How you can make money selling on Amazon FBA

One of the most questioned ways in our facebook group  of making money is selling on amazon!  Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service available to you when you sell on Amazon. With FBA, you store your products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we will pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for them.

Jessica Larrew and her spouse  Cliff have been reselling on Amazon for years. And though it started as a part-time side hustle, it turned into a serious business–they’ve sold more than 1 million bucks  worth of stuff on Amazon!

Check out Jessica's recent podcast where she gives an overview 

*The tools you need to get started

*Where to look for profitable inventory

*The product categories that are best for new sellers

*How to prep and ship your products in to Amazon

What’s surprising – and I think exciting – is that they’ve done this is by finding profitable products to resell primarily in nearby retail stores.

How to start an Amazon FBA reseller business with $100

How Reselling on Amazon Works

Jessica takes advantage of Amazon’s FBA program, or Fulfillment by Amazon. This is Amazon’s way of crowdsourcing its inventory, and letting regular people like us tap into its world-class logistics network.

That means this Selling Family doesn’t have to ship anything to the end customer, handle returns, or write up product descriptions.

How the business works is like any other retail business: you profit on the spread between the cost of your product and what it sells for. Now you have to account for Amazon’s fees and shipping costs, but it’s basically buy low, sell high.

And the best part of this side hustle is that you can get started today with whatever initial inventory investment you’re comfortable with.

Getting Started Reselling on Amazon

If you already enjoy shopping and picking up great deals, why not start making a profit from it?

This business is a bit of a treasure hunt. “When we go into a store, we don’t have any idea what we’re going to find,” Jessica explained.

To get started, you need three things:

An Amazon Seller Account — Jessica recommended the free Personal seller account for people just getting started. Once you’re selling more than 40 items a month, it makes sense to upgrade to the Professional account level.

The Amazon Seller app —  Available on iOS and Android for free.

A few dollars to buy your initial inventory.

With those three things in place, you’re good to go. Now let’s go hunt for some profit!

The Scanning Process

When looking for products to resell, Jessica and her husband go to stores like BigLots and start looking in each of their areas. She mentioned sections like household cleaning, health and beauty, groceries, etc.

They keep an eye out for branded products. If they recognize them, customers on Amazon will too.

Jessica also mentioned that seasonal goods and limited edition items can be profitable finds. “We’re looking for something special,” Jessica said. But the main thing to look for is something that is deeply discounted or that the app shows is selling for a much higher price on Amazon.

As you go down the aisles, you’ll use the Amazon seller app to scan the barcodes of the products. It can be a time-consuming process. Jessica said they will scan 30-40 products in an aisle, then move on to the next aisle, and keep going to find those profitable products.

The app tells you how much the products are selling for on Amazon, and how much you’d make after the selling fees. That way you can make a buying decision based on the price it’s available for in front of you.

The app will also show you the sales rank of the product in its category on Amazon. This is an indication of how popular it is and how frequently it sells.

Reselling for Profit: Buying Criteria

There are a few criteria Jessica and Cliff use when purchasing items to resell on Amazon.

At least 50% ROI. This means if you buy an item for $10, you’ll want to see at least $5 profit after fees.

A minimum of $5 per sale. Jessica said she sometimes bends this rule if they expect to sell a large volume quickly.

A Sales Rank under 150,000. When it comes to sales rank, the lower the number the better. (A sales rank of 1 indicates it’s the bestselling product in that entire category on Amazon.)

The sales rank is crucial because you want to be able to turn your money over quickly. Even if a product is a screaming deal, it’s usually not worth buying if the rank is really high because it’ll just sit in the warehouse collecting dust.

What are the Product Categories for Resellers?

What are the best items to flip for a profit? Jessica recommended a few categories for new sellers.

Groceries – Potentially a quick turnaround. Limited edition candies, cookies, and seasonal stuff sells well. Keep in mind the expiration date needs to be at least 3 months out.

