Making Money Online: Introduction to Amazon FBA

What is Amazon FBA?

Amazon gives their sellers two different options, you can ship the items to customers yourself or you can have them ship it for you. The latter of the two is Amazon FBA. You will be responsible for sourcing, listing, and shipping to Amazon. That's all folks. You don't have to worry about running to the post office randomly to drop off 1 item nor do you have to micro manage your customer service. In short, FBA helps out drastically.

What Do I Need To Get Started With Amazon FBA?

First, you will need to get an Amazon Seller's account set up. The Individual account option is better tha
Professional when starting out. Unless 40 items a month are getting sold, getting that free month of Professional isn't going to be beneficial. You can do FBA with either.

You also need:

A credit/debit card

A US-based bank account for deposits

Tax ID - This can be Social Security, EIN or a Corporate TIN

What Can I Sell?

You can sell just about anything on Amazon.com

When you first start off you are allowed to sell in a couple of different categories straight off the back without getting approval.

Here is a list of the categories:

Amazon Device Accessories

Amazon Kindle

Baby Products (excluding apparel) - Nursery, Feeding, Gear

Books - Books, Calendars, Card Decks, Sheet Music, Magazines, Jou
als, Other Publications

Camera & Photo - Cameras, Camcorders, Telescopes

Cell Phones

Consumer Electronics - TVs, CD Players, Car Audio, GPS

Electronics Accessories - Audio, Video, Camera, Photo, Cell Phone, Car Electronics, Computer, and Office Accessories

Home & Garden - Kitchen, Dining, Pet Supplies, Furniture, Décor, Bedding, Bath, Craft, Hobby, Home Appliances, Storage, Patio, Lawn, Garden, Pool Supplies, Landscaping, Snow Removal, Generators

Music - CDs, Cassettes, Vinyl, and other sound recordings

Musical Instruments - Guitars, Orchestra, Recording Equipment

Office Products - Supplies, Furniture, Printers, Calculators

Outdoors - Outdoor Gear, Outdoor Sports Apparel, Cycling, and Action Sports

Personal Computers - Desktops, Laptops, Drives, Storage

Software & Computer Games - Business, Media Education, Utility, Security, Children's Software and PC Games

Sports - Exercise & Fitness, Hunting Accessories, Team Sports, Licensed/Fan Shop, Athletic Apparel, Boating & Fishing, and Game Room

Tools & Home Improvement - Hand & Power Tools, Plumbing, Electrical, Building Materials, Appliance Parts

Toys & Games - Infant and Preschool, Learning and Exploration Toys, Ride-ons, Action Figures, Dolls, Board Games, Arts, Crafts, Hobbies, Furniture

Video Games & Video Game Consoles - Game Consoles, Console Games, Accessories

Sourcing

Sourcing is the process of finding and buying the items that you will be sending into Amazon for FBA.
Tools of the Trade

Amazon Seller App (Mobile App) - This will be your starting scanning app. It is a free mobile download that will allow you to scan the bar codes of items. In return, you will get the key information that you need to make your purchasing decision easier.

There are other scanning apps which are overall faster than the Amazon Seller App.You will find these apps typically offer a 30-Day Free Trial

Where To Find Items:

Home

Friends

Yard Sales

Estate Sales

Garage Sales

Goodwill and other Thrift Stores

Wal-Mart

Target

The list goes on and on. Scouting for new places is all part of the adventure and is one of the most fun parts.

I have a few helpful infographics and such that I couldn’t add to this post, but you will be able to find on the site in the bio.