Who doesn’t know Amazon these days? They have become a household name in recent years. Since it was founded in 1994, Amazon has become the largest online retail company over the past 25 years. If you haven’t heard about it until now, you might have been living in the mountains with no internet connection.

So, what about Amazon? It’s the most popular shopping app in the United States, with over 150 million users, according to Statista. There are 350 million items listed on the platform from over 2.5 million sellers. In 2020, Amazon’s net revenue reached $386.06 billion, so even though it sounds like tough competition, there’s still an opportunity for you to make money on the platform.

Aside from the fact that you can buy pretty much everything that you need in its marketplace, from gadgets to baby products to fresh goods and digital products, you can also use it to make money a lot of other ways. That’s what we’ll talk about below, so let’s dive in!

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Can You Make Money on Amazon?

money

Yes, you can. There’s a bunch of ways you can make money on Amazon. What’s more, you don’t have to have a physical product to sell to do so and you can earn money while at home. You can make money through digital products (such as ebooks), dropshipping, affiliate programs, selling to Amazon, joining its delivery program, and more.

Amazon is a huge marketplace that 7 out of 10 consumers in the United States alone have purchased a product on Amazon in the past six months. Whether you want to build your own eCommerce business, want a side hustle you can do in your free time, or to leverage and monetize your talent, there’s a way to earn money on Amazon.

Some ways to make money on Amazon include the following:

  • Sell private label products
  • Sell products through FBA
  • Publish your own books
  • Become an Amazon affiliate
  • Sell products through retail arbitrage
  • Offer your professional services
  • Deliver Amazon packages
  • Sell your handmade arts and crafts
  • Sell products to Amazon
  • Become an Amazon rep and work from home
  • Complete small tasks with mTurk

How to Sell Private Label Products on Amazon

Selling your private label products on Amazon is one of the best ways to earn money through this platform.

What is a private label product? It’s a product manufactured by a third-party or contractor, which you sell using your branding. It’s also called white-label or brand creation. With private label selling, you don’t have to make your own products. You just have to find a quality product that you will sell as your own and market using your branding.

With private label products, you have control over your pricing and margins. You can also adapt quickly to the trends and make changes and improvements to the products to suit the needs of your customers.

So, what do you have to do?

  1. Create an Amazon seller account. Choose between an individual and a professional account. An individual seller account is best if you’re starting out and plan to sell less than 40 items a month. It will cost you $0.99 per item sold plus a referral fee per item. Meanwhile, if you plan to sell more than 40 items every month, it’s better to get a professional account, which has a monthly subscription of $39.99 plus referral fees per item. Fill out all the necessary information.

  2. Come up with a product idea. Do product research and look for the latest trending products. You can look at the hot new releases on Amazon, dig the search engines for cool product ideas, and check out Kickstarter where new products are emerging. You also need to consider the criteria of products you will start to sell. For instance, it’s better to start with small and lightweight products so that you can save on shipping fees. Avoid seasonal products and those that have complicated requirements, such as legal paperwork. According to Amazon, the following are the top categories of products that sell the most on its platform:

    • Electronics
    • Media
    • Furniture
    • Appliances
    • Food
    • Personal care
    • Toys
    • Hobbies & DIY
    • Fashion

  3. Do market research. You can find tools online that will allow you to determine how many units that product sells on average and what’s the potential earnings. Of course, you want a product that has existing customer demand so ensure that they will sell.

  4. Research manufacturers. When you’ve determined the product you want to sell, it’s time to find the right manufacturer. One platform you can use is Alibaba, where you can purchase products in bulk and wholesale. Alibaba vets all its suppliers, so you have the assurance that it’s safe to purchase from them. Amazon product research tools, such as Jungle Scout, AMZ Tracker, MerchantWords, and camelcamelcamel, can also help you in finding the right products and suppliers.

  5. Order sample products. Reach out to a couple of suppliers that you’ve shortlisted and order a few samples of the products you’re eyeing to sell. It’s best to test them yourself first before you sell them to customers to ensure that they meet your expectations, especially when it comes to quality. The success of your brand will depend heavily on how satisfied your customers will be with the products they bought from you.

