Amazon continues to grow, and with that growth, there are more ways than ever to make money with Amazon.
Selling on Amazon is likely the first money-making idea that comes to mind. However, you can also make money on Amazon without selling anything at all.
Several of these ideas generate passive income after some initial groundwork. Additionally, most of them allow you to make money working from home.
You can also find an actual job with Amazon working from home.
If you have thought about making money with Amazon before, but have been turned off by the thought of selling physical products, read on (just skip #1).
Ways to Make Money with Amazon
1. Sell Products on Amazon
There are several ways to go about selling on Amazon.
- Individual items (new or used) that you have around your house that you don’t use.
- Private Label products that you make or have manufactured for you.
- Retail arbitrage – buy discounted items at local retail stores and resell for a higher price on Amazon.
With either of these options, there are two ways to go about fulfilling orders.
- Fulfillment by Amazon – send the items to Amazon, and Amazon takes care of storing the inventory and packing/shipping the items.
- Amazon assesses additional fees, but they do a majority of the work for you, including customer service and returns.
- Fulfillment by Merchant – you list the items on Amazon, and when a customer orders your product, you are responsible for packing and shipping them.
Whatever you have to sell, it is hard to beat the exposure that listing on Amazon can provide. According to Statista, in the United States, Amazon has over 200 million unique visitors per month as of December 2018.
2. Merch by Amazon
Merch by Amazon is selling products on Amazon; however, I am listing it separately because of one huge difference.
With Merch by Amazon, you have zero inventory to maintain.
You create designs and upload your artwork. When a product is purchased, Amazon prints the item on-demand and fulfills the order.
You collect royalties from every sale.
You can sell t-shirts (long sleeve and short sleeve), tank tops, sweatshirts, pullover hoodies, zip hoodies, and PopSockets with your designs.
Once you create a design, upload it, and create your product listings, it is entirely passive.
3. Sell Professional Services
If you provide professional services like assembly, house cleaning, or similar services, you can apply to have your services advertised on Amazon.
There are no signup fees, subscription fees, or advertising fees. However, Amazon charges a fixed percentage of purchased services ranging from 15-20%.
Once you apply for and register your account, Amazon will complete background checks to verify your service. Once verified, you select your coverage area and services you will provide.
Amazon will send you jobs as customers order your service. Complete the job, and Amazon pays you.
4. Make Money with Amazon Associates
Amazon Associates is Amazon’s affiliate program.
If you have a website, Amazon Associates can be a great way to monetize it.
For just about every niche, there are Amazon products that you can promote on your website.
Affiliate rates vary based on the products purchased. The current commissions (up to 10%) are here.
Best of all, once a customer clicks on your Amazon affiliate link, anything added to their cart within 24 hours may qualify for your affiliate commission. Not just the product that they clicked on over to Amazon for.
If you are just getting started with affiliate marketing, making money with Amazon Associates can be a great place to start.
5. Self Publishing
You may not have considered becoming an author. However, with Amazon Self Publishing, just about anyone can create a book and have it published.
With Kindle Direct Publishing, you can self-publish eBooks and paperbacks for free. Your book will appear on Kindle stores within 24-48 hours, and you can earn up to 70% in royalties.
Additionally, there are options for professional publishing services, as well as publishing to audio.
I’m guessing there is something that you know how to do better than most people. Why not create a short eBook on that topic and start generating some passive income?
6. Develop Apps
If you are a developer, you can develop Android apps and games for Amazon Fire TV, Fire tablet, and mobile platforms.
It is free to register for a developer account. Additionally, free resources are available, including eBooks, app testing tools, and helpful checklists.
You can reach millions of customers and utilize Amazon’s unique monetization programs to make money.
7. Build Alexa Skills
Similar to developing apps, you can make money with Amazon by building Alexa Skills.
With the growth of digital assistants like Alexa, this area is going to continue to grow. There is even a Mark Cuban video in the link above, where he discusses now being the time to get in on this rapidly growing opportunity.
Alexa skills are monetized through in-skill purchasing of premium content, selling of physical goods and services, and Alexa developer awards for engaging skills.
Additionally, there is a free course to teach you how to design for in-skill purchasing.
8. Playing Games
If you are passionate about playing video games, why not make money doing it?
With Twitch, a subsidiary of Amazon, players can live-stream their games as they play.
Gamers make money through donations, advertisements, subscriptions, and sponsorships.
Some Twitch streamers make a full-time income playing games. Some make millions.
9. Make Money Delivering for Amazon
Finally, with everything that Amazon sells, a large delivery network is needed.
Amazon Flex
With Amazon Flex, you can deliver packages with flexible schedules.
If you are at least 21, have a qualifying vehicle, valid driver’s license, and valid insurance, you can download the app and get started.
Flex drivers typically earn between $18-$25 per hour.
Amazon Delivery Service Partner
If you are interested in starting your own package delivery service, becoming an Amazon Delivery Service Partner may be for you.
You can start a delivery service with as little as $10,000. And you don’t need any logistics experience.
Owners are typically responsible for 40-100 employees, operating 20-40 vans.
Additionally, if you are a veteran, you may qualify for a $10,000 reimbursement of startup costs for qualified candidates.
How to Make Money with Amazon Summary
As you can see, there are numerous ways to make money with Amazon.
Depending on your interests, there is a good chance that one of them is a fit for you.
While some options like delivery and professional services require a good amount of time, most of the options provide an excellent cash flow of passive income after some upfront work.
And with Twitch, you can make money by just playing games.
Have you made any money with Amazon? Please share your experiences in the comments below.
