Thinking about selling products online but worried about finding customers? The good news is you don’t have to start from scratch! You can tap into the over 2 billion people who shop monthly at the world’s largest retailer: Amazon.
But does Amazon selling actually deliver results? Amazon’s own statistics show that nearly 225,000 sellers worldwide surpassed $100,000 in sales during 2019. Among those, over 15,000 crossed the $1 million threshold. The bottom line: you absolutely can make money on Amazon!
Ready to join the ranks of successful Amazon sellers? Here’s your complete guide to selling products on Amazon.
Setting Up Your Amazon Seller Account
Individual Or Professional Account?
If you already have a regular Amazon customer account (and who doesn’t these days?), you’ll need to create a separate “seller account” to start your business.
Amazon offers two seller account types:
- Individual Account – Free to start, but you’ll pay a $0.99 item fee per sale plus variable closing fees.
- Professional Account – Costs $39.99 monthly but allows unlimited sales. You’ll still pay referral and variable fees per item sold.
The math is straightforward: if you plan to sell more than 40 items monthly, the Professional Account becomes the better investment.
Vendor Or Third-Party Seller?
During account setup, you’ll need to choose your seller type:
- Amazon Vendors – First-party sellers with wholesale relationships directly with Amazon (similar to traditional wholesaler-retailer arrangements).
- Amazon Third Party (3P) Sellers – Independent sellers who use Amazon’s platform to reach customers directly. These sellers get access to Amazon Seller Central for listing and managing products.
You might assume vendor status would be more profitable, but third-party sellers actually generate the majority of Amazon’s total sales (53%), and this percentage continues growing annually.
Choosing Your Fulfillment Method
Once your seller account is active, you’ll need to decide how your products will reach customers. Amazon provides three fulfillment options:
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) – Ship your inventory directly to Amazon’s warehouses. Amazon handles storage, packing, shipping, and customer service. FBA products are eligible for Amazon Prime.
- Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) – You manage all aspects of order fulfillment yourself, including picking, packing, and shipping. However, these products aren’t eligible for Amazon Prime.
- Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) – A hybrid approach where you handle fulfillment while maintaining Amazon Prime eligibility for your products.
Why Side Hustlers Love FBA
While each fulfillment option has advantages, Fulfillment by Amazon has captured the attention of countless online entrepreneurs.
The appeal is obvious: Amazon handles the operational heavy lifting while you focus on product sourcing and inventory management. This eliminates hours spent on shipping logistics, payment processing, and return handling.
Take the success story featured on Side Hustle Nation’s popular podcast – a married couple who began selling on Amazon part-time, recognized the income potential, transitioned to full-time selling, and eventually achieved over $1 million in annual sales. Their results speak volumes!
Their success isn’t an anomaly. Search “Amazon FBA side hustle” and you’ll discover countless entrepreneurs leveraging this platform to build profitable businesses.
What Products Sell Well on Amazon?
Product Research Strategies
Discovering profitable products requires strategic research, particularly for FBA sellers. Here are proven methods to identify winning products:
- Amazon Best Sellers List – Amazon displays trending products directly on their homepage, showing what’s selling well currently.
- Google Trends – Analyze search term popularity to identify products experiencing high demand.
- Jungle Scout Keyword Research – Input potential products to see Amazon search volume and interest levels.
Another effective approach involves targeting businesses liquidating inventory or running deep discount sales. You can acquire their stock and resell it profitably. I’ve personally witnessed FBA entrepreneurs purchasing entire store inventories during these situations.
Selling Pre-Owned Products
Amazon does permit used item sales, but only within specific categories like books, DVDs, video games, toys, and cell phones. You’ll need to review Amazon’s Condition Guidelines for complete requirements.
For items outside these categories, consider alternative platforms like eBay or other auction-style marketplaces.
Optimizing Your Sales Performance
Creating Compelling Product Listings
Similar to eBay listings, your product presentation directly impacts sales success. Focus on these critical listing elements:
- Title – Incorporate relevant keywords while maintaining readability
- Bullets – Concisely highlight key benefits and features
- Descriptions – Provide comprehensive, accurate product details
- Product images – Use high-quality photos showcasing multiple angles
Leveraging Amazon Sponsored Products
With a modest advertising budget, you can run sponsored listings through Amazon’s pay-per-click system. These keyword-based ads typically appear in the first 1-3 search results, marked with “Sponsored” labels.
While you’ll pay for each click, improved search visibility significantly boosts sales potential. Marketing experts recommend testing sponsored ads for several weeks to evaluate their effectiveness for your product categories.
Winning the Buy Box
The ultimate prize for Amazon sellers is securing the “Buy Box” – the prominent “Buy Now” button that drives most sales.
When multiple sellers offer identical products, Amazon selects only one for the Buy Box. Winning this placement essentially moves you to the front of the line for customer purchases.
Though Amazon hasn’t revealed their exact algorithm, industry experts believe Buy Box winners typically offer competitive pricing, reliable shipping (with FBA sellers receiving preference), and maintain excellent feedback ratings.
Is Amazon Selling Worth Your Time?
Yes, selling on Amazon requires significant effort – but so does operating any successful business, whether physical or digital.
Amazon has fundamentally transformed online selling by removing traditional barriers to entry. Data from Amazon seller service Jungle Scout reveals impressive earning potential:
- Half of all sellers (50.7%) earn $1,000-$25,000 monthly, representing $12,000-$300,000 in annual sales.
- One in five sellers (20%) generates $25,000-$250,000 monthly, equivalent to $300,000-$3,000,000 annually. An additional 3.3% exceed $250,000 in monthly sales.
- Only 23.8% of sellers earn under $1,000 monthly, while 2.1% are unsure of their monthly sales figures.
With income potential like this, Amazon selling represents a side hustle definitely worth exploring!
