Amazon Wholesale: The Complete Guide to Selling Wholesale on Amazon

In order to sell hundreds of millions of different products to consumers around the world, Amazon’s sales platform is supported by more than 6 million third-party sellers worldwide. Of those sellers, 26% sell products using a sales model called wholesale. 

Wholesale is the practice of purchasing bulk branded products from another manufacturer, supplier, or distributor to resell to consumers. Examples include popular consumer electronics, kitchenware, and even popular toys.

Selling wholesale on Amazon in 2023 is a lucrative opportunity — but there’s a lot you need to know before diving in. This article offers the pros and cons associated with the wholesale business model and offers step-by-step instructions on how you can efficiently get your business up and running on Amazon.

Want to learn more about selling on Amazon? Check out our complete guide.

How Amazon wholesale works

In a nutshell, selling wholesale on Amazon comprises the basic steps of:

  1. Setting up an Amazon seller account
  2. Finding a high-demand product to resell
  3. Sourcing the product (in this case, from the brand, manufacturer, or distributor)
  4. List the product for sale on the brand’s existing Amazon listing (or create a new product detail page)
  5. Managing and growing your business (including inventory, sales, etc.)

READ MORE | How to sell on Amazon FBA in 2023

For all methods of selling on Amazon, sellers will need to follow certain business setup practices.

For wholesale sellers, this may require you to get a business license, and a sales tax permit, or a “resale certificate.” These two items allow you to purchase products tax-free and to collect sales tax on your state’s behalf. Plus, most brands you contact will require this information from you before opening a wholesale account. 

Make sure you look into what the wholesale license requirements are in your country or state.

How does an Amazon wholesale business differ from other business models?

At first glance, wholesale may seem similar to the other business models on Amazon. However, there are some pretty big differences as detailed below.

Wholesale vs. arbitrage

Arbitrage is the process of purchasing products from retail stores or websites at a discounted price to resell on Amazon. Like wholesalers, resellers buy branded products. Unlike arbitrage, wholesalers make bulk purchases directly from the brand instead of individual purchases from a retail store.

Wholesalers also negotiate rates with brands and distributors directly (i.e., earlier in the supply chain), whereas resellers (arbitrage) purchase discount products retail to sell via retail.

Wholesale vs. private label

While wholesalers purchase and resell existing branded products, private label sellers create their own branded products to sell on Amazon.

Because of this difference, wholesalers do not necessarily need to create new product listings. Instead, they add their offer to an existing product listing. Private label sellers must create their own product listings.

Wholesale vs. dropshipping

Dropshippers list goods for sale on Amazon without taking ownership of the product first. Then, when a purchase is made, they place an order through the supplier/manufacturer of the product, who fulfills the product on behalf of the drop shipper.

Wholesalers own their inventory and are in charge of fulfilling orders themselves or through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA.)

READ MORE | How to Make Money on Amazon in 2023 – 15 Top Methods

Pros and cons of Amazon wholesaling

If you’re considering selling wholesale on Amazon, it’s important to consider both the pros and cons, especially after comparing it to the other methods of selling on Amazon. Let’s take a look.

Pros:

  • Product demand. You can sell established brands that consumers are already searching for and purchasing. This takes the burden off your business for marketing.
  • Quick to get started. Behind retail arbitrage, wholesale is the easiest business model to get up and running. 42% of wholesalers in Jungle Scout’s study of thousands of Amazon sellers told us it took them less than six weeks to get their businesses up and running.
  • Profitable. Also, 55% of wholesalers told us that they started to turn a profit in under six months.
  • Scalable. You can focus your time on growth, even building a team to manage the day-to-day operations, rather than focusing on building a brand, creating listings, or other efforts fledgling brands need to do.

Cons:

  • Competition. Nearly all of the listings on which you place offers will have multiple sellers. And since the only “lever” you have to pull is price, it can sometimes become a “race to the bottom.”
  • Up-front cost. Because you must purchase goods in bulk, wholesaling is more expensive than reselling or dropshipping.
  • Research. The most time-consuming aspect of wholesaling is research. You will have to explore dozens — maybe even hundreds — of product opportunities and ensure that you can get the product in stock from a supplier. 
  • Cold outreach. Before you can begin reselling other brands on Amazon, you must be approved by the brand. This includes cold calling or emailing various companies requesting to open up a wholesale account so you can resell the products on Amazon.

Amazon wholesale account requirements

Before actually contacting any brands, you need to be aware of what they’re likely to ask for as a prerequisite to opening a wholesale account.

  • Register a business or sole proprietorship. You will need to register a legal business entity or do business as a sole proprietor in your state. When filling out a wholesale form from a brand or distributor, they will ask for this information. 
  • Resale certificate from your state. This allows you to purchase products from a brand, distributor, or wholesalers tax-free for the purpose of reselling. Most brands or wholesalers will not allow you to purchase at wholesale without this.

Apply for an EIN number. An EIN (Employer Identification Number) or Federal Tax Identification Number is basically a social security number, but for your business. You can receive an EIN number for free from the IRS.

Is Amazon Wholesale profitable?

Yes, reselling wholesale products on Amazon can be profitable. In fact, 18% of sellers who resell wholesale products on Amazon, see profit margins between 26-50%, according to data from our State of the Seller Report.  

As with any business model you follow on Amazon, your profitability depends on what you buy the product for and what you sell it for. And of course, you need to account for Amazon fees as well.

How to start selling wholesale products on Amazon

Now that you understand why you should sell wholesale products on Amazon, let’s go over how to find profitable wholesale products. 

If you prefer video, we also have a fantastic Youtube video on this exact topic, check it out! 

1. Find a good product to sell wholesale

Here are a few tips when looking for wholesale items to sell on Amazon.

Make sure that the product is not sold by Amazon or a private label seller.

Amazon can afford to lose money on a sale. As such, they will price their products lower than many competitors, so you don’t want to (and likely can’t) compete with them.

To see if Amazon is (or was) on the listing, use the Jungle Scout Extension historical graph and check the “Amazon price” box. The graph will show you when Amazon has placed its offer on that particular listing. 

