Since March life has changed and so has shopping. Shopping online has become so popular that it means there are plenty of opportunities for you to become an Amazon seller and make money by starting to sell products on Amazon. You might start this as a side hustle, but it could become your full-time job!
It doesn’t take very long to set up your Amazon Seller Account. You will be ready to sell products on Amazon in no time. For Amazon U.S. Go to services.amazon.com, then click on one of the “Start selling” links.
There are two types of accounts available – individual seller or pro seller. The former cost $0 per month but you will be charged about $1 for each item you sell on Amazon. The Pro seller includes more features and charges $39.99 per month. You can choose the account type based on your business budget or as Amazon suggests, it depends on how many items you will be selling per month.
The best way to get started is by selling items that are popular but you are able to purchase at a deep discount. Purchasing items and selling them to Amazon for resale is called Retail Arbitrage. You buy the items and then ship them to an Amazon warehouse and let Amazon fulfill your order (FBA). This means that your items will ship free to Amazon Prime customers as long as the order qualifies for free shipping. Amazon is responsible for fulfilling the order and taking care of any returns.
There is an app for your phone that you can use to scan an item you are thinking of purchasing. It will tell you how much it sells for on Amazon so you can calculate your profit before you spend your money buying an item.
Things to consider in calculating your profit margin
- Shipping Costs to the Amazon Warehouse
- Amazon Warehouse fees
- Exchange Rate if you are selling in a country different than the one you are buying in.
- Amazon seller fees
How to Sell Products on Amazon that are Your Own Branded Products
Once you have mastered retail arbitrage then you might want to consider purchasing items in bulk from overseas and shipping them to the Amazon warehouse to be fulfilled. This way you are creating your own brand. For this kind of selling, you will need a lot more seed money. You will need to pay for the product up front and minimum production runs. If the items are purchased from Asia, for example, you have to take into account
- Production time
- On the Water/Air shipping time
- Clearance at the port and shipping time to an Amazon warehouse
The total amount of time before your item is ready for sale in the Amazon warehouse could take up to 2-1/2 months. Your money is therefore tied up for approximately 3 months.
It is definitely possible to have a 6 figure income selling on Amazon, if your products are popular, but the secret is doing your homework first to find out what products sell quickly on Amazon and what products you could sell to take advantage of a particular trend.
You Can Sell These Same Products On Other Platforms
Just because you sell your items on Amazon, it doesn’t exclude you from selling them in other places. For example, you can also sell them on Facebook marketplaces, your own e-commerce website or on E-Bay.
Selling on Amazon Podcast
If you want to learn more about how to sell products on Amazon, listen to our podcast with Amazon Queen Bee, Janis Carmena. She also has a free course for beginners.
In the podcast, Janis covers the following topics.
- Can anyone sell on Amazon?
- What things can you sell on Amazon?
- What brands to you sell on Amazon?
- How do you set up an Amazon store?
- Will running my Amazon store take a lot of time?
- How can I learn about selling on Amazon?
Elaine Slatter is a Small Business Expert, founder of XL Consulting Group and author of the popular book, “Fabulous Fempreneurship”, a complete business guide for women. XL Consulting Group helps entrepreneurs with market planning, strategy, branding, web design and social media. She has over 30 years of executive business and marketing experience and is ready to help you rocket your business to success. Elaine is passionate about mentoring women to become successful women entrepreneurs. To find out more, visit XL Consulting Group or join the Fabulous Fempreneurship mastermind.