Health and Beauty – Shampoo, conditioner, face creams, etc. Jessica explained that women (and probably men too) are willing to spend more for discontinued items to keep using their favorite brands.

Household Items – Shoppers like finding unique items for their homes.

Toys – Popular toys and games for kids can sell well. This category is often closed to new sellers during the holidays.

Books – Used books sell well on Amazon. You can pick up books at goodwill, thrift stores, yard sales, and so on and resell. Look for niche-specific books, not mass-produced series.

TOP 100 Best Things To Sell On Amazon

TOP 100 Amazon Best Sellers by Category

TOP 100 Amazon New Releases by Category

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TOP 100 Amazon Wish List Items by Category

Can You Resell on eBay Too?

Jessica mentioned a tool called JoeLister, which automatically generates eBay sales pages from Amazon inventory. You can even have Amazon ship the item to your eBay customer on your behalf.

It also works out what price you need to list the product on eBay to make the same profit. Jessica said this is most useful in instances when Amazon itself has received stock of the same item you just purchased.

Estimating Shipping Costs

Of course, when you’re moving physical products from place to place, shipping costs are going to be a factor.  The good news is that Amazon has heavily discounted shipping costs due to the volume of goods they ship all over the world.

As a rule of thumb, Jessica estimates $1 per pound for the stuff she ships to Amazon. You can even add this estimate into the Seller App so it calculates it into your expected profit per item.

It also saves money to send items in bulk. Jessica said she makes a shipment once she’s filled a “Home Depot medium sized box.”

How to get start Reselling 

Can People Resell on Amazon Outside of the US?

Jessica has reselling students in Canada and the UK who are selling on both the Canada and UK Amazon stores, and the US store.

Sellers outside the US often buy products online in the US, ship them to a prep center, and having them shipped on to Amazon.

Reselling on Amazon with Online Arbitrage

Jessica and Cliff do online arbitrage too, but not as much as physically finding products in stores.

She said online arbitrage is great for people who don’t enjoy shopping or are short on time. While profit margins can be thinner (more competitive), you can often find more units of a product online than in your local store.

Best Tips & Tricks for Selling on Facebook Marketplace

What Prep Do You Do Before Sending Products to Amazon

There are a few steps to follow once you have your products home and you’re ready to send them off to Amazon.

Jessica outlined her process as follows:

Scan the products and tell Amazon what you have to send them.

Tell Amazon what price you want to sell your products for. Jessica said the don’t usually undercut the current “buy box” seller.

You will be asked some questions about the products as you add them to a shipping plan.

You can then label the products yourself, or Amazon will do it for a small fee.

Jessica prints FNSKU codes and covers up the original barcodes, this identifies the products as hers when sold.

Polybag any products with open faces, bubble wrap any breakable items.

Add everything into a box, make a note of the weight, and ship it to the distribution center Amazon tells you to.

Risks of Reselling on Amazon

The biggest risk in a reselling business is your upfront capital investment. Amazon loves this business because they can be “the everything store” without having to purchase all this stuff themselves.

The good news is most of the time you can at least break even on your inventory. Jessica told the story of a recent purchasing mis-step though. She’d found some seasoning packets for $1 that were selling for $12 on Amazon, with a sales rank of 1000 in grocery.

When she got them home, it turned out that sales rank was in some obscure subcategory and that no one was actually buying them. Luckily it was only $100 bet!

Next Steps

If you want to learn more about Jessica, Cliff, and their FBA business, you can start a free 7-day email course by heading over to TheSellingFamily.com/hustle. 

How to get start selling clothing and make money online

 When you’re getting out of debt, Dave says to sell so much stuff the kids think they’re next.  But how do you start and actual start making money.    

Why declutter? Because it is overwhelming, draining, makes you moody. You can’t have good habits with clutter. It drains your energy. It is is around when there’s a scarcity mindset. If you want change, you have to make room for something new!

