How to Start an Ebay Business

1. Decide what to sell

Pick a product that works for you

One of the first things to consider when you want to start a business on eBay is what you’re selling.

Figuring out what to sell isn’t something only aspiring eBay entrepreneurs need to do; it’s key for anyone starting a business. What service or product is a good fit for you, for your location, over the long-term, or just for the moment because it’s selling like hot cakes?

Factor in shipping and storage

As you work through the process of deciding what to sell, remember to keep things like shipping and storage costs in mind. Mailing a USB drive is a whole lot easier than a billiards table. If you’re thinking of selling fragile items, consider the extra packaging costs and the potential for breakage.

Be aware of restrictions

That said, you’re free to sell pretty much anything—well, almost anything. Ebay does have a list of things you cannot sell, or that have restrictions. It’s worth reviewing the list as it does include things like art, event tickets, and gift cards.

Start with what you know

If you’re not sure what to sell, it’s a good idea to think of what you love and what you know. Do you have a hobby? Perhaps you’re an avid collector of Polaroid cameras and you know everything there is to know about how the products have developed over time.

We suggest picking something you know because an important part of selling on eBay is knowing what the market for these items looks like.

Ask yourself:

• Is it in demand?
• What do people looking for it consider before buying?
• What does it typically sell for?
• How should you describe it?
• Where should you list it (category)?
• Do you know where to get ahold of it at an affordable price so that you can resell for a profit?

Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t pick something you’re less familiar with. If you’re a great researcher and are looking for a new hobby, perhaps now is the time to branch out.

Tip: If you love doing market research, Terapeak is worth a try. You can use Terapeak to get access to inside information on how shoppers are behaving, and how products are performing on eBay, Amazon, and Alibaba. You can try it free for 30 days.

Research popular products

Ebay has a great section on “what to sell” on their site. Electronics, fashion, and collectibles are consistently listed among the most popular categories.

Popular selling items in electronics in 2018 include:

• Game consoles
• Mobile phone accessories
• Laptops
• Bluetooth speakers

A word of warning regarding electronics: If you’re just getting started, it might be good to stay away from them for a while, especially if you’re selling second-hand electronics. Figure out how the site works before you have to deal with complaints and returns, regarding faulty monitors, keyboards, or hard drives.

Popular selling items in fashion in 2018 include:

• Athletic shoes
• Accessories like belts and sunglasses
• Replacement bands for smartwatches
• Makeup
• Hair accessories

Popular selling items in collectibles in 2018 include:

• Stamps
• Coins
• Trading cards
• Gaming sets like Magic the Gathering and YuGiOh

2. Set up your eBay store account

If you’re going to be listing a lot of items each month, an eBay store is a good idea, if for no other reason than because it will save you money.

Normally, when you list items on eBay, you are doing so as a member of the general public and you do not need to commit to any monthly fees. With an eBay store, however, you are required to pay a monthly fee. You can decide on a package that best suits your needs and keeps costs relatively low.

At present, eBay offers five store packages with varying discount structures:

• Starter: 100 free fixed-price listings/month and costs $4.95 per month (billed annually)
• Basic:  250 free fixed-price listings/month and costs $21.95 per month (billed annually)
• Premium: 1,000 fixed-price listings/month and cost about $59.95 per month (billed annually).
• Anchor:10,000 fixed-price listings/month and costs $299.95 per month (billed annually).
• Enterprise: 100,000 fix-priced listings/ month and $2,999.95 per month (billed annually)

A store is a good idea if you don’t have an ecommerce website and you want a more personalized place to direct people to. It’s also a good idea if you sell a lot of similar products. People may want to browse and see what else you have.

Africa Direct’s eBay store is a great example of a store that operates as a website in micro. Given that it’s so easy to purchase on eBay—many people already have their card details saved and linked with PayPal—it’s more likely that someone will buy from your eBay store than from an eCommerce website they may not trust, or that requires them to get up and find their credit card.

3. Make your Ebay business official and legal

What you need to know about starting a business

Use this free downloadable business startup checklist to help you stay organized as you get closer to launching your eBay store. Operating an online store, especially one that’s so easy to set up, does not mean you are exempt from all of the legal requirements a “normal” business has to meet.

In fact, as soon as you start selling a lot on eBay, or turning a regular profit, the IRS will classify you as a business, and you will need to meet all the requirements a normal business has to meet. If you do intend to run a business, even if you’re not yet making regular sales, it may be worth formally registering your business. It costs very little and will keep you in the clear.

