Amazon FBA Beginner | The Start Of A Journey

My Amazon FBA Journey

I thought at this point I would talk about Amazon FBA and some of the fun and heartbreak I have had and am still having to try to learn the business.

Back when Amazon started, they had a few books, I was there trying to see if there was a way to make money.

I failed at a lot of stuff and eventually gave up.

My last serious blog was a digital download site/ software reseller that was in 2003. It failed, a bit ahead of its time.

I quit and actually was offline for around 10 years.

Finally coming back and starting to look at building an online income, out of necessity. getting old sucks if you're not prepared for it.

So here's a bit of my journey, and you will see why it intertwines with POD and FBA for me. And maybe for you too. Some of my mistakes past, present, and future.

This will be a journal of sorts, I will try to share the good, bad and ugly here, and hope it helps someone, from making the same mistakes, and also conquer some fears or at least control them.

Some Knowlege And Understanding

I am assuming you have a little knowledge, of how the online world of ecom works, and have looked at Amazon FBA as a business model. Or are interested in general about POD or...

I will keep things pretty base, as I too am learning as I go if I contradict myself, It will simply be because of this.

I am NOT a GURU, and certainly not as yet, very successful. Though I feel for the first time I am going in the right direction.

I am not trying to rank, or even researching Keywords etc as I do this, I do know how to rank and get that low hanging fruit pretty quick, but its I think who will look for this type of info, will find it, here or somewhere, I know eventually I found many good sources the same way, that were not and never will be ranked.

How I Started

After trying from the late 1990s to around 2003, I gave up on the idea of running an internet home-based business.

Fast forward to 2015. I was sitting around, laid off for winter, and started to look back online for something to do.

I started to read and see youtube vids of FBA and all the big bucks folks were making, I unfortunately ignored and let it pass. Thinking it was way too complicated for an old guy like me with minimal ecom experience.

I found Merch By Amazon (POD) but it was for residents of the USA only. Cursing my luck I forgot about it.

Continuing to look at and having problems finding any space I fit in. I am an introvert as well, so nothing is easy.

Then A faceBook ad......

Blogging

In 2016/17 I found a site advertising work at home, learn how to blog etc.

I tried it and learned a lot about website building with Word Press and basically how to blog, it didn't work for me, a bit dishonest, but it was still a good learning experience

That failed but rekindled my interest in building my elusive dream.

I took action at least. A lot of wrong actions as well. But, that happens, when you feel the pressure of having to do.

That old sink or swim thing gets too real and it gets harder to find good places to swim as you age.

So don't cry its not a wah violin story, rather an ongoing journey of, dare I say it Watson, the road to success.

While Blogging

In the meantime, I was running a few different sites all blogs and all trying to sell affiliate stuff. Which I sucked at since I didn't want to mislead anyone.

Hard to give an honest review if all you do is read reviews left by customers of that product and make up a BS review.

I started to give up on blogging, except for a few things like this that I like to do.

Basically not a great business model for me.

But while trying to get something going I ran again into Merch By Amazon, got into it, still am, but as a side, and on quite a few PODS, ( I really like doing POD, but money speaks right now, hopefully, one day in the near future I can get back to it as a main hustle) and have moved my wagon on over to FBA.

Desperate To Replace Income | Beware

Don't do what I did, PANIC, that's how you fall into the GURUS crosshairs. That cost me a lot of money for basically nothing.

I am moving past that but it still hurts, not because he got me, but because that's money I could have invested in my business.

What happened was I went to some conference, Learn how to sell on Amazon, blah blah.

A good sales pitch, good sales funnel, excellent salespeople "rah rah" all around you and even shills (plants for the seller of said garbage program) which I can't go into for legal reasons.

Some complete idiot runs out after a cheesy Johnny Carson warmup clown, wearing a headset and thinking he is Steve Jobs.

BUT, one hell of a good salesman-con. Making a ton of money on your dreams, offering an amazing deal of support and help, success all the key points we all want to hear.

