Most people see Amazon as a platform where you only spend money. However, you can also make money selling on Amazon.
Apart from selling products to people all over the world, Amazon also offers both full-time and part-time work while giving people the opportunity to grow their businesses.
There are different ways through which you can make money from Amazon. From selling your items to self-publishing, we will consider some proven ways to make money selling on Amazon.
In what ways can you make money selling on Amazon?
1. Sell products with affiliate links
Many people want to sell Amazon products. However, they don’t want to go through the stress of sourcing products, storing inventory, and delivering orders. If you are in this situation, then you can turn to Amazon Associates.
The Amazon Associates program gives you access to unique links that you can use to promote Amazon items. You can post these links on your social media pages, blog, or any other platform on the internet.
Whenever someone clicks on any of your links and purchases the product that you’re promoting, you will earn a small commission. The interesting part is even if they end up buying something different, you will still earn a commission.
This strategy is perfect for those that have an established internet presence. You can also use this strategy if you are adept at SEO and can create a niche website. Ensure you optimize your web pages for certain keywords, promote items that are relevant to your niche, and embed your affiliate links to make money.
SEE: How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
2. Sell merchandise
If you have ever thought of selling your clothing, Merch by Amazon allows you to do that.
Here’s how it works; simply create a design for a sweater or shirt and upload it to the website. If anyone buys the shirt, Amazon will print it and send it to the buyer. Since the platform works on a print-on-demand system, you don’t need to bother about buying or storing any inventory.
The shirts will only be created when someone buys them. This is a great business opportunity for those that are artistic and have good design skills. Even if you don’t have these skills, you can hire an expert to help with the designs.
This program is popular. Thus, acceptance is based on invitation only. You need to apply and you need to be patient while waiting to get accepted. So, if you are interested in this opportunity, you can go ahead and submit your application.
SEE: Turn Your Designs into Cash
3. Sell handmade items
There are other platforms where you can sell quality handmade goods apart from Etsy. Amazon is a good alternative. You can sell clothing, art, jewelry, accessories, and other handmade goods on Amazon Handmade.
You will be given a custom URL and this makes it easier for your customers to find your store. Unlike other selling accounts, Amazon makes selling affordable and convenient for handmade sellers.
You need to pay $39.99 every month to have a professional selling account on Amazon. This fee is, however, waived for those selling handmade goods. You will only pay a 15 percent referral fee on your sales price.
Some of the key features of this platform include:
- It is perfect for those making artisan goods.
- Amazon Handmade offers custom URLs.
- You will only pay fees to Amazon when you earn.
SEE: How to Make Money with Crafts
4. Resell goods through arbitrage
If you want to make money selling on Amazon without the cost or commitment of FBA, then retail arbitrage is for you.
Retail arbitrage refers to buying an item for a particular marketplace and then reselling it at a higher price on another platform. For instance, people are now embracing the practice of buying sports cards and collectibles from garage sales and reselling them online at higher prices.
Since this option usually includes finding products on sites like Facebook Marketplace or at physical stores, it may not be perfect for everyone. Scalability may be difficult but it allows you to try things out before going in with full force.
However, if you come across a product that you can flip for a good profit, it’s more or less the same thing as finding cash. Retail arbitrage is ideal for those that love hustling and grinding.
SEE: How to Make Money Reselling
5. Dropship on Amazon
This option is similar to retail arbitrage. Dropshipping does not require much responsibility on the seller’s part, although the seller needs to do more research and it has lower profit margins than retail arbitrage.
Dropshipping refers to an order fulfillment method whereby the seller doesn’t store the product. Instead, he or she receives an order and transfers it to a third-party supplier that takes the order to the buyer.
In this case, you don’t touch or store the product (you don’t even need to see the product). This saves you lots of manufacturing and inventory fees. The disadvantage of this option is that the majority of the income earned will end up in the manufacturer’s hand, thereby making it hard to make a profit.
Many dropshippers need to make a high volume of sales to make tangible profits. Despite its cons, dropshipping is still a good method to make money selling on Amazon without incurring the responsibility and fees associated with FBA.
SEE: How to Make Money with Dropshipping
6. Kindle Direct Publishing
If you are a writer, or you have access to writers, you don’t need to pay a publishing house before you can publish your work. Thanks to Kindle Direct Publishing; a platform that allows you to publish Kindle books on Amazon.
You will earn 70% of royalties on the sales you make. You are not limited to selling only ebooks on this platform, you can also print hard copies of the kindle books. Although having a couple of bestsellers will be great, you need to publish consistently so that you can succeed on the platform.