This will include:

• Registering your business name
• Obtaining a Federal Tax ID number
• Obtaining any federal and state licenses or permits
• Deciding on a legal business structure

Business structures

Broadly speaking, there are four legal structures or business formats. For some people, picking a form of business is straightforward; for others, a consultation with a lawyer is necessary.

If you’re relatively comfortable handling these processes yourself, you can go through a company like LegalZoom, which helps hundreds of small business owners prepare legal documents for business incorporation and the likes. However, if you’re at all unsure about which one will best suit your needs, we strongly advise consulting with a legal professional.

If you can, look for someone that’s a member of your local Chamber of Commerce. Here’s a brief overview of each business formation, with a little bit of information regarding their suitability to your eBay business, as well as things you may want to consider.

Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is the preferred type of business for many individuals running either a part-time or full-time business on their own. It’s the simplest form of business and is incredibly easy and affordable to set up. You can run a sole proprietorship from your personal checking account and can deduct many of the expenses related to the running from your state and federal taxes.

The risk associated with a sole proprietorship is that all business liabilities are linked to you personally. If you default on loans or have outstanding debts, you could lose your personal assets.

Partnership

Forming an eBay partnership with one or more people can be a very productive way of making money on this platform. It may start out with an oral agreement, but a formal written agreement should always be created; consider all duties, possible disputes, restrictions, and provision for worst-case scenarios—i.e., “What happens if…”

The partnership itself must file Form 1065 to the IRS, and the profits are taxed based on individual returns (established by terms stated in the written agreement, or by percentage of ownership). Legally, each partner is responsible for themselves and each other. Any lawsuits that occur can potentially involve all or both of you, so be sure that partners are aware of their duties and any legalities that may surround them.

A word to the wise: Ebay states in its User Agreement that you may not “transfer your eBay account (including Feedback) and user ID to another party without our consent.”

So, if your partner decides to back out, or you go separate ways and want to start separate businesses, if you haven’t made it clear from the start who gets the account, you may be looking at starting from scratch or undergoing a heavy legal dispute. This is one agreement you should probably read.  

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

As the name suggests, the liabilities of Limited Liability Companies are generally not passed on to the owners. This means that the owner or owners’ liability does not extend beyond the amount they invested in the company.

In terms of taxation, however, the owners or members are all liable. When taxes are due, profits and losses are calculated for individuals based on their percentage ownership or investment. The Form 1065 must still be filed to confirm proper income reporting by members. The LLC itself can reduce the tax paid by members by paying as a corporation and keeping some profits in-house.

Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity operating entirely in its own right. As an employee-owner you cannot take money from the company bank account for your own pleasure. It must be for an officially accountable purpose.

There are two types of corporation you can set up: S or C. The former allows profits to be passed to your own tax return, and the latter files its own tax returns, and you are officially an employee. The state in which you set up your corporation will determine how much tax you pay and the rules you must follow.

You should make yourself aware of tax rates in your state, and never set up a corporation before you’re totally aware of exactly what it means, and the implications for you as an individual owner and employee.

4. Start listing your items

Understand the fees

If you haven’t already, take a moment to familiarize yourself with eBay’s selling fees.

Be proactive about your policies

Think through how you’ll answer buyers’ questions. Don’t skip laying out clear customer service and return policies.

Determine the payment methods you’ll accept from buyers

Ebay offers a few different payment options for sellers: Paypal, credit and debit cards, as well as checks and money orders, payment on pickup, or bank transfers.

Create your seller account

Before you can list any of your items, you’ll need to set up a seller account. First thing, you’ll have to decide whether to set up a “personal account” or a “business” account.

If you’re starting an eBay business and plan to sell a good volume of items each month, you’re going to want to pick the business account—the personal option is for casual sellers. The process is simple and straightforward and eBay will guide you through it all. Once you’re set up, take some time to familiarize yourself with your seller dashboard.

Create your listings

To create your first listing, log into your eBay account. Click the “sell” link in the top right-hand corner. This will take you to your Summary page.

Once you’re on this page, you will see a vertical navigation on the left side of your account. Click the blue “Sell an Item” button. eBay will guide you through the rest of the process.

One of the first choices you’ll have to make is whether to create a template for your listing. If you know that you’re going to sell a lot of the same type of category, setting this up from the beginning can save you a lot of time. Don’t underestimate how important your product description wording is in helping your item be seen and sold.

