How To Sell Videos, DVDs, and CDs On Amazon
After the DVD movie industry shrunk as more people now prefer streaming, another emerged form of video gaming.
Though no one can comment on its permanence, all we know is that it is attracting millions of people globally and the industry continues to generate billions in revenue.
Given these numbers, millions of game lovers would use a well-established and reliable supply of video DVDs for their gaming needs.
Amazon presents the best marketplace to reach a considerable population globally.
However, to become a certified seller or dealer of video DVDs on Amazon, you need to be ungated.
Ungating is a term used by Amazon sellers to refer to being allowed to sell a product that is restricted by Amazon.
It makes sense that the DVD category is restricted because if it wasn’t, then it would be easy to commit piracy and other felonies on Amazon without consequences.
Since the site doesn’t want to enable errant sellers, you will have to prove ownership of rights to sell, the authenticity of the material you are selling, and that the products you are trading were not obtained fraudulently or are forgeries.
Let’s see how you can establish your DVD business on Amazon and start selling. In this guide, we will teach you about ungating Amazon video DVD
How To Start Selling DVDs On Amazon
A 2021 report revealed that the DVD industry was valued at about $1.2 billion in the first quarter of the year 2021. Considering this was the period when streaming was at its height, it can only mean that the industry is worth even more now.
Moreover, video gaming is not only a source of entertainment for millions of people worldwide, it is a source of employment for thousands of people.
To tap into this ready market of consumers, you need to join the world’s largest virtual retail space – Amazon.
It is not easy to break the Amazon bottlenecks on the sale of DVDs. A while back, you could sell DVDs on Amazon if you were already established, and Amazon considered you reputable as long as the MSRP was kept below $25. These loopholes made it easy for counterfeits to proliferate in the marketplace. Today, Amazon is quite strict on who is allowed to sell DVDs. Generally, you will be allowed to apply for approval if;
- You are looking to sell your small collection of DVDs on Amazon’s trade-in service
- You are a professional seller and you have invoices, purchase orders, and receipts from reputable DVD manufacturers as proof of originality.
The first requirement is fairly easy since no proof is needed. However, the caveat is that this must be a small personal collection. If you want to make a business selling DVDs on Amazon, then you need to be a liquidator. For approval to sell under this category, you will need proof. Here’s more on what you need for approval.
How To Get Approved to Sell DVDs On Amazon
You can easily flip old DVDs from your collection or buy them from thrift shops on Amazon. You can make lots of money from this only if you get ungated for selling in the DVDs category. The process to ungate is fairly unique for every person based on the credibility of the seller. However, there are a few basic requirements that might generally apply to your account. Consider the following prerequisite requirements:
- You need an active Amazon seller central account
- You need an inventory of at least 10 units of the said DVDs purchased from the same distributor, wholesaler, or manufacturer.
- Invoices with your company details matching those you supplied on Amazon.
- Relevant certificates if required.
Other vital requirements that can speed up your approval process include:
- Having a professional selling plan.
- An order defect rate (ODR) of less than 1%.
- A cancellation rate of less than 2.5%.
- A late shipment rate of less than 4%.
Selling DVDs as Used Items
As earlier pointed out, you can make a lucrative business by buying DVDs from a thrift shop or retail store and selling them on Amazon for profit. Since you cannot prove the authenticity of these items, they are considered used.
Therefore, you cannot be allowed to sell on a professional account. The alternative is a trade-in store.
Selling Video DVDs and Blu-Rays At The Amazon Trade-In Store
Following are pointers to help you understand the process.
- Visit the Amazon Trade-in Center
- Under the DVDs category, scroll to find which DVDs are accepted by Amazon. You need to ensure that the name and description of these Video DVDs match those listed on Amazon.
- Choose the condition of the DVDs you wish to trade in. usually, only those that are “used as new” and “used-acceptable” are accepted by Amazon.
- If your products are accepted, the company sends you a free shipping label.
- You will then ship these DVDs to Amazon and wait for 10 business days to hear from Amazon.
- In their response, you will get to know how they value your merchandise, which products made it, and those that were rejected.
- Amazon will then ship back these rejected DVDs for free.
- If you accept the trade-in deal, the money shall be credited to your Amazon account within a few days.
You will notice that with this method, you don’t have the autonomy to set your price and Amazon can simply reject your products. It is, therefore, not the most profitable method of selling DVDs online.
