How to Make Money Selling on Amazon in 2019- Tips and Update
I’ve been very busy. My Amazon FBA Experiment is now in its Fourth Month. I’ve learned a lot about Amazon FBA and selling on Ebay as a professional seller. So, here is a progress report and some tips on making money in Amazon FBA in 2019.
- Disclaimer; I believe in transparency and want to disclose this page has links to products that I may earn an affiliate commission for purchases you make. The reader pays nothing.
Update:
Yesterday was my biggest day in terms of earnings on Amazon FBA. I made $136. My 30 day average sales are now at $571. And My Ebay earnings are now averaging around $1,800 per month.
So, my revenues for both Amazon and Ebay reselling side hustles is averaging about $2,300 per month. This is not profit. This is before fees and expenses. But, selling and re-selling using Amazon FBA & Ebay can be very profitable with some hard work and focus.
Why This Side Hustle is Great:
Flexibility: I love that I can work on this side hustle whenever its convenient for me. It’s very convenient and profitable. I can go to a few stores during my lunch hour and make extra money whenever I want.
I drop off packages at my mail box store first thing in the morning or usually when they open around 9 AM. It’s easy and it fits perfectly into my day.
I list items on Ebay while watching TV. This allows me to make money whenever I want. And if I get burned out, then I scale back on what I’m doing. It’s that easy. Its flexible and very convenient.
I can go to an estate sale or garage sale Saturday morning and make $200 in profit for an hour or two of “work.” It’s not really work at all because it’s interesting and I’m also learning about what items are worth.
The more you use the Amazon app or Ebay app to see what Items have sold for, the easier it is to make more money. What other side hustle can you make a couple hundred dollars in a few hours on a Saturday morning?
Retail Arbitrage: Of course, if garage sales or thrift stores aren’t your thing, there are many ways to make money. I have also done retail arbitrage. Where you buy clearance or discounted items and then sell them. There are good profits in retail arbitrage, but it takes more capital to get started and it takes more skill. Garage sales are still a great way to make money and learn in my opinion.
One of my best Amazon flip came from a garage sale. A man was selling two new Schlage door fixtures. New in the box. From Home Depot. I offered $25 for two and then sold them on Amazon FBA for $95 EACH! For 10 minutes of “work.”
Garage sales are great because people really just want to get rid of their stuff. It’s not about getting the best price. They just have too much stuff and want it gone. Estate sales are similar, but they can be more fixated on price. It all depends.
My advice is to go early. The early bird does get the worm. I get great deals at garage sales because I’m able to wake up early and show up. It’s pretty simple. Yes, you can do well if you show up at 11:30AM but the best deals are found at 8:30AM. That’s the truth.
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Make it Easy:
When I go to a store looking for books or items to sell on Amazon, I just put in my earphones and listen to a book from audible (right now it’s the biography of Ben Franklin), and it makes it easy.
Try Audible and get two books Free. More here.
That’s what I like. And then I scan the items to see which ones will make me money and after 30 minutes or 45 minutes, I’ve found $150 worth of profit.
And the time has flown by. Find what works for you.
Tools I recommend:
These are very helpful tools to get started:
- Quality Shipping Tape- Will save you money. Don’t buy the cheap stuff.
- Label Scraper (amazingly helpful to remove price tags quickly and without danging the item).
- Poly Mailer Bags for shipping. These will allow you to send items First Class mail and save money.
- Good Bubble Wrap If items break, you wind up losing money. So bubble wrap protects your investment.
- Mister Clean Magic Eraser– To clean up books – These are handy for many different items including cleaning shoes.
- Quality and affordable shipping scale
- A higher quality shipping scale
- Quality Lights for Ebay: These were on sale ~$35 and they are great for the money.
- Better pictures = higher profits on Ebay. Lighting is very important.
- Shirt Folder: Makes it easier to fit clothes in the poly bag and saves money over time. Makes everything much more polished. More here.
- Dolly/ Cart for Books & Boxes: Here
- Air Pillows for Shipping Here
- Thank you stickers: Because positive feedback is important here.
Invest in the right tools:
Many people think, I don’t really need a lighting kit or Quality Shipping tape or multiple sizes of poly bags. But, the truth is quality photos will make you more money and having the right tools saves you time.
