If you’re a beauty entrepreneur, you know that selling your products on Amazon can greatly increase your sales.
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, and it has millions of customers who are looking for new beauty products to try.
But before you can start selling, you will need to get approval from the Amazon team.
It can seem like a daunting task, but with the right preparations, you can increase your chances of being approved.
In this article, I will discuss how to get approval to sell beauty products on Amazon.
I’ll also provide some tips to find the right products to sell.
What Products Are Classified As Beauty Products On Amazon?
Amazon has a few different product categories that they consider to be “beauty products.” These include:
- Skin Care
- Cosmetics
- Facial makeup
- Hair Care
- Oral Care
- Fragrance
- Tools & Brushes
- Men’s Grooming
- Luxury Beauty
- Salon & Spa
- Professional Skin Care
To be eligible to sell beauty products on Amazon, your personal care category products must fall into one of these categories.
This means that if you sell products that are related to beauty, but don’t necessarily fall into one of these categories, you may not be able to sell them on Amazon.
Is Selling Beauty Products On Amazon Profitable?
Yes, it can be profitable!
In fact, the beauty category is one of the most popular categories on the platform.
And with Amazon being the world’s largest online retailer, there is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs to reach millions of potential customers.
If you’re able to get your products in front of these customers, you’ll be able to increase your sales and grow your business.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that competition in the beauty category is fierce.
There are thousands of other sellers offering similar products, so you’ll need to make sure that your products stand out from the rest.
One of the great things about selling on Amazon is that you can start with a small inventory and gradually grow your business as you make sales.
Additionally, Amazon provides access to powerful tools and resources that can help you grow and scale your business.
Of course, as with any business, there are some costs associated with selling on Amazon.
These include the cost of shipping your products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers, as well as the fees associated with listing and selling your products on the Amazon platform.
However, if you are strategic about sourcing your products and pricing your listings competitively, you can make a profit from these products.
With a little bit of planning and effort, you can build a successful business in this growing industry.
Why Selling Beauty Products Need Approval On Amazon?
Amazon requires all sellers to get approval before listing and selling products in certain categories, including the beauty category.
Cosmetics are products that come into direct contact with the skin, which makes them subject to strict regulations.
These products can lead to issues and discomfort for users if they are poorly formulated and regulated.
Amazon needs to guarantee that the health and beauty products on the Amazon platform uphold a safe standard in order to uphold its reputation and enhance the safety of its customers.
Additionally, Amazon has strict guidelines for how products should be packaged and shipped.
By requiring sellers to get approval before listing their products, Amazon can ensure that all products on their platform are meeting their standards.
So, if you want to sell beauty products on Amazon, you’ll need to get approval from Amazon before you can list your products.
In the next section, I’ll discuss their requirements for approval.
Requirements For Selling Beauty Products On Amazon
Packaging Requirements
- Cosmetic products must be kept sealed in their original packaging from the manufacturer.
- The products should be new and unused.
- Cosmetic products must prominently display any manufacturer or distributor-added display identifying codes, such as lot numbers, matrix codes, or serial numbers.
Labeling and Product Detail Page Requirements
Cosmetic labels and detail pages for cosmetic products must include the following information in English:
- The name of the item
- The product’s function or application (for example, moisturizing the skin, minimizing the appearance of wrinkles)
- The amount of the cosmetic’s ingredients, expressed as a measure, weight, count, or a combination of these (for example, 5 mL, 5lbs, 30 oz, 10 pills)
- The list of ingredients
- The manufacturer, packer, or distributor’s name and address (this is not necessary for detail pages)
- All necessary label warnings cosmetic labels must be included
Detail pages and cosmetic labels MUST NOT:
- Declare that a product treats, prevents, mitigates, or cures a human disease unless the FDA has approved that claim and the product is properly labeled as a drug and a cosmetic.
- If the cosmetics are not FDA approved, state that they are “FDA approved.”
- Utilize the FDA logo. Do natural beauty products need FDA approval? To use the logo, yes they do.
- Indicate that the item is a “tester,” “not for retail sale,” or “not intended for resale” as Amazon may not allow the sale of such items.
Product and Ingredient Requirements
- Cosmetics cannot be mentioned in an FDA safety alert or recall.
- Cosmetics cannot contain banned substances.
