How to make money with Amazon in 2024 (Earn $5000+ a month with no experience)

Amazon is the world’s biggest online marketplace, and every day it earns approximately $1.29 billion in revenue

($1.29 billion per day = $52 million per hour = $896,000 per minute = $15,000 per second!!!!)

That’s fantastic news for people like you and me because over half (a staggering 60%!) of Amazon’s sales come from third-party sellers.

This means regular folks make serious money (tens of thousands of dollars each month or even daily) doing business on Amazon.

And you can easily become one of those people with a little effort and proper planning.

The thing is, Amazon offers many options, and it can be confusing to know where to begin. This guide will break it down for you.

I’ll show you proven methods to turn Amazon into a real income source in 2024 and hit that $5,000 a-month goal (or even more) and achieve financial freedom.

What are the different ways to make money with Amazon?

This post is divided into three sections for easy browsing.

Jump to the section that sounds most compatible, considering how much free time you have and what you’re good at.

If you’re not sure where to start, no problem – just read through the whole thing and see what sparks your interest.

• Become a seller or reseller: Develop your brand and control everything from production to marketing. Handmade goods, things you find from thrift stores, or even ebooks and audiobooks. You can also source products from wholesalers or retailers and resell them on Amazon.

• Promote Amazon products: Join Amazon’s affiliate program, write insightful product reviews, or become an Amazon influencer. Recommend products you love and earn commissions when people buy through your recommendations.

• Offer services on Amazon Platforms: You can provide services like data entry, image tagging, writing product descriptions, or completing surveys.

How to make money with Amazon by selling products?

Fulfillment by Amazon (Amazon FBA)

If you have no experience selling on E-commerce platforms like Amazon, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a great place to get started.

This is because FBA lets you focus on what you do best – creating and selling – while Amazon takes care of the more complicated (and less exciting) aspects like storage, shipping, customer inquiries, etc.

So how does Fulfillment by Amazon work?

Basically, You create good products customers want to buy, list them on Amazon, and then simply ship them to Amazon’s warehouses.

From there, it’s all on Amazon!

When a customer clicks “buy” on your product, Amazon takes care of everything – picking it from the shelf, packing it securely, and shipping it off to the customer.

They even handle returns and customer service inquiries.

What can you sell on Amazon FBA?

With FBA, you can sell almost anything, as long as it meets their guidelines.

This could be handmade goods or secondhand products. (I’ll give a detailed breakdown of products you can sell in the upcoming sections of this post)

If you are a beginner you will be better off selling smaller, seasonal, or niche products (less competition).

How to make money with Amazon FBA?

This breakdown will help you to get an overall idea of the process. This is a simplified guide. So, make sure to check the resources I have listed below for detailed instructions.

• Sign Up for Seller Central: Go to https://sell.amazon.com/ and create your seller account. Choose the right plan:
  • Individual: This is for beginners with a small number of products (<40 per month). Fees are per item sold.
  • Professional: This plan is for serious sellers with higher volume. Has a monthly subscription fee but lower per-item selling fees.
• Verify Your Information: Submit the required documents like ID and tax information to complete your registration.

Part 2:

• Product Research: This is key! Analyze potential products for demand, competition, and profitability. Tools like Jungle Scout can help with research.
• Source Your Products: Find a reliable supplier to manufacture or wholesale your chosen product. Popular options include Alibaba.
• Prepare Your Products: Package them according to Amazon’s FBA guidelines, including proper labeling with barcodes (UPC or EAN). These barcodes identify your products in Amazon warehouses.

Part 3:

• Create Product Listings: On Seller Central, add your products with high-quality photos, detailed descriptions, and relevant keywords to rank higher in searches.
• FBA Product Prep: Choose whether Amazon will prep your products (for a fee) or if you’ll do it yourself following their guidelines (labeling, boxing, etc.)
• Create an FBA Shipment: Through Seller Central, choose how many units of each product you’re sending and choose an Amazon warehouse location.
• Ship Your Inventory: After packaging and labeling according to Amazon instructions, send your products to the designated warehouse(s).

