How To Make Money on Amazon: 9+ REAL Strategies (+ start today)
Believe it or not, it is possible to make money on Amazon without selling anything.
In this guide, we’ll cover more than nine ways to make money on Amazon, complete with tips to help you uncover the strategy that’s best for you and how you can get started as soon as possible.
How To Sell Products and Services With Amazon
The following tactics for making money on Amazon are all about selling. While selling isn’t the only way to make money on Amazon, it’s one of the most common, and there are several different ways to do it.
Even if you don’t want to sell a physical product, read on. You may find a method of selling on Amazon that surprises you!
Table of Contents
1. Sell Products With Amazon FBA
One of the best ways to make money on Amazon is to sell products with Amazon FBA.
FBA stands for “fulfillment by Amazon.” FBA is beneficial to sellers because it puts the force of Amazon’s distribution network behind your products. To sell with FBA, there are a few steps you need to take:
- Find and source your product. A popular way of selling products on Amazon is to use Alibaba or a similar platform to source items that you can then private label with unique branding.
- Become an Amazon seller. You can join Amazon Seller Central for $39.99/month.
- Send your products to Amazon. Ship your inventory to an Amazon fulfillment center so that they can distribute it for you.
- Wait for customers to buy. When someone buys your product directly from the Amazon platform, Amazon will deliver the order for you. You could always ship the products yourself to avoid extra Amazon fees, but FBA is the best way to sell products at scale.
If you can buy products for a lower price and mark them up, you can make money with Amazon FBA.
Pros of Amazon FBA
- Amazon handles the entire distribution process for you, eliminating the need to worry about shipping.
- Your products are hosted on the Amazon platform where millions of people shop every day.
Cons of Amazon FBA
- You need to sell a physical product in enough volume to turn a profit. This can be a barrier to entry for some sellers.
To begin, register to start selling on Amazon here. Then you can sign up for Amazon FBA here.
2. Retail Arbitrage
Sourcing inventory from overseas means you’ll have to pay hefty shipping costs. Lots of sellers avoid this by leveraging retail arbitrage.
Retail arbitrage is essentially the process of buying inventory from local retailers and then selling it on Amazon for a profit.
Go to your local Walmart, Target, etc. and search for discounted products. Then simply list those items on Amazon with a markup.
You could also consider online arbitrage. Buy directly from these websites and benefit from free shipping. But usually, the best discounts are found in-store. eBay is another good source for finding cheap products to sell.
Pros of retail arbitrage on Amazon
- It can be fun to source deals if you enjoy bargain hunting.
- You don’t have to start with a huge inventory of products.
Cons of retail arbitrage on Amazon
- Retail arbitrage can be time-consuming to do at scale.
- Retail arbitrage is a popular way to sell and is, therefore, a competitive space.
3. Publish Your Own Books
Are you a good writer?
You can publish digital books through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). It takes less than five minutes to publish, and your book will be available on Kindle stores across the globe in 24-48 hours.
Amazon lets you set your own prices for self-published books. You’ll earn up to 70% of royalties on Kindle sales.
You can also make changes to your content at any time when you publish a book on Amazon.
In addition to digital format books, you can use CreateSpace to publish physical copies of your book. Consider using ACX to create an audiobook that can be sold on Amazon as well.
Pros of publishing on Amazon
- It’s a great way to make extra money if you’ve written a book already.
- It’s free to publish your eBook, allowing you to see your name in print without a traditional publisher.
Cons of publishing on Amazon
- You have to be a fairly prolific writer to make money selling eBooks on Amazon.
- You have to do all of your own marketing without a traditional publisher to help sell your book.
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4. Sell Wholesale Products via Amazon Business
Instead of targeting consumers, you can sell products in bulk via Amazon Business.
This is a B2B marketplace on Amazon. It provides business customers with special prices and the convenience of shopping with Amazon.
As a seller in the Amazon Business marketplace, you’ll have unique business features. For example, you’ll have the ability to accept requests for quotes. Amazon allows you to display different quality and diversity certifications on your page as well.
55 different Fortune 100 companies are Amazon Business customers. More than 50% of the biggest hospitals in the United States and 40%+ of local governments in densely populated cities buy from this B2B marketplace.
If you know a particular B2B vertical really well, you can move some serious product volume this way.
Pros of Amazon Business
- You may be able to reach more customers than you could without the use of Amazon’s large platform.
- The program includes access to unique features including the ability to offer quantity and business pricing.
Cons of Amazon Business
- Amazon Business is best for established businesses, which may be a high barrier to entry.
5. Trade In Used Goods
Technically, trading in your used products won’t put cash in your pocket. However, you’ll receive an Amazon gift card, which is almost as good.
There are thousands of eligible products that qualify for Amazon’s trade-in program.
The top categories include:
- Amazon products (Kindle, tablets, Echo, etc.)
- Cell phones
- Gaming
- Books
If you have unwanted merchandise lying around the house, see if it’s eligible for a trade-in via Amazon.
Pros of Amazon Trade-In
- You can get rid of old stuff you no longer want.