Quality Photos make you seem more professional and easier to trust with a purchase.
Having the right size bags to ship will save you money, and also time.
If you don’t have the right size bag handy, then you’ll probably waste 20 minutes rummaging around your home looking for a bag to ship an item. It may not fit and it may damage the item. Investing in the right tools not only saves money, it saves time as well. (See below for tools I recommend).
Watch the Amazon Fees:
Everything with Amazon FBA and selling on Ebay comes down to fees.
Shipping fees, storage fees, listing fees.
Learning the cost of shipping is really important. I’ve learned the hard way to avoid selling large items that are expensive to ship (unless they are really profitable.) I made $185 profit on a VCR/ DVD combo and didn’t mind shipping that item. Other large items, not so much!
Learn what to sell:
I’ve tried selling everything.
I really wanted to be open to selling any item that can make me money. On Ebay, I’ve now sold:
- womens shoes,
- clothing,
- food items,
- electronics,
- sunglasses,
- books,
- dvds,
- sneakers,
- household items
- tools
- and more.
Pay attention:
Some items that I think will sell just sit in my Ebay store. And others fly off the shelves.
For example, I’ve been experimenting with buying women’s running shoes to re-sell for a profit on Ebay. I’m having a hard time getting people to pay $65 for some Adidas sneakers. But, the flip flops I bought have all sold. I sell three times as many pairs of flip flops as running sneakers. What’s more, the flip flops are easier to ship and cost much less.
Keep Learning:
This leads me one of the best things about this side hustle- you can earn while you learn.
In the previous example, I will make money from all of these items when they sell. It’s just that now I know that some items are easier to sell and will make more money for me. So, I can make better buying decisions and hopefully, make more money over time.
The learning curve is fast. I believe you can really start making pretty good money in reselling in 80 days.
Organize your bookkeeping:
Gotta do it. For 2019, my goal is to have everything entered into a spreadsheet within two weeks of the end of the month. This will allow me to learn what’s selling as well as where I’m making the most profit. All of this data helps improve the business and make more money with less effort over time!
Get the right tools:
As I write this, I just sold a Yankee Candle Spray. After entering the details in my spreadsheet, I see that the net profit after Ebay fees and paypal fees is only 76 cents.
Now that I have the data, I realize I made a mistake by not bundling two of these sprays as a package.
This would have doubled my profit due to the shipping fees etc…
My new target is to avoid items priced for less than $10. Smaller items are less profitable and just as much work.
Keep Learning:
I recently added a video on YouTube that describes what I’ve been making money on lately. Lots of good information here.
(And please Like and Subscribe!)
Keep Looking for New Resources:
I’ve mentioned that I am also selling on Poshmark. It’s not a big sales venue yet, but it has the potential to be. I’m open to selling on any platform. I have also sold an item on Facebook Marketplace. So, it pays to keep looking for new venues. This also lessens my dependency on Amazon and Ebay.
You never know if Amazon FBA will change their rules and make it harder (or less profitable) to sell through their platform. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket is sound business advice. Your mother was right.
Mistakes: I could easily do a whole post on mistakes I’ve made. (Comment below if you’d like that). One that comes to mind was a toy I bought 6 weeks before the holidays. It was supposed to be a hot toy. So I bought 3 of them. They’re sitting right now.
And other buyers who thought the same thing have lowered their prices to the point where no one is going to make money.
At best, I will break even on these LOL Surprise OOTD Outfit of the Day Toys. Yes, I’m still learning and making mistakes.
Hustle Pays off:
When I first started looking for items to sell, I would go to one or two places like a thrift store or book sale and that was it. Now, I try to hit a bunch of places all at once.
It makes it so much easier and profitable. I wish I had known this when I started.
Now, the minimum number of places I will check is three and sometimes I will visit 5 or 6 places. This way, I always find items to sell and it helps reduce my Amazon FBA shipping fees.
When I started this experiment, I expected to list 40 items a month on Amazon. Now I realize in order to get more profit and reduce the shipping costs, I need more like 100 or 150 items a month. Quality, profitable items that will sell.
I hope you enjoyed this update. Let me know in the comments below!
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