Need a little extra cash? Don’t we all? The good news is that you can get a side hustle working for Amazon and earn some supplemental income that way. And trust me, you can definitely earn money on Amazon if you work for it.
But don’t quit your day job just yet. Because Amazon offers insane flexibility these options are best for a side hustle. I’ll help you find a way to earn money on Amazon that fits your lifestyle.
Note that there’s a difference between having a side hustle through Amazon and earning promotional credits. If you’re looking for ways to earn Free Amazon credits (a few free dollars here and there for using Amazon device trade-in or choosing no-rush shipping, for example), I’ve also got all the details in a different article. But this one is about the ways you can use Amazon as a side gig or a way to get some passive income.
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1. Earn $15 – $25 per hour delivering Amazon packages in your community through Amazon Flex.
Amazon Flex is a good way to supplement your income. You’ll select a time block of 3 – 6 hours to make Amazon deliveries in your area. Next, you’ll pick up the packages at an Amazon delivery station near you and drop them off on a route. You can also sign up for 2 – 4 hour time blocks to make Amazon Fresh or Prime Now deliveries.
The guaranteed wage is $15 – 19 per hour, depending on your location — you keep any tips you receive. If you want a little extra cash but you don’t want a part-time job, this is for you.
2. Earn money from home with Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Set up an Amazon Mechanical Turk account using your Amazon profile, and start completing short tasks or surveys for extra cash.
Companies will have easy tasks that still haven’t been completely taken over by AI just yet. You may think it’s not worth it when you see the small value of each task ($0.10 to a few bucks), but it can add up.
One of my stay-at-home friends is on a tight budget, but she sets aside 30 minutes every day to do Mechanical Turk. She earns about $30 per month of extra money and gets to treat herself to coffee or other small things her family budget doesn’t allow.
3. Earn up to 10% sales commission with Amazon Associates.
If you have a website or a blog, join Amazon Associates and start using affiliate links to advertise Amazon products that you love on your site. You’ll receive a 2% – 10% commission on purchases your readers make.
You can also earn bounties, which are flat cash rates for certain items, listed on the Amazon Associates commissions website.
4. Sell your crafts, art, or handiwork on Amazon Handmade.
Have a talent for making 100% handmade items? Apply to sell them on Amazon Handmade.
As the artist, you’ll be charged a 15% commission fee (or $1 minimum) on each sale. Perks include access to Amazon’s traffic, discounted shipping, and fraud protection. The only catch is that you’ll need a Professional seller account to apply to Amazon Handmade. They’ll waive the $39.99 fee once your application is approved. But until then, you’ll have to pay monthly.
TIP: Love crafting but hate the idea of storing or shipping your orders to customers? For an extra 8 – 15% fee, you can join Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and have Amazon take care of it all!
5. Look for items on clearance and flip them for a profit.
Anyone can sell up to 40 (new or used) items per month in categories like shoes, toys, electronics, or handbags. You’d be an “Individual Seller.” The idea is similar to Handmade but applies if you want to flip children’s toys, nursery bedding, or Air Jordans for a profit.
You’d hunt for insanely low prices on items and turn around and sell them on Amazon for a markup (closer to what their regular price would be).
You’ll be charged a commission (of at least $1) on each sale, plus additional costs. You’ll either need to handle your own orders or pay Amazon the FBA fee to handle it.
6. Or sell your own private label products.
Private-label products are all around us. Walmart’s Great Value, Target’s Threshold, and Amazon’s Amazon Basics are all examples of private labels. They’re essentially what we call “generics.”
You can create your own private-label products and sell them on Amazon using FBA. To do this, look for small, lightweight, or uncomplicated items that you can buy directly from a manufacturer and then apply your own label to, and sell. It can be anything from beauty products to small kitchen bowls. Your imagination is the only limit.
Design or have someone design labels and logos for your products and, voila!
TIP: If you need help coming up with ideas or learning how it all works, consider paying for a few months of Jungle Scout (up to $49.99 per month) to learn the ropes. It’s an all-in-one service that helps you learn how to create and sell private label products on Amazon. Cancel Jungle Scout once you have the knowledge you need.
7. Self-publish eBooks through Kindle Direct Publishing for a 70% royalty rate.
Writers, after your story is done, consider self-publishing through KDP. No waiting around for a traditional publisher to decide your story is good. You know it is. So, you might as well put it on Amazon and start selling!
One thing to note — when you go to price your eBook, you’ll make the most money if you set it at $2.99 to $9.99 (70% royalty or commission on sales). Your commission is cut in half (down to 35%) for eBooks priced outside that range. So, pricing your book at $0.99 is actually a bad idea — you’ll only get 35% royalty. Price it at $2.99 even if you think that’s too much! The reality is that people are used to paying a lot more than that for an eBook. You can even feature your indie book on Stuff Your Kindle Day for some promotion.
Amazon even provides eBook cover options, so your book could be available for purchase within 24 – 48 hours!
8. Join Amazon Influencer and earn passive income through your Amazon Storefront.
We’ve all the Amazon Influencer favorite products all over TikTok and Insta. It’s a really easy way to earn some background cash if you’ve already got a good social media presence.
So how does it work? First, you have to apply to be an Amazon Influencer. Then, if you’re accepted, you can create an Amazon Storefront and fill it with links to all your favorite products. From there on out, anytime someone purchases something from your storefront, you’ll earn a commission. You don’t have to make your own products or run an actual store. It’s as easy as recommending products that other sellers have already listed on Amazon.
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