Guides
Practical wholesale sourcing guides for independent resellers.
Advice from the Athena team for US Amazon sellers: how to read per-product ROI, what Amazon asks for when you apply to sell a brand, and how to assess books, toys, consumer goods and fragrances before you buy.
Amazon compliance · 8 min read
How to vet a US wholesale distributor: 20 questions and Athena's answers
Check the seller, product identity, invoices, costs and buying process before committing to an Amazon wholesale order.
Read guideBuying data · 8 min read
The pre-purchase checklist for a US Amazon wholesale order
A practical final check of product matching, selling permission, invoices, landed costs and fulfilment before you buy.
Read guideBuying data · 8 min read
Starting Amazon wholesale in the US: from trade account to first repeat order
Build a buying process around verified products, account-specific eligibility, actual costs and measured replenishment.
Read guideBuying data · 8 min read
How to calculate landed cost and profit on an Amazon wholesale line
Separate product cost, delivery, prep and Amazon fees, with a dated anonymised catalogue example and clearly labelled missing costs.
Read guideAmazon compliance · 7 min read
How to get ungated on Amazon US with wholesale distributor invoices
What Amazon checks when you apply to sell a restricted brand or category, why invoices get rejected, how to submit them, and the honest limit: Amazon decides, not the distributor.
Read guideAmazon compliance · 6 min read
What a compliant wholesale invoice for Amazon needs to show
The fields, dates, quantities and supplier details Amazon expects on a wholesale invoice, how VAT, sales tax and resale certificates fit in, and how to keep an invoice trail that survives an account review.
Read guideBuying data · 8 min read
How to read per-product ROI before you buy wholesale
What sits behind a per-product ROI figure — Buy Box, fee stack, sales rank, sales estimates — why family-level and child-level sales differ, and why the ROI on a website is never quite the ROI you earn.
Read guideBooks · 7 min read
A book reseller checklist for comparing ISBN-led wholesale lines
How a US Amazon seller should review ISBN, edition, rank, fees and fulfilment assumptions before buying wholesale books, and what to check on the listing before the stock arrives.
Read guideToys & Games · 7 min read
How toy resellers should plan around seasonality and compliance
A practical guide for US Amazon sellers assessing toys and games before peak season: evergreen versus seasonal, safety documentation, brand gating, invoice records and Q4 margin pressure.
Read guideConsumer Goods · 7 min read
Consumer goods buying: pack size, expiry and fast-moving replenishment
How a US Amazon seller should assess grocery, household and personal-care wholesale lines by unit count, expiry profile, FBA shelf-life rules, demand velocity and storage discipline.
Read guideFragrance & Cosmetics · 7 min read
Fragrance resellers: documentation, authenticity and channel discipline
What a US Amazon seller should review before buying wholesale fragrances and cosmetics: brand gating, dangerous-goods rules, invoice records, authenticity evidence and controlled exposure to hero SKUs.
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