- Cosmetics must be risk-free for use and cannot include substances that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined pose a disproportionate risk of harm or illness, such as:
- Items containing methylene glycol, which, when heated, releases formaldehyde into the atmosphere
- Permanent eyelash and brow dye
- Makeup for the eyes that contains kohl, kajal, al-kahal, or surma
- Mercury-containing skin creams
- Body-decorating henna products, as well as any other type of direct skin application, are designed or marketed.
- Cosmetics shouldn’t need a prescription or a doctor’s supervision or instruction before using them.
- Cosmetics cannot contain any substances that are listed in Schedules I, II, III, IV, or V of the Controlled Substances Act, as well as any chemicals on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s “List I” of chemicals or any of their derivatives (DEA)
- Cosmetics cannot have plastic microbeads in them.
- Antiperspirants, hairspray, and deodorants must not contain toxic air contaminants so as to be sold in New York and California.
- Cosmetics must adhere to all Amazon’s rules and policies, such as:
- The sale of cosmetics containing components derived from sharks, whales, dolphins, or porpoises is forbidden.
- The sale of cosmetics containing more than 12% hydrogen peroxide is prohibited.
- Acetone-containing cosmetics, such as figernainail polishes remover, cannot be sold in sellable quantities greater than 16 ounces overall.
- The sale of InStyler rotating irons is forbidden.
- The sale of cosmetics under Claire’s brand is forbidden.
Prohibited Beauty Products on Amazon
The following cosmetic items are expressly forbidden on Amazon.com.
Because they don’t adhere to the checklist’s requirements, these products are explicitly banned from sale:
- Corrective and cosmetic contact lenses
- Latisse
- Obagi Nu-Derm Sunfader
- Obagi Nu-Derm Clear
- Obagi Nu-Derm Blender
- Obagi Elastiderm Decolletage Skin Lightening Complex
- Obagi C-Therapy Night skin creams
- Obagi RX System Clarifying Serum
- Products that contain minoxidil in excess of 5%
- Bithionol
- Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution
- Chloroform
- Halogenated salicylanilides
- Methylene chloride
- Vinyl chloride in aerosol products
- Zirconium-containing complexes in aerosol products
- Synthol, Synthrol, or Swethol posing oil
- Trichloroacetic Acid
How To Get Approval To Sell Beauty Products On Amazon
To request approval, log into your Amazon Seller Central account and check for any product restrictions.
Follow these steps to get approval for your products:
1 – Go to Seller Central and select Inventory from the menu.
2 – Choose Add a Product
3 – Look for the item you want to sell.
4 – Click Listing Limitations Apply if it comes back as a restricted category.
5 – Select Request Approval
Regardless of how the specific approval procedure varies depending on the product you want to sell, the outcome should be the same: You should be granted permission to sell cosmetics on Amazon if you respond to all of Amazon’s inquiries and submit the requested documentation.
Providing your GMP Good Manufacturing Practices certificate, a manufacturer invoice from the previous 180 days, or a COA Certificate of Analysis are examples of acceptable forms of identification.
If not, you can try again later, perhaps with more evidence to support your claim (like the ones listed earlier in this article).
Generally speaking, Amazon Seller Central is very responsive, and as long as you can provide evidence that your product is safe to use, you should be able to gain approval.
Amazon Selling Fees For Cosmetics
When selling beauty products or cosmetics on Amazon, you should anticipate spending some fees upfront in order to get your business started. One of these costs depends on the selling plan you choose.
To become a professional seller, you should be prepared to pay a monthly fee of $39.99 at the very least.
You can also choose not to pay the professional seller fee and charge $0.99 for each item you sell.
Amazon charges a fee on each item you sell in addition to the per-item fee or monthly professional selling fee. It’s known as a referral fee.
This equals 8% for total sell prices of $10 or less in the Amazon’s beauty category as a whole. For the remaining sum, this percentage rises to 15%.
To promote their product listings as sponsored listings on Amazon, some Amazon sellers decide to spend money on advertising. The advantage of this is that people will notice your product.
The drawback is that it might get lost in the algorithms, costing you money for your advertising campaign and resulting in no sales. Usually, you are charged a variable sum each time someone clicks on your advertisement.
There are also specific fees that apply when you use Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) to store and ship your products from Amazon warehouses.