ALL COMPLETE BS. this cost me a lot of money for nothing, university would have been cheaper!

You even see it is BS, but because your desperate and need it, you, like I did take a chance.

ACTION the GURUS con word.

It's true and the most overused, understated and misunderstood phrase ever,,, just make sure its the right action.

Beware The Honey Trap

There are a few pretty legit guys doing coaching and teaching things they know. There are also a few FB groups that are not about selling you stuff but actually helping.

There is one in Canada that sells a course but for a minor amount, but mostly its free, good people passing knowledge, don't pay anyone big money to learn.

There is no reasonable amount (unless it's free) to actually learn entry into the Amazon world of FBA...

ACTION

DRUMROLLLLL... take some action, but move slow if you need to take time, just don't overthink things.

There is never an easy way, there are no quick shortcuts, there are some good people if you know how to reach out, but don't forget to give back as you learn.

If decide you pay, make sure you get a lot of opinion from other people in FBA, before getting the wallet out, the people that aren't so much selling you anything.

And understand what they are offering to teach you.

Helpful Tips For FBA

There is a lot to learn, most of it easy, but it can be overwhelming. I'm still a beginner and I'm not too sure if I will ever fully understand the business as much as others do.

I will discuss a few things that are must know, and that folks will try to sell you, in a series of articles, aimed at getting you on the right path at least.

There is no secret to this stuff and most of what I will talk about can be found on youtube or blogs, but when you're completely clueless as I was, you don't know what to ask or where to look.

Don't think about a huge profit margin, ( now or later), get sales on the board and make sure they will be good products that sell fast.

This helps in the long run, remember it's going to be your business, so think long term.

Buy low sell high, don't try to sell in the beginning, anything Amazon sells.

USE KEEPA!

RA/OA FBA

This is the easiest to get into on Amazon, but remember nothing is too easy:

Ra Means Retail Arbitrage (go buy at stores and resell)
OA Means Online Arbitrage (same as above but online)

The two other models are:

WS (wholesale which is what it sounds like, becoming very popular)
PL (Private Label the one we all dream of, VERY difficult now)

Basically, go shopping for deals in stores or online, check if they are for sale on Amazon, check the margins, if you can make 10-30 percent buy and sell.

Sounds easy right, wrong.

There are a lot of little things that get in the way, but you will learn as you go.

You will not be approved to sell much at the start, but it comes as you sell without, or with very few problems, meaning your record is good.

What You Need

There are a few tools you need, but to keep it simple, and right now it's all I use as well, but I will get a few things as I grow.

Amazon Seller Central Account (free but no FBA meaning you ship, pay in Canada $29.99 a month and you are eligible to sell in Canada, the USA, and Mexico FBA)
Amazon Seller Central App (free download from the play store)
Keepa (I think there is still a limited free version but am unsure small monthly subscription) THIS IS A MUST
Box tape and dispenser
Boxes ( can be used but any barcodes need to be covered up and I usually try to cover other business logos etc.

Alternatively or together with people also use camelcamelcamel (Keepa is pretty much the same but most use Keepa )

The Seller Central App will serve as your first scanner.

Closing Out

This could turn into a book, and I'm just a relative beginner, I hope to continue to create helpful articles as I go, there s a lot to write about, just with the knowledge I have, but it will take a few posts to do so.

This post alone needs to be expanded on several fronts, and I will do so, in time.

I hope you have read this far I will always have tips throughout the articles, and hopefully won't bore ya`ll to death. But you will have to read to catch them all, sorry its the way I do things.

If I get repetitive, it's so certain things will literally sink in, I hope that works for you, I know it does for me.

So if you have anything helpful to add or a comment or question you know what to do

All the best and all the Very Best in your entrepreneurial journeys.

PS I originally wrote this article last winter, but had t take a break as things were pretty hectic this year. I have re-read it and decided it still stands as beginner's first look.

Search This Blog

POD Man