Selling products on Amazon is a great way to earn some extra money every month. There are even people who do it as their full time job! When you’re looking into selling things on Amazon, you might be overwhelmed and stressed out. It may seem confusing and complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. 

Here at Long Tail Pro we wanted to break down where you can buy the products to sell on Amazon and how to go about finding said products. Before you spend any money or get in over your head, be sure to read this ultimate guide. You’ll be an expert before you know it!

Your Guide To Finding Where To Buy Products To Sell On Amazon

Below you’ll find several different places to find things to sell on Amazon. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that a lot of the products might even be found in your own home. Feel free to take some notes during this section to help you decide which places are best for you, your budget, and your overall plans. 

1. Your Own Home

Chances are you’ve probably been to a garage or yard sale at some point in your life. People take what they consider junk or items they no longer use and sell that at low prices to get rid of things. 

Believe it or not, there just might be a lot of potential products you can sell on Amazon that are right in your own home. Garage sales take time to set up, label everything, and organize and they require you to allow strangers to come to your home. Selling your belongings that you no longer use on Amazon avoids all of those things! 

So what do you have lying around your home that will likely sell online? The most common things people find are books, movies, and gifts that have never been used or opened. 

2. Use A Local Retailer

Another thing you can do is to buy a product at your local retailer. This is done most often at Walmart stores. When you do this, make sure to only buy items that are on sale or clearance. There’s no point in buying an item at full price, only to sell it online for the same price, spending time shopping in the store and paying for the shipping. 

When you find something at one of your local retail stores that’s on sale, look it up on Amazon. If there is a decent price difference, buy it and resell it. The art of doing this is called retail arbitrage, but we’ll talk more in detail about that later. 

3. Other Online Sellers

Selling products online is becoming more and more popular. The popularity of it all started with Craigslist. Craigslist is an online platform where you can sell your own items, post jobs available, or even find relationships. You’ll usually list your product at a cheaper price than in the store and meet up in person to make the sale. 

Since social media is so popular now, Facebook has its own marketplace that is fairly comparable to Craigslist. On Facebook Marketplace, you’ll be able to buy products from people around your area and turn them around to sell on Amazon. 

Think of this like a virtual garage sale. It’s important to note that if you’re buying electronics, make sure they work properly before handing over any money. Also, for your own safety, always meet in a public place to make the exchange. 

4. Buying Wholesale

Another great way to sell products on Amazon is to buy them wholesale. If you don’t already know, buying things wholesale is essentially buying it in bulk. You’ll get the product at a lower price since you’re buying so many of them. That’s how you make a profit when you buy wholesale and sell at a higher price. 

Something to note when it comes to buying wholesale is to make sure your store is already established online. You don’t want to order a wholesale amount of bookshelves and not be able to sell them. When you buy things in bulk, you’re usually spending a decent chunk of change, but if you sell everything, you’ll be able to turn a profit. 

5. Try Returns And Liquidations

A trend that is becoming more and more popular is to take part in returns and liquidations. This became popular when well-known Youtuber stars would buy pallets of Amazon returns or bulk amounts of products from an online liquidation and unbox them on camera. 

You can try either one of these routes, but let’s talk a bit about each of them first. You can buy an entire pallet of Amazon returns. When you hear returns, you may think that means something is wrong with the product, but that’s usually not the case. Often times, products are returned because the user ordered the wrong model, size, color, etc. 

Amazon pallets are usually categorized by electronics, clothing, kitchenware, and more. You can also buy pallets that have a random assortment of products. Like buying wholesale, the pallets are usually a bit more pricey, but you get plenty of bang for your buck. 

Liquidation is another similar aspect that you can try. One of the more popular products that people will buy via liquidation sites is jewelry. You can get hundreds of pieces of jewelry and sell them on Amazon for a higher price. There are other things such as make-up products, clothing, and assortment packages with a mix of things. 

Something to note about returns and liquidations is that the shipping prices are usually extremely high. For example, you might find a pallet of Amazon returns for $80, but the shipping might be $200. This is something to consider when you’re budgeting, but again, if you have an established presence online, you should have nothing to worry about. 

6. Drop Shipping

Drop shipping is a newer way to earn money by selling things on Amazon. It’s designed for people that don’t have a ton of money to go out and buy things to sell online. At first, you might not make as much of a profit when you drop ship, but it’s a great place to start. 

Drop shipping is done by creating your own online store, or Amazon sellers account in this case, fill it with products the drop shipper supports, and start selling! The least confusing way to describe drop shipping is thinking of it as you forwarding a product to customers. 

Someone will place an order on your online store, you will forward it to the drop shipper (or warehouse), and then they will ship the product out to your customer for you. It takes a lot of the work out of it for you and you’re basically the middle person.

When it comes to drop shipping, you’ll usually have to spend a monthly fee for your drop shipper. This is the person or company that houses your products and ships them to the customer for you. Make sure you compare the prices beforehand, so you don’t end up paying more than a retail store and lose money.  

