How to become a seller on Amazon and make money

How to become a seller on Amazon and make money?

To become a seller on Amazon, you will need to create an Amazon seller account. Most Amazon sellers start with retail arbitrage, buying products at stores and reselling on Amazon. Focus on finding products that have demand, are profitable, and have minimal competition.

Imagine, making more money on Amazon than your 9-5 pays you. You have more money to invest or the ability to quit your job and pursue reselling full-time.

Selling products on Amazon is profitable!

Luckily for you, I’ll show you how to become a seller on Amazon, even if you’re a beginner. I’ll show you how to find profitable products and help you estimate how much you could make. You’ll be making money in no time!

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How to become a seller on Amazon

To become a seller on Amazon, you will need to create an Amazon seller account. Plans include an individual seller account for $0.99 per item sold or professional seller for $39.99 per month. Once approved, you can use your Amazon seller account to list and sell items on Amazon.

The first step is to sign up for an Amazon seller account. You’ll need a credit card, email address, Government ID, Tax ID, bank account, and a phone number. Amazon needs this information because they’ll charge you for fees and direct deposit earnings into your bank account.

Your plan options are to pay $0.99 per item sold for the individual seller account or $39.99 per month for a professional account. Personally, I would recommend going with the professional account if you’re taking Amazon selling seriously. Good products sell fast on Amazon, so you should be able to earn back the $40.

Make sure you download the Amazon seller app. The app allows you to scan products from your smartphone that you can resell on Amazon. It even has a profitability estimator so you know the product’s going to make you money before you buy it.

Once your account is approved, you can log into your Amazon seller dashboard. You’ll have access to training videos and the community forum to learn about selling on Amazon.

I had someone from Amazon reach out after I created my Amazon seller account. They were there to answer any questions I had about selling on Amazon for a limited time.

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How do you sell on Amazon for beginners?

Amazon beginners can sell products using Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) or Fulfilment by Merchant (FBM). Sellers can source products through retail arbitrage, wholesale, or private label. You will only be able to sell products in categories you are currently approved to sell.

Fulfillment by Amazon vs. Merchant

Fulfillment by Amazon allows you to send products into the Amazon warehouse. Amazon will ship the products to your customers when the product sells. Using FBA allows you to compete for the buy box, where the majority of sales are made.

Fulfilment by Merchant requires you to ship the products immediately upon sale. FBA has fees involved, so FBM typically leads to higher profit margins.

Retail Arbitrage

Most first time sellers use retail arbitrage to build an Amazon business. You shop for items on clearance at local stores for resale on Amazon. Some people even use software, like Tactical Arbitrage, to find deals online which they can flip for profit.

For example, you go to Walmart and check the clearance Aisle. You find an item on clearance for $4, but it’s selling for $20 on Amazon. Your profit is $16 minus the cost to ship into Amazon and Amazon’s fees.

Wholesale

Wholesale is difficult for most people to start selling on Amazon. You work with wholesale distributors to get products at wholesale price to resell on Amazon. The problem is that most wholesale distributors don’t want to work with individual Amazon resellers.

The best way to find wholesalers is to attend trade shows. You’ll meet with wholesalers face to face who can set you up with a wholesale account on the spot. You will need a reseller’s permit to work with a wholesaler.

Private Label

Private label involves finding a product supplier and placing your own branded label on the product. You create your own Amazon listing and sell the product as your own.

How much does an Amazon seller make?

Most Amazon sellers are able to make between $1,000 and $10,000 per month in sales. Consistent sellers are able to reach between $100k and $300k in sales every month. However, profit margins are typically between 10-20% of sales.

Selling on Amazon requires you to spend money, either cash or credit. You have to purchase the product and then sell it for higher. Therefore, someone saying they sold $100k on Amazon doesn’t mean they earned $100k profit.

Instead, profit margins are typically between 10-20%. Someone who sold $100k worth of goods on Amazon most likely earned $15k profit.

The more money you’re able to put into your Amazon business, the easier it will be to make money. For example, you could make 15% return on investment. However, 15% of $1k is $150, but 15% of $100k is $15,000.

Is selling on Amazon profitable?

The majority of Amazon sellers have a profitable Amazon business. The typical Amazon reseller has profit margins between 10-20%, but some products have margins over 20%. Therefore, it is important to spend money on a large inventory to have a substantial profit.

How to find top sellers on Amazon

The top selling products on Amazon will typically have a best seller rank under 100,000. Online tools such as Keepa, Jungle Scout, and Tactical Arbitrage can help you find products that sell well.

Amazon best seller rank is a ranking system that helps you identify how popular a product is. The closer the number is to 1, the better the product sells. Typically, you’ll want to avoid selling products that have a best seller rank over 100k to avoid slow moving items.

How to be a successful seller on Amazon

To be a successful seller on Amazon, focus on products that are in demand, have profitability, and low competition. Verify the product has a best seller rank under 100k and confirm the price history by using Keepa. The product should have a good profit margin and the listing should have minimal competition.

You have to have demand for a product in order to succeed. A product that doesn’t have demand isn’t going to sell, meaning your money is tied up. Online tools and the best seller rank can help you identify products with adequate demand.

The product needs to have profitability if you want to make any money. You need to account for all Amazon fees, shipping costs, cost of purchase, any advertising fees, etc. Amazon does have a product profitability calculator to help you estimate your ROI.

Competition is another important factor when it comes to selling on Amazon. Private label sellers will want to find products that can compete with the top search results. Product resellers will want to make sure there aren’t hundreds of other resellers selling the same product.

Sometimes you buy a product that goes on sale at TJ Maxx, send it in, and so does everyone else. All of a sudden, you’ve got hundreds of sellers selling the same product and undercutting your price. The best thing to do is just wait until everyone undercutting you gets bought out.

The most important thing you can do is stay consistent. You should always be looking for new products to list and sell. Stay consistent for one year and you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.

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Summary: How to become a seller on Amazon

As you can see, it’s easy to become a seller on Amazon and make money. You need to sign up for an Amazon seller account and start sourcing products. New sellers typically start with retail arbitrage, but you can sell wholesale or private label as well.

Setting up a professional sellers account will cost you about $40 per month. A professional account is recommended, because you can take advantage of the buy box and Amazon FBA. Amazon FBA allows you to use Amazon’s warehouses and distribution centers.

Most new Amazon sellers can make between $1k and $10k in sales, but it depends on your initial investment. Consistent sellers can earn well over $100k in sales. Profit margins are typically between 10-20% of sales, but you can find products with over 20% profit margin.

Top selling products are typically those with an Amazon best seller rank under 100k. You can use additional online tools such as Keepa, Tactical Arbitrage, and Jungle Scout to find products.

Successful Amazon sellers focus on product demand, profitability, and low competition products. The product needs to have demand and profitability if you want to make money. The less competition you have, the easier it will be to sell.

John is the founder of TightFist Finance and an expert in the field of personal finance. John has studied personal finance for over 10 years and has used his knowledge to pay down debt, grow his investment portfolio, and launch a financial based business. He is committed to sharing content related to personal finance based on his experience in his career, investing, and path towards reaching financial independence.