If a product is a private label product, the listing will likely have just one seller. Look instead for products that have multiple sellers; this tells you it is either an arbitrage or wholesale product.

Look for established brands, preferably small to medium-sized brands.

You don’t want to have to market for a company that’s not your own. Remember: a big part of wholesaling is about riding the coattails of successful brands.

You can do so by checking for the product’s demand. Use Jungle Scout’s Extension or free Sales Estimator to estimate a product’s monthly and daily sales (more on this below). You want to find products that have a chance of selling tens — if not hundreds — of units per day. 

Look for products that have ‘MAP’ pricing

MAP stands for “minimum advertised price” which is the lowest price a retailer is allowed to sell a product, according to the brand. Products with a MAP typically end in “.99”, “.95” and so on. The price looks uniform across all sellers and not random like “$18.37.”

This also prevents price wars where sellers are constantly competing with each other by slowly lowering their price. It forces all sellers of that particular product or brand to have the same minimum selling price. We’ll go over this more in the “Calculate how much money you can make” step.

Note: Products with a MAP policy may not always be priced at the minimum, so keep that in mind. 

Where to buy wholesale products to sell on Amazon

If you aren’t sure where to start your search for good wholesale products to sell on Amazon, you can use Jungle Scout’s Product Database, which sorts Amazon’s massive catalog based on your criteria. 

First, set your preferences:

In this example, you can see the categories selected to the left. We also set the following criteria:

  • A minimum price of $20
  • Minimum of 4 sellers
  • Minimum of 300 sales per month
  • Seller type: FBA and FBM

You don’t need to choose the exact same criteria, just make sure the minimum number of sellers is greater than one or two because if a listing has just one or two sellers, that tells us it is likely a private label product. 

If you are not sure on what filters to use in Product Database, the tool has preset filters to choose from as seen in the image above.

Jungle Scout returned:

Let’s check out the Doggone Good Rapid Rewards Deluxe Dog Training Bag with Belt listing.

This looks like the perfect opportunity. It’s priced well enough to earn profits, there’s sufficient consumer demand, and there aren’t too many sellers.

2. Find the right suppliers 

Once you have some ideas on what products you would like to sell, you need to find a supplier for that product.

Finding suppliers for wholesale products looks a little different from sourcing a private label product. Typically, you’d use a tool like our Supplier Database to find high-quality suppliers in China or other top overseas manufacturers. But for wholesale, you’ll contact the brand owners directly.

If you’re approved, you will be able to place an order and start selling as soon as possible—some brands may even ship to Amazon for you! 

There are a few benefits to this approach:

  • You don’t have to ship products from China. This is a huge plus. Since the brands you will be contacting are most likely located within the U.S., you won’t have to wait weeks or months to receive your inventory or worry about things like customs clearance or overseas shipments. 
  • You don’t have to wait for responses from Chinese suppliers. Usually, in order to contact suppliers in China, you’d need to stay up late to communicate or wait until the next day to get a response. With wholesale, the brands you contact will be working normal U.S. business hours, or are only an hour or two removed from your local time zone.

Finding the right supplier for a product is as simple as Googling the brand. Using the previous example, let’s search for “Doggone Good.”

3. Contact and negotiate with brands

Once you find the brand’s website, navigate to the contact section. Sometimes, a brand will have a “wholesale” or “dealer” tab, so keep an eye out for that. 

This brand just has the Contact Us tab, with an option to send them an email.

Here is an example of what you can say to initiate a negotiation:

Hello,

I am interested in opening up a wholesale account with [brand name here]. Please let me know what information you require from me and I will get it back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks,

[your name]”

When you contact the brands, you want to demonstrate how you can add value to their company and products. This is usually done once you receive a reply from your initial email. You are offering to help extend their brand and increase their sales.

When you contact the brands, you want to demonstrate how you can add value to their company and products.

This gives you a fantastic advantage to negotiate with here. You can help them with selling on Amazon because they often don’t have the time or know-how to do it themselves. 

Here are some ways you can offer to add value:

  • Identify any problems that you can help with them. For example, does their product have poor images? Could the SEO or content for their listing use improvement?
  • Show the brands how you can grow their business. Some brands’ products may sell well on Amazon, but they may have others in their catalog that don’t do as well. You can work with the brand to launch new products.
  • Find brands that aren’t interested in selling their products on Amazon themselves. These might even be brands that are already selling on Amazon but have had difficulty with it in the past. If you can effectively convince them you bring the Amazon selling experience, you’re solving their problem.
  • Work towards becoming an exclusive seller of the product or brand. A big problem many brands face with the Amazon marketplace is having too many resellers. Resellers have a bad reputation with many because some don’t care about the brand, they care about the profit. But that’s not you! Say how you can help clean up their listing and will follow their terms regarding pricing and brand guidelines. Becoming an exclusive seller of a product can give you much bigger profits and less competition.

What to do when a brand says ‘yes’

If the brand says yes to opening a wholesale account, congrats! Your next step will be to get a price list, figure out their MOQ (minimum order quantity), and how to order. 

Now just because you’re approved, does not mean the products will even be profitable. It all depends on what the wholesale cost is. In the next step, we’ll show you how to calculate your potential profit per sale once you have the wholesale costs of the products you want to sell. 

What to do when a brand says ‘no

If they come back with a resounding “no” at first, that doesn’t mean it’s the end. Sometimes, negotiations take a while— it’s all a part of the process. If you are really wanting to sell a particular product or brand, don’t give up just yet. Continue to follow up every few weeks or so.

The truth is, many brands do not like to work with ecommerce/Amazon sellers because they don’t want them to tarnish their brand or just be in it to profit. 

  • Demonstrate your value. Make sure your points about improving their listings and overall brand presence on Amazon are loud and clear. Prove to the brand that you will be a long-term partner in helping them grow their brand on Amazon.
  • Format your email in a neat, easy to read way. If you have examples of work you’ve done in the past or are able to prove your ability to optimize listings or increase sales on Amazon, send that as well.
  • Get on the phone. We also suggest calling and speaking to someone over the phone. Sometimes it is easier to connect with someone and explain your business and ideas over the phone versus email. 

