How To Make Money On Amazon

In the digital era we live in, Amazon is one of the biggest eCommerce platforms in existence. It’s a behemoth in nearly all marketplaces you can think of, ranging from gadgets and clothing to everything in between.

However, it offers more than just diversity in its wealth of products. You can make a profit on Amazon in different ways, some of which you may not know.

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In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know to earn extra bucks on this platform.

13 Ways to Make Money on Amazon from Home

It’s worth noting that most of these ways work for aspiring entrepreneurs like you, with effort and consistency being the secrets of success.

Once you use a revolutionary-style approach to these methods to discover what works and what doesn’t, it’ll be easier to make a real income.

1. Affiliate Marketing

One of the easiest ways to make money on Amazon without selling anything is by becoming an affiliate. Amazon’s affiliate program is undoubtedly a giant in the money-making world.

If you have an online following via a website, a community moderator, a blog, or a social media platform, you can make money with affiliate marketing. Once you recommend Amazon products that appeal to your audience, you’re good to go.

Want to start your own money-making website? Learn how, here.

All it takes is your audience to click on the Amazon affiliate link you provide and make a purchase for you to earn a commission that ranges from 4% to 10% of the sale. Joining the Amazon affiliate marketing program is a breeze and can be lucrative for an Amazon associate.

Key Features

It ushers in the opportunity to make a considerable amount of cash without direct sales.
Getting started is not difficult.
It’s easy to maintain.
With an online audience, you can start making money.

2. Amazon Handmade

If you thought Etsy was the only eCommerce platform to sell top-notch handmade products, think again. Amazon Handmade allows you to sell artisan goods ranging from clothing, art, and accessories to jewelry.

The system gives you a unique URL, making it easier for your potential customers to find your shop. Compared to other selling accounts, the Amazon marketplace makes things more affordable and convenient.

Although you’d need to shell out $39.99 monthly for a professional selling account, this cost is waived for handmade sellers. You’ll pay a 15% referral fee on your total sales.

Key Features

It’s ideal for artisans
It eliminates the need to pay Amazon fees unless you earn on the platform
The custom URL that comes with your membership makes it easier to track sales

Amazon Handmade is very similar to Etsy. Compare their fees to see which platform makes the most sense for you.

3. Amazon Merch

If you’re a designer or artist, then Amazon Merch might be right up your alley. If you’re not a designer, you can still craft great designs that bring in extra earnings.

However, you must keep up with cultural trends and use design software to craft your pieces.

You can sell hoodies, t-shirts, handbags, and everything in between. Amazon does the heavy lifting by taking the responsibility of printing, shipping, and packaging to support its customers.

Once you create an account, upload your design, set up the pricing, and include the details of color and description, the platform does the rest.

You can get royalties on each design you sell. Your designs depend on the cost to sell at Amazon and their retail price.

Key Features

It’s free to upload and sell your products
You can get your designs without the need to ship, make, or handle customer satisfaction
There’s a unique range of designs from which you can take your pick

4. Kindle Direct Publishing

If you’re a great writer or have access to an excellent team of authors, you can get your work published without a publishing house. With Kindle Direct Publishing, you can publish Kindle e-books on their platform.

You get 70% of royalties, and the best part is that you’re not limited to digital Kindle book formats on the platform. There’s the option for printing hard copies.

Nevertheless, prolific writing and doing keyword research on your book’s topic is the secret to making money in this area.

Although a few best-sellers will do wonders, you’ll need to create a steady stream of content to succeed in Kindle Direct Publishing. Your publications will need to sell, or else you’ll have to handle all marketing since there’s no publisher or agent to help you get the word out.

Key Features

There’s potential for high earnings for excellent writers
Digital prints and hard copies are available
70% royalty on sales with minimal investment, besides the book itself

5. Fulfillment by Amazon

An Amazon FBA business isn’t a renowned option when it comes to making money. However, it’s a great way to earn extra money without worrying about customer support or shipping.