This is why you need an Amazon Professional account and have this product category ungated.
Selling As a Third-Party Merchant
You can sell as a third-party dealer on Amazon. However, you need to first get approved. Without Amazon’s approval, you risk delisting, revenue forfeiture, and even permanent account deactivation.
Therefore, first, check that you have satisfied all the requirements, prepare your documentation, and then submit an application to be allowed to sell videos and DVDs.
Examples of DVD and Video brand names include Sony, Disney, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, and Mountain View Movies
Examples of DVD and Video Brand Names
Sony | Disney | Snow White | Alice in Wonderland | Mountain View Movies
What Are Amazon Restricted or Gated Categories
Amazon gated or restricted categories are those with strict selling rules that no seller is allowed to sell freely.
These categories, brands, and ASINs have specific approval guidelines, and any seller who meets the standards can enjoy a vast market with less competition.
That means Amazon only has the power to draw the rules and open gates for more sellers to access the categories.
The good news, however, is that Amazon does not always restrict the entire category, like in the previous gating practices. Instead, it gates subcategories, leaving some products open, even though they might be under gated categories.
This explains why there is a short list of gated categories and a long list of restricted products or subcategories.
Generally, any seller who wants to sell within a gated DVD category must apply or seek help with ungating in the DVD category before Amazon lets them in.
Why Does Amazon Gate the Video DVD Category?
Most multi-million investments are built on trust, customer satisfaction, and a healthy working environment, and Amazon is no exception.
Being a huge marketplace with millions of users globally, Amazon strives to maintain a good relationship with its buyers and sellers by ensuring only high-quality clothing products are in circulation.
It achieves this by gating some categories, brands, and ASINs, and copyrighted material.
Therefore, among others, here are the main reasons why Amazon gates its Video, DVD, and CDs category:
1. To Monitor Product Standards
One of the first missions of the company is to ensure buyers are offered both high-quality and safe products. It does this by allowing only sellers whose products have undergone stringent quality assessment steps to access highly-demanded categories.
Since the platform is home to millions of brands and buyers, there are high chances of buyers getting counterfeit products.
Hence, it is Amazon’s responsibility to block such products by setting up strict selling rules and allowing only sellers who qualify for the Amazon DVD category ungating to reach customers.
2. To Protect A Brand’s Reputation
Amazon also works jointly with big brands to ensure only authorized resellers can list products. Therefore, to protect the brand’s reputation, Amazon asks sellers to provide legit documentation from these brands to show they are allowed to list their products. Resellers who do not provide proof of authorization such as recent invoices for ungating video DVDs are locked out of this category. In fact, many large and well-known brands require pre-approval with them directly, before even applying to Amazon. This is true for both seasoned sellers, and individuals new to the platform.
3. To Enhance Customer Satisfaction
Besides ensuring buyers can get high-quality products, Amazon also restricts some categories to prevent sellers from exploiting buyers. That means only sellers with a positive track record can access the categories and reach buyers. This enhances customer satisfaction and a positive rating. The company may also limit or dictate maximum pricing to ensure buyers are not being fleeced.
4. Adherence to FDA Regulations
Many items require the approval of the Food and Drug Administration to sell in the US marketplace. No retail platform, website, or other selling venue is permitted to offer any product that is not previously rubber-stamped by the FDA. The obvious reason for this is safety because specific laws exist to ensure that end users are not harmed. Further, items from foreign countries may not be permitted, as they do not meet standard codes from other regulatory bodies.
Categories And Products That Require Amazon Approval
As stated earlier, Amazon has a long list of gated products and a short list of restricted categories. That is because one category can have more subcategories, which can add up to tens of products. Therefore, when applying for DVD ungating on Amazon, sellers need to consider three ungating levels; category, brand, and product ungating. They should also differentiate between category and product unlocking.
General Guidelines for Ungating DVDs on Amazon
Whether you are a new reseller or an established FBA seller, utilizing the vast market space offered by Amazon should never be a challenge again. Amazon’s mission is to see its users grow, and thus, increase sales and profitability. And this does not matter if you are listing your products in a locked or unrestricted category. As a result, if you want to expand your selling portfolio by accessing restricted categories, here are the general guidelines for ungating DVDs on Amazon:
Sign Up for A Professional Amazon Seller Account
Professional Amazon Seller Account is the backbone of any seller as it records all the activities conducted by the seller on the platform. It is through this account that Amazon can tell your business position and determine whether you meet all the quality standards and qualify for Amazon DVD category ungating.