You should be thinking abundantly. “There’s always more where that came from.” Hanging onto things is a feeling and a mindset where you don’t think more goodness and prosperity are coming your way.  And you can make some money  to help pay off your debts or put towards your sinking funds and/or rainy day fund.  

Side Hustlers Income Reports 

I loved this interview with  Leslie Tucker, an expert in the world of online reselling platforms. Leslie went from working a full time job — and reselling as a hobby — to retiring from her job and running a full time reselling business.  Empty out your closet!! 

You’ll get step-by-step tips on how to start, what to sell, what platforms to use and so much more. Seriously, you won’t believe all the information packed in this one episode!  Listen to the episode here 

Here is what is covered! 

Leslie’s backstory

How Leslie’s husband factored into her reselling journey

How quickly Leslie received her 1st online income payment

The plan Leslie came up with once she saw the options and potential to make decent money from reselling

How long it took Leslie to execute said plan

Did Leslie have to invest money in her pursuits to resell her stuff?

How much business experience plays a role, if any, in your success in reselling

Leslie walks us through the process of cleaning out your stuff!

How to get organized enough so that you know where to start in the decluttering process

How to decide what is a donate or a sell

Are minor repairs to your clothes and things imperative before you sell them?

Should you clean your clothes before selling?

How to know how to price your items

How to systematize the process of selling your things

The best way to write descriptions for your items

Is it important to note the imperfections on your items when selling?

Tips for shipping

Best apps for reselling

Why Leslie recommends starting on eBay

What is a bundle

Why Poshmark may be the platform for you

If/when you should start an Instagram account re: your reselling

Should you wait to sell seasonal items per their season

How to set limits so you don’t turn into a hoarder (for selling all things you see)

Disadvantages being a new seller

What to expect in dealing with your items being returned (and how to handle it)

Reselling Platforms for clothing 

Poshmark

Ebay

Mercari

Depop

Grailed

Facebook Marketplace

Tools you will need to be successful 

Digital postal scale

Boxes, envelopes, poly mailer

Tissue/packing paper

Bubble wrap/popcorn (if fragile)

Packing tape

Printer for printing labels

Waterproof bags for clothing (if desired)

Learn more about Leslie  and get more tips 

Since many in our Side Hustle group have been focused on reselling 

Best Tips & Tricks for Selling on Facebook Marketplace 

How to start an Amazon FBA reseller business with $100

5 Places To Sell Your Stuff Online Besides Ebay

Here are some resellers  best practices 

Offer Free Shipping

No, shipping is never “free”- someone pays for it, meaning lower margins for you or a

higher cost to the customer. But buyers have come to expect it. 28% of customers

will abandon their cart without it. 90% of customers say that free shipping is one of

the biggest factors when shopping online. Try a system that provides customers with

free shipping once their order meets a certain total amount. “Free shipping on all

orders over $50.”

This keeps your customer on the page, and often gets them to spend a little more. “I

don’t want to pay $7.95 for shipping. I’m only $5 away from getting it free. Let me

see if I can get to $50.”

Make Shipping Costs Obvious at Checkout

Customers don’t always mind paying for shipping– but they don’t like surprises. Your

customers are likely to abandon their cart if they can’t see shipping costs until the

end of checkout or if they’re blindsided by an unexpectedly high shipping cost.

Provide Shipping Communication

Customers expect updates; doing so leads to positive ratings. Give them a

confirmation, shipping estimate and tracking number provided by the platform you’re

on, or software you use. Process orders in a timely manner and within the expected

timeframe.

Pack Things Classy

Package things securely, and go above and beyond with tissue paper, a sticker, and

even a thank you business card. Create something cute in Cavna or order from

VistaPrint.  This allows you to invite others to shop your store as well

Respond to Customer Questions Promptly

Reply in a timely fashion, especially about shipping delays/issues. Adhere to return

policies.

