What Does ‘Renewed’ Mean on Amazon? | A Guide for Amazon Sellers

In 2020, the ecommerce industry saw unprecedented growth sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic. On this basis, merchants have felt the need to diversify what they sell, turning to programs like Amazon Renewed to remain competitive and to keep their economy afloat.

In this quick guide, you’ll learn how Renewed works, what types of certified-refurbished goods you can sell, and which requirements you need as an Amazon seller to get started.

What Is Amazon Renewed?

In a nutshell, this section of the marketplace is where buyers come to shop for refurbished items.

The good news is that FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) sellers are automatically eligible to participate in this program.

FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) sellers, however, must accept pre-paid returns in order to be considered. Once Amazon approves their request, their listings will be eligible for Renewed and their products will be backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee.

Sellers can continue to sell on standard ASINs even if they’re not part of the program. However, they’ll be missing out on advantages that could potentially bring more sales.

You may be wondering if the second-hand market is still profitable in 2021, and the answer is a solid yes.

In 2020, the global market value of second-hand apparel was worth 33.3 billion U.S. dollars; and, based on previous behavior, Statista reported that they expect an increase of up to 39 billion in 2021.

What Can I Sell on Amazon Renewed?

Although shoppers are more inclined to buy electronics (like tablets or cellphones) through Amazon Renewed, there are many other products you can sell as an Amazon-Renewed certified seller:

It is mandatory for sellers to purchase inventory before selling on Amazon Renewed, so choosing the right product is crucial before spending money.

Additionally, there’s some research you have to do to make an informed decision.

Here’s some advice:

• There is a lot less competition in this niche, so your sales are likely to be pretty high if you play your cards right. Find something with high-demand and low competition.

• Make sure you’re not competing with Amazon, including private label sellers. Those listings are already taken. Look for something that’s not available on Amazon’s regular marketplace.

New sellers may have a difficult time in the research stage of becoming a certified refurbished seller. Luckily, there are tools out there that can help you gain better insights on products.

After you have identified the best product for you to sell, it’s time to source!

Just like new products, you have different sourcing options and choose the one that best fits your needs.

• Manufacturers: There are manufacturers out there that sell refurbished goods to third-parties. Maybe some of the manufacturers you know already do it.

• Liquidation companies: Some companies buy surplus merchandise from manufacturers and do the refurbishing themselves. You can buy products from them.

• Alibaba: Private label sellers may be more familiar to Alibaba. In case you didn’t know, you can also get wholesale certified-refurbished products.

All products are professionally inspected, tested, and cleaned before reselling them since they are intended to look and work like new.

Don’t forget that they will be backed by Amazon Renew Guarantee.

Review the Amazon Renewed US Quality Policy to learn more.

The Renewed Guarantee

In Amazon’s words “All Renewed products sold in North America, with the exception of Amazon Devices (e.g. Echo, Fire, etc.), are covered by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee, which will be honored by all sellers.”

So, it’s not only about getting rid of your thingamabobs, you have to pick the best of the best, before putting them out for sale. Amazon can’t be held responsible for any “Voluntary Guarantee” that you, as the seller, may offer.

Customers can contact the Amazon’s “Talk to the Expert” support team in case they find any irregularities with the product.

They can also submit a refund request, or, if available, receive a replacement with the same characteristics as the product they initially purchased.

How to price your products

Since you are not selling brand new products, you must price your items with a minimum 5% discount from their new equivalents.

Failing to follow this important rule can get your products removed from the program, and you can even lose your selling privileges permanently.

Amazon Renewed Product Categories

There are three categories of “used” products on Amazon Renewed:

1. Open-box: These are unused products with an open package. We’ve all purchased an article that doesn’t live up to our expectations and that we were probably too lazy to return. So, why not take advantage of it?

2. Pre-owned: Still likely used. These items tend to be in a better condition than a refurbished product and therefore have a long service life.

3. Refurbished: These products may have been faulty. If that were the case, the seller is responsible for fixing them. Another reason could be that the customer didn’t need the product any more by the time he received it and then decided to return it.