Therefore, if you don’t have one, you can create a professional Seller Account which goes for around $39.99 per month.
Analyze And Verify Your Account Health
Creating a professional Seller Account is not enough to succeed in brand ungating.
You still need to maintain its health to maximize your chances of getting approved. Maintaining a healthy account includes meeting your customers’ expectations and adhering to Amazon’s business code.
That means you should have a timely shipping record, good customer relations, competitive pricing, and avoid violating Amazon’s policies.
To check your account health, go to the Account Health section on the Seller Central Account and click on the Performance menu.
Check Specific Video DVD Category Ungating Guidelines
Each category has specific ungating instructions, and you need to check them before requesting approval.
Some categories are complicated, while others have simple instructions that even new sellers can unlock easily.
For example, some categories require sellers to have at least three years of selling experience and running websites. In this case, check the specific Amazon DVD category ungating guidelines before applying for approval.
Choose A Reputable Supplier
Getting a reliable supplier is also a vital step, especially as your demand curve grows. Amazon will also ask you to provide legitimate invoices for ungating video DVDs from trusted suppliers whose products fall under gated categories.
After choosing a supplier, you need to place at least three orders, with each order having at least ten pieces of the restricted product.
Retailers are not considered suppliers. You cannot go down to your local store and purchase a bunch of items for resale. The products need to come from verified wholesalers and distributors.
Be sure to do your research before sourcing and paying for any potential sales items.
Prepare Your Documents
Before submitting your video brand ungating approval request, you need to prepare your documents, which include recent purchase invoices from reputable wholesalers.
These scanned copies of individual invoices should have all the ASINs written next to the product name. Price and other confidential information should be locked for wholesaler privacy.
As a general note, it is usually best to send the documents in PDF format, so it can be easily seen that they have not been revised.
You may also be required to send information about your status or business trading information.
To be honest, it will be much simpler to talk to us about our Amazon FBA DVD ungating service to help with ungating in the DVD category.
Request Video DVD Brand Ungating Approval
With all the documents and other requirements ready, you can request brand ungating approval using the following steps:
- Getting a Pro-Merchant Status. You can get the status at only $39 per month. It becomes easier if you already have a Professional Seller Account.
- Search for the item you want to list
- Go to the Listing Limitations Apply
- From the new menu, click on the Apply to Sale button
- Lastly, click on the Request Approval button
Guidelines To Ungate DVD Category on Amazon
Ungating DVD on Amazon goes a long way in understanding what the category entails and how to unlock it on Amazon.
For instance, the Grocery and Gourmet Food category requires sellers to have authorization from regulatory bodies like Food and Drug Administration.
On the other hand, brand ungating requires sellers to have at least 6 months of selling experience and a good online presence.
Therefore, if you intend to ungate specific brands on Amazon, you need to consider the following best tips to maximize your chances of getting approved:
- Getting a Pro-Merchant Status. You can get the status at only $39 per month. It becomes easier if you already have a Professional Seller Account.
- Maintaining your order defect rate below 1%. Since it is challenging to tell how fast some products can go bad, it is crucial to ensure your orders move as fast as possible to minimize cases of selling defective products.
- Maintaining your pre-fulfillment cancel rate below 2.5%. A higher pre-fulfillment cancel rate can impact your account health negatively. Thus, you need to lower your order cancelation to maximize your brand ungating approval chances.
- Lowering your late shipment rate to below 4%. Timely delivery is one way to get customer trust; hence, you should try as much as possible to avoid late shipment.
- Acquiring child product certificate. A Child Product Certificate is a must-have requirement if you want to sell in children’s categories such as Toys and Games. It also proves that you adhere to both local and federal product safety laws.
Final Thoughts on Video, DVD, and Blue-Ray Ungating
The Video DVD market is an underserved niche. Considering the number of people whose livelihood depends on these products, not to mention those whose sole source of entertainment is in video games, there should be more sellers if Amazon numbers are anything to go by.
This guide will take you through what you need to get ungated for video DVDs on Amazon and start making money selling Blu-Ray discs on Amazon.