Did you know that Amazon sales in 2019 were US$280 billion. That’s over $767 million per day! And more and more people just like you are getting in on the action each year. It’s officially the biggest sales outlet, and the biggest company, in the world. More and more people each day are learning how to make money on Amazon.
And just imagine what their figures will be like following the Covid-19 pandemic!
And the beauty of it is, you can start with nothing and build it pretty quickly just by selling stuff that you already have and don’t use, then using that as your purchasing money.
eBay or Amazon?
This of course is the Million Dollar Question!
They both have their place but it’s important to understand the differences:
eBay
eBay is a bit like the biggest online attic sale in the world. You pay a small fee to set up your online stall (the listing fee) and then put your items on display.
And it’s a cinch to get started selling on eBay. All you need is a PayPal account, a smartphone or computer and maybe a simple digital camera if you don’t have a phone with one (do they still exist?). Oh yeah and of course, something to sell!
It’s a great place to start selling online because it’s so simple. And the seller fees are pretty low at around 10% for most items.
You’ve also got to take into account the cost of packaging and posting or other types of delivery. You can of course have the delivery costs paid by the buyer – but items tend to sell better if delivery is included.
But the downside of eBay is that if you want to scale your business up it can become very time-consuming as you do all the work.
Amazon FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon)
If we stick with the analogy of eBay being an online attic sale, Amazon FBA is more like hiring a shelf in the biggest department store in the World. You pay Amazon to put your items there, you list them and then Amazon does all the work.
They take care of informing you of stock levels, delivery, packaging, customer feedback, returns – everything.
All you need to do is find the items, set the price and send, or have them sent to an Amazon warehouse.
The downside of Amazon compared to eBay is that the overall costs are higher at around 25%. BUT if you factor in the time saved and cost of packaging, posting and dealing with any returns, then the comparison of costs gets a lot more similar.
The Secret to Becoming Successful with Amazon
With so many sellers and products already listed on Amazon the key things to get right are:
Research – This could cover all the following points, but it’s the place to start. Before you start spending cash on buying anything you need to know that it will sell and at the right level of profit. And you need to know how much of it will sell. You also need to know what the competition is.
Products – It’s absolutely vital, whether you’re selling on Amazon or eBay to get products that have low competition or are trending. You can’t sell raincoats in a dessert!
Price – In order to sell products they have to be listed at the right price. And if you want to make a profit, that means buying them at the right price.
Keywords – These are the words a shopper types into the search box to find an item. By using the right keywords for your product, you’ll appear on the right searches and in the right place on the page.
Inventory – Stock levels and supply. If you sell 10 products at 30% profit, but end up with 10 that don’t sell, guess what – you’ve made an overall loss. But if your products fly off the shelf and you can’t replace them fast enough that’s equally frustrating – and damaging to profits. So getting the right amount of goods to sell is key.
BUT DON’T WORRY if this all sounds too much. Fortunately there is help.
Jungle Scout
Jungle Scout is an invaluable tool for anyone either already selling via Amazon FBA or who is taking the first steps to setting up an Amazon business.
The Jungle Scout platform provides all the training, knowledge, analytical tools, as well as everything you’ll need to manage a successful Amazon FBA business.
I’ve written a separate review of Jungle Scout and would recommend you take a look before starting out selling on Amazon. It WILL save you precious time and money!
Don’t Fly Blind!
Whilst Amazon has made many people millionaires, there are many more people who have failed due to lack of knowledge and research. Learn from the mistakes of others and benefit from the invaluable expertise of people who have made a massive success.
Head over to my article and review on Jungle Scout and see for yourself.
Is it For You?
Well, if you want to make serious money online by selling products then Amazon is truly the place to do it, and Amazon FBA allows you to scale your business up without having to handle and store the goods you sell. But it will take some initial capital to purchase product. This can start small and grow very quickly.
If you only want to sell stuff in small amounts then eBay might be your starting point.
The benefit of selling on Amazon is that you can start making real money pretty damned fast whereas other online business models, such as Affiliate Marketing take more time but virtually no capital.
And there’s nothing wrong with a combination of online strategies.
If you found this article helpful or have any questions, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a post in the box below, or email me at adrian@theonlinefreedomseeker.com
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