4. Calculate how much money you can make

Obviously, you’re interested in selling a product on Amazon to earn a profit. Once you receive a wholesale price list from the brand, here’s how you can evaluate sales and profitability before making an investment.

Make sure your product is priced within 2% of the Buy Box 

The Buy Box is the widget to the right side of the Amazon product page that lists pricing and has the gold button that reads “Add to Cart.”

Whatever the current price is in the Buy Box, you want to be within 2% of that price. If your price is higher, your offer for the product may never display in the Buy Box. 

Use the current Buy Box price when doing your profitability calculations. 

You can also look at Jungle Scout Extension and Product Tracker data to see what the average price is of a particular product. This will give you more confidence when figuring out your potential profit. 

You don’t want to sell a product where the price constantly fluctuates. As mentioned above, look for brands that enforce a MAP policy. 

Understand the product’s fees

Next, make sure you know what fees to expect from the product. The easiest way to do this is to use Amazon’s FBA calculator. Enter the ASIN of the product into the calculator, then enter product cost.

Determine your profitability

Using Amazon’s Revenue Calculator, determine your profitability. The calculator will show you the cost per unit (after costs and Amazon fees), your net profit, and net margin. For wholesale products, I typically look for products with a minimum of 15% to 20%. 

Remember, you likely won’t need to spend any money on advertising so that net margin is a good minimum target. 

Estimate your monthly sales

Determine the product’s monthly sales estimate using the Jungle Scout Extension or free Sales Estimator. Divide that number by the number of sellers on the listing plus one (which will be you). This is the average number of sales those sellers share on the listing.

For example, if a product has 3,000 sales per month and there are currently 9 sellers selling the product, the math looks like this:

3,000 / (9 + 1) = 300 sales per month.

Though keep in mind that just because there were only 9 sellers on the listing at the time of buying inventory, doesn’t mean there will always be only 9 other sellers. It could be less or more. 

This is why you should work towards building a solid relationship with the brand and get an exclusive reseller partnership as mentioned above.

Understand your turn rate

To avoid costly storage fees on Amazon, try to keep only 2-3 months of sales in stock. For example, for the example product above, you would need 600-900 units in stock in order to cover sales between orders (assuming there are always 10 sellers.)

You can continue to monitor how much stock you’ll need and when to reorder with Jungle Scout’s Inventory Manager.

Plus: How to source established brands that aren’t already on Amazon

There are also a handful of ways to source brands that aren’t yet on Amazon. 

1. Look for successful Kickstarters, especially those with thousands of backers. These business owners may not have sufficient knowledge about Amazon and its benefits. As a wholesaler, you would purchase extra units of their product to sell on the platform once their product is manufactured.

2. Check Facebook ads and TikTok, which a lot of entrepreneurs use to start advertising their products. Similar to Kickstarter, these entrepreneurs may not know enough about Amazon to get started there. You could help them get set up on the platform and expand their reach.

3. Follow lifestyle and consumer-facing blogs. Blog posts from major influencers (think  Real Simple or Joanna Gaines) can sometimes lead you to awesome products that aren’t yet available on Amazon. 

How to fulfill your wholesale orders through Amazon 

There are two ways to fulfill your Amazon sales: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM).

Fulfillment by Amazon is a program Amazon offers that lets you ship your products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers to store. After you make sales, Amazon picks, packs, and ships the products on your behalf. This takes a lot of the pressure off your new business as you won’t have to worry about shipping your own goods.

Plus, the fees for FBA are often less than the costs involved with shipping the products yourself.

However, if you are selling products that turn slowly or are oversized, FBA may not be the best choice for your business. You may have to turn to your own resources to store and ship your products. 

In that case, Fulfillment by Merchant may be the optimal fulfillment method for your business.

Unlike FBA, rather than paying Amazon a fee for taking care of their orders, FBM sellers are responsible for handling the storage, picking and packing, and shipping of their products to their customers.

Get started with Amazon wholesale now

If you want to sell on Amazon, but don’t want to get involved with private label, wholesale is a great alternative. Plus, as mentioned above, selling wholesale could mean turning a profit in half the time it might take as a private label seller.

So don’t wait! Now that you know how to buy wholesale and sell on Amazon, explore your opportunities with Jungle Scout and start now.

Recommended Post

Article

How to Sell on Amazon in 2023

Read morearrow_forward

176 comments on “Amazon Wholesale: The Complete Guide to Selling Wholesale on Amazon

  1. Wow! This article on selling wholesale on Amazon in 2023 couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve been on a quest to expand my online business and tap into the wholesale market, and this guide has truly been a game-changer for me.

    I must admit that the journey to wholesale success on Amazon is an ongoing one, but armed with the insights shared in this article, I’m confident in my ability to adapt and thrive in this ever-evolving landscape. Thank you for providing such invaluable guidance and sharing your expertise. Here’s to a prosperous future in the world of wholesale on Amazon in 2023!

    Best Regards:
    Buyallfromone.com

  2. Hi, good article. Quick question:

    Can someone directly send send bulk items/shipment to Amazon warehouse like in private label you do this from Ali Baba.. ??

    From Ali Baba, supplier can send your order to Amazon warehouse house..

    Is there any way to ask wholesale seller to ship bulk order to direct Amazon warehouse house?

    1. Some brands or wholesalers you contact may require a business license from you as well as a resale certificate.

  3. Can you response for my question
    1: In wholesaling business model on Amazon we choose those product for reselling that already sold by their brand by itself ? or those brand products that already sold by any merchant not by itself brand ?

  4. Hi, thanks for all that info. Was very clear and easy to understand. You mention that some wholesalers will even ship your items to amazon for you, in that case will they need to put your label provided by amazon on the products?

    1. Hi Nate,

      Yes, you can either give them limited access to your account or you can create the shipment and send them the shipping labels.

  5. I appreciated your article. I’m trying to decide whether wholesale is right for me. I can get HEAD products wholesale and I’m trying to determine whether this is a good company to start my own Amazon business with. It’s a big company that is already selling on Amazon but I wonder if there are too many sellers and if there is enough margin. I’ve thought starting with FBM and see how it goes but I’m worried I won’t sell much because of the competition. Id love to be able to discuss this with someone who has some experience with these things, let me know if that’s possible, thank you.