There are a lot of scammers out there when it comes to drop shipping. An authentic drop shipper will ask you for things like your business registration information to verify you and your shop. Keep this in mind when looking around for a drop shipper. 

Lastly, when it comes to drop shipping, you could always look into becoming the drop shipper. You wouldn’t necessarily make money from selling something on Amazon, but you’d make money by charging a fee to those that do sell on Amazon. This is more work and can be space and time consuming, so keep that in mind (but can also be profitable). 

7. Make Your Own Product

If you’re the crafty type, you could make and sell your own product. Whether that’s jewelry, clothing, writing your own book, or even making your own candles, it could be a profitable avenue to take. 

There are a few things to keep in mind when selling your own product. First off, it’s much more time consuming than any of the other methods listed above. You’re spending your time making the product, packaging it, and shipping it out, and not everyone has that amount of extra time in their day. 

It can also cost more for both you and the customer. You have to go out and buy all the products you need. In order to make a profit for those raw products, your time and the finished item, you’ll need to charge more than the average retailer. 

A lot of people love to support small businesses. This is where you could thrive, especially with handmade goods. Make sure to do your research when it comes to prices, ingredients, and anything else you may need to make something beautiful to sell online! 

8. Thrift Stores

Another great option is to check out your local thrift store. Most cities have multiple thrift store options, which makes your job even easier. Thrift stores have everything from books to homewares to clothing and even bicycles. 

A popular, yet unspoken, method when it comes to thrift stores is to keep your eyes peeled for designer brands. You’d be surprised that often times you can find a purse in a thrift store for a few bucks, but upon checking the serial number, you’ll find it online for a lot more. This can be applied to clothing as well.

Whatever you decide to sell, if you’re buying from a thrift store, make sure the products are high enough quality to sell. Check for rips, stains, and missing pieces. Also, thrift stores usually have specific items discounted daily. This can save you a ton of money, but you will need to visit the thrift store more frequently, depending on how many different types of products you’re looking to sell.

9. Grocery Stores

This one may surprise you, but buying from grocery stores is a great way to make a profit. If you think about it, people often go to the grocery store at least once a week. This means they’re shopping for things that need to be replenished. If you sell items that are often replenished, you’re more likely to make a solid profit.

So, what is considered a product that gets replenished often? Think about your own life and the things you use. Things like shampoo, toothpaste, or mouthwash are great items to start with. 

On the topic of grocery, you can sell seasonal items such as pumpkin spice or peppermint flavors. Every year, as soon as the holiday is over, retail stores will greatly discount things like candy and holiday-themed products to make room on the shelves. Buy as much as you can at a discounted price and continue selling these items online when they’re no longer available in stores.

Lastly, if you have some extra time on your hands, consider couponing. This is another great way to save a ton of money while turning a profit. The best part? Coupons are most often published for replenishable items like toilet paper and laundry soap! 

10. Friends And Family

The final place you can get things to sell on Amazon is your friends and family. Chances are, the people in your life have some extra junk lying around. Most of us do. You can offer to take things off their hands and maybe even offer them a part of the profit. 

People usually have extra clothes, books, and movies lying around that they aren’t using. You’re helping them out by freeing up their home from unused items and they’re helping you out by giving you product. Sounds like a win-win for everybody. 

How To Find These Products

Alright, so now that you’ve read about 10 places you can buy products to sell on Amazon, now, how do you go about finding these products? Are there certain products available at cheaper prices during specific times of year? Does it really make a difference if you buy from one store over another? Let’s talk about that!

Research What’s Popular On Amazon

If you’re wanting to easily sell a product on Amazon, check out Amazon’s best seller’s list. There are a variety of categories that you’ll be able to look through. When looking at each category, you’ll see the top 100 products at the time of your search. This list often changes, so it’s important to keep up with it. 

Doing this is an easy and quick way to make some extra cash on Amazon. You can start by privately labeling a product that’s found on the top 100 list. This means that you choose your product and then you’ll need to find a supplier that makes said product. Create your own label and packaging and you’ve got yourself a sale. 

This is great if you’re not the creative type and don’t have resources to create an entirely new product. Selling a brand new product has a higher chance of failing and, thus, you’ll lose money. Finding a product that people already love is more of a guarantee that you’ll be successful in your efforts. 

It’s important to note which products sell at what time during the year as well. You read a bit about holiday items above, but consider seasons as well. You’ll notice that things like pool floaties and coolers are going to sell during the summer months and things like sweaters and coffee mugs will sell more in winter months. Planters and sunglasses will sell more in the spring and home decor sells the most in autumn.

Selling Under Specific Criteria

Something else you need to consider is Amazon’s criteria of products you can and cannot sell. It can be important to sell something you’re passionate about, that way you have more drive, but loving your product isn’t necessary. 

