Amazon FBA Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Amazon FBA distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

PiqCue — piqcue.com/amazon-fba/cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

A service where sellers send inventory to Amazon's fulfillment centers and Amazon handles storage, picking, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns. Products become eligible for Amazon Prime, increasing visibility and sales potential.

Private Label

A business model where sellers create their own branded products, typically by sourcing generic products from manufacturers (often overseas), adding custom branding, packaging, and minor improvements, then selling them under a unique brand name on Amazon.

Product Research

The systematic process of identifying profitable product opportunities on Amazon by analyzing demand (search volume and sales velocity), competition levels, profit margins, and market trends using tools and data-driven criteria.

Amazon Buy Box

The featured offer section on a product detail page where customers can directly add items to their cart. Multiple sellers may list the same product, but only one wins the Buy Box at any given time, and roughly 83% of Amazon sales go through it.

Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

Amazon's internal advertising platform that allows sellers to bid on keywords so their products appear in sponsored placements within search results and on product detail pages. Sellers pay only when a shopper clicks their ad.

FBA Fees

The costs Amazon charges FBA sellers, including fulfillment fees (picking, packing, and shipping per unit), monthly storage fees (based on cubic footage), long-term storage fees for inventory over 365 days, and referral fees (a percentage of the sale price, typically 8-15%).

Listing Optimization

The process of crafting a product listing's title, bullet points, description, backend keywords, and images to maximize both organic search ranking within Amazon's A9/A10 algorithm and conversion rate from browsers to buyers.

Retail Arbitrage

A selling strategy where individuals purchase discounted or clearance products from brick-and-mortar retail stores (such as Walmart, Target, or TJ Maxx) and resell them on Amazon at a higher price for profit.

Amazon Brand Registry

A program that gives brand owners enhanced tools to protect their intellectual property, create richer product listings with A+ Content, access brand analytics, and gain greater control over their product detail pages on Amazon.

Inventory Performance Index (IPI)

A metric Amazon uses to measure how efficiently sellers manage their FBA inventory. The score (0-1000) considers excess inventory, sell-through rate, stranded inventory, and in-stock rate. Low IPI scores can result in storage limits.

Key Terms at a Glance

ACoS:Advertising Cost of Sales. The percentage of ad-attributed revenue spent on advertising, calculated as ad spend divided by ad revenue.

Amazon Buy Box:The featured seller offer on a product detail page from which customers can directly add items to their cart.

Amazon FBA:Fulfillment by Amazon. A service where Amazon stores, picks, packs, ships, and handles customer service for third-party seller products.

Amazon PPC:Amazon's pay-per-click advertising platform that includes Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display ad types.

Amazon Seller Central:The web-based dashboard where third-party sellers manage all aspects of their Amazon selling business.

ASIN:Amazon Standard Identification Number. A unique 10-character identifier assigned to every product in Amazon's catalog.

A+ Content:Enhanced product descriptions for brand-registered sellers featuring rich images, comparison charts, and formatted text layouts.

Backend Search Terms:Hidden keywords entered in a product listing's backend that help Amazon's algorithm index the product for relevant searches.

Brand Registry:An Amazon program for trademark owners providing IP protection, enhanced listing tools, brand analytics, and additional advertising options.

BSR:Best Sellers Rank. A numerical ranking indicating how well a product sells relative to others in its Amazon category.

FBM:Fulfilled by Merchant. A fulfillment method where the seller handles their own storage, packing, shipping, and customer service.

FNSKU:Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit. A unique barcode Amazon assigns to link FBA inventory to a specific seller's account.

Fulfillment Fee:A per-unit fee Amazon charges FBA sellers for picking, packing, and shipping each order to the customer.

Gated Category:A product category on Amazon that requires seller approval before listing, such as Grocery, Jewelry, or certain Clothing subcategories.

IPI Score:Inventory Performance Index. A metric (0-1000) measuring how efficiently a seller manages FBA inventory levels.

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