seller is offering product support - You purchase the product, and for some reason, you find it is not working properly. But your 30 days return period has expired, and what can you do? Amazon will suggest that you contact the manufacturer for a replacement. They will need you to go through troubleshooting with them, and if discovered, the headset is faulty, you will then have to fill out certain paperwork and ship your product back first before the producer sends you a replacement. You will receive other product usually within two weeks. This may be a pretty frustrating experience, and no one likes going through this nightmare. But some sellers provide product support and advanced warranty replacements. This is quite rare, but sellers who offer these are most certainly qualified sellers who really care about their customers' needs. After you notify the seller about the faulty product, they first help you with the troubleshooting. If they determine the product is defective, they pull up your order number and assist out the product headset on the same day. For the defected product, they provide you with a prepaid shipping label sent to your e-mail so you can return that product. 

How to sell refurbished products on Amazon Renewed?

  • Register to become an Amazon seller - If you want to sell certified pre-owned, open-box, or refurbished items on Amazon Renewed program, first, you must register for Amazon Seller account. If you are a newbie in selling on Amazon, you can register and become a seller by going to Amazon Seller Central and creating a new seller account. You will have an option to choose between the Individual seller plan and Professional seller account. If you plan on running a selling business on this platform, it's always better to go with the Professional Seller plan. It will be less expensive in the long run, and you will gain more benefits with this selling plan. 
  • Find product opportunities - Amazon requires you to have a certain amount of inventory before you can start with the Renewed Program. That is why you need to find your products first and plan your sellings ahead. Of course, you don't want to purchase just anything. Same as with any other selling method on Amazon, you'll need to identify what's actually in demand on the market and what sort of opposition to expect. Always search for items that fit with the following criteria:
  1. High-demand and low competition - Looks for products with a high demand on the market but low competition. These products are sold in hundreds, in not thousands, of pieces per month, thanks to the low offer from other rival sellers.
  2. Not sold by Amazon or a private label merchant - Always pick products that that will not have to compete with Amazon's product directly. Also, avoid products that are being sold by a third-party seller's private label. You won't be allowed to market on those listings, either.
  3. Make sure you can put a competitive price on products - I bet you need your price to be within 2% of the product's current Buy Box value. Any higher than that will make it almost impossible to sell your product. 
  • Source products - After you identify what products have a high demand and low competition, you will need to discover the right supplier. There are various ways of how you can source your products, such as:
  1. Liquidation companies - Many third-party companies purchase excess stock from manufacturers, and do the renewing by themselves, and then market those products to distributors and retailers, such as Amazon sellers.
  2. Manufacturers - Some producers sell refurbished products directly to third-party sellers and retailers.
  3. Alibaba - If you're already a fan of the private label method, then you apparently won't be shocked to learn that you can purchase wholesale certified-refurbished products on Alibaba, too.
  • Apply and qualify to sell on Amazon Renewed - Now, when we showed you everything from the beginning, from how to register to find your product sources, you will need to apply and qualify for the Amazon Renewed Program to be able to sell renewed items on this massive platform. These are the requirements you must live up to if you wish to sell on Amazon Renewed Program:
  1. First, you need to provide supply invoices that will point out that you have met Amazon's criteria of the minimum order number: buying either $50,000 in qualifying refurbished products or a minimum of 500 refurbished units within 90 days of submitting your application. Also, pieces with a selling price of $15 or less don't count towards the 500 refurbished units. But, the program allows you to black-out either the required unit amount or the required dollar amount on your invoices. That means you can include lower-priced goods. But this is only if you choose to submit invoices with dollar values instead of unit numbers. 
  2. If you're an existing seller on Amazon, you're obligated to have an order defect rate (ODR) of 0.8% or less in the following 90 days.
  3. Your company needs to give a minimum 90-day guarantee on all of your Certified Refurbished goods. If you wish to list factory-refurbished items with no warranty from the producer, you'll need to get authorization. To do that, you must submit a minimum of eight pictures of a sample unit so that Amazon can perform a product and packaging analysis. You'll need to show them the box in which the item will be shipped, the internal packaging and padding, a view of the goods from the top and the bottom, and pictures of all four sides of the item.
  4. Lastly, in case you have decided to sell refurbished Apple items, you must get approval first from the Apple company. And to get authorized, you must supply Amazon with invoices totaling $2.5 million in Apple refurbished products, and dated from trailing 90 days.

  • Start selling and grow your business - After you provide all of the requirements and Amazon accepts you for selling in their Renewed Program, you can finally start listing all of your certified-refurbished, pre-owned, and open-box products, and add additional offers to existing pages. 

Why sell refurbished products on Amazon Renewed?

There are multiple different benefits to point out if you decide on selling certified-refurbished products on Amazon Renewed.

Join an exclusive program and avoid competition

As you can conclude from this article, not everyone is allowed to sell renewed goods on Amazon, and there are certain requirements sellers need to meet. Only sellers who meet Amazon's criteria and can consistently sell like-new goods are authorized to sell on Amazon Renewed. This means there is a huge opportunity to succeed for the few who are accepted because the competition in this market is pretty low.

Sell to millions of loyal Amazon customers

Enjoy high client trust due to the severe customer satisfaction aims Amazon has put in place to regulate seller performance. Not to mention, Amazon's U.S. marketplace alone receives over 2 billion guests each month with conversion rates in the double figures.

Leverage Amazon's proven e-commerce solutions

Amazon's selling tools and fulfillment capabilities enable you to sell like-new goods to buyers across Amazon's worldwide marketplaces.

Grow your business easily

This system of selling complements practices you may already be employing with your business, such as a wholesaling and private label. By adding Amazon Renewed to your current business model, you can grow both your overall sales and your brand. 

Tips for driving sales with Amazon Renewed

Additionally, these tips will assist you to succeed with the Amazon Renewed program:

  • Reduce your product's price at least 20% lower than its 'new' price, and within 2% of the 'used' Buy Box value.
  • Add at least 15 SKUs (stock-keeping units) to get started.
  • Operate 'Best Deals' on your refurbished, pre-owned, and open-box goods. 
  • Leverage Amazon's Sponsored Products advertising program to draw traffic to your newly built certified-refurbished ASINs (Amazon Standard Identification Number). IO Scout provide free FBA calculator to check the ASIN.
  • Amazon recommends that you think about using both manual and automatic campaigns. For manual campaigns, it's best to use comprehensive keywords for encouraging initial traffic to an ASIN.

Amazon Renewed Guarantee

Amazon wants its customers to shop with assurance and be fully satisfied with their purchase on Amazon Renewed looks and works like new. That's why Amazon and its selling associates in the Renewed program back applicable goods with the Amazon Renewed Guarantee. We possess the right to decline a return or refund if we discover that the Amazon Renewed Guarantee is being abused.

The Amazon Renewed Guarantee gives you:

  • A satisfaction guarantees – if you are unhappy with your purchase (including the goods not working as supposed), return the goods within 90 days of receipt of your original shopping (or within one year of receipt of a Renewed Premium iPhone), and we will give you a full refund or a replacement.
  • Quick support for claims and free troubleshooting via a single point of reaching Amazon

Amazon Renewed Guarantee Coverage

The Amazon Renewed Guarantee is suitable to select Renewed merchandise, mentioned explicitly on the product information page. If you are unsatisfied with your shopping, return the goods within 90 days of receipt of your original buying (or within one year of receipt of a Renewed Premium iPhone) for a complete refund or a replacement. Theft, accidental damage, and tampering with the product is not covered under guarantee.