Your products are stored in Amazon’s warehouse where you can earn an income on the marketplace with no effort once the products are shipped.

Amazon Prime takes advantage of this program to deliver products faster. Using the FBA program, you can have your items sent to an Amazon Center and allow them to take care of deliveries.

Customers won’t know the difference, which is why a multitude of people aren’t familiar with this program.

Are you a Prime Member yourself? You’re probably not taking advantage of the numerous benefits.

As the FBA seller, you’ll be charged by units based on size and weight. Furthermore, you incur a monthly storage cost for Amazon’s warehouse if your merchandise doesn’t sell.

Depending on your products, an FBA business might be the better option for you rather than direct sales on the platform.

Key Features

Earn from your sales without the hassle of shipping and packaging to every customer
It’s a low-cost option if your inventory doesn’t sit on the shelves for a while
It’s an incredible way to work for brief durations and juggle other jobs

6. Amazon Mechanical Turk

If you want to earn extra cash without the stress and hassle of taking on a large project, attracting an audience, or selling products, Amazon Mechanical Turk might be just what you’re looking for.

It’s one of the most straightforward types of work to get involved in on the platform with a few initial investments. With this program, you can become one of the remote workers in Amazon’s vast army.

Your tasks can entail validating and moderating content and participating in surveys.

While it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, you may earn an hourly wage of at least $15 and can easily fit these tasks with your other pursuits. For anyone who’s on the quest to supplement their income, this might be a great fit.

Key Features

It entails making money by performing small tasks around other activities
It doesn’t require building an audience, manufacturing, or selling products to make money on Amazon
The tasks are usually fun and straightforward
It’s not demanding, allowing for the flexibility to balance with other sources of income

7. Retail Arbitrage

You may have seen an irresistible deal at Walmart and other big box stores and thought that it was too good to be true. Well, stocking up on discounted products can earn you extra money if you use retail arbitrage.

It allows you to utilize discounts that these stores offer by buying them to sell on Amazon and make a profit. In addition, when you take advantage of coupons and clearance sales, you can boost your income by a significant percentage for a wealth of products.

Amazon’s FBA Revenue calculator allows you to use your tablet or smartphone to scan barcodes and determine whether or not various items are worth selling on Amazon. It’s worth noting that success in retail arbitrage requires patience and consistency.

If you think you can make some quick cash by picking up clearance items when you see them, you’re in for a rude awakening. Nevertheless, if shopping for bargains is something that tickles your fancy, you may discover that you can make and save money.

Key Features

Earn cash by buying and reselling at a profit without having to craft a product from scratch
Utilize your knowledge of local deals
No large capital or unique skills are required
Make money by shopping and reselling, not making anything yourself

8. Sell a Service

Amazon advertising or selling isn’t the only way to build an income on Amazon. If you’re offering a service, you can also make a decent income from the platform.

Whether you tutor a school subject or musical instruments, Amazon can connect you with customers.

You can bypass the inconvenience of marketing costs, a monthly subscription, or start-up fees. With a cleared background check of your business, general liability insurance, and an occurrence cap, you’re good to go.

Services rendered to homeowners must also undergo a thorough background check. The share that Amazon gets is based on the amount you’re making and the services you offer.

If you prefer not to take on the tasks of creating a website and optimizing it, marketing your services, and everything else required to get the ball rolling, Amazon can do some of the heavy lifting to ease the pressure.

Key Features

You can sell your services on Amazon, which is where all your customers are looking
You only pay when or if you make a profit
You can make your services available without all the hassles of marketing or creating a website

9. Make a Brand

Select a product you gravitate towards, order it from the manufacturer, put your brand logo and name on it, and you’re a brand seller. Then, list your product on Amazon at the price you deem as the most competitive.

As a brand seller, you have full control of your products. You can apply for a brand registry with the platform to protect your labeled products from counterfeiters.

Although competition is stiff on Amazon, if you have an edge in the market or your branded products have unique value, there’s no doubt that you can make a lot of money.