In order to sell your items and maximize your chances of getting seen, you will need to include:

• A strong title and description (pick something people will be searching for)
• Additional information about specific aspects of the item (some categories allow for this)
• The condition of the item
• Pictures of your item (the higher the quality, the better)
• A selling format (auction-style or fixed price)
• A listing duration
• A starting price (see our tips above on pricing your items)
• The payment methods you’ll accept (see our explanation above)
• Your shipping costs and locations
• Your return policy

5. Price your items

Fortunately, there’s a lot of information available on how to price your items. Performing a simple eBay search for the specific item you’re looking to list should give you a good idea of the right ballpark figure.

However, sometimes prices may vary wildly—some sellers prefer to list items with fixed prices while others prefer to start with a much lower price and run their sale as an auction.

Tip: Use eBay’s Advanced Search feature to find out how much an item you want to list has sold for in the past.

Don’t forget that eBay’s default search method is “Best Match,” which takes into account both the item’s shipping price and its list price.

The combined price is what really matters

As with a real-life store, you’ve got to make sure your products are easy to find. The best way to do this is to balance your shipping and list price to ensure it’s fair, and to keep your seller rating high through good customer service. A fair price will make it more likely that your results come up higher when people look for items like yours.

Tip: If you want to increase your search visibility, you can experiment with eBay’s “reserve price” settings.

Basically, you’ll be able to set a low price but at the same time, set a lower price limit, so that if your reserve price is not met when people bid on your item, it will not sell. To set a reserve price you will need to pay a small fee per item. Be sure to look closely at your item listing preview so you can catch any errors or things you missed before it goes live

6. Ebay legalese and stuff you ought to know

Running a business isn’t supposed to just be hard work; you’re supposed to enjoy it too. One of the things that can get in the way of this is not knowing the rules you should be playing by.  

To keep problems to a minimum, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with eBay’s values, understand what you can and cannot sell on the site, know what to do when your competition doesn’t play fair, and of course, what to do about a “difficult bidder” or a buyer who doesn’t pay.

Each of these problems has been covered in depth by eBay, so we’ll include the most important links to each one here:

• Know eBay’s values and honor them
• A list of prohibited and restricted items
• Ebay’s profanity policy
• What to do when a buyer doesn’t pay you
• What to do when you can’t follow through on a sale

7. Set up your offline eBay headquarters

While you’re still in the beginning stages of building your eBay business, spend a little time thinking about how it will function offline. Meaning—where do you store your inventory? Do you have a dedicated workstation for packaging up your shipments?

Especially when you’re first starting out, just make it work for you. You can get started in your spare room or garage.

Don’t over complicate it. But do think ahead, especially if you’re looking at growing your business and inventory quickly. Start with putting together a good record-keeping system so you know what you’ve got on hand in terms of inventory, and you can find it easily.

Decide how to store your eBay stock

Depending on what you sell, some good items to stock up on that will make storing goods easier include:

• Plastic or steel shelves
• Clear plastic boxes (if you’ve got a lot of stock) with clear labels
• Plastic Ziploc/snack bags (good for smaller items)

We recommend clear storage boxes so that it’s easy to see what you’ve got on hand.

Keep track of your inventory

Whether you prefer to use a paper notebook or a software program, there’s no doubt about it—keeping a record of all your inventory is important, especially as your business grows and as it becomes more important to keep good records in case the IRS ever looks into things. The best way to keep track of a lot of inventory is to invest in a good bookkeeping system.

QuickBooks Online is a favorite for many eBay sellers as it easily integrates with your eBay account, meaning that you don’t have to spend any time copying things over manually.

Set up your packing supplies and workstation

An essential part of your HQ is “the shipping department.” In order to ensure a smooth-running operation, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got everything you need readily available, especially if you’ve promised to ship items fast.

Items you should always have on hand:

• Something to clean up packaging with—a sticker removal product like Goo Gone or un-du, or simply WD-40
• Bubble wrap
• Shipping tape
• Styrofoam packing peanuts
• Plastic bags and trash bags (good for wrapping larger items and for waterproofing)
• A variety of envelopes (including the handy bubble mailer envelopes that keep items safe)

Now go and master selling!

You’ll learn a lot as you go—test your prices, listing language and processes often so you can be sure you’re being as efficient as possible.

Also, put together an ecommerce or online business plan. You can use this free downloadable business plan template to get started, and you can take a look at some example ecommerce business plans in our library to help you think through the process.

Why build your own business plan? Think of it as a framework to help you think through what you need to do to be successful. Do you have financial goals for your business? Your business plan should be a tool to help you meet those milestones and become the most successful eBay business you can be.