Requirements to Join Amazon Renewed

You’ll be required to comply with the following criteria to be part of this program:

• First, you need to be a registered Amazon seller and have an Order Defect Rate of 0.8% or less, with a minimum of 70 orders in the previous 90 days.

• Provide details of your experience in selling refurbished products, like sales data.

• Proof of a minimum total value of $50,000 in qualifying refurbished purchases. The invoices must be dated within the 90 days before the date of your application.(Some categories, like Lawn & Garden, Kitchen and Sports allow for inventory purchases over the 180 days prior to their application and a minimum total of $20,000 in invoices. You can black-out the unit purchase amount on all invoices.)

• If you’re sourcing factory refurbished products and cannot provide a guarantee, you’ll have to submit at least eight images of a sample unit that will be subject to a product and packaging review to verify the box in which the product will ship and packaging and padding.

• Provide a minimum 90-day warranty on all of your certified products.

• Once you get past the application process, you can start listing your products and drive sales.

Note: If you want to include big brands (like Apple or Samsung) in a Consumer Electronics category, you’ll be required to show invoices from 90 days before the date of the application for a total of $2.5 million refurbished products by that brand.

Advantages of Joining Amazon Renewed

As you can see, the requirements are not necessarily a walk in the park. But all your research and hard work will pay off once you start listing on Amazon Renewed, it’s worth it.

Here are some examples of how you can use the programs’ benefits to your advantage:

Exclusivity

Amazon Renewed is exclusive to those sellers that can prove that they will make good use of their privilege. That means that the level of competition is way lower than the regular marketplace.

Access to millions of users (if not billions)

Amazon Renewed has been around since 2017, customers trust it to search for reliable “like-new” products at great prices. Amazon has also implemented customer satisfaction goals to measure sellers’ performance. The trust is already there.

Not to mention, the likeliness of getting more traffic, since Amazon in the U.S. has over 2 billion visitors each month with conversion rates in the double digits. Some of those users are just waiting to come across Amazon Renewed.

Access to Amazon’s successful e-commerce tools

Amazon has a wide range of tools and capabilities to facilitate selling on their platform and Amazon Renewed is no exception. Get insights, optimize your listings and learn tips to have a successful online store or simply forget about packaging and shipping products yourself.

Sellers also have the possibility to sell refurbished products to customers across Amazon’s global marketplaces.

Expand your business

Remember this is only a niche that could complement the business practices that are already keeping you afloat. Maybe you are already into wholesaling and/or private label. Amazon Renewed might be the next best addition to your business model.

That way, you can kill two birds with the same stone by being able to increase your sales and promote your brand.

Tips to Make More Sales on Amazon Renewed

Like any new thing you try on eCommerce, there is a learning curve.

To speed up the process of testing the waters in selling refurbished goods, you can use the following the tips:

• To have better results, price your refurbished, pre-owned or open-box products at least 20% lower than the regular price for the same “new” product. Consider that the price should also be within 2% of the Buy Box price for “like-new” products.

• Once you’ve been accepted, start by adding a minimum of 15 SKUs. Remember you need to have $50,000 worth in products to be admitted to Amazon Renewed, so make sure your numbers match.

• You can use ‘Best Deals’ on your refurbished products. This tool is used to launch deals that may be available for only a few hours or a few days. This can help with brand awareness and conversion rates.

• Make use of the Sponsored Products advertising program on Amazon. You can learn how to design the best marketing strategy and decide if you want to use manual or automatic campaigns. Verify your keywords and make sure that your listings are seen.

Final Thoughts

Here’s a recap of what we’ve covered in this Amazon Renewed guide:

First of all, you’ll have to make a couple of decisions to even begin your application process. If you’re an FBA seller, you’re automatically eligible to participate in this program!

Then, you need to find a product that has high-demand and that fits your business capabilities. Also, you’ll have to choose a supplier to source your products, which can be third-party companies, manufacturers, or Alibaba.

Once you’re set on a winning product and you have a supplier signed, prepare your inventory to complete your application.

Gain access to all the advantages Amazon Renewed has to offer its sellers to drive sales. Remember, this can be the whole base of your business or just an extension of your business plan.

Either way, you’ll make profit. Best of luck!