    1. Hi Brian,

      If you can start with a small order, maybe around 20-50 units, to test, I would. See how fast you sell out but make sure before buying that you will be making a profit on each sale by using the Amazon FBA Revenue Calculator. Just type that into Google.

      You can estimate the monthly units sold using Jungle Scout Extension and divide that by the number of sellers. That should give you a rough estimate of how many you can sell per month.

  6. Hi there,

    First, thank you for your post. It is helpful and informative. I’d like to know more about this business model. Can you please give me some extra information such as how much I need to start wholesale on Amazon, how I can find good suppliers in the US, and how to get a resell certificate?
    Thank you,

    1. Hi,

      It can be difficult to get approval from brands but you need to be consistent. Are you sending from your personal email or a professional email address?

  7. Hello, thank you for this great article. I’ve been getting price listings from suppliers that have their products listed on Amazon. These products are sold by resellers, not by the suppliers.
    When I analyze the fees through the calculator, I notice that the cost listed is way lower than the price listings. If those products are sold by resellers, shouldn’t be the cost similar to the wholesale price listings?.

    1. Hi Zuzi,

      I am not sure what you mean. If the cost to purchase the product is lower than the list price on Amazon, that is a good thing. That will hopefully leave you with a good profit margin.

  8. Hi Brian Connolly, my name isKernst, I’m interested in starting a wholesale business but I will need your help but thank you so far for everything you already showing me, it’s been a great help

    1. Hi Javi,

      You will be competing with other sellers on the listing. If your offer is priced similarly to other sellers, you’ll share the Buy Box with them.

    1. Hi Zeb,

      As long as you have the approval to sell the brands/products in that marketplace and have ownership of the products, you can see them on Amazon UK.

    2. You need LTD registered on your Passport. Then use this LTD to create Amazon Professional Account. When contacting brands you will need this LTD and Reseller certificate to get approval and then Sell _

      -Hardin

  9. Hi Greg
    i am in Qatar, in this case how i will be able to get EIN and other certificates that the US residents get. Is the Amazon wholesale valid for someone living outside US, e.g. in GCC
    Regards
    Saeed

  10. Hello,

    Great piece!

    Can I sell multiple products from more than one supplier/manufacturer via wholesale on Amazon?

      1. I am extremely ready to begin to sale wholesale products online through Amazon and the information provided on this site was very informative and easy to understand. My question is this, if I just recently received an EIN from the IRS for a LLC that I recently applied for, can I use the same EIN when selling wholesale products on Amazon? How would I go about that? My idea of wholesale products on Amazon is completely different from my business LLC, so I am trying to understand the logistics of how this industry works, because I am new to it and I want to know what I am doing and what I need to do get my goals accomplished and to become more business savvy.

        1. Hi Angela,

          Yes, you can use that EIN. You enter the EIN under your Tax Information in Seller Central.

          Selling wholesale just means you are purchasing products at a wholesale cost from a brand or wholesalers and reselling them on Amazon. It really matters what they require, not Amazon. I suggest contacting some brands/wholesalers to see what they require from you in order to open a wholesale account.

          -Brian

  11. If I take few item on super market and I sell on amazon fba hole sell is they need from me any thing like supplier or manufacturer detail

    1. If you purchase products from a grocery store to resell on Amazon, you won’t have any invoices to show Amazon. You may be able to sell that brand but there is a risk Amazon might ask for that information.

      It is best to buy direct from a manufacturer so you can get a proper invoice to show Amazon.

  12. What is you are wholesaling a brand not on Amazon? It doesn’t have a UPC just a barcode with an item number. Do you buy one?

    1. Hi Shannon,

      The barcode is typically the “UPC.” If it does not have one, you can list the item using a GTIN exemption — which allows you to list products on Amazon without a UPC code. Search for GTIN in our blog and you will find a helpful article on the topic!

  13. If we choose the dealer that is not on amazon then how we can estimate the profit? loss risk? Is there a lot of risk of loss by contacting a non-amazon user dealers?

    1. Do you mean contacting brands that are not currently selling on Amazon? There could be a lot of upside to that as you won’t have competition on your listing. You can estimate your profit but running the numbers on a similar product that is selling on Amazon.

  14. Does i need following step for whollsale bussines or for private label??
    *Creating an optimized listing to rank against your competitors

  15. Trying to buy wholesale from your site but would like to sell it on Amazon , what I need to do? What’s best? And do I keep continue to buy or what you think is best for me that would benefit me?

    1. Hello,

      We do not sell physical products on Jungle Scout. We sell the tools to help you find profitable products!

  16. Hi, Please elaborate in details, its your 4th main point: “Creating an optimized listing to rank against your competitors” for run this business, what is the methods for get more equality buybox and run the good business. because when you are new seller, your feedback is just 10 to 15 and you want to complete of high rating sellers, how to compete and get buy box. equally.

    Can you guide in start on new seller central witch criteria we can follow for Scaling.

    1. The best way to compete in the buy box is to keep up with your metrics and be close in price to your competitors. If your price is much higher than the current seller in the buy box, you will not have buy box share.

  17. HI
    Recently I have created individual account for USA/Canada markets with Pakistani credentials.
    Can I do FBA whole sale and what are further requirements for it.

    1. Hello,

      Yes, you can. You will need to develop relationships with brands and wholesalers to purchase products from at wholesale costs. They may require you to have a US business registration and a resale cert.

  18. Hello,
    My name is Sajjad, I am from Pakistan, I need guidance such as what are requirements for applying for Amazon fba wholesale
    1; is website is compulsory.
    2: is PayPal account is necessary

      1. Hi Brian Connolly I hope you are enjoying your life well. I want to tell you that “Now Pakistan is approved to sell on Amazon”.

  19. Hi there,
    this article about wholesale is worth reading.
    Special thanks to jungle scout.

    Best Regards,
    Saad.