Best Tips & Tricks for Selling on Facebook Marketplace

When you’re getting out of debt, Dave says to sell so much stuff the kids think they’re next! But how do you make sure you’re getting the most you can for your stuff?

We asked our friends on the side hustle group for their best tips on Facebook Marketplace 

Here is a round up some of the ideas 

Tara:  I have been selling things since April on Marketplace, porch pick up and payment via PayPal etc and have sold so much with it all being no contact I've actually sold more now then I have in the past.

 Madison  A really good description, measurements, good pictures, make sure the lighting is nice & area is cleaned up.

Jessica  Good picture with proper lighting, good description, proper measurements/sizes and fast response time. Make sure the background is muted and not busy

Jason  Do Garage sale pricing. pricing it right

How to start an Amazon FBA reseller business with $100

Amy  Higher ticket items (like electronics) where you'll actually get a couple hundred bucks, up the price you want by $25 because almost everyone will try talk you down so in the end you still get what you want. I've done this multiple times and have scored "higher" a few times when there was no negotiation on their end

Kelly L Good Description and Price. I am selling my side hustle crafts/tumblers and things around the house since we just moved we are updating a lot of our stuff and getting rid of the old

Kelly P  Good photos with quality lighting. Dimensions/measurements. Smoke free or pet free home or smoke/pet home. If something is new in packaging, I’ll usually list it for 50-75% of the original price. If it’s used, usually around 25-50% of the original price. Some people want to try to sell gently used items for full retail value and I’m like...why?

I sell a lot of new in box items that I score from various sources and that pricing system has not let me down yet. I could prove higher and sit on the merchandise but I usually price it to move.

Best Legitimate Paid Online Surveys

 Andrea Great photos in a clean space.
I like to find little wood things that don't take too much time to refinish and flip them for big profits.

Andrea  Don’t take pictures with your nasty toes in the bottom of the picture! 🤢 I seriously just scroll right past those

 I’be never sold but I often look/ have bought. Nothing more annoying than a very vague listing with no measurements asking a new price for an used item. Or to find out it’s already been sold 🤦‍♀️ If I wanted/could pay full price I wouldn’t be looking on marketplace 🤣 I don’t expect it for free, but why would I spend new price when I could also get a new item too 😆

 Group like items together especially clothing. I put 3 sweatshirts together same size etc. super easy to sell and worthwhile meeting up then  Make sure you check out Oshkosh and Carter baby & kids clothing  clearance either online in person. I also will check out kohls as well! Remember to bundle.

  I love marketplace. I’ve made $2k in the past two months just listing stuff we don’t want. I just sit it outside and they leave the money wherever I tell them. SO easy. I’ll never have another actual garage sale. 😂

5 Places To Sell Your Stuff Online Besides Ebay

How to start an Amazon FBA reseller business with $100

Nathan and his wife Alysha got started with Amazon FBA reseller business a few years ago! Nathan has been very active in our facebook group answering questions etc

3 years ago, my wife and I had tons of student loans and a fair bit of debt. We were both teachers in Florida where they don't get raises... so we didn't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I started looking into other legitimate businesses I could start and run in my spare time when I read an article about reselling stuff on Amazon. My wife wasn't too keen on it, so I only took $100 and we agreed to not spend any more on trying it out.

I took $100 + some old books from our shelves and started trying to flip things on Amazon's platform. I would buy a light bulb for $1 on clearance and sell it for $12 on Amazon. It BLEW MY MIND how quickly I could double my money just flipping clearance stuff from around town.

It was at this point that our goal changed. I personally knew that this had huge potential and could be a full time business that would allow my wife and I to adopt a family and stay home full time with our kids...

I decided that I wasn't going to pay myself for the first year and instead I reinvested 100% of the profits back into the business to snowball it. Starting with $100 we sold a total of ~$180,000 in our first year with about 30% net profit.

We were growing the business by almost 20% every single month...

