Amazon is the biggest e-retailer in the world by far, with over 300 million active customer accounts and nearly 2 million small and medium-sized selling partners. If you are one of the many who are selling on Amazon, you are likely always looking for ways to improve your business and be more efficient.
There are a number of software programs and tools available to help Amazon sellers with their businesses. While some of these tools come at a cost, there are many that are available for free. In this article, we will discuss the 15 best free Amazon FBA tools that can help sellers run their businesses more effectively.
What is Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)?
First, let’s make sure you have an understanding of what FBA really means.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a program that allows third-party sellers to store their products in Amazon’s warehouses and fulfill orders via Amazon. This means that when a customer orders one of your products, Amazon will pick, pack, and ship it for you.
There are many benefits to using FBA including:
- Increased Exposure: When you use FBA, your products are eligible for Prime shipping which gives them increased exposure and can lead to more sales.
- Better Customer Service: Amazon has a great reputation for customer service which can rub off on your business if you use FBA.
- Save Time and Money: You don’t have to worry about fulfilling orders yourself or managing your own warehouse which can save you time and money.
Now that we have a basic understanding of what FBA is, let’s move on to discussing the best Amazon FBA free tools.
Best Free Amazon Seller Tools
For a small business that is fulfilled through Amazon, there are three major categories of focus.
- Product Research
- Inventory Management
- Order Fulfillment
Below, we will look at the best free Amazon FBA tools for each of these categories.
Best Free Amazon FBA Product Research Tools
There are a number of different tools available to help you with product research. These tools allow you to find profitable products to sell, understand what your competition is doing, and track your Amazon keyword rankings.
While they offer many of the same features, there’s one that stands above the rest as a game-changer for product research.
1. Algopix
Having correct data is important, but having effective data analysis is critical. Algopix provides the platform to do just that by offering granular data analysis of the marketplaces you sell in.
Algopix covers millions of products across several marketplaces and provides sellers with key information such as estimated sales, demand trends, average selling price, competition level, and more. This gives you a complete picture of how your product is performing in the marketplace and what steps need to be taken to improve your listing.
And the best part? Our basic offering is completely free. While you may want to upgrade to a full-feature business account once you see how helpful Algopix can be, the free version provides more than enough information to get started.
2. CamelCamelCamel
Something many companies find they need when selling through Amazon is to keep track of the prices of their competitors. While there are several options for this out there, CamelCamelCamel offers something that other options do not.
As a price tracker, CamelCamelCamel not only provides sellers the option to keep track of their competitors and the prices at which they are selling their products, but it will also send sellers notifications on price drops. These notifications help sellers track their competitors and keep up with the market to remain relevant to their buyers.
And, like Algopix, CamelCamelCamel is free to use. You can use their website for free, or you can use the browser extension which is available for Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge!
3. Unicorn Smasher
If you’re still struggling to decide what it is that you want to sell, you might need to do some more product research. The good news is that there are quite a few options out there to help you make this critical decision.
Unicorn Smasher is one of the Amazon seller-free tools that show you relevant data about the products on the search page, allowing you to get an idea of the state of the market for each product in real time. The data provided includes price, seller rank, estimated sales, estimated revenue, number of customer views, and the rating of each product.
Unicorn Smasher is free to use and is available as an extension for Google Chrome.
4. Google Keyword Planner
Although this product is not exclusively for AMZ sellers, it is a highly useful tool for sellers looking to be successful on Amazon.
Google Keyword Planner is a keyword tracker that allows the user to generate keyword ideas based on a general keyword that the user inputs. Not only does this tool provide suggestions, but you can also view the monthly search volume for the keyword and related suggestions, giving you a great idea of the level of competition for each of the keywords.
Google Keyword Planner is free to use and is considered one of the most powerful free Amazon FBA research tools for any aspiring AMZ seller!
5. Google Trends
In the same vein as the Keyword Planner, Google Trends can be an equally powerful tool in the hands of a creative user.
While Google Trends does not solely provide trending statistics for Amazon products, it does provide a general idea of what products are trending by the general public and which products are in decline. You can use this tool to better understand where your product will be when entering the market, as well as competitors to be on the lookout for.
Google Trends is also completely free to use and is another tool well worth staying in your rotation of research tools.
Best Free Amazon Inventory Management Tools
Once you’ve decided what it is that you want to sell and have completed your preliminary product research, you’ll need to start looking into tools to help you manage your inventory once you start selling. After all, keeping up with your inventory will be vital to keeping your customers happy.
These tools can help you keep up with your orders and keep your inventory managed, all with a few clicks of a button.
1. Skubana
Skubana is a leader in eCommerce that has integrations into all of the biggest online sellers including Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. Brands and merchants can sell across multiple channels using this cloud-based platform.
With powerful automation tools integrated across all sales channels, fulfillment partners, and warehouses, Skubana can provide a one-stop inventory management solution.
Automation tools on Skubana will take care of order routing, accounting, shipping, and inventory management for you, lowering overhead costs significantly. Skubana is free to use and compatible with most online sellers.
