How To Sell Things On Amazon And Make Money

Comprising almost half of all online sales in the U.S. alone, Amazon has been accumulating supernumerary gross since 2016. In 2017, it premiered as the biggest U.S. e-commerce retailer earning $178 billion in net sales. Just last year (2020), Amazon reached $386 billion in annual revenue, and it’s still projected to increase over the coming years. This giant e-commerce platform will compose 50% of U.S. sales finally this year.

If you ever thought of selling things on Amazon, now is the right time to take your own portion of their revenue. To start a business in Amazon, there are assorted strategies and models you ought to know on-hand before diving in. It is also vital for starters to understand the selling costs and future expenses. Thus, you won’t end up losing large amounts of money.

In this guide, you will learn these themes in order to make your establishment of Amazon business a success:

How to sell things on Amazon? (Manuals)

1. Selling Products through FBA
2. Dropshipping with FBM
3. Arbitraging on Amazon
4. Selling Books on Amazon
5. Selling your Hand-made Crafts
6. Customizing Merchandise on Amazon
7. Affiliate Marketing on Amazon

Is there a fee to sell things on Amazon?

1. Amazon Seller’s Monthly Subscription Fees
2. Referral Fees
3. Closing Fees
4. Advertising Costs

How to Sell Things on Amazon?

There are eclectic ways and programs to become a seller on Amazon. You are free to decide which product category fits your branding. If you’re interested in selling physical products, here are some manageable business ideas you may commence with as a novice:

1. Selling Products through FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon)

This service was availed by many Amazon sellers to lessen their headaches. The best thing about FBA is, a seller like you can just sit and watch while Amazon’s FBA department employees pick, pack, and ship your products for you.

Here are the steps to take:

1. Find a product and a reliable supplier. Source products from Amazon or other platforms like Alibaba. Carefully look for the type of items that make sense for you. You could later private label and designate them with your own unique trademark.
2. Be an Amazon seller and sell via FBA. To start selling on Amazon, you need to complete a registration first. After that, sign up to avail of Amazon’s FBA service. You must have enough volume of stocks to be eligible for FBA and to make real profits.
3. Deliver your products to Amazon. When an Amazon fulfillment center receives your inventory, they will manage the storing and packaging processes.
4. Wait for buyers. If someone purchases a product from your FBA listings on Amazon’s website, Amazon shall ship the order for you. The shipment fee of Amazon is usually lower than most carriers (even when negotiated). This makes FBA an economical service you don’t want to replace.

Who pays for FBA shipping?

You won’t pay for shipping costs in one separate remittance. The fulfillment process involves handling, packaging, and shipping products. Therefore, Amazon would charge you the overall fulfillment fee which also includes the shipping fee.

This program also entails the Amazon Prime Two-day FREE SHIPPING. Once you list products for FBA, they will be qualified for free shipping. Those products will then be marked with a Prime logo so that buyers know that those products are handled, packed, and delivered by Amazon itself.

How much does Amazon FBA cost?

The applicabilities of this service could be based upon your preference. Purchasing for FBA levies Amazon sellers the fulfillment fees, inventory storage fees, long-term storage fees, order removal fees, returns processing fees, and other service fees.

The amount of cost you need to cover varies depending on the type of product, its size, and its weight. Thus, the larger the item, the higher the cost for fulfillment.

One clear piece of information is this: Since Amazon stores your inventory within their warehouse, you must pay an amount every month. For one cubic foot, your inventory occupies in a month, you are charged 69 cents from January to September. When your storage exceeds this period, you will now pay $2.40 per cubic foot (from October to December).

The cost adds up as your products stay in their warehouse for a longer time. If you’re afraid to deal with additional fees, Amazon allows you to withdraw your inventory.

Here is a great amazon FBA calculator you can use to help check for profiting products.

2. Dropshipping with FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant)

FBM comes with reduced fees but fulfilment of your own products. And another way to retail things on Amazon is by dropshipping. This business model was so convenient that some people began operating this business without much capital. You won’t worry about shipping fees or storage fees.

Here are the steps to take:

1. Find products to sell. Again, you would most likely find products to resell from Amazon itself or from other e-commerce markets. Choose a familiar supplier or dropship company of which you have trust. After all, the qualities of the products you’re about to sell are one of the factors for your sales.
2. Be an Amazon seller and set up a store. You should never forget to register as an Amazon seller. Then build your electronic store. This will act as an online window for customers, where your products are listed and displayed.
3. Send customers to your store. Starting a business in this industry is fruitless without advertisements. You may either spend some bucks for paid ads or promote your online store and products via numerous social media platforms for free.
4. Wait for buyers. Just like FBA, Amazon will manage your orders, directly delivering them to customers. The fee you must pay depends on what type of account you signed up for. We will talk more about it later here.

3. Arbitraging on Amazon

Arbitrage is a business practice that allows you to buy something in one place and sell it to another place where it’s worth more. There are markets offering products with price discrepancies, and why not take advantage of it?

Here are the steps to take:

1. Buy inventory from local retailers or online stores. Purchase products that are discounted, and thus profitable. You may find them from local physical stores like Target, from online stores like eBay, and from arbitrage websites.