Tips For Finding Profitable Beauty Products To Sell On Amazon
In order to be successful with selling these kinds of products, you need to be strategic about the products you choose to sell. Consider these tips when searching for products:
Look at customer demand
When you’re looking for products to sell on Amazon, it’s important to consider customer demand. You can do this by looking at the number of reviews a product has.
The more reviews a product has, the more in-demand the product is.
Another way to gauge customer demand is by looking at the prices of similar products.
If there are many sellers offering a similar product for high prices, it indicates high customer demand. On the other hand, few sellers and low prices indicates the opposite.
You can also use Amazon’s search function to see how many people are searching for a particular product. The more people that are searching for a product, the higher the demand is.
Finally, keep an eye on trends. This can be done by following beauty bloggers, reading magazines, and watching YouTube videos.
By staying up-to-date on trends, you’ll be able to choose products that are more likely to sell well.
Do your Research
When you’re looking for products to sell on Amazon, it’s important to do your research. This goes beyond just reading reviews online.
You should try to find out as much information as possible about the product, including the ingredients, how it’s used, and what customer demographics would be interested in purchasing it.
The more you know about the product, the better equipped you are to sell it.
It’s also important to research your competition. Find out what other sellers are selling and how they’re pricing their products. This will give you a good idea of what you need to do in order to successfully sell your product.
One way to do your research is by using Amazon’s Best Seller Rank (BSR). The BSR is a good indicator of product demand.
To find the BSR, simply go to Amazon and search for the product you’re interested in selling. Scroll down to the product’s description and look for the “Best Sellers Rank” section. The lower the number, the higher the demand.
Picking the right category
As with any other type of product, choosing the right category is crucial. This is because some categories are more competitive than others.
The beauty category is a good choice because it’s not as competitive as some other categories, such as electronics or fashion. However, it’s still important to do your research and choose a specific sub-category that you can focus on.
This will make it easier to stand out from the competition.
Consider your target audience
When you’re selling beauty products on Amazon, it’s important to consider your target audience. This means thinking about who your ideal customer is and what they would be looking for in a product.
For example, if you’re selling skincare products, your target audience might be women aged 25 to 40.
You would then want to choose products that will appeal to this demographic, such as anti-aging or acne-fighting products.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need Insurance To Sell Cosmetics?
No, you don’t need insurance to sell cosmetic products. However, it’s always a good idea to have some form of protection in case something goes wrong.
For example, you could be held liable if someone gets an allergic reaction to a product that you sold. Having insurance will protect you financially in this situation.
Can I Sell Homemade Cosmetics On Amazon?
Yes, you can sell homemade cosmetics on Amazon. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First, you need to make sure your products are safe and meet all the necessary safety requirements.
Second, you need to create professional-looking packaging for your products. Also, you need to get approval from Amazon before you can start selling cosmetics. Make sure you have all the necessary licenses and permits before you start selling.
Can I Sell Branded Beauty Products On Amazon?
The quick answer is yes, but there are a few things you need to do first in order to get approval from Amazon. If you want to sell branded beauty products on Amazon, you will need to get approval from the brand owner first.
Once you have that, you can submit your application to Amazon for approval. To increase your chances of getting approved, make sure you have a professional seller account and that your application is complete and accurate.
Can I Sell on Amazon Without Brand Approval?
Yes, you can sell on Amazon without brand approval, but it depends on the type of product you want to sell. Amazon has two categories of products: branded and generic.
For branded products, you will need approval from the brand owner to sell on Amazon. You may also need to meet specific requirements set by the brand, such as minimum order quantities and pricing restrictions.
However, for generic products, you don’t need brand approval to sell on Amazon. Generic products are those that are not branded or do not have any intellectual property protection, such as patents, trademarks, or copyrights.
If you plan to sell generic products on Amazon, you can create your own brand or use a generic name for your products. However, you still need to comply with Amazon’s policies and guidelines, such as listing accuracy and product quality standards.
The Bottom Line
I hope this article has equipped you with the knowledge you need to be a successful beauty product seller.
Now that you know the basics, it’s time to start doing your research and getting everything set up.
Remember to choose a good product, do your research, and consider your target audience.
With dedication, becoming a successful Amazon seller can be within reach.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below, and I’ll do my best to answer them. Thanks for reading!
