Sales Rank 101 – Understanding Amazon Best Seller’s Rank

“Well, what’s the sales rank?”

You hear this question all the time when Amazon FBA sellers are talking about whether or not to buy an item to resell on Amazon. Understanding Amazon sales rank is one of the most crucial topics for new Amazon sellers.

In the rest of this blog post we want to cover a basic understanding of what Amazon sales rank is, where to find it on Amazon, and how it works.

What is Amazon sales rank?

The best definition I’ve ever heard is that Amazon sales rank is a snapshot in time that represents how well an item has been selling on Amazon recently.

Remember, we all want to be #1. An item that is ranked #1 is the bestselling item in its Amazon category. The lower the sales rank, the more sales it has had recently. The higher the sales rank, the fewer the sales.

Where can I find an item’s sales rank?

The sales rank can be found on most Amazon product pages in the Product Details section. Most of the time, you’ll need to scroll down the product page in order to find the Product Details section and to see the sales rank. Here is a picture of the Product Details section with the sales rank circled:

 

Another way you can find sales rank even faster is to install the Google Chrome extension RevSeller. Along with many other helpful features, RevSeller will tell you the sales rank right at the top of an Amazon product page.

If you want to try RevSeller, you can try it for free here. And if you decide to sign up, be sure to use the coupon code FULLTIME to save $20 your first year.

You can also find the sales rank on an Amazon scanning app, such as the Amazon Seller app or my personal favorite sourcing app, Scoutify.

How does Amazon sales rank work?

Amazon does not publicize the algorithm they use to calculate sales rank. We do, however, know that they update the sales rank of most items in their catalog about once every hour.

The Amazon sales rank does not indicate whether the item sells well all the time or that it rarely sells. It simply shows how that item has been selling recently.

Understanding this facet of sales rank can really help you with your Amazon FBA buying decisions. You cannot depend solely on today’s sales rank to make a smart buying decision.

How do you use sales rank? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Sales rank is easily the most misunderstood aspect of selling on Amazon. What is a good sales rank? What does a sales rank of zero mean? What do I do with sales rank for sub-categories?

Why does sales rank have to be so confusing so much of the time?

I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way! You can finally get the clarity you need on the issue of understanding Amazon sales rank numbers. We at Full-Time FBA have launched a mini-course called The Reseller’s Guide to Sales Rank: Understanding Amazon Best Sellers Rank for Maximum Profits. The mini-course is a combination ebook (30+ pages) and video course (almost 2 hours).

Check out The Reseller’s Guide to Sales Rank mini-course to see how you can master the concept of best sellers rank and be on your way toward smarter sourcing decisions for your Amazon FBA business!