Custom Chatbot Development Tutorial To Start Your Own now !!!!!!!

Outstanding entrepreneurs are always on top of the newest trends that offer business opportunities in the form of innovative solutions. You're probably familiar with AI-powered virtual assistants, also known as chatbots, as they've been one of the hottest topics in the marketing world for some time now. Recent advancements in the technology that powers bots have opened the flood doors for companies of all sizes, and they're rushing in to establish their bot as a point of reference for consumers.

Because they've become a necessity for all organizations, setting up an agency that specializes in creating custom-made bots seems like a winning business venture. The only problem is that creating a chatbot is a technical field, so you need a high level of coding knowledge and expensive tools to put together a great chatbot…or do you?

The truth is, thanks to platforms you can now create bots for free in a matter of minutes without any prior coding knowledge. Thanks to its purely visual interface, you can use this platform to create complex bots that add real value to any company in which they're utilized.

In this article, I'll discuss some key points to consider when creating high-quality, tailor-made virtual assistants in order to set up your own bot-creating agency.

The Chatbot Revolution

Although chatbots aren't a new concept, they've become one of the hottest topics in the world of technology and digital marketing. Most of us have interacted with a bot at some point, either in the form of an automated telephone assistant or a modern chatbot.

Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is the technology behind the widespread of chatbots. By implementing AI and natural language processing (NLP), chatbots can now communicate with humans using common language instead of specific command lines.

AI-powered virtual assistants can help users carry out tasks and provide information without the need for another human being, allowing companies to set up customer service bots while focusing on increasing productivity within their organization. Moreover, chatbots are able to perform complex tasks, such as placing orders, editing shipping details, updating billing information, and changing account information.

However, creating a bot requires a lot of planning, knowledge about your company's target audience, and an understanding of which features will be the most valuable to users.

Creating Custom Chatbots and Setting Up Your Own Bot Agency

Setting up your own bot-creating agency and providing AI-powered virtual assistants to companies is a challenging task. Remember, bots are still in early development stages, so there's still a long way to go, functionality-wise.

These bots also need to be designed to suit your client's specific needs that may range from a simple customer care assistant to an internal-facing chatbot that coordinates their entire team.

When creating a custom chatbot, you should always remember to:

Select the Best Platform

There are dozens of options to choose from and each one offers different features and benefits.

Keep in mind that some bot builders will require different levels of technical knowledge. If you have experience coding, chances are you can start creating bots from scratch without the help of any third-party tools. On the other hand, if you don't have much coding knowledge, choosing a platform like chatty people can help you save time while allowing you to deliver high-quality results.

Analyze the Bot's Audience

You need to touch base with each client to discuss their target audience. Remember, different chatbots can be designed to provide information, solve common issues, or work as a sales channel.

Keep their main purpose in mind and identify the right audience to create a bot that appeals to them. Also, remember that bots are relatively new tools, so make your bot proactive and easy to use in order to help users feel more comfortable.

Implement Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence

AI and NLP are the two main reasons for the widespread emergence and usage of bots. You can create a chatbot that doesn't employ either of these two elements, but they might be a nightmare for users, as they would have to operate it using exact command lines.

Using natural language processing and artificial intelligence means that users can communicate with a bot using everyday language. In addition to being easier to use, chatbots that employ these two key features can display a bit of personality to help captivate and engage users on a deeper and more personal level.

Give it Functional Features

Consumers are more demanding than ever, and they expect your chatbot to work as well as any of your other products. Instead of overloading your virtual assistants with exciting new features that don't work properly, you should begin with just a few capabilities that work to perfection and build your way from there.

Remember that chatbots can use AI to learn from every conversation, so you can create a simple version at first and implement more features slowly to create an efficient, problem-solving machine.

Marketing Your Chatbots

It's important to consider your bot's marketability throughout the entire creation process. Not only should you come up with an attractive name that's simple to remember and spell, but you should also make sure it's indexed and available on Facebook and other third-party chatbot databases. This will guarantee that your bot is easy to find and that users can track it down with a simple search engine or social media query.

Optimize, Enhance, and Reduce Turnaround

Like most modern marketing tools, chatbots are not static schemes but rather dynamic solutions that can be optimized for better performance. Once your bot has been running for some time, you can look at its performance metrics and make changes accordingly.

This should enhance the user experience, identify and solve confusion triggers, and ultimately reduce your turnaround time for future chatbots you create. You may need to employ additional analytics tools to get a feel for the bigger picture and work towards building a seamless experience for users who interact with your bots.