Part 4:

• Customer Orders Your Product: When a customer orders your FBA item, Amazon takes action.
• FBA Fulfillment: Amazon picks your product from the warehouse shelf, packs it securely, and ships it to the customer using their efficient network.
• Customer Receives Product: The happy customer gets their item, hopefully on time and in good condition, thanks to FBA’s fast shipping options.

Resources to get you started:

• Amazon Seller Central
• A Beginner’s Guide on How to Sell on Amazon FBA
• How to Sell on Amazon FBA for Beginners

Amazon FBA Success stories to inspire you:

Spencer Haws earned over $40,000 in his sixth month as a FBA seller without prior experience. You can read his story over here.

This stay-at-home mom earns $2000 per day with FBA. You can read her story over here.

1. Sell Private Label Products on Amazon

Earning Potential: Low end: $500 – $1,000 per month | Mid-range: $5,000 – $25,000 per month | High end: Hundreds of thousands of dollars per month for very successful sellers (www.junglescout.com/resources/articles/how-much-do-amazon-sellers-make/)

Selling private label products on Amazon means creating and selling your brand through the Amazon marketplace.

This kind of business puts you in the driver’s seat.

You control everything from product design to branding, allowing you to build something unique and profitable.

Plus, Amazon handles the storage and shipping, freeing you up to focus on growing your brand and reaching new customers.

This is a great way to make money with Amazon because you’re not limited to the markup on existing brands. As a result, you can expect to earn higher profits.

So basically, you’re the designer and marketer, and Amazon takes care of the rest.

Here’s how selling private-label products works on Amazon:

2. Retail Arbitrage

Earning Potential: Earning potential in retail arbitrage on Amazon is pretty variable. But around 62% of Amazon sellers bring in around $5,000 per month.

Do you enjoy finding bargains? The thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of scoring a great deal can be very rewarding, but what if you got the chance to resell those items on Amazon for a profit?

Well, you are in luck because Amazon’s retail arbitrage program lets you do what you love and get paid for it.

Retail arbitrage on Amazon is a business model where you find products at a discount (at retail stores) and then resell them on Amazon for a profit.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can start a retail arbitrage business and make money with Amazon

• Finding Deals: You go shopping at retail stores, clearance sales, or any other physical location that has discounts. The key here is to find items that are significantly cheaper than what they sell for on Amazon.

• Do the Math: Not everything on sale is a good deal for reselling. You need to factor in the cost of buying the item, Amazon’s selling fee, and any shipping costs to see if there’s a profit margin left after selling it on Amazon.

• Listing on Amazon: Once you’ve got your items and confirmed they’ll be profitable, you create listings for them on Amazon. This involves taking good pictures, writing clear descriptions, and setting a competitive price.

• Making the Sale: Hopefully, with good research and pricing, customers will buy your items through Amazon. When that happens, Amazon will take care of most of the work, including collecting payment and shipping the product to the customer.

It’s important to remember that retail arbitrage can be competitive, and there’s no guarantee you’ll always make money. But it can be a good way to get started selling on Amazon without having to invest in your products.

3. Online Arbitrage

Earning Potential: You can expect to earn $100-$500/month as a beginner, then $500-$2,000/month as you become more experienced. After about 9 months, how much you earn will depend on your investment in time and money.

Online arbitrage is very similar to retail arbitrage.

They both rely on the same basic principle: finding a good deal on a product and then selling it for more on Amazon.

The key difference is where you find those deals.

Instead of visiting Physical locations, you will look for deals and price differences in online stores. You can source from major retailers (Aliexpress), smaller online shops, or even clearance websites (ThreadUp).

With online arbitrage, you can reach more sellers and source products from the comfort of your home. You are also more likely to get discounts and lower prices.

But it’s important to remember that other Amazon sellers also look at those online stores. So competition is going to be high.

4. Sell wholesale Products on Amazon

Earning Potential: You can expect to earn $100-$500/month as a beginner, then $500-$2,000/month as you become more experienced. After about 9 months, how much you earn will depend on your investment in time and money.

If you buy a bunch of toys in bulk from a toy store at a discount and then sell those same toys on Amazon, one by one, for a bit more than you paid you are an Amazon seller who sells wholesale goods.

Amazon FBA works for wholesale just like it does for arbitrage or private label products. The only difference is how you get the products from your supplier or manufacturer.

