11 best ways to earn money on Amazon
These are the easiest and most effective ways to make money on Amazon:
Sell old belongings on Amazon
Not sure what to sell on Amazon to make money? Have a look through your old belongings – there are likely to be plenty of items that you no longer use that you could sell online.
In some ways, old belongings can actually be some of the best items to sell on Amazon.
Not only does it mean your pre-loved stuff goes to a good home rather than a landfill (an important reason alone), but it also means you can cut out the costs of buying or making things to sell and just make a profit from things you already own.
For example, when you're finished with a module at uni, you could sell your old books on Amazon to help fund any new ones you need.
Just remember that if you do sell used things on Amazon, make sure you clearly and honestly describe the condition they're in.
For some inspiration, check out our guide on the best second-hand things to sell.
Start affiliate marketing
Arguably the top way to make money on Amazon without selling is by joining Amazon's affiliate marketing programme.
Affiliate marketing involves sharing links to products online, such as on social media or your own blog. Then, if people buy things through those links, you'll be able to earn money from the sales at no extra cost to the buyer.
Or, if you have a particularly good following across your social media profiles, you could consider applying to become an Amazon Influencer. This would still involve you promoting products and making money from sales, but you would be given your own page on Amazon where you could choose which items to promote.
To find out more, head over to our full guide to affiliate marketing.
Sell crafts on Amazon Handmade
Talented at arts, crafts or DIY? Amazon Handmade could be a brilliant platform to start selling your art, jewellery, textiles, or just about anything crafty.
While this could be a great option for you, it's worth comparing the seller fees for Amazon Handmade (find them here) with the fees on Etsy. We recommend doing some sums to work out whether you'd be earning more or less on there per item, depending on factors such as your product's sales price and the cost of post and packaging.
Deliver Amazon parcels
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If you can drive and you have a car at uni, delivering parcels through Amazon Flex could be an ideal way for you to make money in your spare time.
Amazon estimates you can earn about £13 – £15 an hour as a delivery driver, but it's worth keeping in mind that you might end up taking home a bit less than this.
As an Amazon Flex delivery driver, you'd be working as an independent contractor, so you'd need to cover costs like mileage, parking and tolls. This would mean that, if you make £13 an hour, some of that money might need to go towards driving costs.
However, it could still work out as pretty good money and the flexible hours would work well around a student schedule. And, our tips on saving money on driving might help you spend slightly less on your deliveries.
Sell through Fulfilment by Amazon
To make sure you're making as much money as possible as a seller on Amazon, look into whether Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) or merchant-fulfilment suits your business better.
When you're first starting out, merchant-fulfilment would probably be your best bet. This would mean you'd handle your own packaging and shipping. However, as your online store expands, it might be difficult for you to keep up with all of the P&P yourself, and it might even be tricky to store all of your stock at home.
With FBA, you could store your stock in an Amazon warehouse, and they would organise the packaging and delivery of your products. Also, your listings could attract more customers on the site by getting the 'Prime Badge', highlighting that they have fast delivery.
But, these features do come with added costs – you'd need to pay fulfilment fees and storage fees. These will vary depending on the size and type of your product, so have a look at this page for more details.
Publish eBooks on Kindle
Ever wanted to make money from writing? Publishing eBooks on Amazon Kindle is one way to do just that.
All you need to start writing an eBook is an idea, some free time and a fair amount of commitment.
Whether fiction or non-fiction, there's a huge range of topics that you could write your book about. For some ideas of popular genres (along with extra money-making tips), have a read of our full guide to maximising profits from eBooks.
Sell designs via Merch by Amazon
For anyone that's talented at art and design, it's worth considering Merch by Amazon. To sign up for Merch by Amazon, you'll need to submit a request and wait for a response from them.
With Merch by Amazon, you can upload artwork and choose the type of product you'd like the design to be printed on, along with its colour. Then, all you need to do is add a product description and set a price for the item.
When people buy your product, Amazon will handle the production, shipping and customer service, then pay you a royalty for each sale. The amount of royalty will vary depending on the type of product and the set price of your item.
For example, for a standard t-shirt that costs £15.99, the royalty would be £2.89 (18% of the purchase price). However, for a sweatshirt that costs £27.99, the royalty would only be £2.52 (9% of the purchase price).
If you join this programme, do plenty of research before getting started to make sure you're getting the most money from sales that you can.
As a bonus tip, Merch by Amazon is non-exclusive, meaning you could sell your designs via additional sites like Zazzle (which is also non-exclusive).
We have more info about printing on-demand products in our guide to the best passive income ideas.
Trade in devices for gift vouchers
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The Trade-In programme allows you to send in your old devices and, in return, receive an Amazon gift card for the value of your trade-in. Eligible devices include Kindle e-readers, tablets, streaming media players, the Amazon Echo, home security devices, smartphones and video game consoles.
It's free to do – you just need to head to the Trade-In store and select the device you'd like to trade. You'll then need to answer a few questions about the condition of your item (it might still be accepted if it doesn't work) and Amazon will give you a quote.
You'd be able to print a delivery label that lets you post the product for free and, once Amazon has verified its condition, the gift card will be automatically applied to your account. It's a great way to recycle things for money.
Do freelance work for Amazon sellers
Selling on Amazon can take a fair amount of work. Because of this, some sellers will need a bit of help with various aspects of their online store – and that's where you can come in.
Even if you're not keen on selling things yourself, you'll have plenty of skills that can help you make money on Amazon, so you could work for sellers on a freelance basis.
For example, if you're talented at photography, you could offer to take eye-catching product photos for sellers. Or, if you've got a really good eye for detail, you could proofread and edit product descriptions.
Work for Amazon
If making money on Amazon isn't enough for you, there is, of course, the option to work for Amazon.
There's such a vast range of jobs available at Amazon so, whatever your skillset, there's bound to be one that suits you. Plus, as a global brand, Amazon can offer great career progression opportunities.
Like the idea of working there? Have a look on their careers page to see if any of the current vacancies appeal – especially their student opportunities and graduate jobs.
These jobs will be super competitive, so it's important to put loads of time and effort into your application and do what you can to make your CV stand out.
Apply for Amazon Launchpad
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If you sell products that are particularly innovative and you've got an interesting brand story to tell, you could consider applying for Amazon Launchpad.
Applications are reviewed on a case by case basis so there's no guarantee you'd be accepted.
But if you are, you'd get access to added selling features like customer engagement tools, the chance to have your brand showcased on the Amazon Launchpad homepage and strategic support from an onboarding manager to help you develop your business.
Bear in mind that if you do sell on Amazon Launchpad, you'll need to pay an extra 5% referral fee on top of the standard referral fee on each item you sell. You can find more info here.
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