Finally...

Thanks to the widespread and popularization of AI-powered virtual assistants, setting up your own bot-building agency is easier and more profitable than ever. Follow the tips I outlined above to create high-quality, custom chatbots for your customers that produce results and help reduce their responsibilities, allowing them to focus on increasing their organization's overall performance.

BEST TOP 3 WAYS TO EARN MONEY FROM GOOGLE ONLINE JOB

3 WAYS TO EARN MONEY FROM GOOGLE ONLINE JOB

Here are 3 best Google work from home jobs that can give you regular income. There is no limit to earn from these Google online jobs. You just set your target, work accordingly and you can definitely achieve your target.

GOOGLE ADSENSE

This is superb! I simply love AdSense!!

I started working on Google AdSense in 2007 and I almost made more than 1 million dollars with Google AdSense.

There is nothing better on internet that can beat earnings from Google AdSense.

Millions of AdSense publishers from all over the world are earning from this online job.

You can also earn $200 to $20,000+ per month with this Google online job.

Here are the exact steps to earn money from Google AdSense-

1. Create a blog. (It’s very easy to create a blog and it hardly takes 30 minutes to set up an excellent blog.)
2. Publish regular content on your blog (Anything that you know like entertainment, cooking, politics, hobbies, your experiences, something technical etc.).
3. Apply for Google AdSense here.
4. Once your AdSense account is approved, place AdSense ads on your blog.
5. Start earning for each and every time your visitor click on AdSense ads.

If you are thinking that above 5 steps are hard then you are completely wrong.

I have created one of the best Training for creating a blog & earning money from Google AdSense that will help you to learn everything from scratch.

YOUTUBE ONLINE JOB

This online job from Google not only give you income but can make you an instant internet celebrity.

Thousands of people are opening a YouTube channel daily and showing their skills on YouTube through videos.

Once their channel becomes popular they start earning hundreds or thousands of dollars through the ads in their videos.

Opening a channel is as easy as creating an email account.

Here are the exact steps to earn money online from this Google job.

1. Start a YouTube channel
2. Create a video through your mobile (anything that is interesting even a useless humor)
3. Upload your videos on YouTube
4. Wait until you get good number of subscribers
5. Apply for YouTube partner program
6. Start earning from YouTube after getting the approval.

You can refer to this YouTube money making guide on MoneyConnexion to know more.

GOOGLE OPINION REWARDS

The third option is Google Opinion Rewards. However, this isn’t a regular source of earning like last two. If you want to earn money from Google on part-time basis on and off then Google Opinion rewards is best for you.

You can go to Android Play Store or iOS App Store and install the app on your mobile.

You can fill up survey forms and win Google Play credits. These online surveys can be completed by anybody very easily. Google Opinion Rewards will allow you to earn Google Play Credits, later you can use them to buy any kind of paid apps.

Right now minimum amount that Google pays in India is Rs 10.

If you want to work online on part time basis the go for Google Opinion Rewards.

So these were 3 best ways to earn money online from Google. There are no other ways to make money with Google online jobs. If you want to start working online with Google then focus on these 3 online jobs only.

best 15 ideas Ways to Make Money on Amazon

1. Sell a product using Amazon’s FBA

FBA means fulfilled by Amazon, and as a seller, all you would need to do is ship your inventory of products to Amazon’s warehouse and they take care of shipping it for you.

Some merchants choose to ship out the products themselves, in order to avoid hefty fees Amazon charges. There are pros and cons of doing this, but if your product sells in high volume, it makes the most sense to ship via FBA.

Out of all the options listed in this article about ways to make money with Amazon, becoming a seller has the greatest opportunity for you to cash in on extra income, but it also involves the most amount of research and uncertainty.

Selling a product on Amazon can be a great way to earn some extra income, but don’t start selling without first understanding what it entails. You run the risk of losing money if you don’t do your due diligence first. I’m speaking from first-hand experience on that one.

My Amazon Mistake

I’ve sold products on Amazon for the last year, and I’ve learned that research is a critical factor, before you start.

This was my biggest mistake. In a nutshell, I didn’t do enough research around the product before making a huge purchase of 1,000 units. After shipping costs from China were factored into the retail price, the product ended up being too expensive to sell (based on competitors’ prices), and I was forced to take a loss.

If you want to really learn about how to sell on Amazon, it takes a lot of due diligence, YouTubing, reading and talking to others who have been in the business.