  6. Design the products using your branding. When you’ve found the right supplier, finalize your product design, including your logo and packaging. You may want to design it a little bit different from what’s already in the market so that you’ll stand out and get noticed. For example, you may want to consider eco-friendly or sustainable packaging if you want to appeal to the millennials.

  7. Decide how you want your products to be fulfilled. Now it’s time to think about how your products will reach your customers. You can sign up with Amazon’s FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon), which means that Amazon will handle the products for you, from storage to packaging to shipping. Alternatively, you can fulfill the products yourself. However, when you choose FBA, you’ll enjoy added benefits, such as being eligible for Amazon Prime and a higher chance of winning the buy box.

  8. Set up your store, launch, and promote your products. Create your Amazon listing, optimize your store, launch, and market your products. You can use social media and paid ads to drive traffic to your Amazon store.

The potential income for selling private label products on Amazon varies but around $600 to nearly $2,000 per product per month is a reasonable expectation. That could get even higher depending on your marketing strategies.

How to Buy Wholesale Products to Sell on Amazon

wholesale

Buying wholesale is the process of purchasing products in bulk from a supplier or manufacturer. When you buy in wholesale, you can get significant discounts, so you can earn bigger margins when you sell them with a markup. Unlike private label selling, you don’t have to worry about branding. You also don’t have to worry about manufacturing, as you’re only selling other company’s products.

Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Set up a seller account on Amazon. Since you’re selling in bulk, you might be able to sell more than 40 items, so it’s better to choose a professional seller account.
  2. Brainstorm product ideas. You need products that have huge demand and will be quick to sell because you’re going to maintain an inventory when you buy in bulk. Some of the bestselling wholesale product categories are the following:

    • Jewelry
    • Electronics
    • Clothing
    • Shoes
    • Toys and games
    • Books

  3. Find a supplier or manufacturer. Scout for a company that can provide you with good rates and discounts and at the same time, high-quality products.
  4. Register as a reseller in your area. You might need the following requirements:

    • Business license
    • Tax-exempt form

  5. List the products on your Amazon store.
  6. Decide fulfillment option: FBA or Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM).
  7. Launch and promote.

In selling wholesale products on Amazon, a potential income of $5,000 or more each month is a good starting expectation.

Can You Sell Print on Demand Products on Amazon?

Yes, you can sell print-on-demand products (POD) on Amazon. POD products are products with your customized designs, which the supplier will only produce when a customer places an order. The supplier will also be the one to ship the products directly to your customers.

There are several platforms that offer POD services, such as Printify, Printful, GearBubble, and RedBubble. Some of them can be linked to your Amazon store, making the process of selling products seamless. But if you don’t want to go too far, one way to sell POD products is through Merch by Amazon.

Merch is Amazon’s very own print-on-demand service. You can upload your designs to its database and choose the products you want to sell, such as mugs, tote bags, t-shirts, hats, and more. When a customer orders through your store, it will be forwarded to Amazon’s fulfillment team for production up to shipment to the end customer.

Here are the steps:

  1. Go to merch.amazon.com and click the “Request Invitation” button.
  2. Fill out the application form and explain why you should be accepted at Merch by Amazon.
  3. Once you’re invited, you can join the Amazon Merch.
  4. Create and upload your designs to the Merch database.
  5. Amazon will create the listing for you.
  6. When your design has been approved, you can start earning money.

With lots of sellers wanting to get invited to join Amazon Merch, you can expect to be waitlisted. It can take as long as 6 months to be approved. If that’s too long for you to wait, you can explore other POD services that allow you to link your Amazon eCommerce store to their platforms.

The potential income varies greatly. Depending on the margin you set, you can earn an average of $1.50 per POD product sold on Amazon. In general, you can earn more by using other platforms because they only charge you for the base cost of the products, while in Amazon, you earn through royalties.

Does Amazon Have an Affiliate Program?

laptop

Not into running an Amazon eCommerce store? Don’t worry. You can still earn through commissions for referring sales and traffic to the platform. You can become a blogger and join the Amazon Associates program, which is one of the biggest affiliate marketing programs in the industry.

