How to Make Money on Amazon
Did you know that Amazon started as a small website selling used books?
From its humble beginnings, Amazon has grown into one of the biggest e-commerce sites today. It now has over $280 billion in revenue, and it is not stopping.
Amazon is your best bet if you’re looking for a side hustle or want to start your own e-Commerce business. While we all know that Amazon is a go-to place for online shopping, it also offers so many different products and services. The opportunity to make money is simply endless.
Read on to learn more about how to make money on Amazon.
What is Amazon and How Does it Work?
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. It also provides an opportunity for businesses and individuals to display and sell products online.
Jeff Bezos started Amazon in 1994 in Seattle, Washington, as an online bookstore. Amazon has grown exponentially over the years and is now considered one of the most powerful brands in the world. In addition to offering goods and services, it expanded its services to a cloud computing marketplace, a streaming video marketplace, and even banking.
Amazon is considered one of the Big Four tech companies, along with Microsoft, Apple, and Google.
Pros and Cons of Selling on Amazon
One hundred seventy million unique monthly customers prefer Amazon over any other store. This is the same reason many retailers choose Amazon as a platform to list and promote their products.
Though many retailers make a lot of money on Amazon, what works for them will not necessarily work for you. Here are the pros and cons that you should consider before deciding to sell your products on Amazon.
Pros
More Sales
When it comes to online shopping, Amazon is the first thing that pops in most shoppers’ minds. Amazon holds more than 300 million active customer accounts. Millions of active customers visit the website looking for products to buy.
When you list your products on Amazon, you automatically get the trust and credibility. Most users would prefer to buy products from Amazon over shops they never heard before.
Selling in different markets is pretty easy too. Since Amazon is one of the most trusted buying and selling platforms globally, you can quickly test the global appeal of your products. Create a listing on your local Amazon without going through the hassle of local logistics, operations and payment systems.
Low Marketing Costs
Amazon attracts millions of shoppers every day. You can use this to your advantage and market your products to a wider audience. You can start selling your products with little to no significant marketing efforts.
No Warehouse Needed
Amazon FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) is your inventory warehouse, manager, and the shipper. It holds more than 100 fulfillment centers around the globe. Ship your products to Amazon and they will take care of storing your inventory, packaging it and shipping it to your customers. Having Amazon handle all of this will save you tons of money compared to what you have to pay otherwise. Not only you will free yourself from shipping hassle, but your products are also automatically qualified for Amazon Prime shipping and buy box priority. These two factors can help increase your overall sales.
Cons
High Competition
Though Amazon attracts millions of customers every day, it also holds thousands of merchants and sellers. If you want to keep your business rolling, you have to think of a long-term strategy. It’s easy to race into the downfall, especially with the tough competition going around.
Amazon organizes its product pages by-products. When you’re competing with other merchants for the same product, Amazon will decide who will be the featured seller. His product will be automatically added to the shopping cart when a shopper clicks the Add to Cart button.
Winning the Amazon Buy Box is critical for your business. Though it’s hard to crack the buy box code, there are still other things that you have full control of. These are up-to-date inventory, competitive product pricing, excellent customer service, and stellar feedback.
Commissions
The benefits that we listed on our Pros section don’t come for free. Amazon charges its retailers commissions for every product sold on the platform. Amazon CPA Fees range between 8% to 15%, depending on categories.
How to Make Money on Amazon
Amazon may be one of the leading eCommerce websites, but there are several ways of making money aside from selling.
Are you ready to explore your choices?
Below are the best ways on how to make money on Amazon:
Sell Products
Amazon sells nearly 400 million individual products.
Becoming a seller on Amazon provides the greatest opportunity for you to earn a huge amount of money. With millions of customers visiting the website every day, the potential to convert these visits into sales is simply limitless.
Selling products on Amazon may sound simple, but it requires lots of work, especially if you’re still a beginner in eCommerce. Research plays a critical role in your success. You’re more likely to lose money if you don’t do your due diligence first.
Choosing the right products to sell will also put your path towards success. Remember that Amazon is a price-driven market. Buyers are always on the lookout for cheap products. You’re hardly to make a sale if your product is not the best one amongst the category of similar products.
The price tag attracts the sale rather than the brand name. Sell your brand generic products at the lowest price to attract more customers.
What are the best products to sell on Amazon?
If you want to become a successful seller on Amazon, you must learn how to target the best product categories and sell items that will empty your inventory quickly.
Best Product Categories to Sell on Amazon
Below are product categories that get the most number of sales in Amazon:
- Accessories and Apparel
- Cosmetics
- Electronics
- Hair Care
- Health
- Home Decor
- Home and Garden
- Kids and Toys
- Nutrition
- Pet
- Supplements
- Skin Care
Tips to Increase Your Revenue
Competition in Amazon is tough. Below are some of the tips that you can follow to increase your sales and stand out amongst your competitors.
- Always check your UPC codes when listing new items.
- Offer a competitive price.
- Use high-quality images when posting your products.
- Win the Buy Box.
- Leverage social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for your marketing.
- Utilize Amazon Marketing Services (AMS)
- Use the right keywords for SEO.
- Create a professional Amazon account.