The awesome thing about Amazon is the sheer number of potential customers that may click and hopefully buy your item. The downside is,  you face fierce competition by other sellers who are doing the exact same thing as you.

However, the opportunity is still there, and I’m here to tell you that it’s possible to sell on Amazon and make money.

What to understand, before you sell

The competition to sell a product on Amazon is high. Who knows if the product you choose to sell will even sell? It’s a bit of a gamble, but once you figure out Amazon’s rules and oddities, it can be very lucrative, particularly around the holidays.

Let’s say, after doing your product research on Amazon, you want to sell an olive oil dispenser that you can easily source from Alibaba. Most likely, you won’t be the first person selling this item — not to say that you have to be the first or only person to sell something to be successful.

However, if you do start selling a high volume of them, chances are, another seller will see that and follow suit.

Something else to note is that many categories of items require approval from Amazon before you start selling. It’s called getting “ungated.”

Examples of products that need approval from Amazon first include groceries, jewelry and beauty, to name a few.

The process around getting ungated for a product category is hazy, at best. You have to send Amazon invoices for the items you purchased and intend to sell. For the first time seller, it can be a Catch-22 because you’re expected to have proof of enough inventory, but you may not get approved to sell.

At one point, I tried to sell grocery products and kept getting rejected from Amazon, without any reason why.

Because Amazon is such a huge corporation, talking to a real human often involves getting the runaround from overseas customer service agents who simply read from a script and aren’t very helpful. It’s just one of the many frustrations that come with huge companies, like Amazon.

Once you get approved and start selling, you won’t have to dedicate quite so many hours to maintaining the business. In my case, after we were approved to sell our item, we packaged and shipped the items to Amazon’s warehouse with individual barcode stickers on them.

5 Things I’ve Learned As a Seller

Now that I’ve had the business for about a year, these are my biggest takeaways:

1. Sell an item that’s in the $30-50 range, and aim for margins to be $20, if possible.
2. Make sure you have plenty of inventory at least 3-6 months before the holidays. Stock up, because your sales will (hopefully) ride the holiday wave.  
3. If you’re sourcing from China, be aware that China has a lot of holidays, especially Chinese New Year. Basically, this means China is shut down for about a month some time between February and March.
4. Make sure you’re calculating Amazon’s fees carefully. Amazon’s cut is significant, from shipping fees to your seller’s subscription. There are lots of calculators that Amazon sellers have created, to help bring some transparency around how much fees cost a seller, so you can accurately calculate revenue.
5. Similar to number four, calculate your shipping fees carefully too. If you’re sourcing from China, understand how the shipping costs will eat into your bottom line.

A friend of mine was able to find a source for a product he was selling, literally in the next city over from where he lived. This meant his bottom line was higher because he was able to avoid international shipping costs.

2. Private Label Your Product

In order to avoid some of the competition on Amazon, many sellers have opted to private label their item, which means they are registering it on Amazon as their own.

The process for private labeling is more complicated than simply buying an item from Alibaba and selling it.

The upside to selling your own branded product on Amazon is that you always have full control for your listing and you can make changes to your product if you need to. Let’s say your customers complained about a particular feature of your product, you could then make modifications to it.

For example, let’s say you sold pencils, but noticed a lot of the negative reviews mentioned that they wished the eraser worked better and that the pencil itself was wider, for better grip. You can then take those recommendations from reviewers and craft your own pencil and get it trademarked.

3. Retail Arbitrage

This is the opposite of private labeling. Retail arbitrage simply means buying low and selling high. Some sellers make their entire living on just retail arbitrage and have carved out a lucrative niche for themselves.

A lot of sellers who do retail arbitrage try to avoid the cost of shipping (i.e. shipping from China is very expensive and eats into your profits), so they simply drive directly to the location and load up on cheap items they think will sell.

Therefore, many sellers spend a lot of time cruising through their local Walmarts to find the best and cheapest deals on just about anything. They buy up as many items that are on clearance and then sell it on Amazon.

I heard a podcast on Side Hustle Nation where a couple made their full-time living on retail arbitrage on Amazon and made over a million dollars in sales every year.

Their strategy was pretty simple. Check out their local Walmarts and use an app to scan items to see how much it’s selling for on Amazon. (Here is a useful comparison of two of the best scanning apps Amazon sellers use.) Then, they use their knowledge of what’s been successful in the past to decide whether they think it’ll be a product worth selling.

This couple went to the Walmarts near their home so often that they knew all the sales managers and would often be given a discount for buying up all of the video games, which sometimes involved purchasing hundreds of them at a time.

