How to Make Money on Amazon in 2020

Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer.

There are 2.5+ million sellers offering nearly 120 million different products on the Amazon marketplace.

That means there’s tons of money to be had. Lots of people are getting rich from Amazon. With no signs of slowing down in the near future.

There are plenty of ways to make money with Amazon, you don’t even need a product.

If you want your share of the pie, check out these top 16 ways to make money from Amazon. 

Sell Products With Amazon FBA

FBA stands for “fulfillment by Amazon.” In a nutshell, here’s how it works:

1. Become an Amazon seller.
2. Buy wholesale products (from Alibaba or similar platform).
3. Ship your inventory to an Amazon fulfillment center.

Once you join Amazon’s FBA network, Amazon will deliver the products to customers for you. You could always ship the products yourself to avoid extra Amazon fees, but FBA is the best way to sell products at scale.

You make money if you can sell products on Amazon for a higher price than you pay for them.

To begin, register to start selling on Amazon here. Then you can sign up for Amazon FBA here.

Retail Arbitrage

Sourcing inventory from overseas means you’ll have to pay hefty shipping costs. Lots of sellers avoid this by leveraging retail arbitrage.

Retail arbitrage will require a bit more work. It’s essentially the process of buying inventory from local retailers and then selling them on Amazon for a profit.

Go to your local Walmart, Target, etc. and search for discounted products. Then simply list those items on Amazon with a markup.

You could also consider online arbitrage. Buy directly from these websites and benefit from free shipping. But usually, the best discounts are found in-store. Ebay is another good source for finding cheap products to sell.

While there is definitely money to be made with retail arbitrage, it’s a competitive space and difficult to scale. It can make a great side hustle if you personally enjoy hunting for deals.

Publish Your Own Books

Are you a good writer?

You can publish digital books through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). It takes less than five minutes to publish, your book will be available on Kindle stores across the globe in 24-48 hours.

Amazon lets you set your own prices for self-published books. You’ll earn up to 70% of royalties on Kindle sales.

You can also make changes to your content at any time.

In addition to digital format books, you can use CreateSpace to publish physical copies of your book. Consider using ACX to create an audiobook that can be sold on Amazon as well.

Sell Wholesale Products

Instead of targeting consumers, you can sell products in bulk via Amazon Business.

This is a B2B marketplace on Amazon. It provides business customers with special prices and the convenience of shopping with Amazon.

As a seller in the Amazon Business marketplace, you’ll have unique business features. For example, you’ll have the ability to accept requests for quotes. Amazon allows you to display different quality and diversity certifications on your page as well.

55 different Fortune 100 companies are Amazon Business customers. More than 50% of the biggest hospitals in the United States and 40%+ of local governments in densely populated cities buy from this B2B marketplace.

If you know a particular B2B vertical really well, you can move some serious product volume this way.

Affiliate Marketing via Amazon Associates

Leverage your existing website or blog by joining the Amazon Associates program.

This is a great way to make money on Amazon without selling anything. The program allows you to earn up to 10% in advertising fees from qualified purchases.

Examples of commissions by product category include:

• Luxury, beauty, and Amazon coins — 10%
• Furniture, home, home improvement — 8%
• Lawn & garden, pets products, pantry — 8%
• Outdoors and tools — 6%
• Digital music, groceries, physical music, handmade, digital videos — 5%

You can view the full Associates Program standard fees schedule here.

It’s easy to join and get approved. Amazon also provides you with a wide range of linking tools to embed on your website.

Since Amazon is so ubiquitous these days, you end up getting commissions on all sorts of random products that people buy during the cookie window after clicking your link. If you can build high traffic sites and get lots of clicks to your affiliate links, the earnings add up fast.

Sell Professional Services

Most people don’t realize it, but Amazon is more than just a marketplace for tangible products. You can also sell professional services through Amazon Services.

There are no upfront costs or monthly fees to join this program. You’ll only pay a portion of your revenue share for completed jobs based on the service type offered.

Some popular service categories include:

• Apparel and jewelry
• Business
• Consumer electronics
• Education
• Events
• Health and beauty
• Home maintenance
• Pets
• Lawn care and landscaping
• Vehicles

Both freelancers and registered businesses can join Amazon Services. So if you have a skill that falls into one of these categories, apply online to join the network. 