  20. Fantastic submissions, I will like to know more on wholesale ventures on pharmaceuticals supplements or medical products that require registrations by regulatory agency (NAFDAC) in Nigeria, as i am running Southern Pharmaceuticals and Allied Products Ltd, it is mandatory to register pharmaceuticals products before importation, Thanks

  21. Hi everybody

    Thank you so much for your fast reply. I have a physical market and i am interested to sell my products on Amazon through FBM method without brand registration. Is this method called Arbitrage? Where should I start from? I mean where should I register my products on the Amazon website?

    Thank you in advance for your time and kind assistance.

    1. Hi Arshida,

      If you have your own branded products that would be considered private label. Though whether you sell PL, wholesale, or arbitrage, it is all the same process of selling on Amazon. I suggest checking out our full How to Sell on Amazon for Beginners guide that will answer all the questions you have.

  22. Hi everybody

    Thanks for the article and all your responses. I want to start selling wholesale products on Amazon. I have a question. I will give an example:
    For example i want to sell power bank. Many people are selling power bank with different brands. If I sell a power bank with an existing brand on Amazon, I don’t need to create a new listing. But if I want to sell power bank with a new brand, I should create a new listing for myself. Am I correct?

    I would be very grateful for your response

    1. Hi Arshida,

      Yes, that is correct. If you want to sell an existing brand’s power bank, you will list your product on that existing listing. If you create a new brand of power bank, you must have your own unique listing.

    2. Hello,
      Thank you for sharing great knowledge.
      I hope you will response here back.
      What type of account need for wholesale?
      Is wholesale need to a company?
      Which on is best LLC or DBA?
      Can you tell me complete requirements as above for a successful wholesale store in USA? Please please please
      Thank you.

      1. Hi,

        You will likely need a resale certificate and a business license (LLC) to purchase goods at a wholesale cost from brands or distributors.

  23. I am looking to start a private label , I want a private mentor that will take will step by step through out the whole process

    1. Hi Ebrima,

      Check out our Jungle Scout Market! There are lots of talented freelancers there that can help you with that.

  24. Thanks for the article and information. I am a beginner, but so far I have ran into the issue several times of wholesale suppliers not shipping to FBA or to third party sellers. Do you have any advice on this, and do you have a reason why they would not want to ship to FBA for third party sellers?

    1. Hi Priscila,

      You don’t need that to start. You may need a resale certificate if you are going to purchase branded items at wholesale prices.

  25. Hello,

    Thank you for this article, it helped me to get started on this opportunity. But now I am concerned.

    I clicked the link that you provided to apply for an EIN, and I was taken to this website: https://irs-ein-forms-gov.com/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ein-campaign&utm_term=ein%20number%20irs&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqaPD1v2n7AIVE-DICh0tqgL3EAAYAiAAEgKI_vD_BwE.

    I trusted the website because of your recommendation and I filled out the form, including my SSN and address. After I had provided that information, they asked for payment which raised a red flag for me. From there I searched the IRS’s website for applying for an EIN and confirmed that this should be free. Now I am concerned that I gave my information to a fraudulent company, and what they are going to do with my information. Have you heard of anyone else having this issue?

    Thank you

    1. Hi Morgan,

      Thanks for pointing this out to us. I have changed the link to the IRS’s website. The website previously mentioned was a legitimate third party website, but they do charge for doing it for you.

      Go through the IRS’s website and do it for free.

      Brian

  26. Hello Dave,

    I’m a school teacher and want to venture on something that might change my life.

    How much money do I need to start selling wholesale products on Amazon?

    Your response would be greatly appreciated.

    1. Hi Meralym,

      You can start with just a couple hundred dollars if you want to. Some brands or wholesalers have a low minimum order quantity so you can begin selling with just a little bit of starting capital.

  27. Hi Dave,

    Thank you for the great article. I am based in UK and I am interested in PL but I am thinking of starting Wholesale first, which i hope will give me some income and thus allow me to spend more time at computer in order to carry out solid product research for PL. I am thinking of maybe joining these FBA courses focused on Wholesale for Amazon. Would you know of any good courses?

    I have my jungle scout suite and have looked at FreedomBuilderBootCamp, But I believe this course is more for PL than for Wholesale! I maybe wrong. I can go around and chase establshed brands and maybe by shear luck if i come across anyone of them saying then I have to be prepared to present them a agreement (maybe), how do I instruct them as in where to send the shipment, etc. I need someone to give me more microscopic steps guide! But I guess I either have to find a good course or spend more time researching !

    1. Hi, I suggest you just jump right in and learn as you go! Follow the steps in this post and start contacting brands and see what they require from you. If you place an order, you can have them send to FBA for you or just to your location.

    2. Hi Dave,

      I am also based in the UK and would love to start off in wholesaling Amazon FBA. Would you please let me know what course you ended up choosing as I am a bit overwhelmed with the options lol

      Thank you so much!

      Ella

  28. Hi, thanks for the information. I had jus reached a brand where the brand required “Channel” which is Amazon but they are also asking for our “REVENUE’. I am new to the this wholesale business would you give us a suggestion for what I can give information to them according to my Revenue.

  29. Very informative!

    I do have one question: What if the product I want to market is not sold on Amazon (industrial equipment – search on Amazon return no results)?

    Does that mean it is not suitable to sell on Amazon?

    Thank you!

    1. Hi! Thanks for the question.

      Not necessarily, though you need to make sure you do your research that this is a product that sells outside of Amazon.

      Another thing you can do is conduct keyword research with the keyword you’re searching to see if there is any search volume there.

  30. I have a question,

    when a seller opt for “have one to sell’

    prior to it must he have the inventory?.

    Or he can link the order to main manufacturer on amazon.

    1. You are referring to dropshipping. You can do this but you need to be sure the manufacturer that ships your order has the item in stock.

  31. Sir i have no LLC and i am live live in US .i want to start amazon wholesale .is thier possible to sell as a wholesale on amazon without LLC .Is thier any product available that dont need of LLC

    1. Hi,

      You can sell a private label product or retail arbitrage without an LLC. Most brands that you request to open a wholesale account with will require an LLC.

