Amazon FBA - is it profitable?

by rahmat
11 replies
Is it a profitable business to sell physical goods on Amazon?
Particularly by sending the goods from the oversea-supplier directly to the Fulfillment by Amazon.
#amazon #dropship #fba #profitable
  • Profile picture of the author James McAllister
    If it wasn't profitable, why would there be thousands of companies doing it?

    That being said, just because it's profitable for others doesn't mean it will necessarily be profitable for you. Do your research.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie123
    You cannot import products from an overseas manufacturer, directly to Amazon FBA. They (Amazon) will not pay any duties and taxes owed on the shipment, which could be required. You can, however, send it to other fulfillment centers that will put on UPC codes, proper packaging, etc., and send it to the fulfillment center(s) Amazon specifies. All this for a price, of course. Btw, why wouldn't you want to check the inventory of your products anyway, instead of sending it straight to Amazon FBA. Too many people do this blindly and end up having their items returned for refunds or rejected outright by Amazon, all because they never bothered to check the quality and quantity of their inventory! My two sense!
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by paulie123 View Post

      You cannot import products from an overseas manufacturer, directly to Amazon FBA. They (Amazon) will not pay any duties and taxes owed on the shipment, which could be required. You can, however, send it to other fulfillment centers that will put on UPC codes, proper packaging, etc., and send it to the fulfillment center(s) Amazon specifies. All this for a price, of course. Btw, why wouldn't you want to check the inventory of your products anyway, instead of sending it straight to Amazon FBA. Too many people do this blindly and end up having their items returned for refunds or rejected outright by Amazon, all because they never bothered to check the quality and quantity of their inventory! My two sense!
      You can ship direct from China to Amazon FBA. They have detailed instructions on their site, including contact details for their approved Customs Broker, but I would prefer to use an FBA prepping service for two reasons.
      1. I would not want my Chinese supplier to know how I am selling and how to use the Amazon system.
      2. I would prefer to have the goods checked before they go to FBA for the reason mentioned by paulie123 above.
      Regarding the OPs question about profit, it should be noted that profit begins with buying right. That means buying direct from real manufacturers not from the traders listed in their thousands on the popular websites pretending to be manufacturers.
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      Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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  • Profile picture of the author rahmat
    Is there an excellent guide about this? Probably WSO?
    Thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author Trevorjc
      Originally Posted by rahmat View Post

      Is there an excellent guide about this? Probably WSO?
      Thanks
      Well there was the recent ASM course a snip at $4K the cheaper proven amazon course from Jim Cockrum and the ecommerce section of this forum. Various Facebook groups, seek and you will find.
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  • Profile picture of the author DWaters
    Originally Posted by rahmat View Post

    Is it a profitable business to sell physical goods on Amazon?
    .
    Since Amazon sales are around 75 BILLION per year I am going to say YES to this question. I believe about 45% of those sales are by third party sellers, both FBA and Mercahnt Fullfilled. There are certain guidlines you need to follow when sourcing from China. As mentioned above the shipments cannot go directly to Amazon.

    All my sourcing has bee US based so far and I find FBA to be excellent!
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    How I really Make Money With Amazon

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    • Profile picture of the author agmccall
      google jordan malik, he has a free pdf where he reviews 4 fba courses that are under $300.00 and just as good as, if not better than, ASM

      al
      Signature

      "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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      • Profile picture of the author DWaters
        Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

        google jordan malik, he has a free pdf where he reviews 4 fba courses that are under $300.00 and just as good as, if not better than, ASM

        al
        I agree - Jordan is excellent. He tells you about these FBA courses and explains the positive and negatives of each. He also has written his own low cost kindle books on Amazon and Ebay selling. You may want to get on his list as he sends out tips and ideas each week.
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  • Profile picture of the author Arw50452
    It can be very profitable. You may have to ship the inventory to your location first to properly label and prepare the inventory or instruct the overseas warehouse to do this.

    I think it is easier to just ship directly to my location and I reship to an amazon warehouse. Amazon's fullfillment rates are very competitive and you don't have to worry about customer service.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andreas Quintana
    There is a lot of work involved. Is there any particular reason you would like to go with that method of making money with Amazon?
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