You need to take a look at how exactly you’re planning on selling the product if you want to easily create sales. You’ll need easy ways to promote the product and talk with your target audience. This is why it can be important to be passionate about the product; people will trust you more and are more than likely to buy the product.  

We wanted to include some important criteria to keep in mind when looking for a product to sell on Amazon. Whether you’re just starting out or you consider yourself an expert seller, following some of these tips can likely increase the amount of sales you have: 

1. For starters, you’ll be more successful if your product is small and lightweight. This makes it easier to ship and store if you’re buying in bulk. 

2. You also want to make sure that you have a profit margin between 30% and 50%. You can do this by making sure that you’re selling a product for at least $10. 

3. Another thing you may want to consider is a product that doesn’t break easily. A complicated product with fragile parts is more susceptible to breaks and returns, thus you losing money. Avoid those products if you can and try to find items that are fairly inexpensive to make, especially if you have a smaller budget. 

4. Make sure that your product stands out somehow. There are so many products for sale on Amazon and a lot of them are similar to the others. People will usually opt for the item that has a lower price and higher reviews. This is why it can be important to have your product stand out from others like it. Whether that’s free shipping or a warranty, offer something to your potential customers to set yourself apart. 

5. Always be thinking ahead of different products you can sell. 

6. If you start to become successful, you’ll need to create a brand and stick to it. Keeping your eyes on the prize will help you make more money and create a cohesive brand. 

Be Aware Of Competition

You’ve read a little bit about why it’s important to be aware of your competition and stand out, but there’s a bit more to it. You need to spend a decent chunk of time analyzing your competition. Before you sell a product, you need to make sure that you’ll be able to compete with similar products available. 

How do you analyze the competition? Start by looking at their reviews. 

What are customers saying? What do they love and what do they dislike about the product? Is there somewhere that this product could be improved? Make sure you check out the quality of the product as well to make sure yours is just as good or better. 

When a competitor has a lot of reviews, it can be harder to succeed, especially if you’re just starting out. Don’t be too hard on yourself; it can take several years to accumulate thousands of reviews for a single product. 

When you’re just starting to sell on Amazon, try to find competition that has 200 reviews or fewer. It’s important that you’re able to find competition that has a few hundred reviews or less because it shows that you have the potential to be successful for that product. If the market just has people that are established with thousands of reviews, it will be nearly impossible to stand out and get sales. 

Retail Arbitrage

Earlier you read a slight bit about retail arbitrage, but we wanted to give you a bit more detail about it to give you a better understanding. Retail arbitrage is when a popular retail store such as Walmart or Hobby Lobby sells a product for a specific price. 

Let’s say you find a bookshelf at Walmart for $19.95. You will then buy that bookshelf and sell it on Amazon for a higher price. You’re essentially flipping a product and hoping someone doesn’t do their research to compare prices. Something nice about this is that all the product photos will be available on the retailers website for you to use on Amazon. 

Tips And Tricks

We know that becoming a seller on Amazon can be quite intimidating, so we wanted to include a handful of things to keep in mind when you’re looking for a product to sell. Hopefully, this will help you find a particular product that you can successfully sell. 

Your Target Audience

If you’ve already found products on Amazon that you can successfully sell, you need to know who your target audience is going to be if you want to make the most money possible. This can be broken down by demographics. Let’s say you’re selling a bookshelf again. Who is most likely to be purchasing the exact bookshelf you’re selling? 

Maybe it’s specifically for dorm rooms and your target audience will be parents and young adults. Maybe the bookshelf is in the shape of a racecar and your target audience is parents and children. Understanding the age, location, and lifestyle of your audience will make you a better seller. 

Once you find your target audience, think about what makes them need your product? When would they need it? If you’re selling a bookshelf, you may see an increase in buyers near the beginning of the local school year. 

Presenting Your Product

The way you present your product is crucial to sales. If you take a low-quality photo in a dimly lit room, you are much less likely to make a sale than if you were to use a professional camera in a well lit and aesthetically pleasing set up. 

You need to add in things that are associated with your product to make the photos look more relatable. Add books to the bookshelf or maybe a family photo. Make the audience want to buy your product. They need to feel like the product was made for them and their specific lifestyle. 

Conclusion

We at Long Tail Pro know that this was a lot to take in. Being an Amazon seller isn’t the easiest task in the beginning, but once you get your gears moving and start making sales, the money is bound to come in. Always keep your eye out for products that are on sale when you’re shopping and make sure to keep a cohesive brand. 

Create a business plan and have a budget that you stick to. It can be easy to lose out on money and sales in this industry, so be extra cautious of scammers or deals that seem too good to be true. You’ve read about 10 different places where you can get products to sell, as well as a handful of tips on how to sell the products and what factors are important to keep in mind.

We hope this guide helps you to become a successful seller on Amazon. Feel free to bookmark this page so that you can quickly and easily return at any point if needed. Good luck!