Retail arbitrage isn’t for everyone, because it involves a lot of research and time to find places that are having crazy liquidation and clearance sales (there are even sites you can subscribe to that will give you the inside scoop on where to go for the cheapest liquidation sales), plus it will most likely involve driving to the retail location to pick up the items.

4. Work As a Delivery Fulfilment Warehouse Associate

If you’re in the proper location, you can apply to be a delivery warehouse associate for their fulfillment centers, sortation centers, delivery stations, Prime Now locations, Campus Pickup Points and customer service centers.

You can filter your search by full or part-time positions and by location.

5. Amazon Flex

Sometimes when I order from Amazon, I notice plain-clothed delivery associates delivering my packages.

Amazon’s same-day delivery option for customers has sparked a need for more delivery help in various metropolitan areas. If you have a reliable car and a smartphone, consider delivering goods through Amazon Prime.

The company currently pays anywhere from $18-25 per hour and you need to download the app and answer a few simple questions before you can get started. They emphasize,  flexibility and availability of shifts, but the downside is there aren’t always opportunities in your area.

I have a friend who does this to earn extra income, and he says he often finishes his shift a few hours early, but still gets paid for the entire five hours, or pre-set hours.

Of course, this may not be true for everyone who delivers for Amazon, but it’s a nice to know you can finish early but still get compensated for the agreed upon time.

6. Work from Home for Amazon

If you want a job where you can be home-based, consider a spot on Amazon’s virtual customer service team, also known as Amazon’s Work-from-Home Customer Service Associate.

Virtual opportunities aren’t available everywhere but If you live in a certain area, you may be able to apply for Amazon’s “work-from-home” positions, given that you’re qualified and a right fit for the position.

The base pay is $10 an hour and full and part-time positions are only available in certain areas, however, you can filter your search by the work-from-home category and by location.

This is more of a seasonal position but has the potential to become permanent.

There were all kinds of positions listed, such as customer service rep positions for those who speak a second language, other than English.

There are also non-customers service positions that those with a qualified tech background could potentially apply for, such as cloud tech account managers and technical trainer.

7. Become an Amazon Affiliate, Amazon Associates

Affiliate marketing is a brilliant way to make some passive income if you have a blog or website that generates a decent volume of traffic.

Become an Amazon affiliate and earn a commission by putting special affiliate links to various Amazon products on your site.

The idea is to promote products that align with your blog or website’s mission. So, if you have a website about how to travel efficiently, you may promote items such as packing cubes, sturdy suitcases or wrinkle-free clothing.

Each time someone who comes through your website clicks on the affiliate link, you’ll earn some money. You can earn anywhere from 4% to 8.5% of a sale.

Keep in mind that commissions are generally really low, which is why you need a significant amount of traffic to your site.

The more page views you have, the more chances are that the links will get clicks. No traffic means no chance that anyone will see those links to be clicked on.

Amazon offers a progressive earnings structure on the majority of merchandise and the more clicks and purchases you get from your site, the more you can make.

8. Publish an eBook on Amazon

You can self-publish an ebook on Amazon, and each time you sell, Amazon takes a cut, ranging from 35-70 percent of the listing.

I know what you’re thinking: me? Write a book? That’s crazy, I don’t have time for that or even know where to begin!

Writing and publishing an ebook sounds unachievable, and I haven’t done this personally, but I know a lot about it because I’m an avid reader of ebooks from Amazon.

I subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. Membership is $9.99 a month. It’s given me an opportunity to not only read the eBooks and learn from them, but I’m also able to see what kind of content resonates with others on the site, through reading reviews.

Over the years, I’ve learned that you don’t need to create a potential Pulitzer Prize book in order to get published on Amazon. Because it’s a self-publishing platform, anyone can do it, and many self-made authors have used Amazon to help strengthen their expertise in their particular subject matter.

You can write about and publish something you feel very passionately about. Many of the ebooks I’ve read aren’t very long either – a lot of under 100 pages and very consumable.

The quality of the ebooks I’ve purchased over the years is all over the place too, which tells me that anyone can do it.

If you enjoy creative writing or have expert knowledge on certain subjects, consider writing an ebook on Amazon.

As with anything you publish online, you’ll need to be proactive about promoting it and getting the word out and market it. Just because you publish it on Amazon won’t mean customers will constantly be purchasing your book.

You can use CreateSpace.com (owned by Amazon) to get started.

9. Join Mechanical Turk

Amazon Mechanical Turk, or MTurk, is a way to earn small amounts of money, completing easy, mindless tasks.