First, you need to create a website or a blog where you can publish your content. (If you already have one, then that’s better.) Buy a domain and pick your niche. Some of the best niches for affiliate marketing on Amazon are the following:

  • Travel
  • Photography
  • Money
  • Health and fitness
  • Lifestyle
  • Home and family
  • Tech

Build your audience and increase traffic to your website through search engine optimization (SEO) and content creation. When you’ve grown your website, you can find cool products on Amazon that you can feature or integrate with your content. Note, that growing your site won’t happen overnight, so you need to be patient and passionate about creating content first before you can monetize your blog.

When you join Amazon Associates, you’ll be given a unique link for each product that you can share with your audience through your content. You can earn commissions through the traffic your blog refers to Amazon. Every time your audience buys a product on Amazon through your link, you also get a percentage of the sale.

As an associate, you can make $100 to $25,000 on your affiliate website. That depends on how much traffic your site gets, along with other factors such as how the products you feature resonate with your audience.

Can I Join the Amazon Delivery Program?

Yes, you can. You can become Amazon’s fleet delivery driver by joining the Amazon Flex program. In this program, you can use your own vehicle to deliver Amazon packages in your area. Just download the app and signup.

When you get approved, you can start earning between $18 and $25 an hour, depending on your location and how fast you finish your deliveries, along with other factors, such as tips the customers give. The shifts are typically 5 hours long, so you’re looking at $100+ a day. Even if you finish your deliveries early, you may still get paid a full 5-hour shift.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Reserve a block. On the Amazon Flex app, check a block with delivery opportunities and reserve it based on what’s convenient to you. You can also receive instant offers when you mark yourself available on the app.

  2. Pick up the packages and make deliveries. On your reserved day, you pick up the packages for delivery from the designated location. Navigate through the addresses on the app and deliver the packages to the customers.

  3. Get paid. When you’re done with your deliveries, wait for Amazon’s pay, which will be deposited directly to your bank account twice a week.

Self-Publish Your Own Books Using Kindle Direct Publishing

kindle

If you have a knack for writing or you’ve always wanted to publish your own book, self-publishing on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is the way to go. Publishing on Amazon’s KDP is free and it takes only 5 minutes to publish. Amazon also offers print-on-demand copies of the books. (Physical books were the first products of Amazon when it was founded.)

Within 24 to 48 hours upon uploading to KDP, your book will appear on Kindle stores worldwide. What’s good about selling your book with KDP is that it becomes a passive source of income. You don’t have to worry about inventory. However, it also helps to market your book to gain more visibility and reach your target readers.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Write your book. You can start by brainstorming book ideas through researching what’s the most popular niches and topics. Among the top best-selling categories are:

    • Religion and spirituality
    • Memoirs
    • Health and fitness
    • Food
    • Money
    • Business
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Education
    • Hobbies

  2. Format your book following Amazon’s guidelines and requirements.
  3. Upload and preview your book on KDP.
  4. Set the pricing and rights.
  5. Publish.

You can earn up to 70% royalty on your book sales. Writers who write prolifically and publish several books can earn up to $40,000 per month.

How Do I Resell Brand Name Products on Amazon?

Most of the time, what sells the most on Amazon are known brands. You don’t have to do much about building the brand because people already recognize them and trust their quality. You can find brand products by buying in wholesale, dropshipping, or retail arbitrage.

However, it has become extra challenging to resell brand-name products on Amazon. Some brands don’t want their products to appear on Amazon for various reasons. Others only allow certain suppliers to sell their brand-name products.

Even so, you can still earn up to $2,000 a month by reselling branded items.

If you’re intending to go this route, here’s what you need to do:

  1. Find your niche. What industry or specific market would you like to join? You can choose from fitness, health, fashion, skincare, and so on.
  2. When you’ve decided the best niche that interests you, find the products that will become profitable.
  3. Register for Amazon’s brand registry. Since a lot of brands have second-thoughts about allowing their products to be sold in marketplaces like Amazon, you need to register your brand. This way, no other seller will be able to list the same brand-name products that you listed. You need to secure permission from Amazon and the brand to resell their products and use their photos to avoid copyright infringement.
  4. Make sure that your supplier provides you with authentic products. Some brand-name products on Amazon have been accused of being fake or counterfeit.

Can You Sell Handmade Products on Amazon?

handmade

Yes, you can sell your handmade products too! If you’re into the creative arts, you can create your own products through the Amazon Handmade program. However, this is an invitation-only opportunity for artists and crafters. You need to fill out an application and explain why your business should be part of the Handmade community.