The “seller central” on the Amazon platform makes it a breeze to manage your seller account. If you have experience in retail store management, then you’ll appreciate the difference.

If you can churn out well-written and compelling product descriptions, take excellent pictures, and offer super products, then you’ll be well on your way to gaining popularity on Amazon.

Keep in mind that finding products to sell on Amazon calls for a considerable amount of research.

Key Features

You get full control of your products and their cost
There’s an amazing opportunity for substantial earnings if the cost of manufacture is considerably lower than retail prices
With the soaring popularity of your brand, your profits can snowball

10. Be a Wholesale Seller

For the products that most businesses and people regard as necessities, Amazon can offer the most competitive prices, mostly because of their vast network of wholesale sellers.

A wholesale seller buys products at a discount because they’re purchasing in bulk.

Because of this, they can afford to sell the products at the most affordable prices. Keep in mind that it’s a competitive industry whereby wholesale sellers try to one-up each other with the lowest possible bottom line prices.

You might not take home considerable earnings unless you have a warehouse space to store your inventory. Doing so saves you the cost of storing products in Amazon’s warehouses and solely depending on the FBA program.

Key Features

It ushers in the opportunity to rake in huge profits with one lump investment
It eliminates the necessity to build a website and market it. You only require pricing the items as low as possible
The shipments and bulk purchases allow for a passive income

11. Online Arbitrage

It’s similar to physical arbitrage, with the only difference being that you’ll be buying items virtually. If you revel in shopping for great deals but don’t want the hassle of running around from one retail store to the next, then online arbitrage might be the perfect fit.

Typically, eBay is the go-to when you’re on the quest for the lowest-priced goods. By staying on top of bidding, you can get products for a considerably lower cost than their retail value and sell them at a higher price on Amazon.

By doing so, you can quickly turn around inventory since you’ll offer a competitive rate on Amazon after a steal on eBay.

Key Features

You can make money with a quick turnaround and low investments
There’s no need to build a following or manufacture products to generate an income
The process is doable from home without the inconvenience of running around retail stores

12. Amazon’s Trade-In Program

Although you might not make money directly with this program, you can get gift cards. Given that you’ll find nearly any product on Amazon, the gift cards are equally as valuable as money.

By keeping your eyes peeled for local garage sales, you can get used items for low prices (as much as 25% cheaper than the initial retail price).

Remember that Amazon is usually picky about the items they accept, so you’ll learn the ropes with time. In addition, there’s a higher demand for niche items or those with fewer suppliers. Therefore, these are the products you might stumble upon affordably on eBay or at a garage sale.

Key Features

You can Amazon gift cards for items that you trade-in rather than sell
There’s a higher demand for niche items
You can earn up to 25% of the initial retail price per product that you trade-in rather than sell

13. Amazon Influencer

It’s an affiliate program that’s distinct from Amazon Associates. Just as the title implies, an Amazon Influencer promotes products on social media.

If you have a large social media following rather than a forum, blog, or website, then this program might be an ideal fit.

Approved influencers receive a unique URL on their Amazon page to showcase their products to their followers. If any of these followers on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube buys one of your products, you get a commission per sale.

To be successful in this endeavor, you’ll need to identify the products that appeal to your audience and market them in a fun, non-salesy way.

Key Features

You only need a social following to make money
Earning a passive income is easy if you maintain your social media platforms
Amazon gives you a custom storefront with a unique URL

Making Money on Amazon FAQs

1. Do you need to have a product to sell?

No, deliveries, influencers, and professional services are some of the non-selling-related opportunities to make money on Amazon.

2. Do money-making opportunities on Amazon only target individuals?

No, sellers can also target non-profit organizations and businesses.

3. Does your location matter when making money on Amazon?

Typically no. Amazon owns warehouses across the country. Furthermore, it offers seasonal work and remote customer service work, among other positions, to those residing in RVs.