  32. I have a new LLC and an EIN. I just looked into getting a seller certificate, and in my state (MS) it says a $500 bond is required for an ecommerce business (when there is no physical storefront). Is this common? Is there any way around this?

    1. Hi Amy,

      I am not sure. Each state has its own requirements. I would reach out to a professional with this type of question.

  33. Good morning
    I’m in JAMAICA this my question what I want to buy wholesale to retail or yo sell back, how can I go about that??
    Next thing Amazon is flood with sellers it so hard to pin point a product to sell.

    1. Hi Onalee,

      You should read through the post fully to get a better understanding of how to do product research for wholesale products. Looks for products with a consistent sales rank, that will give you a good place to start.

  34. I was considering going Private Label, I’m in Greg’s Freedom Builder course, but I don’t have much free time at least till the end of the year, so would it be something to consider, to start with the Wholesale FBA model first, and then work on my Private Label development with less pressure? Or is wholesale really not advised any longer? Can one still make decent profits from Wholesale?

    1. Hi Olivia,

      Wholesale is still a great model to follow on Amazon. It takes some time to find products that would work well for wholesale, as well as contacting brands to open accounts. It is worth noting that many brands will turn you down for wholesale accounts. While you don’t have to launch a brand new product, it is still a lot of hard work.

      Brian

  35. Hi, Great info here! Question: I am wondering which business I should select in the sign up business category. “Select an entity type”. I am assuming “None, I am an Individual as I dont have a name registered. But I could use some feedback, thanks

  36. Hi, thanks for the helpful information! I’m new to the wholesale process, and feel like I’m missing something with Step 5. When you say “contact and negotiate with Suppliers”, does “Suppliers” refer to the manufacturer, or the company that created the product? For example, if I want to sell a KitchenAid waffle maker, and I use the Supplier Database to find a manufacturer, do I need to contact KitchenAid to ask about selling their product, as well as the manufacturer? Or are they one and the same? Thanks in advance!

    1. Hi Mandy,

      You will want to contact the brand owner to get approval as they will be the ones selling you the product at a wholesale cost.

  37. when i am a new seller and i launch a product against other sellers as the same price like them or lower and ultimatly i would have zero ratings and reviews so will the buyers buy from me or not. or i have to do something like give a ways and all that stuff to rank.

    1. Hi James,

      If you are selling wholesale on a listing with multiple sellers, the buy box will rotate if you are the same price or lower price. You will still get sales but the other sellers may have the buy box more.

  38. Hi. Quick question: What happens if the competition gets ugly? Let say and existing seller is not happy with incoming new seller. He decided to buy all or most of our inventory and return them on purpose. So that we both have bad return percentage and run out of stock. What happens next? Is there any way to avoid or prevent that ?

  39. HI I READ THIS USEFUL ARTILE. I HAVE AQUESTION .IF I DO AMAZON WHOLESALE FBM.I SEE A PRODUCT ON AMAZON 89$. THE SAME BRAND IS SELLING IT AT 33$ ON ALIEXPRESS. IF I GET AN ORDER.I WILL ORDER ON ALIEXPRESS.I WILL HAVE TO HOLD NO INVENTORY.PLEASE GUIDE CAN THIS MODEL WORKS

    1. Hi,

      You will need to be 100% sure that the item you are reselling is authentic. If you see a brand name product on Aliexpress, most likely it is counterfeit.

      What you are describing is dropshipping.

  40. Hi. Can you suggest what’s you prefer when it comes to Wholesale or Private label. And from you experience which more profitable for the long term.

    1. Hi Nasser,

      Both have pros and cons, it just depends on what your business goals are.

      Both models can be profitable long term. Personally, I prefer the wholesale model as you selling products that are already on the marketplace vs. launching a brand new product.

      Private label will typically have a higher profit margin as well.

      Hope this helps!

      Brian

  41. hi, i found the article very helpful, i have one concern and that is i have found most of the manufacturers and wholesalers reluctant to sell their brands on Amazon, i wonder how can i negotiate with them and should i tell them i am selling your brand on amazon?

    1. Hi Aamir,

      Thanks for the question! You should always be upfront with brands about selling their products on Amazon.

      If they’re reluctant to allow you to sell on Amazon, show them how you can provide value to the brand vs. just reselling. Say you can help optimize their listings, increase sales, run PPC campaigns. etc..

      I hope this helps!

      -Brian

  42. Do you know any companies that will do all the of fulfilment and everything wholesale on Amazon that have success selling products? I’m looking to sell big name brand products.

  43. I manufacture a branded retail product sold all over the world to the art/craft/hobby business. I have stayed away from selling around my customers as I don’t want to bite the hand the feeds me. However, things are changing and I was curious as to what you thought of me setting up a wholesale business on Amazon allowing folks to purchase my products but with a higher than one or two minimum. Or, at least establishing a price/minimum that won’t piss off my distributors. It all sounds a bit risky to me, but things are changing as brick and mortar vanish. Anyway, if you have thoughts, I am all eyes.

  44. THANKS FOR THIS GREAT POST, IT HELPED ALOT
    I HAVE FEW QUESTIONS

    1. WHAT WOULD BE THE RECOMMENDED PRICE RANGE OF PRODUCTS
    2. HOW WOULD WE KNOW THAT ITS THE PL BRAND / INTL RECOGNIZED BRAND ETC. WHEN SEARCHING FOR PRODUCT
    3. SALE ESTIMATE WAS POSSIBLE BCZ JUNGLE SCOUT WAS USED, WHAT IF SOMEONE DON’T HAVE(HE COULDNT BUY)
    4. IS IT OK , IF WE WENT OUT OF INVENTORY , WHAT IMED STEPS WE SHOULD TAKE THEN
    5. HOW MANY PRODUCTS WE CAN DEAL IN FBA WHOLE MODEL, FROM ONE ACCOUNT

    1. Hi Salman,

      Hopefully I can answer some of your questions.

      1. Generally speaking, between 18-25 is a good range because it will help you cover the fees and your costs while still making a healthy product.
      2. I’m not sure what you mean.
      3. We have a free estimator tool that can help. https://www.junglescout.com/estimator/
      4. If you run out of inventory just work to get more back in. Don’t close your listing or anything like that as it could potentially hurt the listing. Amazon understands that sometimes products run out.
      5. Hundreds of thousands. Amazon won’t start charging a high volume listing fee until you reach 100,000 skus.

