How to Make Money with Amazon FBA

This year I have been working on creating a new brand/business that is making money selling using Amazon FBA. While I am newer to this business model, I have been so excited and I wanted to share with you as part of our How to Earn Money Online series.

What is Amazon Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA)

So, I'm sure many of you know about Amazon. I've been promoting great deals we have found there for the past 9 years! When it comes to Amazon's FBA program, it is essentially this: selling products on Amazon that Amazon ships directly to customers as part of their Prime program. You have likely purchased a product on Amazon from a seller that is using the FBA program to promote and market their products or business.

So, why am I excited? Because I have been able to create a new revenue stream by selling on Amazon, and anyone can do this! How I never knew about Amazon FBA for years is beyond me. Several of my friends have been selling via Amazon FBA for years and they never shared their experiences until recently! So, I want to share with you how to get started and what to consider selling.

First, to get started on Amazon as a seller, you will:

• Open a Seller Account on Amazon. I have a Professional Seller account now but you can start with the basic account that doesn't cost anything monthly.
• Become a Seller on Amazon and have an item or products for sale.
• Search Amazon to see if the product is for sale already. If it is not currently selling on Amazon, you will need to create a brand new product listing with an image.
• Create a product listing for the item or products you have for sale. This is similar to how for sale listings are created on eBay.

Now that you know you are selling those items, you need to get your products to an Amazon warehouse so Amazon can fulfill the orders. So you will:

• Create a shipment to send those products to Amazon. Amazon will then store the items in one of their warehouses.
• A buyer wants to purchase an item like measuring spoons, for example, so they search for that phrase.
• Your item shows up in their search results! And, the MAJOR benefit is that your item will have the Prime badge next to the price showing the customer that it is available to purchase as a Prime-eligible product.

Now, you can choose to ship orders yourself, this is called Fulfilled by Merchant, and similar to how items are shipped with eBay listings. BUT, this is the important part, when you decide to send your items to Amazon that are for sale so they can do the fulfillment and shipping to the customer directly, those items for sale get marked as Amazon Prime. The items you ship yourself will not have the Prime badge.

 

Is it worth it to sell on Amazon?

Totally YES!  My product is in a local store, but we are selling primarily via Amazon FBA. Think about how many years you have followed Savings Lifestyle (or back in my Mommy Snacks days – nearly 9 years!). We have shared so many amazing Amazon deals, including their awesome Prime Membership. If something wasn't Prime, we rarely promoted a deal because it likely had a high shipping fee associated with it.

Also, think about the last time you purchased an item on Amazon that was NOT prime. Those items either required that you pay shipping, or it took longer than 2 days to have the item shipped to you. Because Amazon does so much shipping, they are able to get much better rates than you or I could personally receive. We cannot financially compete with the 2-day shipping options they offer to Prime members.

Thus, why Amazon FBA is  fabulous. You get the benefit of having your items show up as Prime-eligible, and you get the benefit of Amazon being the largest online marketplace with instant buyers who are ready to buy. We all love Amazon and love it even more when an item is Prime-eligible!

What products to sell on Amazon?

You can sell anything on Amazon. I'm selling these awesome long handle wooden measuring spoons (pretty sweet, right?!), but the sky is truly the limit! While I did personally create my own product, I have also sold several other items too that I've purchased at a discount or on clearance at the local store. I just shipped these items to Amazon to fulfill as part of the FBA/Prime program.

There is a great program to learn what to sell on Amazon FBA that I would recommend. Jessica has been on several podcasts that I have listened to and she knows her stuff. I think learning *what* to sell can be the biggest challenge. Amazon has restrictions on certain products and different categories. So understanding all the rules is imperative as you first start. But, once you're over that hurdle, everything else is much easier!

I have an idea for a product, how do I even start that process?

So maybe buying products at a discount or on clearance isn't for you. I get that, it helped me to build some capital in the short term but I wanted to have the product created that I had been thinking about. I HIGHLY encourage you to check out my friend Steve's program to learn how to create a profitable ecommerce business. 

Steve's program is how I learned how to do all of this: from product creation, to getting drawings from an engineer, to manufacturing my product (in China) to creating an online ecommerce store to sell my products, and of course, also understanding how to sell on Amazon. He also has a free 6-day mini course to learn how to start an online store. I signed up for this first before I became a member of the paid course. His podcast is a goldmine too!

Both of those courses are pricey, but my earnings have more than paid for the price of the course a few times. Also, it may be worth mentioning, I am creating a brand that I will eventually grow and create other products.

Just like all of the other legitimate ways to earn money from home we have shared here over the past 9 years, this is NOT a “get rich quick” program. The progress I have made has taken me almost a year. I'm just truly starting, but it has been great to learn and explore the different ways to make legitimate money while staying home with my family!

If you currently sell on Amazon, or have created your own product, I would love to hear from you! Please share in the comments or send me an email!

Find MORE Ways to Earn Money from Home HERE

More in the Earn Money from Home Series

1. Start a Homemade Cake Decorating Business
2. Make Money Doing Freelance Work Online
3. Start a Sewing and Alteration Business
4. How to Self Publish an eBook to Earn Income
5. Offer Babysitting Services
6. Internet Research from Home
7. Earn Money as a Home Organizer
8. Selling Online to Make Extra Income
9. Start a Small Business Doing Odds and Ends Jobs
10. Earn Money By Creating How-To Videos
11. Seasonal Tax Preparation to Earn Additional Income
12. How to Make Money Blogging
13. Home Cooking or Baking Business
14. How to Earn Money as a General Transcriptionist
15. Make Money with Mystery Shopping
16. How to Start Working as a Virtual Assistant
17. Teaching and Tutoring for Side Income
18. Make Money Doing Online Surveys

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