How to start an Amazon FBA business.
Amazon FBA business is a great way to earn free money, but you need to work hard first. Making money requires solid research and business acumen. The only problem is that the initial investment is a bit high. However, you need to know how to start an Amazon FBA business with little money.
If you’re thinking about going into business and using your Amazon seller account, here’s what you need to know to start making money without breaking the bank.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TYPE OF SELLER ACCOUNT
Did you know that 89 percent of Amazon sellers report a profitable business? But the first thing you need to do as an Amazon FBA seller is to select the right type of account.
There are two main options for FBA business: Professional Account Plan and Personal Account. Knowing the differences between the two is key and your end product will determine which is best for you.
A professional account plan costs $39.99 per month for the right to register as an Amazon FBA seller. This can put a serious dent in your nest egg that you have saved to get your business off the ground.
On the other hand, an individual account on Amazon seller central is completely free.
How to start an Amazon FBA business
SELECTING LOW-COST, HIGH-PROFIT ITEMS
The highest price you have to pay is the actual product you want to buy. You must shop before you buy anything, because order fulfillment must be sent to Amazon before the sale. For this, you need to choose low-cost products that promise high profits and will change the product.
How can you make sure that you’re selecting the right products?
The first thing you can do is spend some time searching for products on Alibaba. You can easily set up Alibaba for your Amazon FBA account. But most importantly, you can research through tools like Jungle Scout. This will simplify the research you need to do to find products that actually move.
If you have your own ideas and want to save more, you can also use us to help you with product procurement. We also provide product procurement, packaging, and transportation services
CHOOSING BETWEEN ARBITRAGE AND PRIVATE LABEL
When starting your FBA business, you have to decide between retail arbitrage and private label. Commercial arbitrage is the simple act of buying a product at the same price (as low as possible) and reselling it at a higher price for a profit. In addition to buying a book, it takes some skills and a small financial investment. On the other hand, a unique label allows you to create a brand for yourself and your business. For private label products, you’ll need to include branding, including your logo, color options, and new packaging that fits your FBA business.
HOW TO MANAGE INVENTORY ON A BUDGET
As we’ve said before, the biggest investment you’ll make in an Amazon seller account is your first listing. When buying arbitrage or private label products, you should always ask for a minimum purchase price. You can start a new FBA business with 500 products or less, but negotiation may be required.
Be sure to contact customer service at your supplier to see if you can get a smaller quantity for this first shipment. You may want to invest in just 250 units if you don’t have much to spend.
MINIMIZING SHIPPING COSTS
Chances are that you have already investigated whether you could sell your products on your own, negating the need to send products to the Amazon warehouse.
Because of the time it takes you to organize and package each product, it’s usually more cost-efficient to allow Amazon services to take care of it for you.
To keep shipping costs low, look for small products that will cost less to ship. Oversized items will not only take up more room in the warehouse (read: more storage fees), but these bulky packages cost a much heftier shipping fee.
Consider this chart of the Amazon FBA cost for shipping and fulfillment:
Make sure you account for the fees that you will be charged as an FBA seller when setting your price and choosing the perfect product!
LIMIT UNNECESSARY EXPENSES
No matter what business you start, you want to keep overhead costs as low as possible.
When it’s time to start an Amazon FBA business with a small amount of money, there are many things you can invest in, but are they really worth it? Most of these costs will occur if you plan to have your own brand, and you can avoid these costs by moving to a commercial arbitrage model first. You can keep out-of-pocket costs without paying for company branding, including logos or special packaging. Even if you decide to buy private label products, it may be a good idea to let them ship with little or no marking. There’s always time to build brand awareness and then you’ll have less money to make back from the sales of your new Amazon business.
For now, the focus is on looking for solid results and looking for high-yielding properties that this investment can deliver at some point in the future. Focus on the easiest way to list your products on the Amazon marketplace with your brand, even if you don’t have a fancy new logo or even if you don’t ship.
STUDY POWERFUL COPYWRITING SKILLS TO LIST YOUR OWN PRODUCTS
How can you make your product stand out from the crowd in Amazon’s huge marketplace? Product research is the first step to getting where you want to be. Some choose to hire a professional copywriter to make their products stand out from the competition.
However, this can be another one of the unnecessary expenses that boost your initial investment beyond what you might want if you plan to start an Amazon FBA business with little money.
Once you’ve exhausted some of these free resources, you may want to enroll in an online course to improve your writing skills. Sites like Udemy and Coursera have many courses to choose from, often at discounted prices. It’s easy to manage and makes going into the writing world more manageable so you can focus on finding the right clients.
REINVESTING IN ADVERTISEMENTS
Finally, you need to think about what you are going to do with your products after you buy your first product. After paying your Amazon FBA fees, you’ll be tempted to start making extra money for all the hard work you’ve put into your business, but not so fast. The best way is to reinvest some (all) of your profits into a growing business.
Amazon PPC ads are a great way to increase your visibility. The more interest you get in your product, the more likely you are to sell it. This is a great investment because it will push your product to the top of the SERPs on the Amazon marketplace. Plus, you only get paid when a customer clicks on your product. If you’ve taken the time to improve your writing skills, closing jobs will be easier.
If you still have some money left over after an Amazon PPC campaign, then you might want to go back to the drawing board with product research.
You should have enough money left over to purchase inventory of new items or to boost your inventory of your current Amazon business.
FINAL VERDICT: BEST WAYS TO START AN AMAZON FBA BUSINESS ON A BUDGET
Starting a business of any kind requires a little bit of an initial investment. Some people spend thousands to start an Amazon FBA business, but it could be easier than you think.
You can land on a best seller with a little planning and attention to detail. In turn, you will earn plenty of money to reinvest and scale your new storefront.