Note: Depending on your location, you might need a business license and a sales tax permit to buy wholesale tax-free and collect sales tax.

5. Sell Handmade Products on Amazon

Earning Potential: Depends on the product, cost of production, demand, and the selling price.

Selling handmade products on Amazon works differently than the other methods we’ve talked about (private label, arbitrage, and wholesale).

But don’t worry. It’s not overly complicated and I’ll explain it step-by-step.

• Step 1: Sign up for Amazon Seller Central and apply to join their Handmade program. It’s free to apply, and approval usually takes a week or two. There is a monthly fee to sell on Amazon ($39.99 as of April 2024), but it gets waived once you’re approved for Handmade.

• Step 2: Once approved, you can create listings for your products. Take high-quality photos, write clear descriptions, and choose the right category for your crafts (like jewelry, homeware, etc.). Showing how you make your products with pictures/videos can add a nice touch.

• Step 3: You’ll have to decide whether you are going to use FBA or FBM (shipping the product to the customer by yourself)

As a Handmade seller, you have to Price your products competitively to be successful.

You should consider how much time you spend, the materials cost, and competitor’s prices before you set a price for your product.

Doing some research on your niche and competitors can be incredibly helpful in finding the RIGHT PRICE for your product.

You should also have enough stock on hand to meet customer demand and provide excellent customer service to build trust and get great reviews.

6. Sell second-hand goods on Amazon.

Earning Potential: Depends on the product, demand, and the selling price.

Selling your old stuff on Amazon can be a great way to declutter and make some extra cash. (You can also visit thrift shops and garage sales to find preloved items)

For the most part, Amazon lets you sell a wide variety of used items, but there are some restrictions like hazardous materials, certain electronics, weapons, and anything counterfeit.

So you might have to do some research to make sure what you’re selling is allowed.

There are two ways you can sell used goods on Amazon.

• Existing Listings: If you find an existing listing for the same item you want to sell, you can simply add your product to that listing. Be sure to choose “Used” as the condition and add any specific details about the condition of your item.

• Creating a New Listing: If there isn’t a listing already, you can create a new one. You’ll need to provide details like the product name, brand, condition, and a good description. High-quality photos are also important to attract buyers.

Generally, for Amazon and most resale platforms, items need to be in good condition to be successful. People aren’t looking for broken or unusable things.

Be honest and accurate about the condition of your items. Focus on any imperfections or signs of wear. 

This will help avoid returns and negative feedback from buyers who end up with something different than they expected

7. Dropshipping with Amazon

Earning Potential: Anywhere from $100 a month to $100,000 a month or more.

Because of its profitability, drop shipping has become increasingly popular in the past few years.

That’s why dropshipping is such an amazing choice for a side hustle.

Dropshipping on Amazon can be a convenient option compared to other platforms like Shopify.

Amazon already has a ton of people ready to buy, and you can tap into that with your dropshipping business. This is a major advantage to any newbie drop shipper.

So how does dropshipping with Amazon work?

Well, Amazon lets you partner with a supplier who keeps everything in stock instead of having a warehouse full of stuff.

All you have to do is find trending items or products you think will sell well, then create listings for them on your Amazon seller account. These listings include descriptions, prices, and pictures, just like any other Amazon product.

And when a customer sees your listing and decides to buy something. The order goes through you, not the supplier.

Once you get the order, you forward it to your dropshipping supplier. You basically tell them what the customer bought and where to send it.

Your supplier will handle the packaging, shipping labels, and postage.

Remember, even though the supplier ships it, you’re the seller of record. That means you’re responsible for customer service, returns, and making sure everything goes smoothly.

Choosing a reliable supplier is extremely important.

8. Make money with Merch by Amazon

Income Potential: Merch by Amazon’s royalty page has a table showing the royalty you can expect for different products and price ranges

Merch by Amazon, also known as Amazon Merch on Demand, is a program that lets you sell custom-designed clothing and accessories, like t-shirts, phone cases, and hats, without needing to hold any inventory yourself. Here’s how it works to make money:

• Design uploads: You create your own designs and upload them to Amazon. This could be anything from a funny quote to a cool illustration. There are some technical requirements, like file format and size, but they are easy to follow.

