Amazon FBA

Amazon FBA (fulfillment by Amazon) is one of the hottest side hustles going. It allows you to tap into Amazon’s massive audience of buyers on the front end, AND their world class logistics network on the back end.

Amazon FBA business models generally fall into one of two categories:

Clearance or Retail Arbitrage

This model relies on finding undervalued merchandise locally or online, and flipping it for a profit on Amazon. It could be books, toys, tools, electronics, anything really.

It’s super easy to get started; all you need is a free Amazon seller account and to download their free seller app to your phone. Then, when you’re out shopping, stop by the clearance aisle to scan a few barcodes and see what the items are going for online.

The app will tell you your estimated profit after fees and also the sales rank of the item in the category. My general rule is if I can double my money and the sales rank is less than 100,000, I’ll go ahead and buy it.

I’ve made a few hundred dollars doing this in my spare time.

Importing and Private Labeling

The next stage that many people get into with Amazon FBA is importing and private labeling their own products. This is a little more research intensive and capital intensive; you’ve got to have an eye for figuring out which products will sell and then have the cash to manufacture them.

Some friends and Side Hustle Show guests have built pretty serious businesses following this model, and I invite you to explore some of their stories and tips in the archives here.

My First Amazon FBA Clearance Arbitrage Shopping Trips – And My First Sales!

December 3, 2020June 15, 2015

Over the past few weeks I’ve made several clearance arbitrage scouting trips. After hearing about this side hustle for the past year and some of the success my friends and peers are having with it, I had to give it a shot!

The first thing I did was install the Amazon Seller app on my phone.

Upon opening it, I learned an Amazon Seller account was required to run it, so I created a free Amazon Seller account.

104: How to Find and Validate Your First Import Product

November 6, 2021April 9, 2015

Four months ago, Andy Slamans gave us a detailed look at Amazon FBA product selection, working with manufacturers, and bringing those products to market.

But the most common question I get from listeners is how to find that first product to import.

How do I find a profitable product? How do I measure the competition? How do I validate the demand and the pricing? In today’s episode, I sit down with Will Mitchell from StartupBros.com to dive into those exact questions.

84: $33k in 30 Days? Getting Started with Private Labeling and Amazon FBA

November 9, 2021December 11, 2014

Selling on Amazon is one of the hottest side hustles around, and I’m not talking about selling books!

In this show, we’ll dive into sourcing and selling your own physical products on Amazon by finding what’s hot in the marketplace, making smart purchases, and out-marketing the competition.

I’m joined by Andy Slamans, an Amazon seller who turned his online side hustle into a full-time business this May, and expects to finish the year with over $400,000 in top line revenue. (And $33k in 30 days and over $5k in one day on Cyber Monday!) Incredible!

61: How Ryan Quit His $50k/year Job to Sell Online Full-Time

November 4, 2021July 17, 2014

In this edition of The Side Hustle Show I’m joined by Ryan Grant, founder of OnlineSellingExperiment.com, and a guy who turned his online selling side hustle into a full time gig.

Ryan and I connected on Twitter after I published a post from Travis Scott on how he earns $500 per month with Amazon’s FBA program.

I’m pretty fascinated by this opportunity, but by how smart Amazon is to crowdsource their inventory, and by how real people are making real money with this side hustle.

How I Earn an Extra $500 per Month With Amazon’s FBA Program

June 9, 2023May 12, 2014

It is safe to say a number of people want to start an online-side hustle business. However, I believe many of us are paralyzed with preconceived notions that there is too much too learn to accomplish this quickly.

Personally, I used to believe to achieve success online you needed to know how to code, develop beautiful web sites, and be a social media expert!

Today I want to push those self-limiting thoughts out of your mind and explain how you can side-hustle online without knowing all of that technical stuff!

Usually Hustling, Occasionally Social