How To Create Amazon Gift Bundles That Sell All Year

One of the most creative and profitable ways to sell on Amazon is by creating bundles. But bundles can have drawbacks. Other sellers can copy your bundle and steal your sales. That’s why Kristin Ostrander of Mommy Income and the Amazon Files is here!

I’ve asked her to explain the secrets of wholesale gift bundles and show you how to create your own. Think of all the holidays and occasions there are around the world. Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, new babies, retirement, Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day… the list goes on.

People need gifts for all these occasions and others. By using Kristin’s clever strategies, you can develop an unlimited number of popular and profitable gift bundles.

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When it comes to big profits on Amazon, most ecommerce sellers believe that private label products are at the top of the food chain. I am here to challenge that theory with a different approach to private label products.

It’s less expensive, faster, and has the same benefits private label products have without all the issues that come with private labeling. It’s called bundling — specifically, wholesale bundling — and when you create gift bundles using wholesale products, you’ve got something destined to sell repeatedly.

What are bundles?

Unlike starting from scratch with a private label product model, bundles are created from products that already exist. Amazon bundles are a combination of highly complementary products sold together in a way that provides both convenience and value to the buyer.

A perfect bundle would be a product combination that customers often purchase together naturally, such as shampoo and conditioner or gift bags and tissue paper. Think of a gift basket or a collection of products that are a natural fit both in function and use, like kitchen utensils. Ideally, you would purchase these items from wholesale sources and eventually include one of your own private label products within your bundle. This will curb competition and set your bundle apart from the rest.

Why Do Wholesale Bundles Perform Well On Amazon?

To understand why bundles work, Amazon sellers need to shift their mindset away from data-based widget inventory purchases to focus on the customer who will purchase the product. In this method of product sourcing, you shift away from scanning products or data spreadsheets and instead put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. For Amazon bundles you need to ask yourself the following questions when sourcing product to sell:

• Who is looking for this type of product?
• What will it be used for?
• Why does the buyer need the product?
• What problem will it solve for them?
• How will the buyer use the product?
• What value does your bundle bring to the customer that other products lack?

By asking these questions, you are getting into the head of the buyer. This helps you provide the exact product your customer needs to solve their problem. Once you do that, a whole world of product possibilities will open up to you.

#1 Reason Amazon Bundles Work

Speed, convenience, and a vast variety of product options are why Amazon has become the largest, most successful online marketplace in the world. Due to the incredible speed of Amazon Prime and the addition of one-day delivery options, Amazon customers love how fast they receive products. Shoppers are busy and don’t want to spend their precious time going to the store.

Bundles make the purchasing process even faster and more convenient for the buyer by providing all the products a customer needs into a one-click transaction. The bundle you provide eliminates the need to spend extra time hunting down all the items they wanted separately. One click and they’re done! That’s especially handy when they are buying gifts.

Amazon Bundles Vs. Private Label Products

Now that you understand what bundles are, I want to draw a specific comparison to private labeling. Bundling is a form of private labeling and requires similar processes in order to get them listed on Amazon. The significant difference in bundles versus private label products is time and financial investment.

With a private label product, you start from scratch. You start with an idea for a new product or a modification to an existing product. Then you must reach out to potential manufacturers, often an international company, to begin producing your product. You’ll have samples made, tested, tweaked, and finally have a product to sell. This can take months, especially if it is conducted internationally.

With communication barriers, time zone issues, and distance, this process can take more than a year. Meanwhile you have to develop a brand, a logo, a packaging file for a trademark (which takes up to a year to process). And let’s not forget market research, competition, and marketing to drive traffic toward your new brand. (I’m exhausted just writing this, let alone doing it!) It takes a ton of stamina and perseverance to enter into a process that can take over a year to produce.

The benefits of private labeling are equally rewarding. By the time you complete this process, you will have a well-researched product, brand, and trademark. You’ll be ready to make sales on Amazon with no listing hijackers or race-to-the-bottom pricing issues that regular products on Amazon have to face.

Bundling on Amazon is very similar to private labeling. I’ve even coined the term “poor man’s private label” for them because you can learn to create bundles very inexpensively. Amazon bundles carry the same benefit as private label products but without the huge price tag or long lead times. Creating wholesale bundles will give you a head start because you do not need to create and manufacture a product from scratch. Instead, you start with products that already exist and build your bundles from there.

How To Create Amazon Bundles For Gifts

One thing that never changes regardless of what is happening in our lives is our need for celebration. And what comes with celebration? Gifts, of course! Whether it is a birthday, anniversary, or a student graduating from college, there is always a need for gifts. One of the best ways to break into bundling is through creating gift bundles.