  45. Hi Greg, I have been doing wholesale for several years now and I actually am selling a product on your marketplace that includes all the work we have done to find wholesale suppliers. That is not just a list of companies and their email address but a very extensive product where we give all kinds of extra data that Amazon sellers can use to find a match with the right wholesaler for them. Right now that is a bestseller on the JungleScout Marketplace with great reviews. Proud to be a part of the JungleScout fan base! Love you guys! https://market.junglescout.com/en/listings/531668

  46. Looking to becoming a seller. The information you provided was very insightful, and put me at ease with my decision to start .

  47. Good day, I just want to know how can I start an Amazon FBA business from South Africa ?

    I have a business that is registered in South Africa

    Kind regards

  48. Good day, I just want to know how can I start an Amazon FBA business from South Africa ? I have a business that is registered in South Africa.
    Any advice will be helpful.
    Kind regards

  49. I am interested in both the private label route of selling and wholesale.
    Do you have any tips on who I can get in touch with to get help.
    The Wholesale Formula classes are closed.
    Also, not sure who to contact that is doing the private label approach. I did look up some podcasts from Chris Guthrie but they were not recent.

  50. hi,

    we have created amazon seller account few years back and we were going very good and getting some small profit, we were buying online and then were selling to amazon from Pakistan, we accidentally lost our debit card and when we updated the debit card amazon didn’t accept it by saying we need credit card for verification or usa bank account,
    its been 2 years now we are facing this issue please help us if you have any material so that we can start selling again,please

  51. Hello

    I got my idea but l want the name of the manufacturer to buy what want not to be a third part buying and selling please help.

    27

  52. hello

    I am an Egyptian artist make very beautiful handmade craft such as leather small bags can be used in several fields and many other small product I want to sell them to Amazon in large quantaty
    what i have to do definitly

    thank you

  53. The wholesale selling is a potential concept in business. The success and viability of wholesale selling on Amazon are highly predicted. Selecting the products that aren’t already on Amazon platform for selling on Amazon as an exclusive seller can be a profitable deal. Before implementing any idea into a business, calculate the estimated cost of products purchase, its selling cost, profit margin, and ROI and then only finalize the decision. Always keep the good relations with the manufacturers and brand owners from whom you are purchasing your inventory so that you can always fulfill your customer’s orders. Though starting from the research of products and manufacturers to managing the wholesale business on Amazon require some efforts yet it would turn into ripen fruits. Don’t miss out any reason for selling on Amazon.

  54. I have, just a little more involved to do PL. Wholesale seemed like an easier route. I’ve watched your million dollar case study, really great stuff!! I may end up going that route.

    1. Phil,

      It’s always best to do what you’re most comfortable with! And we know plenty of sellers who’ve made quite a bit doing wholesale. Having said that, it is far more competitive than private label since it is, in fact, less involved. And less involved = lower barriers of entry. Lower barriers of entry = more competitors, including big Papa Amazon.

      I myself started off in wholesaling. I bought used books and flipped them. It’s a little different than some varieties of wholesaling, but the process was the same. The toughest part of wholesaling is “race to the bottom”… when the only way you have to distinguish yourself is price. Plus, lower prices tend to win the buy box–unless, of course, Amazon’s competing, too. Amazon always wins the buy box! And they don’t mind losing money to be the lowest.

      These days all I do is private label. Sure, it’s more involved, but I control my prices, my products, and ultimately the fate of my business. If you’re interested in learning more about it, please feel free to reach out here in the comments or to our support team. Plus, we’re doing the Genius Series which goes through the entire process of private label (and it’s free). Here’s the link: https://www.junglescout.com/amazon-seller-genius/

      Hope that’s helpful! πŸ™‚

  55. In the video Dan mentions not to wholesale products where Amazon is a seller. I spent considerable time researching products in many different categories and especially the pet supply niche. Every single viable product I found had Amazon as a seller. Upon calling some of the manufactures, I was told not to bother trying to compete with Amazon because of the volume discount they get. It seems Amazon finds the well performing products and can undercut everyone. I literally was not able to find a single product to sell. I am really interested in selling on Amazon but it seems it has become way to competitive.

  56. I was contacted by a Manufacturer about listing their products on Amazon for them. They have a website and FB page but nothing on Amazon.

    What suggestions would you have for this type situation as far as how to proceed, what questions to ask, how to style a contractual agreement, etc?

    1. Hey Larry,

      Did they contact you via Amazon or by email? With the Amazon-based solicitations, I usually ignore them or mark as no reply needed. In my experience, those companies are just starting out and don’t have trade assurance, references, etc.–the stuff that makes me trust them on Alibaba. Additionally, they may just be a supplier and not actually manufacture the goods themselves.

      If you do try to work with them, make sure you do so through safe channels such as Alibaba Trade Assurance or, at the very least, PayPal. And always be sure to get plenty of samples to inspect the quality of what they’re trying to sell you.

      In the next couple weeks, Kym, Lenny, Becky, Greg, and I will discuss import and sourcing methods in the Genius Series, and that’ll shed even more light on this topic.

      But please feel free to ask plenty of questions here in the comments so we can help!

  57. Hello Kym, thanks for the article and all your responses! very helpful stuff!

    I find this wholesale model very interesting, however, I have a concern. Let’s take the same example given in the article. Assuming you can negotiate a 30% margin with the manufacturer, you would buy each unit of Vitamin C at $20,965 ($29,95 – 30%). But, if you sell each unit at $29,95, Amazon will charge an FBA fee of $ 7,49/unit, leaving you $ 1,495/unit. This represents roughly a %5 margin. If we take the 484 estimated sales per month, this represents $723 profit/month.

    In addition, we didn’t include any other transportation and/or warehousing and/or prep center fees. How is this model profitable? Am I missing something? are FBA fees calculated differently for wholesales products?