- You may be able to get discounts towards a future Amazon purchase in addition to an Amazon gift card.
Cons of Amazon Trade-In
- You don’t get cash for your items, so you’ll have to spend your earnings on Amazon.
6. Join Mechanical Turk
Mechanical Turk (MTurk for short) is Amazon’s crowdsourcing marketplace.
The platform allows businesses and individuals to outsource tasks and processes to a virtual workforce. Things like data validation, content moderation, data entry, research, and surveys fall into this category.
If you have the time, ability, and resources to perform microtasks, then consider joining MTurk. Many tasks will earn between $0.10 and $1. They’re pretty easy to complete, so the goal is to complete as many as you can.
Some of the tasks are pretty boring and tedious. But you can work part-time on your own schedule and get paid for it.
Pros of Mechanical Turk
- Tasks are usually easy to complete.
- You can often perform tasks on your own schedule.
Cons of Mechanical Turk
- It can be difficult to scale.
- The pay for most tasks is very low, so you have to do lots of tasks to grow your earnings.
7. Write Reviews for Amazon Vine
This is another example where you won’t actually receive any cash for participation. Amazon Vine rewards you with free products.
If you’ve already written lots of helpful reviews for products on Amazon, you could be eligible for the Amazon Vine program.
The purpose of Amazon Vine is to encourage honest, unbiased, and helpful feedback. Products are sent for free in exchange for reviews.
You’re not required to leave a favorable review just because you got the product for free. That defeats the purpose of the program. The best way to increase your chances of getting invited to Amazon Vine is by leaving reviews for Amazon products you’ve already purchased.
Pros of Amazon Vine
- If you already leave lots of Amazon reviews, you could be rewarded with free products.
Cons of Amazon Vine
- The program is by invitation only, so it is difficult to get in.
- You won’t earn actual cash from the program.
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8. Become an Influencer
Amazon Influencers is another affiliate program. But it’s different than the Amazon Associates program we talked about earlier.
The influencer program is designed to promote products via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. It’s a great opportunity to leverage your existing social following.
If you become an approved influencer, Amazon will give you a unique URL to your own Amazon page. The page will showcase products that you want to recommend to your followers. You’ll earn a commission for qualifying purchases.
Pros of Amazon Influencers
- You can earn product commissions from your followers even when they don’t click an affiliate link (great for platforms like Instagram that don’t always allow you to share links).
Cons of Amazon Influencers
- You need to have a large following on a popular social media platform in order to be considered for the program.
9. Sign Up for Amazon CamperForce
This option definitely isn’t for everyone, but it’s a unique way to make money on Amazon while living life on your own terms. Amazon’s CamperForce hires RV-ers for seasonal rushes in their warehouses across the country.
If you’re living life on the road but need some extra cash, consider joining CamperForce to work either part or full-time as a picker, shipper, or packer with Amazon.
Pros of Amazon CamperForce
- As a CamperForce employee, you’ll receive a host of Amazon benefits including medical coverage and a 401(k).
- CampPay: Amazon will pay you $120 weekly towards your campground expenses.
- You can make extra money while living a highly flexible lifestyle.
Cons of Amazon CamperForce
- The warehouse jobs can be physically demanding.
- This program is for a very specific group of people and may not be applicable to you.
Bonus: Create a Course To Help Other Amazon Sellers
Do you already have a profitable business making money on Amazon? If so, you may be able to share your knowledge and experience with paying customers.
Creating an online course and consulting with clients are two of our favorite business models because they have low overhead and the ability to earn serious money. If you’re an Amazon expert, why not create a course to help others become one, too?
With so many options to choose from, you can get started with your Amazon side hustle today.
Selling stuff online can be a great way to make money- here are my tips on getting started.
Frequently Asked Questions About How To Make Money on Amazon
Can you realistically make money on Amazon?
Most people who sell real products on Amazon make $1,000 in sales. Those with super stores sell upwards of $100,000 or more per month. Half of all Amazon sellers make between $1,000 to $25,000 per month. So yes, you realistically can make money on Amazon by selling a real product.
How much does a beginner make selling on Amazon?
It depends, but average sellers earn between $1,000 to $25,000 a month. As a beginner, it might take you time to get to those numbers, but the sooner you start, the sooner you can make moneyI.
Can you get rich from selling on Amazon?
Based on the numbers, you’re likely to make money by selling on Amazon. Half of people who sell real products on Amazon make between $1,000 and $25,000 per month in sales.
The top 6% of sellers make even more, up to $250,000 per month in sales. It takes a lot of work, but you can make a lot of money from selling on Amazon.
If you want to quickly make some extra money, have a side income, or completely transform your financial situation, watch the video below to get started:
How to make money on amazon without selling?
You can earn on Amazon without selling products by joining the Amazon Associates program to earn commissions through affiliate marketing. Publish eBooks with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for royalties. Complete tasks on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) for payment. Sell software and services on AWS Marketplace if you’re a developer or software vendor. Design and sell custom merchandise through Amazon Merch without managing inventory. These methods leverage Amazon’s platform for income without traditional sales.
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