19 Ways To Actually Make Money On Amazon In 2020

There’s no denying that Amazon is an absolute behemoth. After all, it’s one of the “Big Four” of tech companies in the U.S. and a massive Ecommerce player.

In fact, Amazon sells more than 12 million products, and the average Amazon Prime member spends approximately $1,400 per year on Amazon. This sort of scale isn’t even easy to comprehend as a consumer.

Because Amazon is such a powerhouse, the company is in constant need of workers. Therefore, anyone willing to put in a bit of time and effort can make money on Amazon!

If you’re looking for a part-time or full-time job, the following methods to make money with Amazon might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Online Ways to Make Money on Amazon

Obviously, Amazon is primarily an online marketplace, so the majority of money-making strategies I’ll discuss here will be online.

Online income opportunities are great because they are flexible, can pay well, and sometimes offer full-time opportunity if you’re looking for a new line of work.

1. Create an Amazon Affiliate Site

One popular way to make some money with Amazon is by building your own Amazon affiliate website.

The Amazon Affiliate Program is actually quite simple. Amazon is willing to pay content creators for funneling customers to Amazon.

With an Amazon Affiliate website, you can get paid to promote many of the millions of products for sale at Amazon by creating links within your site that send readers to make a purchase. If someone purchases that product or any other product from Amazon within 24 hours, you earn commission.

To make money with Amazon affiliate, you generally need to create a niche website. Usually, Amazon Affiliate websites take on the role of reviewing products or creating shopping guides for buyers.

Like making money with blogging, Amazon Affiliate sites are immensely competitive in terms of SEO/building traffic and actually getting people to shop through your website.

Plus, making money with an Amazon Affiliate website generally requires you to be very knowledgeable in the niche you are promoting.

You can outwit Google with skillful SEO, but it is harder to trick consumers. Plus, it’s unethical to promote products you don’t actually understand.

If you want to earn serious money from an Amazon Affiliate website, you generally need to have a heavy focus on products and go somewhat all-in on the monetization model. This Online World uses Amazon Affiliate links, but made less than $70 in 2019…

However, affiliate links can still bring in relatively passive income. Product commission rates will vary from 1%-10%. Once you do the initial work, you can earn commissions from affiliate sales on Amazon indefinitely. 

Edit: The Amazon Affiliate program has recently cut their rates, so it’s important to also focus on diversifying your revenue streams if you go down this path:

Just be sure to maintain your integrity by only recommending products you trust that fit with the theme of the site so your readers or followers won’t see you as trying to take advantage of them. 

2. Help Amazon Sellers Optimize Their Page

Utilizing your SEO optimization skills to assist Amazon sellers is another way to make money with Amazon.

Anybody who wants to make money on Amazon needs to be able to get eyes on their merchant pages. Becoming an expert in Amazon-specific SEO is a great way to make money by offering that service to other online entrepreneurs. 

A quick search on Fiverr for ‘Amazon SEO services’ brings up hundreds of services from sellers offering to optimize seller profiles, translate pages, or write killer product descriptions:

As you can see, some of these Fiverr sellers are near or have surpassed the 1,000 order mark, totalling thousads of dollars in revenue.

Product listings are only going to become more competitive, so learning how to optimize seller profiles is certainly a lucrative skill to know moving forwards.

3. Amazon Retail Arbitrage

Want another idea of how to make money with Amazon?

Well, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for this one. By using retail arbitrage, you can make money with Amazon and potentially scale to some pretty impressive figures if you find the right niche.

Retail arbitrage is the process of buying products from a retailer and then reselling them at higher prices on Amazon.

Retail arbitrage hustlers take advantage of moments when a certain store has an overstock and needs to move inventory for a lower price. Then, they price their items up enough on Amazon to turn a profit.

You’ll have to practice finding the right items or clearance deals from retailers in your area, but there is money to be made if you know what you’re doing.

If you haven’t read the Young Money Interview of how Nate and Alysha created a million-dollar retail arbitrage business, be sure to check their story out!

You can also check out our post on the best Amazon price trackers to learn how to maximize your Amazon margins!

4. Sell With Amazon FBA

Did you know that more than 50% of items sold on Amazon now come from third party sellers and not Amazon itself?

Amazon is making it easier for merchants across the world to access Ecommerce. A large part of this is thanks to the Amazon FBA Program.

