Selling stuff to others is always a top way to make some extra cash. However, for some people, selling stuff online makes them a full time income. Some make good money selling on Amazon.
Amazon is the largest marketplace in the world. They account for nearly half of all online sales. The potential for lots of sales is certainly there.
Amazon sells not only its own goods, but a large portion of what’s listed is sold by third party independent sellers. Selling almost anything you can think of. From live fish to tiny houses and everything in between.
Now, Amazon Handmade, which is similar to Etsy, focusing on handmade goods. My wife and I have sold on Amazon for years, and Amazon Handmade makes up the largest portion of our online marketplace sales.
Retail Arbitrage
Many sellers take advantage of other retail stores to find goods to resell through Amazon. Called retail arbitrage, you buy an item cheaper at one location, often on clearance, to resell and pocket the profit. See some of the stories below.
Unlike eBay, where you can find nearly anything for sale, Amazon has a few more rules to follow, and not everyone can sell in every category.
The good thing with Amazon, is if you have permission to sell in a category, most of the time you simply need to upload a UPC code and the listing and photos are already there.
Items that many other sellers also have available aren’t always the best items to sell as the completion is fierce and is price driven, reducing your overall profit. With everybody focusing on undercutting their competition on price, it’s not always profitable to sell everything. Even if it seems like a good buy for you to start with. Be sure to do your research and focus on higher margin items or you’ll be doing a lot of work and taking a lot of financial risk for small returns.
Amazon FBA
Fulfilled by Amazon is a system where you send all or part of your items you wish to sell to predetermined Amazon warehouses. When the item is purchased, Amazon, not you, will ship the item directly to the buyer. Using FBA has higher seller fees, as expected, but should increase your overall sales on the platform, as those items then become eligible for Amazon Prime, and free two-day shipping.
Successful Amazon Entrepreneurs
Larry Lubarsky is such a seller, selling millions of dollars in items a year. Read his story here:
Another example would be Ryan Grant, who buys items from Walmart and resells through the Amazon Marketplace. Read his story here:
Jessica Larrew and her family follow the same principle. They write the blog The Selling Family and offer a free online course that teach others how to do the same.
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