More so, your work will either sell itself or you will have to market your books by yourself since there is no publisher to help you with the promotion.
Here are some features of Kindle Direct Publishing:
- Sellers earn 70% royalty on the sales they make.
- There is no initial investment apart from the book they have to create.
- Apart from ebooks, hard copies can also be printed.
SEE: How to Make Money Selling Information Products
7. Amazon Mechanical Turk
If you are only interested in making some extra money without starting a big project or attracting an audience, you can try out the Mechanical Turk project. This is one of the easiest forms of Amazon work that requires few investments.
This program allows you to become one of Amazon’s remote workers. You may be tasked with validating and moderating content and participating in surveys.
It is not a get-rich-quick opportunity, but you can make at least $15 per hour, and these tasks can be easily fitted around your pursuits. For those that are searching for a simple way to earn additional income in their spare time, this is the ideal program that they should check out.
Its features include the following:
- You can make money executing small tasks around your activities.
- The tasks are simple and fun.
- You don’t need to have a following before you can make money on Amazon.
SEE: How to Make Money on Amazon Mechanical Turk
8. Sell your services
Apart from selling products, Amazon is also moving into selling professional services. This is different from what is offered in the Mechanical Turk program (which is all about unskilled tasks).
Amazon Home Services focuses on selling skilled labor. The program offers product installation, handymen, product assembly, home theater services, and lots more.
The services are provided based on the requests customers make after buying items on the website. The program is designed to help customers with the installation of their products.
This option is not for everyone because you need to have the required skills before performing the tasks. If you are a good fit, then you should look into enrolling in the program.
SEE: How to Make Money With Woodworking
9. Be a wholesale seller
Amazon can offer highly competitive prices for products that a good number of people and businesses need, due to their network of wholesale sellers.
Wholesale sellers purchase goods at a discount since they are buying in large quantities. This allows them to sell the products at very cheap prices on Amazon.
This is a competitive niche where wholesale sellers try to outperform each other with rock bottom prices. It’s advisable to have your warehouse space where you can store your products so that you can make a significant income. This is better than relying on the FBA program offered by Amazon.
Some key features associated with this option include the following:
- It allows you to earn a huge amount of money with a single big investment.
- You don’t need to advertise or create a website, simply offer the lowest price possible.
- Sellers can generate passive income between bulk purchases and shipments.
How Much Can You Make Selling on Amazon?
The amount that you can make selling on Amazon varies. Most sellers earn at least $1,000 every month in sales, while some super-sellers earn at least $250,000 per month in sales; this makes $3 million in sales per year.
Here’s a breakdown of the amount earned selling on Amazon:
- About half (44%) of those selling on Amazon earn between $1,000 and $2,500 per month. This gives an annual sales of $12,000 to $300,000.
- About 19% (i.e. one in five) Amazon sellers earn between $25,000 and $250,000 per month.
- 6% earns over $250,000 per month in sales.
- 26% of Amazon sellers earn below $1,000 per month in sales.
- 4% have no idea what their monthly sales are.
SEE: How to Make Money Reselling
FAQs
Is it easy to make money selling on Amazon?
To be honest, it is not easy in most cases due to the low barriers to entry. Anyone can make money selling on Amazon provided the items are in demand on the site. The challenge is to be profitable after all you’ve spent to generate sales.
Can a private person sell on Amazon?
Yes, a private person can sell on Amazon via the individual seller account which is free to create. However, you will need to pay a commission of $0.99 whenever you make a sale. You will also incur other referral fees and closing fees.
How can you make money on Amazon without inventory?
If you don’t have an inventory, you can make money on Amazon through the following options:
- Affiliate marketing
- Amazon Merch
- Amazon Handmade
- Kindle Direct Publishing
- Retail arbitrage
- FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon)
- Amazon Mechanical Turk
- Sell your professional service
SEE: Top 10 Reliable Ways to Make Money With Writing
Conclusion
Amazon is a leader in eCommerce and the platform presents lots of opportunities for people all over the world to make money. Of course, there are many ways to make money selling on Amazon, even more opportunities may come up as Amazon keeps growing.
Due to the platform’s massive and far-reaching marketplace, anyone can join and make money.
At Tosinajy, we are always amazed at the different stories of those using Amazon to pursue financial freedom.
For instance, I have witnessed a man that makes a living from sales made on the Kindle Direct Publishing platform and students funding their studies from sales made through dropshipping on the platform.
Irrespective of who you are, you can find an option to make money selling on Amazon.
Tosinajy shares different ideas on how to make money. The platform also provides various software and guides on how to go about it.
Thanks for reading.