    Thanks,

  58. As a newbie, what’s your best advice for finding products? I’m using JS but seems that many of the products I find are already sold by Amazon or the brand itself. Any more tips would be greatly appreciated. At this point, I’m looking for one product and it’s like a needle in a haystack.

  59. I enjoyed this article. It’s given me a lot of good information. I viewed a recent wholesale site where they charge close to $2000 to teach the same methods you provided here. This articles makes more economic sense. I’d like more information about private labels and where do you begin your search?

    1. Hey Jessie, glad that you found it helpful. The best place to learn would be our content, of course! πŸ˜‰ The Million Dollar Case Study is probably the most comprehensive content, so a good place to start is there!

      Gen

  60. Hello Kym!

    Thank you for your great feedback! I am just starting and narrowing down my research on a product. Question though, I get private labeling and Wholesale, but let’s say I was going to sell in baby, for example, if my product was a baby bottle. Lets say my company was going to be “Baby Bottle” If babybottle.com is taken, it doesn’t mean there is an actual company and I could still use the private label “Baby bottle” for example… or it may make more sense to go wholesale, but i really want to do private label, just dont want to infringe on anyone else’s product. Where do i begin to see if my private label is an actual company and not just a URL?

    Thank You!

    1. Hey Chuck,

      If you have already set your heart on becoming a private label seller, and you have found a product that you don’t think would be viable as a private label item, then it’s probably best to move on with your research and find other products. Rather than to consider if you should sell that same product as a Wholesaler. The criteria for a wholesale product and a private label product are quite different. This post covers wholesale, but for more detailed information about finding private label products, make sure you check out our Million Dollar Case Study.

      Usually, Amazon sellers will adopt either a Private Label business model or a Wholesale model. I would be super interested to hear from any sellers who mix the two!? πŸ™‚

      Thanks for reading & make sure you check out the Million Dollar Case Study!
      Kym

  61. Hi Kym, Great stuff here. I have a question as to how this differs from selling an already Merchant fulfilled product using the FBA model? Thanks for the insight!

    1. Hey Philip,

      Thanks for reading! I think what you mean is the same as the Wholesale method. If you are selling a branded product which you are buying from the manufacturer as a reseller, and selling using the FBA model, then this is considered Wholesale.

      Kym

      1. Hey Kim will you send me an email please? I would like to ask about potentially starting my wholesale business.

  62. I really want to try this and get involved. It is frustrating though because Dan’s class is closed and I need to find some more info before I jump in.

    If anyone as anymore steps on how to do this…much appreciated!

  63. Sorry I am confused.
    In this article, If i am not mistaken, LivOn vit C manufacture is LivOn Laboratories?
    If it is, then out of those 7 sellers, LivOn Laboratories is one of those sellers.
    1) So the manufacture allow other sellers (911 Health Stop, Health Media….) sell their stuffs, why would theydo that? Why wouldn’t they be exclusive seller for their own products that they spend so much money creating it?
    2) When you search LivOn Vitamin C, LivOn Laboratories Lypo-Spheric has the main BUY BOX. So how can other 7 seller make money if all customer do is to buy from LivOn Laboratories Lypo-Spheric? I don’t get this concept.
    a) 3,388 and divide this by 7. The scores on the doors? 484 estimated sales per month. isn’t 3,388 sales all belong to LivOn Laboratories?

    1. Hey Quan,

      Correct LivOn are the manufacturer. But there are several other sellers selling their products as approved wholesalers. The buy box will cycle through these sellers. If you check the listing a few times, you will see that the “sold by” will cycle through different sellers: https://cl.ly/jqTa

      Many consumers may not even notice they are not buying the item directly from the manufacturer, and some consumers just assume they are buying direct from Amazon anyway.

      Why would LivOn do that? Increased sales and exposure for their brand most likely. All brands will take a different stance on this, but the key thing to remember is that they are generally big businesses with lots of other priorities. They will want a presence on Amazon, but by enabling other brands in their niche to sell their product too, they benefit from increased sales and visibility. Think of how big brands distribute their products across several physical stores!

      A wholesale business can negotiate a good agreement with a brand manufacturer by offering added guidance and advise on improving the product listing, to increase sales velocity for them, and all approved sellers competing for the buy box.

      Hope that helps explain better.

      Thanks for reading!

    1. Hey,

      Good question. One of the key benefits of wholesale that Dan mentioned in the Webinar is that you don’t have to spend so much time creating and optimizing listings (compared to being a private labeler). This is because you are selling well-known brands and competing for the buy box on existing listings.

      However, he did also mention in that one thing you can do when negotiating with manufacturers is offer added value to their brand, as someone who knows how Amazon works. For example, better product photography, product reviews or listing optimization.

      Oftentimes, you can still edit a listing even though you were not the one who created it! So as a reseller, you might be able to improve the listing, which would increase sales for that product. Obviously, if you are super competitive on the buy box it will increase your sales too!

      Thanks for reading,
      Kym

  64. Hi Greg and gang, I accidentally became a wholesaler about a year ago. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t even know what a “buy box” was, lol. I made roughly a 20% profit in one month of selling about $700 worth of various branded, wholesale products (I bought minimum cases from the manufacturers). I was using FBA for my own website eStore, and happened to click the “sell on Amazon, too” features in Seller Central. Not one sale on my own website, lol. But, sold out quickly on Amazon! So, I do think this is a viable method. Imagine what someone could do with the knowledge you provided here! I’ve learned a LOT since then, thanks to you! I’m a different man now. One thing to note is feedback. Not sure how reviews are done, or if that even matters to a wholesaler. We got a few seller reviews, not product reviews (people loved us, because they got that fast, Prime delivery!). A seller review is probably more important for this model. Thanks for such a knowledgeable post, and for being so generous with all you’ve learned!

    1. Hi Raj – what an amazing comment, glad to hear of your success and glad that we could help you along the way.

      Really interesting point about feedback and reviews when it comes to Wholesale. I am intrigued… do you actively put efforts in to try and get seller feedback as a Wholesale Seller?

      Would you say it depends on how well established the brand/product is when it comes to product reviews being effective as a Wholesaler?

      Thanks for reading and sharing your successes and insights!

      Kym

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *