Second thoughts about Amazon
Guys,
I don’t know where to start.
I’ve been having second thoughts whether I want to continue selling on Amazon.
A bit of background:
I’ve been selling for around a year, I quit my full time job last year as I absolutely hated it and enjoyed doing this much more. Now there’s all these thoughts flying around in my mind whether this business model is actually sustainable… I’m consistently sourcing products (which takes up a lot of time), I then send them in and either the listing becomes too competitive or the price is driven down to the point where you’re hardly making anything. I know it’s all about consistently sourcing and moving on to the next product when issues like that arise but it’s been so up and down. It’s like there’s no sense of security and absolutely no idea how much you’ll be earning month to month.
I consistently feel on edge, I’ve not taken a penny from the business since starting. I’ve managed to turnover £70k plus over the past 12 months with a gross profit of around £12k.
I just don’t know what to do anymore especially being hit with fee and price increased from suppliers and Amazon. If I want to scale to where I want to be, I know I’ll need to become VAT registered which will make things even more difficult.
Thank you
0 replies
Seller_esvgLzKXw2YAl
Ok, whilst I appreciate that things can be difficult when selling on Amazon. ie. unpredictable income etc, this is the way it is, if your self employed. Regardless of the market your in.
If you want predictable, then you need to have a job.
For a first year though, turning over 70k with 12k profit, really isn’t too bad at all.
If you want a better idea of how your doing, look at your monthly profits, and compare the first month, with the last month trading. If you continue at the same rate, what will it be after another 12 months?
But it sounds very much that your at a crossroads. You need to decide security, or being your own boss and the profits/problems that come along with it.
Personally, I would never go back to working for someone else.
And by the way, that’s what a lot of us do. So much of my time is spent doing exactly that! 
Seller_qZO3ZCjoBXEeL
It’s almost like having a job isn’t it!?
Seller_BS5lg2keRs2QO
I’d revisit how you do your sourcing and see if there’s any learning you can apply. Whilst there are never any guarantees, it sounds like your sourcing “one level deep” and getting easily-found products so are then competing with the masses. Work out how to drill down a bit further and source away from the bulk of other sellers. Or work out how to add value to something.
Seller_gOlDFgS5Li5Jc
keep at it experience is key good money can be made on amazon BUT a word of caution find other sources of income also wether its a website ebay a shop or mixture of all of them do not put all of your eggs in amazons basket
Seller_wuQ5IwpSKNsC7
One thing you need to realise about Amazon is that there are lots of sellers who drive down price because they’ve been told to buy an automatic repricer from gurus on youtube.
ANOTHER thing you need to realise about Amazon is that the youtube gurus haven’t taught people how to price correctly and keep product/brand value.
ANOTHER thing is there are many wannabe four hour work week laptop lifestyle types on Amazon, who come as quickly as they go, dragging prices down as they fly through the entrance and out the exit.
I believe building a brand and being very, very guarded with it is the best way to go.
I take what I can from general wholesaling due to the nature of the competition, whilst building a brand of my own. (Which isn’t available to sell on Amazon yet, but one step at a time!)
Seller_CdGI3SJTDYULR
First, making 12k is not bad though, you did your best I guess but if you feel that you should quit, I will say give your another best for the next year you may be ended up making up 24k. all the work goes through this type of up and downs, I guess. so, give it a second try for sure.
Seller_HuhP221NahSdW
Feel your pain - I source product from page 10 on google not companies on page 1 or at trade fairs - my best supplier is Italian - lovely people, nightmare to deal with and close for 2 months in the summer which is why they all live into their 90’s - if they are hard to find then other competitors will not find them - I work on 40% gross, 25% nett and don’t commute - leave the competitive products to someone else and build a decent margin with your own stuff - any advice go to my store and give us a call
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
Welcome to self employment !
But seriously, unless someone else in your household is on a guaranteed wage that can cover all bills in the event of a suspension/ hold on amazon funds etc and you’re already having doubts, nows the time to go back to employment
Seller_XrsxyuONn8r2w
can I ask what kind of hours you are putting in? and where do you want to be?
I’ve been on here for a long time and quite often in the top 500 sellers.
however! im here most days at 4am, checking emails on the app if not in the unit at all hours of the day upto about 10pm. Work most days 6-8 hrs at this time of year, with that going up to 16-18 at christmas.
Turnover is in excess of 500k and hate it! but as others have mentioned, you can earn a good living and i’d never go back to working for someone else.
My biggest issue is the sheer lack of support from Amazon over being scammed and abusive buyers.
Seller_ae51e0CJoHqCX
It’s not for everyone and depends on the motivation for being your own boss.
Some people do it because they are sick of a boss who carries all of the pressure and lay it at your door. You want to be in charge of your own destiny.
The issue is that you can’t really control that destiny and now you are ultimately responsible for everything and you can’t just switch off at the end of the day.
A year is really not long enough to see if your business is going to succeed and now is the time when challenges are coming to everyone.
You don’t know what the motivation is for other sellers when undercutting prices. It could be that they have excess stock and find it too competitive and use it to try and get out. They may be just happy with lower margins. Registering for VAT does not mean that you will be automatically worse off. I found that once I registered, many more businesses started to order from me and I no longer had to worry as much on being focused as the cheapest.
I can only say that if you are feeling the pressure now, I am afraid this only builds up over time. You are chasing the end of the rainbow.
There are 2 types of sellers on Amazon. There are those that chase and peddle products looking for the next big thing (almost like a stock broker) and there are those that specialise in a certain product or brand. There is no right or wrong way and it will be down to your personal choice whether it is for you. Amazon is not the only marketplace but to trade that much in your first year on Amazon is not typical and you have done well.
I think you are right, the VAT registration is a turning point and if you feel the kitchen is already hot, it will be hotter after you register and push on so you need to be able to handle more heat.
Good luck with whatever decision you come to.