• Listing creation: Once Amazon approves your design, they create a product listing on their marketplace just like any other item. This means you don’t need to worry about setting up your online store.

• Printing and fulfillment: When a customer buys something with your design, Amazon takes care of printing it on the chosen product, packing it, and shipping it to the customer.

• Your profit: You set the price for your items, and Amazon takes a cut for printing and fulfillment. The difference is your profit. (You earn a royalty on every sale, which is basically a percentage of the selling price after Amazon takes out their fees for printing, fulfillment, and other costs. This royalty can range from around 13% to 25% depending on the product and price.)

So, to make money with Merch by Amazon, you need to come up with designs that people will want to buy. There’s no upfront cost, but your earnings depend on how many sales you make and the price you set.

Overall, Merch by Amazon can be a good way to make some extra money, especially if you’re creative and have a good understanding of what sells online.

How to make money with Amazon by Promoting Amazon Products?

There are several ways to make money by promoting existing products without directly selling them on Amazon. This approach is much easier than maintaining your store on Amazon.

But before you start promoting Amazon products, you might want to consider the following.

Building an audience:

You need a group of people who are interested in what you have to say. This could be a following on social media, a subscriber base for a YouTube channel, or readers of a blog.

The key is to target an audience with interests that align with the products or services you’ll be promoting. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have an audience already. You can always work on building a blog, a YouTube channel, or social media accounts (Tiktok, Instagram)

Choosing the right products:

It’s important to promote products that you genuinely believe in and that would be a good fit for your audience. People can smell inauthenticity a mile away, so promoting things that clash with your content or that your audience wouldn’t find useful will hurt your credibility.

9. Amazon Associates Program (Affiliate Marketing)

Earning Potential: from as little as $100 a month to upwards of six figures annually for highly successful affiliates.

Amazon Associates Program is a program run by Amazon that allows anyone to sign up and become an affiliate.

All you have to do is find products you like on Amazon, share them with others using your unique link, and if they buy something, you earn a commission. It’s a way to potentially make money by recommending products you already like or think others might find useful.

KEYWORDS:

Here’s how you can become an Amazon affiliate and earn money:

10. Amazon Influencer Program

Earning Potential: from as little as $100 a month to upwards of six figures annually for highly successful influencers.

Anyone with a social media following on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook can apply for the Amazon Influencer program.

The good thing is, you don’t necessarily need a huge social media following to be an Amazon influencer. While a large audience can definitely be an advantage, there are ways to make it work even if you’re starting out.

For example, having a smaller, highly engaged audience in a specific niche can be more valuable than a broad, less engaged following.

If accepted, you’ll be part of Amazon’s Influencer Program. It’s very similar to the Amazon associates program and not overly complex.

Join the program: You sign up to be an Amazon influencer.

Pick products: You choose interesting items you find on Amazon to recommend to your followers.

Share your picks: You create content, like videos, TikToks, or social media posts, talking about the products. You might do a makeup tutorial using the lipstick you like. You can even create a custom Amazon storefront and ask your audience to visit it.

Include a link: Amazon gives you a unique link for each product. When people click that link and buy the item, Amazon knows you recommended it.

Earn commission: Amazon gives you a percentage of the money people spend if they click your link. Commission rates vary depending on the product category. Some might be higher than others. There are also bonus programs for things like signing people up for Amazon Prime.

11. Amazon Vine Program

Earning potential: Undefined

Amazon Vine is an invitation-only program for established reviewers on Amazon.

Vine reviewers help shoppers make informed decisions by generating reviews of new or pre-release products.

In exchange, you write honest and detailed reviews about the products you try.

These reviews are displayed alongside regular customer reviews, but with a “Vine Customer Review of Free Product” badge for transparency

Getting free stuff through Amazon Vine is pretty tempting!

It’s like getting an exclusive backstage pass to new products.

However, keep in mind that you won’t get paid directly.

But you can always resell the free products after reviewing them OR start a product review blog (indirect earning).

So making money with Amazon Vine works well as a side hustle (not a business)

Unfortunately, you can’t directly apply to join Amazon Vine. It’s an invitation-only program that selects customers who Amazon considers to be its most insightful reviewers.

If you’ve consistently written helpful on Amazon, you might be invited to join the program as a Vine Voice.

Here’s what you can do to increase your chances of getting invited:

• Write high-quality reviews consistently: Focus on providing in-depth and helpful reviews. Explain why you liked or disliked a product, including specific details and comparisons to similar products.

• Be active on Amazon: Regularly write reviews and shop on Amazon. Having a Prime membership might also help, but this is not confirmed.

• Focus on a specific category: There’s some speculation that Amazon looks for reviewers with expertise in certain categories. Building a reputation for insightful reviews in a particular area could be beneficial.

How to make money with Amazon by offering services?

12. Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk)

Earning potential: an average of $1-$6 per hour, with some workers reaching $6-$12 per hour by strategically choosing tasks.

Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) can be a good fit for you if you’re looking for flexible work with variety.

You can complete short tasks on your schedule, ranging from data entry to creative writing, using just a computer and internet access.

You might be wondering how it works and how you can earn money with Amazon MTurk.

Luckily for you, Amazon MTurk is not overly complicated, and almost anyone with an internet connection can qualify and earn money.

This is because, Amazon Mechanical Turk, is an online marketplace where businesses can outsource tasks that require human intelligence.

These tasks, called Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs), can be anything from simple data entry to writing product descriptions or even researching specific topics.

After signing up for MTurk, you can search for HITs that interest you. Each HIT will have a description, reward amount, and estimated completion time.

Once you’ve completed the HIT and submitted it, the Requester (the business that posted the task) will review your work. If they approve it, you’ll receive the promised payment into your MTurk account.

It’s important to remember that MTurk isn’t likely to replace a full-time income for most users. But, it can be a decent way to earn some extra cash on the side, especially if you’re flexible with your time and good at finding higher-paying tasks.

13. Become an Amazon Virtual Assistant (VA)

Earning Potential: VAs earn $24-$31 per hour on average.

Running an Amazon store is tough.

Sellers have to complete millions of tasks at once: finding the perfect products, crafting killer listings, running ads, keeping customers happy, and making sure they have enough stock – all while making strategic decisions for the future.

This workload is exhausting and more often than not it can affect the growth of the business.

However, Amazon VAs can help sellers save time, money, and resources while also boosting their chances of success on the platform.

Online sales on platforms like Amazon are at an all-time high. This means successful Amazon sellers are always looking for competent VAs who can help them.

That’s why becoming an Amazon VA is a profitable side hustle that can turn into a full-time career.

As an Amazon VA, you will help Amazon sellers manage their online business remotely. You will also be expected to take care of tasks like product research, listing creation, customer service, and even social media marketing.

You can look for Amazon VA jobs on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Indeed. If you are serious about becoming an Amazon VA full-time, you should create a website including your portfolio, your niche, and how potential clients can contact you. This will be a big advantage for you, especially if you target larger clients.

Here are a few things you can do to improve your chances of being hired,

Choose a Niche: Instead of offering every kind of virtual assistant service, pick something specific to focus on. Become a master of one thing, you know? (Ex: Product Listing & Optimization, Inventory Management, Customer ServiceSocial Media Management, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising)

Master Amazon Seller Central: This is your command center for all things Amazon sells. Listings, inventory, fulfillment – it’s all there. Amazon has tons of resources and tutorials to help you navigate it like a pro.

Use Social Media: LinkedIn is a goldmine for connecting with people who might need your services. Join groups related to your field and jump in on conversations. Share your knowledge and insights – that’s a great way to show what you’re good at!

Training: You don’t necessarily need a fancy certificate to be a great Amazon VA, but there are courses and ebooks out there that can teach you all the latest tricks. It’s like a virtual boot camp for Amazon Seller Central and VA stuff! The right material can help you to become a successful VA and turn that into your full-time job in less than 6 months.

Ready to take the first step? Amazon offers a variety of ways to get started, each with its own challenges and rewards. This guide is a launchpad, but remember, success on Amazon takes effort, research, and sometimes some trial and error. Be patient, stay focused, and who knows, maybe $5,000+ a month will be in your reach!

In the meantime, leave a comment below!