MTurk is a crowdsourcing marketplace that was created to bridge the gap between what a computer can’t do and what a human can. Amazon calls it “Human Intelligence Task.”

A Gizmodo review on MTurk said, “If you have a functional cerebral cortex, an internet connection and a few minutes to spare, you can pick up a handful of odd jobs and make a few bucks, pennies and nickels at a time.”

It includes data entry, transcription, categorizing, image recognition, to name a few.

You most likely won’t make a lot of money, but it’s easy to do and pretty much anyone who can do this.  

10. Apply to Amazon Handmade

In addition to dominating the selling marketplace, if you make and sell handmade items, like bags or jewelry, you can try selling your wares on Amazon Handmade.

The marketplace directly competes with Etsy and eBay.

There are pros and cons to using Handmade. For one, the general reach is large, and their commission fee reflects that.

Handmade’s fees are much higher than Etsy, as they charge 15% commissions and a $1 minimum referral fee, while Etsy charges a 3.5% commission and 20-cent item listing fee.

Obviously, you’re paying a higher price for Amazon’s massive, worldwide audience, but your profit margins will be lower.

If you make and sell handmade items, you can apply to join Handmade, as long as your products fall under certain categories and must be made “entirely by hand, hand-altered or hand assembled (not from a kit) and handmade by you or by one of your employees.”

Their rules are strict, so make sure you check out requirements to be approved.

11. Sell Your Designs With Amazon Merch

I heard about this last year when my sister was exploring the Amazon dashboard and somehow stumbled upon it.

Basically, you can submit a t-shirt design for other merchants to purchase. It’s a great way to connect designers and people who need them to be made into shirts.

As with many selling caveats, it can be really competitive.

It probably won’t make you rich, and it’s possible you may not even sell any of your designs, but it also doesn’t cost anything for you to try, so if you’re creative and know how to make cool designs, it might be worth a shot.

Opportunities to sell a design may be closely tied to things that are timely or seasonal — remember those political shirts around the elections? If you have an eye for riding the trends and understanding what might resonate with people, on a shirt, give it a shot.

As with many Amazon selling opportunities, you have to get approved from Amazon before you can upload your designs.

12. CamperForce

Remember when the minimalist trend first started happening? People sold their homes and possessions and moved into a bus, tiny house, RV or van so they could hit the road and live anywhere they pleased.

That must’ve caught Amazon’s attention because they now offer a way for those people to make money, while on the road.

It’s called CamperForce and basically, you can earn money by helping Amazon pick, stow and receive merchandise orders.

It’s unclear just how much you can earn, but based on wages for other ways to make money with Amazon, it’ll most likely be decent. You can earn overtime pay and bonuses based on your time worked. For example, if you stayed on for the entire holiday season, you’ll receive a bonus.

If you go to Amazon’s designated campground to pick up work during the holiday season (from Fall to Dec. 23), Amazon will cover your campsite fees and may even pay for some of your utilities.

13. Amazon Trade-In

This option won’t earn you any cash, but Amazon is willing to pay you with an Amazon gift card if you turn in your used books, games and gadgets.

Selling your used items individually takes some work since you’ll need to take photos, measurements (if it’s clothing, accessories, etc.) and write a description.

This might be an easier option if you have a lot of old gadgets laying around but don’t want to deal with the hassle of taking photos and creating an ad to sell them online or have a garage sale.

Basically, all you have to do is gather your items, and Amazon will give you an estimate of how much you will earn for it. It’s a convenient perk if you’re a regular Amazon customer.

Even though you won’t earn any cash, you can use the Amazon gift card to purchase everyday items, like toilet paper and groceries.

14. Amazon Vine

If you regularly use Amazon and read reviews, you’ve probably read one or two that says the person received a free product in exchange for a review.

Just like Amazon Trade-In, you won’t get cash if you’re a part of Amazon Vine, but you’ll get merchandise for free in exchange for a review.

Basically, it’s a program that’s only offered to people who leave consistent reviews for products so not anyone can join.

If you enjoy writing about your experience with various products and tend to get a lot of helpful votes from the Amazon community, you might be a good fit for Vine Voices.

15. Amazon Services

Are you a whiz at fixing a leaky faucet, landscaping, cleaning and organizing? Amazon has created another way to expand the business, through Amazon Services.

Similar to TaskRabbit or Angie’s List, Amazon Services connects you with local professionals in your area to help you with various household needs.

The list of services include plumbing, handyman, house cleaning and more.