This will be more of a motivational post and not an educational one like what I usually post. I want to go over this question I get asked a lot:
How much can I make by selling on Amazon FBA?
First of all, I will not be talking about big brands. We all know brands like Nike and Nikon can make millions by selling on Amazon. I want to discuss how much you can make by selling your own private-label products. Some Private Label companies started just like you and me from home.
Essentially what they do is:
- Product research, to find a golden niche.
- Manufacture the product in China.
- Launch & sell their product on Amazon.
The Story of Etailz
For me, this is the biggest inspiration as an FBA seller in matters of how big you can grow. Etailz was founded in 2008 by two college students and their professors. It started out as a project in their entrepreneur class about how to sell on Amazon. They had huge success, growing their revenue from $27 million to $93 million from 2013 to 2015. So they tripled their revenue in a matter of 3 years! They ultimately sold the company for $75 million in cash & stock!

The company currently sells on all online marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Jet & Wish. They currently have over 200 employees and even have their products in some brick-and-mortar shops. But this all started with three people who wanted to sell their products on Amazon. Truly amazing and an inspiration for every FBA seller!
Source: Geekwire & Etailz.com
Is Amazon FBA still profitable?
I know what most of you are thinking: These guys started years earlier and have a huge advantage over me. Well, that is definitely true, but there are still huge opportunities on Amazon. I am still finding new product to sell on Amazon! You can check out my case study if you want to learn how to do so.
The Amazon marketplace continues to grow each quarter as well.

Amazon FBA is definitely not dead or saturated. But you must be able to beat the competition. Luckily I have plenty of guides about how to pick your first product or how to do Amazon PPC. You wil also need some tool to help you find great products to sell on Amazon. Here is a list of the best Amazon Tools.
I know it depends on a variety of factors like what product I choose to sell, but what do you think is a good ballpark estimate of how much I should have saved up before diving into FBA?
Thanks!
I’d say $1000 is enough to get started and learn the ropes.
Thanks for the response. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my ignorant questions.
For one of your next posts, could you talk about the legal steps to starting an FBA business? I don’t really see many people talking about this. Should I form an LLC vs keeping it a sole proprietorship, do I need a business license, other permits/licenses/requirements, etc.?
Also, for sales tax purposes, do you think I should collect sales tax in every state in which my products are stored in Fulfillment Centers? Does this count as ‘economic nexus’ or should I just worry about collecting tax only in the state I am based in?
No worries, glad to help. Yeah good idea, I can write a basic tutorial about starting a business and the legal structure. But I probably won’t go into too much detail as I am not certified to give advice on taxes, as I am not an accountant. Taxes are fairly complicated and best thing you can do is probably talk to an accountant. However, I can link to some discussions and give an idea about what the general consensus is about certain topics.
That would be extremely helpful. I look forward to it.
Another related thing that I’ve always been confused about that would be great to see in your post involves how to structure an Amazon FBA business if you have multiple brands. Do people just have one LLC and then just have multiple DBA’s under one umbrella business entity?
Always looking forward to reading all your new content. Thanks for all the help!
Yeah having multiple Amazon accounts is forbidden, so you have to put your brands all under 1 Amazon account.