Importing and Selling on Amazon FBA


Yes, that's me.  I've had numerous jobs over the years to support my wife and I in pioneering, but none are as good as what I have been doing for the past 3 years.  I sell on Amazon FBA.  The letters FBA stand for Fulfilled By Amazon.  It basically means that you send your products to Amazon.com and they sell, package and ship your products for you.  They take about 30% to do this, but it's worth it as I do not have to be in North America to make it work.

How much time does it demand?
I think it averages about 1 hour a day.  For example, I have two products I sell on Amazon.  I order them once every six months.  I receve them in Washington State and then ship them to the Amazon warehouses. That can take a 40 hour work week to receive and re-ship to Amazon.  But the following 6 months require about 15 minutes per day to manage.  Therefore though I live in eastern Europe, I need to travel back to USA twice per year.

Flexibility
It's completely flexible.  The only thing is that I generally can't let more than two days go by withouth checking to make sure there is any necessary correspondence to reply to.  Even when I go on vacation, I need to spend at least 5 or 10 minutes on the internet per day. But that's it.

The only thing I have had to work on is not constantly thinking about how many sales I've made that day. I had the tendency to login and check several times a day. But I've had to discipline myself and I'm able to focus on what's important - the field ministry.

Earning potential
I currently have two products that I sell on Amazon.  It pays for rent, a car, all living expenses and we can tuck a little in the bank every month.  And that's to live in North America.  To live where we do now, it's more than enough.

Overseas potential
I find that selling on Amazon FBA is completely doable when need-greating overseas.  I manage everything remotely, but I do have to make 2 trips a year to the USA to receive inventory from China. I like these opportunities to catch up with family.

Reality check
Here are the downsides I have found with making a living this way.  It takes some investment in the beginning.  I order from Alibaba.com and I ask the manufacturer to put my own brand name on the product.  Then I have it shipped to USA.  That is itself a risk.  You are basically throwing your money into a black hole and hoping something comes out.  But I have not had any problems. Yet...

How to get started
You basically need to open an Amazon seller account for starters.  Then you need to find a product that you would like to sell.  Then find the product on Alibaba.com and order it with your own brand on it.

Obviously that's a very simplified version.  I learned this whole process on youtube.  I will include now a video that helped introduce me to the whole process of Amazon FBA.


This video is selling a service they perform for Amazon sellers, but it gives you the basic idea.  I found that I could search on Youtube or Google almost any question and there would be an Amazon FBA seller out there who would answer it.

Conclusion
I highly recommend this method of supporting yourself overseas and pioneering.  It has worked great for my wife and I and I have taught at least 4 other pioneers to do the same.  You just have to learn it, and the best way to start your education is to just start doing it!

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