As an Amazon Handmade seller, all your products should be handmade or hand-assembled. There’s no mass production allowed. It can be challenging to keep up with the orders, but it’s a great opportunity for your business when Amazon has given you exposure.

You can sell abstract art, bead bracelets, homemade soaps, bath bombs, pillowcases, crochet handbags, cutting boards, toys, accessories, pottery, and more. However, these products should be limited to the 14 categories that Amazon Handmade has set:

  • Accessories
  • Artwork
  • Baby
  • Beauty & Personal Care
  • Clothing
  • Shoes & Handbags
  • Home
  • Outdoor & Home Care
  • Jewelry & Watches
  • Kitchen & Dining
  • Pet Supplies
  • Sporting Goods
  • Stationery & Party Supplies
  • Toys & Games

Can You Dropship From Amazon?

Yes, Amazon allows you to drop ship products on its marketplace. Just remember to follow the rules that Amazon has set regarding dropshipping:

  1. You must be the seller on record.
  2. You’re the seller that can be identified on the product’s packaging and other information.
  3. You’re responsible for customer returns.
  4. You comply with the terms and conditions of the Amazon seller agreement and other policies.

How does it work?

You create a store on Amazon’s platform. Then you purchase your products from a dropshipping company, similar to private-label selling. The difference is that you only purchase one product at a time after a customer places an order.

Usually, you, as the seller, claim to be the source of the product and customers aren’t aware that a third party manufactures and ships the products to them on your behalf.

It’s an attractive way of selling on Amazon because you don’t have to worry about storing stocks or shipping the products yourself. You just pass on the orders to the supplier who will take care of the fulfillment until the product has been delivered to the end customer. You can also avoid limited inventory when you partner with multiple suppliers.

However, dropshipping on Amazon may not be the best way to make money on the platform. The margins are typically between 10 and 30%, and 15% goes to Amazon, which means the profits may not be that big.

How Does Retail Arbitrage Work?

sale

Retail arbitrage works this way: you go to retail stores such as Target or Walmart and buy products at a discount, then you list them on Amazon and sell them for profit. With a little investment of as low as $100 to $300, you can buy your supplies from such stores and make money by adding a markup when you sell them on Amazon.

Aside from brick-and-mortar stores, you can also buy products online, such as on eBay or a Facebook shop. You can buy in bulk to get more discounts, then add a profit margin. It’s one of the quickest ways to earn money with Amazon because you don’t have to build a brand or find a long-term supplier.

How to do this?

  1. Do product research to see reselling opportunities.
  2. Source the products. While they’re on clearance sale, make sure that you’re still getting quality products. Check for damages and defects and avoid them.
  3. List the products on Amazon.

Note, however, that this model is not scalable. Since you’re buying products from retailers, your margin is lower than when you source them directly from suppliers or manufacturers.

Remote Work With Amazon

If selling products and marketing them is not your thing, you can still earn money from Amazon by being a customer service representative. Amazon’s call centers are home-based, so you need a phone line and a high-speed internet connection.

As an Amazon rep, you can work from home with a guaranteed hourly wage. The position is typically temporary, but it can be permanent when you meet certain performance criteria. You can earn an average of $23,000 to $68,000 per year.

Other work-from-home opportunities with Amazon include the Amazon Mechanical Turk (mTurk). It’s a small task site where you can pick up and complete small tasks during your free time. The tasks include identifying objects in images or videos, transcribing recorded audio, answering surveys, doing data duplication, doing data research, and more. It doesn’t pay that big—typically just below the minimum wage—but if you have extra time to spare and want to earn some cash, go for it.

Ways to Make Money Online With Amazon Conclusion

There are several ways to earn money with Amazon, whether you create your own product, source them from a reliable manufacturer, dropship them through a supplier, write your own book, drive your vehicle to deliver packages, or become a home-based customer service representative.

All you have to do is find your niche, what interests you most, and start from there. Always remember to do your due diligence. Picking the business model (wholesaling, retail arbitrage, FBA, etc.) is only a small portion of succeeding on Amazon.

You need to pick the right niche and always be in-the-know about the latest trending products to sell. Additionally, marketing and optimizing your store are crucial to ensuring that your target buyers can find you amidst the sea of competition on the platform.