Here we are 3.5 years later... We are SEVEN figure sellers on Amazon today, we both quit are day jobs, we are financially free, we adopted 2 beautiful kids from foster care, and we are able to stay home and enjoy our kids childhood with them instead of working all day and missing all the little moments :)

Check out  Jessica of the Selling  Family success with Amazon FBA 

--- FAQ about selling on Amazon ---

 - How do you get set up as a seller?

Sellercentral.amazon.com

- How does it work? You buy an item that you know is profitable. 

You list the item on Amazon. You ship your item to Amazon (FBA) or you ship it direct to customer (FBM). Once the item sells Amazon pays you your money (minus their cut which is about 30%)

- What do you sell? 

Everything. If it exists in a store... someone bought it cheaper from point A and is selling it to you and point B.


- Where can I find good deals?

 Everywhere. The easiest places to start are used books, clothing, and clearance isles in big box stores.  For kids clothing Oshkosh and Carter baby & kids clothing  have great clearance 

- Taxes? 

Yes we pay those :)  Amazon sends 1099 if over 20k in sales  Heres a Amazon tax video we did that may help explain some things: https://youtu.be/pCTWcG0g5RE 

- How do I know if an item sells? 

The Amazon seller app will show you reviews and sales rank. This is an indication of how fast something will sell.

You can also check out top sellers here 

TOP 100 Amazon Best Sellers by Category

TOP 100 Amazon New Releases by Category

TOP 100 Amazon Gift Ideas by Category

TOP 100 Amazon Wish List Items by Category

- How do you know if it's profitable? 

Again in the Amazon seller app you can see the estimated fees and just do some simple math (Buy cost + fees & ; Avg sale price)

- How many hours per week do you spend purchasing the items to resell?  Is it just you and your wife shopping? How many hours per week packaging/shipping items?


This drastically changes depending on our needs and where we were at in our business...
At the start I was probably working 30-40 hours a week (on top of my main teaching job) just on Amazon. The goal was to build an empire so we could quit... so I was highly motivated.
Currently I work maybe 10-15 hours a week because we have systems in place for nearly everything and have outsourced a lot.

It's pretty much just me shopping, though on rare occasion I'll hire some help if I'm dropping 10k+ at a single store on a single purchase.


Do you think you have better success living by large cities with a larger selection of places to find deals?

No. Big cities of more store + more sellers. Small cities have less stores but no sellers.

It's pretty even across the board.


- Are you mainly looking at clearance items?

I look at everything... Though clearance is a good place to start

How do you know what to sell? Do you just go to stores and find clearance items?

I scan the items with the amazon seller app and it tells me data like: Avg sale price, sales velocity, reviews, fees, etc...


- Have you found there to be any restrictions on reselling certain store brands via Amazon at all (ex Disney store, exclusive Target brands, etc)? For the 30% you factor in to Amazon, does that include shipping costs or do you factor that in separate?

Yes there are lots of restrictions when you are first starting. I recommend to start with books and clothing.  Shipping is roughly .50/lbs

I thought clothing was one of the restricted categories at first? Also- I know in another post you shared that selling bras are very profitable for you. Do all sizes sell equally as well or are you always left with unsold sizes?

Clothing is not restricted for anyone.

All sizes and styles are fine. There is more demand for white/blacks... but also more sellers of those... and they are easy to find in stores. The Pink tiger stripe 54FF cup is hard to find in store... so that person goes online to buy.

What impact have you seen on your business due to the pandemic?

 It's exploded. Nearly everyone is ordering everything online instead of going in store


Do you have to take pictures of all of your items or do you use the pictures from similar listings of the same item?

Nope. It doesn't work like that on Amazon. There aren't really multiple listings for the same item. 1 listing, 1 item, multiple sellers all stocking that same shelf


Do you find things sell better if you send them to amazon verses shipping them out yourself?

yes. Very much so.  It gets the "Shipped via Amazon Prime" badge.