Sell Products Under Amazon’s Private Brands

The Amazon Accelerator program is an incentive for manufacturers to create their own brands with innovative products. You’ll sell those products exclusively on Amazon as a private brand supplier.

Amazon guides you through the entire onboarding process, providing you with useful tools to create your brand. You’ll also benefit from a suite of marketing support.

If you’re unsure about what types of products will perform well, Amazon can facilitate product testing and customer feedback.

For those of you with direct access to manufacturing, becoming an Amazon Accelerator brand can be a great way to make some cash with substantial margins through this marketplace. 

Sell Handmade Goods

There is a high demand for handcrafted goods. If you’re crafty and have a passion for making things at home, you can join Amazon Handmade.

Sellers from more than 80 different countries are selling handcrafted products via Amazon.

Amazon has an artisan-only application and audit process. This ensures that the products are genuinely handcrafted.

The pricing for handmade sellers is very straightforward. There are no hidden fees or listing fees at all. You’ll just pay a 15% referral fee to Amazon for each sale made. 

Work From Home as an Amazon Rep

You can get a job working directly for Amazon from the comfort of your own home. The customer service team supports 16 languages from over 130 locations worldwide.

Many of Amazon’s employees work remotely.

You can become a virtual customer service representative and do the same. If you want to help Amazon customers while sitting in your pajamas, this could be the job for you.

Amazon is constantly updating its Customer Service Associate jobs. Check this page to see if there’s a full-time or part-time job you meet the qualifications for. Then simply apply online.

Create Custom Merchandise With Merch by Amazon

Do you have a clever design idea for a t-shirt or a coffee mug? Don’t have the resources to produce hundreds or thousands of these on your own?

Merch by Amazon can turn your idea into a reality.

All you have to do is upload your design. Then simply select a product type and color.

Amazon will create a product page for you. They’ll also take care of all production, shipping, and customer service. You’ll earn a royalty for every product sold that you designed.

There are no upfront costs to join Merch by Amazon. But you will need to fill out an application to be considered for the program. Not everyone will qualify. 

Deliver With Amazon Flex

You’ve probably realized by now that Amazon runs its own delivery service. I’m sure you’ve seen drivers delivering packages around your neighborhood and even to your own door.

If you’re looking for a part-time job, you can become one of those drivers through Amazon Flex.

The majority of drivers earn between $18-$25 per hour. All of your earnings can be tracked through the Amazon Flex mobile app.

As the name implies, the position is flexible. Create your own schedule with available opportunities seven days per week. 

Trade In Used Goods

Technically, trading in your used products won’t put cash in your pocket. However, you’ll receive an Amazon gift card which is almost as good.

There are thousands of eligible products that qualify for Amazon’s trade-in program.

Top categories include:

• Amazon products (Kindle, tablets, Echo, etc.)
• Cell phones
• Gaming
• Books

If you have unwanted merchandise lying around the house, see if it’s eligible for a trade-in via Amazon. 

Join Mechanical Turk

Mechanical Turk (MTurk for short) is Amazon’s crowdsourcing marketplace.

The platform allows businesses and individuals to outsource tasks and processes to a virtual workforce. Things like data validation, content moderation, data entry, research, and surveys fall into this category.

If you have the time, ability, and resources to perform microtasks, then consider joining MTurk. Many tasks will earn between $0.10 and $1. They’re pretty easy to complete too. So the goal is to complete as many as you can.

Some of the tasks are pretty boring and tedious. But you can work part-time on your own schedule and get paid for it.  

Write Reviews For Amazon Vine

This is another example where you won’t actually receive any cash for participation. Amazon Vine rewards you with free products.

If you’ve already written lots of helpful reviews for products on Amazon, you could be eligible for the Amazon Vine program.

The purpose of Amazon Vine is to encourage honest, unbiased, and helpful feedback. Products are sent for free in exchange for reviews.

You’re not required to leave a favorable review just because you got the product for free. That defeats the purpose of the program. The best way to increase your chances of getting invited to Amazon Vine is by leaving reviews for Amazon products you’ve already purchased. 

Become an Influencer

Amazon Influencers is another affiliate program. But it’s different than the Amazon Associates program we talked about earlier.

The influencer program is designed to promote products via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. It’s a great opportunity to leverage your existing social following.

If you become an approved influencer, Amazon will give you a unique URL to your own Amazon page. The page will showcase products that you want to recommend to your followers. You’ll earn a commission for qualifying purchases.