Sign up as an Amazon seller and list these products on Amazon. Make sure what you list are cheap products. Sell these items with marked-up prices in order to generate proceeds.

4. Selling Books on Amazon

If you are a wordsmith, don’t let this opportunity be neglected. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) enables writers to publish their masterpiece in a matter of minutes.

Here are the steps to take:

1. Sign up for Amazon KDP. It doesn’t take an hour to register and become a published writer. You will just need to fill up your personal details and banking information upon their request.
2. Publish your book. Sell it according to your price. Keep in mind that you earn 70% of royalties on KDP’s sales. You have two options:
3. Within that percentage, set a price that you can earn the desired amount of revenue per item sold;
4. Lower the price of the book in order to attract more customers but lesser revenue per item sold.
5. Publish physical copies. Aside from publishing e-books, you also have the option of selling physical copies on the platform. Just register yourself to become an Amazon seller, and find a traditional publisher like CreateSpace.

Advertise your books. Unlike physical publication through a traditional publisher, you need to endorse your e-books on Amazon all by yourself. Conventional publishers do the marketing. Amazon, however, makes your book visible across the globe within a day or two of publication but doesn’t display it to any customer’s Amazon ad section. In fact, most of your first buyers might just be your friends and kin whom you told about such business.

5. Selling your Hand-made Crafts

Are you skilled in handicrafts? More and more people are now appreciating the aesthetics of handmade crafts. When you become one Amazon seller of this kind, you won’t lose anything. Potential customers are just around, waiting for your breakthrough.

Here are the steps to take:

1. Join the program called Amazon Handmade. This is Amazon’s exclusive seller’s organization for a particular forte – handicraft. You are going to be held for audit during application as Amazon inspects if your hand-made goods are authentic.
2. List your products on Amazon. Being a certified seller, you may set your pricing for each product, covering the costs such as shipment fee and referral fee but still ensured with gains.

6. Customizing Merchandise on Amazon

There’s a door for artistic designers to make money on Amazon, too. That is Merch by Amazon. As long as you have passion and resources for constructing knockout designs, you have good prospects for this program.

Here are the steps to take: 

1. Join Merch by Amazon. First, fill out an application form. Just wait until you are approved for the program.
2. Select a product type and upload your design. Once you are declared eligible, your task is to choose a merch to fancify with (e.g. mugs, T-shirts, etc.).
3. List your customized merchandise on the product page that Amazon created for you. They’ll do the rest of the job: production, shipping, and customer service. You wouldn’t pay any direct fees but earn considerable royalties.

7. Affiliate Marketing on Amazon

You would think you’re not actually selling things participating in this program. However, it is still something like it. The only difference is, you’re earning revenue by the term ‘commission’ rather than ‘profit’. In most cases, when people buy Amazon products from your links, you receive a commission or percentage of the sale.

Here are the steps to take:

1. Join the affiliate program “Amazon Associates”. The first thing to accomplish is your application process. In order to be qualified, having pre-existing website/s is a must. Unless you are an influencer, your prominent social media accounts can be applicable, too.
2. Choose products and generate your links. When you’re now a valid Amazon Associate, you will have complete access to all Amazon products, and there are various ways to create personalized affiliate links.
3. Copy the links and paste them to your websites and socials. Be certain that these products you shall refer to are relative to your niche sites. Otherwise, you aren’t marketing them effectively.
4. Wait for buyers. If your websites and channels greatly acquire traffic, there’s no denying that numerous people will click your referral links. You can earn commissions from merchants according to their conditions. But most affiliate marketers get their commission from pay-per-sale agreements.

Is there a fee to sell things on Amazon?

The short answer to that FAQ is “YES.” You may or may not pay for up-front costs, depending on your preference. Here are a few things you should know:

Amazon Seller’s Monthly Subscription Fees

Individual Seller Account

Occasional sellers opt for this type of account. You are limited to selling only 40 items per month. Since you have no subscription fee payable in a month, you will be charged $0.99 per item sold instead.

Pro Merchant Account

This type of account best accommodates large sellers. It enables you to list and sell unlimited products per month. No matter how many you’ve sold, you are charged a fixed $39.99 per month fee.

Referral Fees

All Amazon sellers are liable to pay this compulsory fee. The rate of this fee varies per product category and selling price. It is as low as 6% and as high as 20%. A majority of sellers pay 15% referral fee on average. A minimum referral fee (30 cents) is applied by Amazon if the product’s 15% referral fee is too low.

Closing Fees

When you sell products under the Media category (e.g. books, music, videos), additional charges of $1.80 closing fee must be paid besides the referral fee.

Advertising Costs 

To boost your sales, it might not be enough without advertisements. It’s way easier and thriftier to advertise products on the same platform. The cost per click on Amazon is about $0.35 only.

How To Sell Things On Amazon And Make Money – Conclusion

Have you found which Amazon business model is right for you? Think about it now and later turn these ideas into reality. There are investments involved, though, but sure you aren’t expecting a loss. Amazon is unpredictable, and demands are constantly fluctuating. The guaranteed part is, this e-commerce giant is growing nonstop. So, there’s a high chance you can still take a share of its profits anytime soon.