2. SoStocked
As an Amazon-specific inventory management system, SoStocked works to make it easier for Amazon sellers to forecast and manage inventory.
Forecasting is something that is important for sellers to do, to ensure that they have the right amount of inventory of the right kind of products available before the demand becomes overwhelming. SoStocked is a powerful forecasting tool that can factor in season, past stockouts, past sales, and future marketing plans.
Highly customizable and free, SoStocked is a great tool that can help you have an in-depth understanding of your inventory with the click of a button.
3. Linnworks
Essentially, this is an eCommerce platform that allows sellers to link to and unify their other platform storefronts.
Linnworks automates nearly every part of the sales process, making it extremely easy for sellers to keep track of their business. This platform has automated processes for sales management, inventory control, order processing, financial reporting, and shipment tracking.
Automating all of these processes in one easy place can be ideal for sellers looking to reach a large audience. Simple to use and free to sign up for, Linnworks can be a great option for Amazon sellers to manage their business operations across all platforms.
4. Expandly
A specific platform designed for the management of inventory and shipping, Expandly is a very useful option to oversee sales across multiple platforms including Wish, Etsy, and Amazon.
Even if you are just managing the stock of one storefront, Expandly provides excellent customer support that makes handling inventory easy and low-stress for you as the seller. If you are managing more than one platform, as Amazon sellers often do, this is a great choice for you.
Expandly is free to try and a great option for people looking to manage their business in a cost-effective, stress-free way.
5. Veeqo
Another management system for those of you who may be selling across more than one platform is Veeqo, which provides a very user-friendly, versatile management platform.
Through Veeqo, you can connect all your sales platforms in one place to manage your orders and inventory in one place. It also allows you to get more in-depth visibility of your stock and have very detailed control over your inventory operations.
Veeqo offers a free trial and is another great option for business management, especially across multiple platforms.
Best Amazon Order Fulfillment Tools
After deciding what to sell and finding a platform to help you successfully manage your inventory, it’s time to start looking into the best ways to fulfill your orders. However, in this case, you are likely going to have to spend some money, as shipping can be a costly expense – likely one of the most expensive parts of your online business.
These tools will help you keep up with shipping easily and efficiently.
1. Shipstation
Shipstation is one of the most popular order fulfillment and inventory management platforms on the market. Most Amazon sellers who are not using Fulfill by Amazon (FBA) are using Shipstation.
This platform offers integration for over 200 different eCommerce tools like carriers, fulfillment services, inventory platforms, and online marketplaces, allowing you to keep up with everything you have in one place.
If you are using more than one online marketplace and more than one carrier to fulfill your sales, Shipstation is perfect for you. Sellers can view all sales from all platforms in one place, and you can even offer discounts to your buyers, as well as switch carriers instantly.
Shipstation scales according to inventory volume and begins at just $9 USD per month.
2. eShipper
This tool is best for sellers operating out of multiple platforms. It even offers inventory management, as well as order fulfillment.
eShipper is a platform that makes the inventory management and shipping of your business easy and stress-free. They even offer customized shipping options that allow you to offer same-day and overnight delivery of your items in certain areas.
This platform also has cold storage options for businesses whose products might need it. On top of that, they work directly with Amazon, making it easy for you to sell your products there.
eShipper offers customized pricing options by request.
3. ShipMonk
ShipMonk is a service for small to medium businesses to handle scalable and achievable growth. Like eShipper, it also offers inventory management as well as order fulfillment.
This platform offers API integration with over 65+ different platforms, allowing you to conduct all of your business from one simple place. It also offers forecasting to help sellers predict stockouts and better keep their stock at ideal levels, eliminating both shortages and overstock issues all at once.
Additionally, it offers users the ability to calculate shipping prices in order to make international shipping as easy and affordable for their customers as possible.
ShipMonk, like eShipper, offers pricing upon request.
4. OWD
If you’re planning to sell through marketplaces like Walmart on top of Amazon, you’ll need to ensure that you are Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) compliant. Taking care of the shipping process is what OWD does best.
OWD comes with an Omni-Fill solution that provides sellers with kits and package items, helping you adhere to EDI guidelines and ensure that items are shipped properly and on time. It also offers great customer support and the ability to grow your business without incurring extremely high costs.
OWD offers pricing upon request.
5. ShipBob
Our final installment on this list is ShipBob, another platform that offers everything from inventory management to order fulfillment.
ShipBob offers 2-day express shipping from all fulfillment centers that you use, allowing you to increase your average order value and conversion rate. They have specific software that splits your inventory between multiple warehouses, allowing your customers to receive their orders from the warehouse closest to them, and reducing shipping costs and delivery time.
ShipBob also offers pricing upon request.
Conclusion
Starting a business can be a big task, and it can be scary trying to get all of your ducks in a row, but there are plenty of resources out there to help you get started. Be sure to check out our platform to start your research process – we love helping business owners like you grow into the best seller you can be!
