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.