Every occasion has a need for a gift and Amazon is the perfect place to sell gift bundles. Not everyone can attend the actual celebration and Amazon has made it easy for anyone in the world to send a gift to anyone else in the world — and fairly quickly, I might add. That is where we come in as bundlers.

Creating gift sets has been the bread and butter of my wholesale bundle business from the very beginning, and I’d like to offer some tips on how to get started.

Start Small — Pick ONE Holiday Or Occasion

When it comes to creating gift bundles, the key to success is simplicity. You should limit your components to 5 or fewer, with the sweet spot being three to five items, not including special packaging, which I will discuss later. The components you include in your bundles should be highly complementary. At the time of this post, we are coming up on Father’s Day. Doing proper research with tools like Helium 10 or Merchant Words will help you understand the demand for Father’s day gifts. Once you’ve discovered what is popular for the holiday or occasion you are researching, you are then able to create your bundle around that product.

According to Fortune.com, Americans will spend $16 billion on Father’s Day gifts this year. Small appliances and outdoor grilling accessories are very popular — $863 million will be spent. Let’s dive deeper into grilling accessories. According to Merchant Words, grilling accessories have over 30,000 searches this month alone. That is a great place to start.

Choosing Products For Your Bundles

To find the best bundle components, always consider your customer, or, in the case of gift bundles, the end user. To put a top-selling bundle together, consider the questions described earlier when it comes to bundling:

• Who will use it?
• Where will they use it?
• How will they use it?

We are starting with barbecue grill tools, so we are going to assume, since this is a Father’s Day gift bundle, that the dad will be using it outdoors to cook for family and friends. What will he need? One of the best ways to find products to bundle together is the “frequently bought together” section of an Amazon listing. In this case, I searched for grilling tools and the best seller, Cuisinart grilling tool set, came up at the top of the search. I clicked the listing to find the “frequently bought together” section and found these items:

This item was bought along with two other items: a tabletop grill, and a grill wok. Keep in mind you want to check several listings to look for common threads among the products. The tools and wok basket seem to go well, but including a tabletop grill won’t work in this case, so to find other complementary items you need to look at other listings.

As the research continues, a common thread seems to be a grill brush. Including a grill brush, the tools, and a grill basket seem to be an excellent choice for a bundle. Remember that your items need not be brand-name items, nor do they need to be the same brand. In fact, most gift bundles sell because of the value and attributes of the bundle rather than the brands.

Creating A Competition-Proof Bundle

Now that you have chosen components for your bundle, you are going to want to make sure you get the appropriate sales for all the research you conducted. Creating custom packaging for your bundle is the best way to do this. This is a form of private labeling your product so that no one can hijack or piggyback on all your hard work.

Here is an example of what great custom packaging looks like:

With ordinary items like granola bars and snack mixes, this bundle could easily be copied, but with the branded packaging the makers of Hangry Kits have created a private label product and brand all their own. No hijackers here.

The best part? It doesn’t have to be expensive. You can start small with companies who make custom poly bags with your brand name or logo for under $100. You can also purchase stickers, cardboard logo sleeves, and more from companies like Sticker Mule, Placeit.net, and Nashville Wraps.

Bundles are a great way to diversify your Amazon business, and custom packaging is the pro’s way to protect your hard work. Start small and try boxes, bags, or stickers to start.

Need expert instruction with creating custom packaging so you can shut out competitors and look like a professional brand? I have a special training to get you started. And, if you use code CUSTOM20 at checkout, you’ll save 20%!

Want in-depth training with all the ins and outs of wholesale bundles and how to make them ultra-profitable? Take my Wholesale Bundles course and get the Custom Packaging course free! Plus, use code MW50 and save an extra $50! 

Meet The Bundle Queen!

Kristin Ostrander from MommyIncome.com has done it all when it comes to Amazon. She’s sold books, retail arbitrage, online arbitrage, wholesale, and private label.

She is enthusiastic about sharing what she’s learned to help other sellers succeed. To soak up more information, subscribe to The Amazon Files podcast. This weekly podcast is where Kristin shares her Amazon selling expertise with tips, fast tracks, and action-based strategies.

Have questions about selling Amazon bundles? Talk to me and Kristin below!

Other related posts you’ll love:

A Completely Different Approach to Amazon Private Label Selling

Amazon Wholesale: 5 Things You Should Know Before Adding it to Your Business