Why do you pick Amazon over ebay? Or do you use both? I've been selling on eBay for 15 years but just on the side.

 Waaaaay more scalable.

 How do you deal with returns? Do you have a lot of returns?

I  mostly let Amazon deal with the returns so it's not too bad.

How many of each item do you need to send to amazon? Would they rather have 5 of the same thing or 50? Also what price point do your items need to sell for to make money? (On eBay I have to sell items for $15 with free shipping for it to be profitable)

Desiree all depends on the demand, supply & demand. The sales rank and how many sellers that are on a particular item will help you make that decision. I’d definitely recommend watching the  videos on YouTube below ,it  breaks everything down!


Do you have a lot of product sitting at your house or does everything just get shipped to the Amazon warehouse once you have enough to fill a box? Space is a hot commodity here with 3 kids and there’s no way we could store the items waiting to sell.

You will want to send to amazon warehouse as quick as possible


Make sure you check their Hustlebuddies group for more tips and trick! 

How Nathan and his wife got started

 How to start an Amazon FBA reseller business with $100 

5 Places To Sell Your Stuff Online Besides Ebay

When you’re getting out of debt, Dave Ramsey  says to sell so much stuff the kids think they’re next! But how do you make sure you’re getting the most you can for your stuff?


One of the easiest ways to earn money online that just about anyone can manage is selling your stuff. We all have stuff we no longer want or need  hanging around in our homes .  Is your trash someone else's treasure?


And if you don't have your own stuff to sell, it's pretty easy to visit thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, estate sales, and more to find things on the cheap that you know you could sell for a little (or a lot) more to make a quick profit.


So with that being said, below I've come up with a list of 5 places besides Ebay and Facebook marketplace you could consider using to start selling your stuff online. Many of these you've probably heard of, but hopefully some will be new and interesting.

Mercari


Mercari is a great site — I've bought some things on there myself. But it's not as popular as some of the sites we've listed above. This means that if you list items here, it may take longer for them to sell.


On the upside, Mercari has lower fees than most (just ten percent of the listing price).





Poshmark 


If you have clothes you need to get rid of, Poshmark is going to be one of your best options. It's a very popular app for used clothing, shoes, and accessories. And as a seller on Poshmark, you don't even have to have a computer. You can upload your items directly to Poshmark via the app, complete with pictures. If you sell over $15, Poshmark does take a 20 percent commission off your earnings. This is quite a lot. Still, Poshmark is a great way to quickly unload some of your used clothing. Go here to sign up as a Poshmark seller.



 Decluttr


Decluttr is a great platform to use if you have used books, video games, DVDs, CDs, or various tech devices lying around your house that you no longer want or need.



You are not selling your items to individuals. You're selling them directly to Decluttr. You share with them what items you want to sell, and they'll give you an instant price quote. If you're happy with the quote, they'll pay shipping for you to send the items to them. Then you get paid!

How to start an Amazon FBA reseller business with $100

Glambot

Do you have any makeup or skincare items taking up space in your bathroom drawers that you no longer want or need? It's understandable you'd think that stuff was fit for the trash. But you'd be wrong.

Glambot is a site that will actually buy your gently used or new-but-never-used makeup from you. You just let them know what you have, they'll give you an estimate, and then they will send you a shipping label to get the items to them. If your items are what you say they are and in the condition you described, you get paid!

Glambot will not accept false lashes, skincare, makeup bags or items with reusable applicators (ie. lipgloss, liquid lipstick, mascara, liquid eyeliner pens, etc.) unless you work in the Beauty Industry.

 Listia

Listia makes it possible for you to sell your unwanted items and get free stuff in exchange for those items.



How it works is pretty simple. You just list your used items (all kinds of things are accepted). When other people buy your items, you receive a virtual currency called “Ink.” Then, you can use the Ink to shop on Listia for yourself, purchasing items other people have listed.