How to start an amazon FBA business with less amount is a question most people have in mind when they are seriously considering to kick start a career off Amazon. It sounds surreal to think that starting this business under a thousand bucks is possible.
After adding the costs of developing a brand, purchasing products from suppliers, paying the fees, registering for tax and legal contracts, making a marketing and advertising technique, and shipping items, isn’t more money required?
Not necessarily, and we are here to show you how. In this guide, you will be taught how to get started as an Amazon seller even with a very low budget. Also, know that:
- You do not require any experience sourcing the products
- You do not need any expertise selling online
- You do not need any expertise running a business
You will get a direct answer to how to start an amazon FBA business with little money.
Be Picky About Your Inventory
There are tons of products on Amazon, but very few of them will fulfill your low-scale budget needs. This is why it’s suggested to pay for some valuable tools like Jungle Scout. This resource offers time-saving and useful information in order to narrow down your list of profitable products to sell.
Hence, Jungle Scout will bring a higher return on investment. Another similar tool is FBA Revenue Calculator and this should be employed on all items before investment. FBA Revenue Calculator provides a correct revenue estimate that you can possibly generate.
When hunting for products, follow the below list:
โ Seasonality
When thinking about how to start an amazon fba business with little money, it’s very risky to initiate the business with a minimal budget on seasonal items. Therefore, stick to products that are introduced evenly throughout the year.
โ Size
If an item can be placed in a shoebox or something smaller, and is somewhat light, it will drastically minimize your shipping costs.
โ Risk
Stick to items that transport well and can bear some rough treatment. Avoid breakable and fragile products. There is a market for these products too, but not when you’re wondering how to start an amazon fba business with little money.
โ Usability
The more frequent a product is utilized, the higher it’s demand will be and the better your probability of success are. Avoid one-use and niche items.
โ Category
A few categories are more cutthroat than others, such as electronics. Even if the wholesale unit cost can be low, you will have to invest in other areas to make yourself stand out. This is almost impossible on a minimal budget.
โ Brands
The prominent brands are mega sellers, but you will have a very difficult time to go smoothly at it. Not only will you have to comply with strict selling regulations and branding, but you will also face unmatched rivalry.
With these factors in mind, scour the internet with a creative and open mind. Jot down every product idea you can think of, no matter how unrealistic or strange it may seem at that time. The idea is to have a great variety of choices that you can narrow down to a usable shortlist.
Since your Margin of Error is Very Less, Do a Lot of Learning and Researching
Have you ever pondered how rich people can generate their income so rapidly and easily than the average person? It’s not that they have more money (although that helps too), it’s that they have more space for errors.
If one venture doesn’t work out, they boast sufficient funds to invest in other ventures, boosting the chance of one of them to succeed.
If you’re thinking to start an amazon FBA business, you simply don’t have enough margin of error. This is why you need to play smart moves, be picky from the start, and be methodical.
For instance, you might want to limit your sales within the country until your capital has expanded to afford overseas shipping. But what if the supplier in your shortlist belongs to another country, giving you the chance to deliver to an Amazon fulfillment center there? It can result in complicated dealings, but it can also lead to higher profits and sales, as well.
View Costs on Alibaba
It’s a great idea to cross-reference the same product’s prices on Amazon with Alibaba. This will allow a solid idea of the potential profit margins of all products.
Afterward, multiply the Alibaba cost by the number of items you want to have in your inventory, such as 250 to 500, to know how many purchases your budget will allow.
After you have decided on a list of possibly cheap but profitable products, order their samples from Alibaba or any other supplier. Remember to ask them the minimum order quantities (particularly on Alibaba), negotiate for small quantities that fulfill your budget, and stand firm when your requirements can’t be met. On both sides, it is business.
When working with suppliers, you want them to offer you a small seller and the time, so be extra careful with your communication.
Prepare a business plan beforehand that shares how many items you have to order after testing the samples, profit projections for the next year, and supported by research you carried on sales.
When it comes to paying your suppliers (especially for small orders), PayPal is a perfect solution. It may not be sustainable over time due to fees, but nothing beats PayPal in quick and secured transactions.
Additional Costs to Consider
Make sure to leave room in your budget for paying to have a professional Amazon account, legal demands, Amazon fees, advertising, brand label, shipping, storage, packaging, and marketing. Even if you’re wondering to start an amazon FBA business, you should make up for it with time.
With such a less budget, speed is highly critical in terms of setting up and selling. Don’t invest a lot of time on unique packaging or a fancy logo as these things can be done later in the procedure when you refine compound sales.
At this point, initiate with building a social media presence, nailing down keywords, doing promotions to increase visibility, optimizing your listing, and forming an email campaign to accumulate reviews.
Moreover, ensure that you are actually familiar with the terms and conditions of Amazon so that you don’t get caught up in trouble later. While thinking abouthow to start an amazon FBA business with little money, terms and conditions are vital otherwise it can ruin your account and your selling probabilities.
After you have gained some traction, the first aspect you should invest again in are more products. Placing orders with greater quantities can deduct the cost per product, giving more profit to the revenue.
As you continue to progress, you can branch out your investments in other categories, such as brand aesthetic, packaging, email marketing, etc.
How to List a Product on Amazon
- From the Seller Central dashboard, choose inventory from the menu and click on “Add a Product” from the drop-down menu.
- Click on the link called “Create a new product listing”.
- Now, you have to classify your product. This means that you have to choose a category so that Amazon knows where to list it.
- Scroll down to “Find it in Amazon” and head to the categories list. Select the category that is appropriate.
- Remember that each category is further segmented into subcategories. Just keep choosing the subcategories until no more are left. For instance, if your product is a mobile phone holster, choose the following subcategories:
- Electronics and photo
- Accessories
- Mobile phone accessories
- Holster
Tip: Don’t worry about belonging to a perfect subcategory. There are many paths to go down to. Usually, different categories are applicable to one specific product.
Things You Can Do While Waiting For Shipment to Reach Amazon Warehouse
During the process of thinkingaboutan amazon FBA business, you must be confused about what can be done when your shipment has not arrived at the Amazon warehouse yet. A few things that can be done are:
- Take your sample product to a local photographer. Make professional pictures of your offerings, and update the pictures on the product listing.
- Edit your product listing. You can improve the bullet points, title, and descriptions.
Remember to also ponder on the type of brand you want to have for yourself. After your products are taken by the Amazon warehouse, you will get an email. This email is typically the first of the two emails. Remember to be patient.
After they are done processing your shipment and placing the product available for sale, your product listing will be automatically live. Now, it’s time for the last step:
How to Gain Sales on Amazon
When it comes to Amazon sales, it all depends on visibility. The more users will view your products, the more sales you will achieve. This is a game of numbers. The best way to get attention on your offerings is advertising. For this purpose, it’s suggested to employ the Amazon Pay per Click platform, aka sponsored ads.
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