- Utilize Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
- Provide excellent customer service and encourage reviews.
Sell Private Label Products
Do you want to sell amazing products but don’t want the hassle of manufacturing the products yourself?
Amazon’s private labeling could be your solution.
This term is used when a seller buys a product from another manufacturer, uses his own packaging/labeling and sells his inventory. In short, you make a generic product your own by using your own logo and brand name.
To make private labeling work, you have to look for generic products on Amazon that have high demand. Then, convert this product into something unique and amazing using your own brand name, logo and packaging. It’s a great way to market the product better than your competitors do.
You have to note though that this strategy would require a huge amount of money to get started. You have to purchase the product in bulk, regardless if the manufacturer is domestic or overseas.
Retail Arbitrage
If you’re looking for ways on how to make money on Amazon, then you should explore retail arbitrage.
What does retail arbitrage mean?
It simply means the act of buying products at your local stores at a discounted price and selling it through an online marketplace at a higher price for profit. Most sellers scout greatly discounted products from the clearance rack of stores like Target, Home Depot, and Walmart.
Is retail arbitrage profitable?
Definitely!
When you buy products that are on clearance sale and sell them at a higher price online, it’s a definite way of securing a profit.
For example, you bought an item from your local Walmart store for a discounted price of $9 and you sell it on Amazon for $23.99. For every purchase, Amazon will pay you $17 after deducting all the fees and shipping costs. You have made a profit of $8 for every product you sold.
This process may sound simple, but note that it’s not easy. It would require tons of research and hard work to know which local stores offer discounted products. You must also study if this specific product would be appealing to your customers.
Once you’ve mastered the art of the game though, you’re on your way to a profitable business.
Retail Arbitrage by Chris Green will give you more tips and insights on how to master this game.
Buy a copy now from AMAZON.COM
Amazon Flex
Amazon is now making one-day shipping a norm for its millions of Prime members. This faster delivery option is available on more than 10 million products nationwide with no minimum purchase required.
One of the greatest contributors to the success of one-day shipping is the help of contractors. Amazon Flex allows drivers to make money by delivering products using their own vehicles.
You can earn between $15 – $25 per hour and you have full control of your schedule. You can accept this side hustle whenever you want.
As an Amazon Flex driver, you get presented with time “blocks” that you can either accept or ignore. For example, Amazon may offer you $36 – $50 for a 2-hour block. You can earn more if you receive tips. On the downside, you will not be paid extra if your block takes more time to complete.
Amazon Customer Service Associate
Working as a customer service associate for Amazon offers an excellent option for a side hustle, especially if you want to work from home.
This position is offered in more than 130 locations in over 40 countries around the world. It also supports customers in 16 languages.
You can work either part-time or full-time and earn at least $10 per hour. Just like with any customer service roles, you must be action-oriented and problem-solver. You will interact with customers through email, chat, phone and Alexa.
Join Amazon Affiliate
Do you have a blog or website that gets a good amount of traffic?
If so, you can monetize your blog and make it a source of your passive income. One way of doing so is through an Amazon affiliate.
Affiliate marketing has been one of the most effective ways of making money online. The principle behind this marketing is simple. You promote a certain Amazon product on your blog posts. You earn a small commission when a customer purchases a product through your link.
Promote products that align with the niche of your blog. If you’re hosting a health and fitness blog, you can promote protein powders, keto products, workout equipment, etc.
Keep in mind that the commission that you will earn for each sale could be generally low. You may earn 4% – 8.5% of a sale. That is why it’s critical that you drive a huge amount of traffic on your website. To do so, post informative, unique and good-quality content regularly.
Looking for other non-traditional ways to make money? Check out this article.
Publish an eBook
The advancement of technology has turned reading into a whole new level. You can now read anywhere and anytime, thanks to tabs, iPads, and smartphones.
The popularity of eBooks is still flourishing and it’s a good idea to tap into this as a source of income. You don’t need to have a Masters Degree in English just to make your own eBook. Amazon is a self-publishing platform that makes it easier for anyone to publish their eBooks.
Choose a topic or field that you are very passionate about. Or you can also share your expertise in a particular niche. It can also be an avenue to practice your creative writing. eBooks do not necessarily have to be too lengthy too. A lot of published eBooks are under 100 pages.
And just like with regular products, you don’t just stop after publishing it on Amazon. You have to promote your eBook to drive awareness and attract more customers. Leverage your social media accounts as well as your own blog/website and drive traffic to your Amazon eBook listing.
Amazon Mechanical Turk
Also known as MTurk, Amazon Mechanical Turk offers an opportunity to make money by completing small tasks. Now, this may not make you rich, but if you have spare time and an internet connection, it’s a legit way of making money online.
It’s a crowdsourcing marketplace where you can find a variety of tasks, with varying degrees of difficulty. Jobs that you may find include transcription, image recognition, data entry, categorizing, etc.
Final Word
If you’re looking for an online platform to make money, you should consider Amazon amongst your top list.
Amazon is already a reputable company and with millions of customers visiting the site online, the opportunity to make money is simply limitless. Regardless if you’re a budding entrepreneur or just looking for a side gig to earn extra money, Amazon is your go-to place.