The Amazon FBA program makes it easy for Amazon sellers to conduct their business without having to worry about handling merchandise.

Once you’re in the FBA program, you can begin adding products to the Amazon catalog and create your product listings. Then, you’ll ship products to Amazon warehouses and have them handle customer purchases from there. 

Using Amazon FBA gives you the benefits of Amazon’s quality customer service. Your customers will be drawn to the Amazon 2-day shipping with Prime membership as well. 

You do pay something to store your items in their warehouses, and fees for other optional services may apply. However, if your merchandise sells regularly, the FBA program is an incredibly effective way to make money on Amazon and to remove logistical headaches.

5. Private Label a Product

Here’s another idea for making money on Amazon: start an Amazon FBA Private Label business. 

If you want to market products that are made by a third-party manufacturer, sold under a brand name, and are fulfilled by Amazon, this is for you. 

People who use private labeling to earn from Amazon also mix in quite a bit of retail arbitrage to turn a profit. Usually, this involves buying cheap merchandise from websites like Alibaba in mass quantities, and then marking the product up under a ‘new’ brand on Amazon.

In this above example, you can see this nifty garlic crusher is going for $1.31 per unit on orders of 2,000 or more. At the risk of having your garage full of hundreds of garlic crushers for the rest of your life, you could theoretically buy this product in bulk and then resell it on Amazon under your private label brand.

This is way harder than it sounds, of course. Amazon is ridiculously competitive.

Do your research to find out what kinds of products are likely to sell and produce a worthwhile return on investment for the risk.

6. Try Kindle Direct Publishing

If you’re an expert in a particular area or have a creative idea for an e-book, you can try Kindle Direct Publishing to earn money on Amazon. 

Writing e-books is a flexible income-earning opportunity since you can literally write about pretty much any topic. You might choose fiction or nonfiction, and there are a ton of directions to go in from that point.

A friend of mine is really into historical trivia, so he’s published several books on Kindle. It’s a great side gig for him (he’s a lawyer and estate planner by trade). 

Publishing your e-book on Kindle Direct Publishing is fairly quick and painless. Your book will also appear in Kindle stores within 24-48 hours. 

Now, of course, you have to market your book successfully in order to make money from it. However, if you already have a blog with a decent number of followers, that’s a fantastic platform for advertising your book. 

E-book writing isn’t easy by any means, but it’s definitely easier than going through a traditional publisher. Anyone can create passive income with this route since the more books you produce, the greater your potential income. 

Do the research, writing, editing, and publishing your e-book once, and then you can reap the rewards forever! 

7. Sell Apps on the Amazon Web Store

There are plenty of ways to make money programming. But, while many programmers try their hand at making and monetizing apps on the Google Play store or IOS store, the Amazon mobile app marketplace is still an option.

You can develop and sell your own apps on Amazon. These apps will be available to customers in almost 200 countries, allowing you to make money from customers all over the world. 

Developing apps on Amazon is also free. Learn more about the payment structure or how to get started!

8. Work for Amazon MTurk

Amazon Mechanical Turk, or MTurk, is a way for people to make extra money by doing simple tasks a human is better suited for than a machine. 

MTurk is one of the most popular micro job websites around. You won’t earn thousands of dollars a month with Amazon MTurk, but if you put in some time while watching television or on your lunch breaks, you can definitely put a dent in your monthly bills.

Some of the types of tasks you might be asked to perform include data verification, data processing, image or video processing, and information gathering. You might also have to identify or sort images, edit or transcribe audio content, write web content, or complete surveys.

9. Sell On Amazon Handmade

Amazon Handmade is perfect for you if you’ve got some crafty skills. Amazon Handmade is basically the Etsy of Amazon. Basically, this section of Amazon is completely dedicated to handmade, artisan-only items.

You have to apply to sell on Amazon Handmade, and there are several guidelines to prove your products are handmade. You can checkout the terms for selling on Amazon Handmade to learn more.

Amazon Handmade is free to join unlike the Seller Program, which charges a $39.99 per month fee. Sellers pay 15% in fees for each sale made on Amazon Handmade, but that’s it!

Ultimately, this is one of the best ways to make money on Amazon if you make artistic goods as a hobby or full-time job.

Extra Reading – My Etsy Dropshipping Store Experiment.

10. Use Amazon Merch

Amazon Merch may be a great way to make money on Amazon for anyone with graphic design skills.

On Amazon Merch, you simply upload your designs to the site, select the products you want them to be applied to, and set a listing price. 

Amazon Merch then provides the marketplace to sell your designed products (such as T-shirts or mugs). They handle the production, shipping, and customer service for you. It’s basically Amazon’s version of a print on demand service.

Using Amazon Merch enables you to get your designs in front of millions of potential customers, all of whom could order using Amazon Prime to get free 2-day shipping.

Like other POD businesses, this is tough business. You need to have great designs, the right pricing, a solid niche, and the ability to promote your stuff.

But, as you can see from this Reddit thread, some sellers do very well on Amazon Merch.

However, this platform is not an easy path to extra income. For most, this is probably just a fun project or passive income opportunity!

11. Try Rep and Virtual Job Listings

One of the easiest ways to make money from Amazon is to simply work for the company.

Amazon virtual job listings are mostly for full-time employment, although some part-time positions are available.

However, this platform is great for anyone working in HR, software/development, or customer support. Some jobs may require you to live near a specific geographic location, but will still allow you to work from home. 

Once you’ve gotten through the interview process, you could start earning money working from home for Amazon! 

12. Trade In Old Tech and Products

Has it been awhile since you decluttered your old technology items? Don’t just have a garage sale or give the stuff away — make the most out of old tech products through Amazon’s Trade-In program!

Amazon’s Trade-In program is pretty simple. In a nutshell, the program pays users with Amazon gift cards in exchange for thousands of eligible items.

Some popular categories for the trade-in program include:

• Amazon devices.
• Electronics.
• Books.
• Video games.

Amazon’ provides an immediate offer and free shipping. You don’t even pay shipping if Amazon returns your item!

This program is probably the easiest way to make money on Amazon. Plus, it’s never a bad idea to do a bit of Spring cleaning.

Extra Reading – The Best Selling Apps – Get Paid To Sell Stuff. 

13. Join the Amazon Influencer Program

Influencer marketing has been all the rage the past few years, and it seems Amazon is finally getting on the bandwagon.

If you have a qualifying YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram account, you’re eligible to join the Amazon Influencer program to earn money. 

With Amazon Influencer, you choose your preferred social media platform and then create your own page with a vanity URL. That’s where you’ll share the products on Amazon that you love and recommend. 

This is different than making money with an Amazon affiliate website. The Influencer program lets you create your own storefront that is solely Amazon-related, and you can use different social channels to promote it.

Amazon will look at your number of social media followers on the platform you select, as well as other indicators of your social media presence. Once you’re approved, you’ve got another place to showcase products to your followers and to earn commission from any sales.

14. Sell On Amazon Ignite

If you’re a teacher or create lesson plans or educational printables for teachers, selling on Amazon Ignite is another way to make money on Amazon.

Amazon Ignite is an invite-only marketplace where you can sell digital education resources from grades between kindergarten and grade 12. You can thankfully request an invite, so it isn’t as exclusive as you think.

If accepted, you can start listing resources for free. You earn 70% royalty on all sales, but products under $2.99 have a $0.30 transaction fee.

You have to own the resources you’re selling. However, Amazon doesn’t own the rights, so you can still sell those resources on other platforms.

Amazon Ignite pays monthly via direct deposit, and you’re in the education space, I think this is an awesome opportunity.

Offline Ways To Make Money

There are several means of making money on Amazon that are not specifically online-based. Here are some in-person or offline possibilities to consider if you want to try even more money making opportunities. 

15. Work for Amazon Flex

Another effective way to make money with Amazon is by becoming a driver with Amazon Flex. If you have a reliable vehicle and want to make money by delivering packages to Amazon customers, this might be a great side hustle for you. 

Driving opportunities include Amazon.com, where you pick up packages from an Amazon delivery station, then deliver them to customers. This usually requires 3-6 hour shifts. 

You could also drive for Prime Now or Amazon Fresh, delivering grocery and household items from the Amazon delivery station. Store orders and Instant Offers may also be a possibility for you. Prime Now, Amazon Fresh, and store order delivery blocks for drivers are typically 2-4 hours.

Amazon Flex drivers can earn around $18-$25 per hour, depending on factors like where you live and how quickly you can make deliveries. $20.70 is the average hourly pay reported on Indeed. You can schedule yourself to work as a delivery driver anytime, 7 days a week. 

There are certain requirements to meet, such as having an Android or iPhone to use the app. The vehicle type required depends on whether you drive for Prime Now orders or regular Amazon.com orders.

Extra Reading – 45 Best Gig Economy Jobs To Start A Side Hustle.

16. Amazon CamperForce

If you love camping and RVs, working on campsites as part of Amazon CamperForce is an amazing opportunity to consider.

CamperForce is for mobile RVers who want to work on seasonal assignments with Amazon. The idea behind this program is to allow mobile RVers to find extra work while on the road and for Amazon to gain access to extra staffing.

CamperForce work is basically a manual labor job at an Amazon Warehouse. However, working with CamperForce comes with a variety of benefits, including:

• Up to $550 a month per campsite.
• Assignment bonuses – $0.50 for reach regular hour worked and $1.00 for overtime hours after an assignment ends.
• Weekly pay schedule.
• 401(k).
• Medical and prescription coverage after 90 days.

Note, CamperForce is only available in select locations in Arizona, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

17. Offer Amazon Services

Do you have experience as a handyman? Can you clean an entire house in two hours flat? Well, selling these types of services on Amazon provides a platform for pros in housecleaning, handy tasks, and assemblers to find work in their area. 

Amazon Services is a flexible way to add jobs to your workload, whether you have a ton of free time or just a couple of slots open during a typical week. The program lets professional contractors find work in their area by offering their services through the Amazon App.

Contractors can also view job offers in their area that are curated by Amazon and choose gigs that fit their schedule or expertise.

Electricians, HVAC specialists, plumbers, and general contractors will need to show proof of certification or licensing in order to operate through Amazon Services. However, the signup process is pretty straightforward. 

There is no signup fee, no subscription fee, and no lead generation fee for contractors. Amazon takes 15% to 20% based on the type of service offered and the total dollar value.

18. Warehouse Jobs

Another straightforward way to make money working with Amazon is to find a job at an Amazon warehouse.

Amazon Warehouse associate jobs pay a minimum wage of $15 per hour, so those who live near an Amazon warehouse or fulfillment center can jump on this opportunity. Plus, no resume or previous work experience is required.

The different Amazon business lines you could work for in a warehouse include:

• Fulfillment center – The bulk of shipping work. Full-time, set schedules.
• Sort center – Requires sorting products between trucks and the warehouse. Part-time opportunities, 16-24+ hours per week.
• Delivery station – The final frontier before packages are sent out for delivery. 15-25 hours per week, overnight or early morning.
• Prime Now – The super fast, 2 hour or less delivery service. Flexible 3-4 hour shifts.
• Prime Pantry – Snacks, beauty supplies, and household goods. Full-time scheduling.
• AmazonFresh – Amazon’s grocery delivery service. Mostly part-time up to 29 hours per week.

Warehouse work is typically very physically demanding, with long hours on your feet, so keep this requirement in mind!

19. Work As A Prime Now Shopper

Thanks to Amazon’s grocery delivery service, it’s possible to make money with Amazon by shopping for groceries at Whole Foods.

Amazon Fresh is Amazon’s venture into the grocery delivery market. Since Whole Foods is the grocery store that partners with this service, Prime Now Shoppers are responsible for purchasing items from Whole Foods that are then delivered to the doors of hungry homeowners.

Some of the main benefits of this job include:

• At least $15 per hour.
• 4-5 hour shifts for around 20 hours per week.
• Complete flexibility, with just a 4 hour per month minimum work requirement.
• 30 minute application process.

View a list of current Prime Now shopper jobs if you’re interested!

Final Thoughts

If you have ever wondered how to make money on Amazon, I hope this list of 18 options has helped highlight just how much opportunity is out there!

There’s bound to be something that fits your lifestyle here. If you’ve got solid stretches of time to work on-site in a warehouse or as a driver, go for it. If you need ultra-flexibility, consider one or more of the online earning opportunities that are available.

It’s clear that Amazon is expanding their business into dozens of other industries. It’s incredibly easy to earn money with Amazon in 2020 thanks to their rapid expansion, and I don’t see this Ecommerce giant slowing down anytime soon.

Kate Underwood

Kate Underwood is an personal finance writer who left teaching to write full-time. She is passionate about helping people to create opportunities for themselves through wiser money choices. Kate currently writes for websites like Club Thrifty, Life & My Finances, and other popular personal finance websites. You can view her latest work at www.kateunderwoodwriter.com.