Hello! Today I’m sharing an in-depth interview that explains how to work from home selling on Amazon FBA. I recently spoke with Jessica Larrew of The Selling Family, who outlines how this business model can be a realistic income source. She’s a friend and her success is impressive.
In their first year running an Amazon FBA business while working under 20 hours per week combined, Jessica and her family generated over six figures in profit.
If you’re exploring a new job, side hustle, or a way to work from home, selling on Amazon FBA could be worth investigating.
Read the interview below for practical details on how to work from home by selling on Amazon FBA.
If you want to learn more about starting an Amazon business, consider signing up for a free training that teaches how to sell products on Amazon and potentially earn $100 to $500 per day.
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How you can make money selling on Amazon FBA
Tell us a little about your background, how you started selling on Amazon FBA, and how things are going now.
My path to becoming an online entrepreneur began with hobbies that turned into income. I started a blog about saving money in my twenties and shared couponing tips. Couponing led to a small side income from selling on eBay. Back then I was newly married and treated selling as a hobby—finding bargains at yard sales and resale outlets and listing them on eBay.
When I lost my job in 2008 at age 23, I decided to pursue online selling full-time. I invested my last paycheck into inventory from yard sales and was able to replace my prior income within a few months.
After about a year selling thrift and yard sale finds on eBay, I wanted to scale. But scaling on eBay demanded much more time: listing every item from scratch and shipping every order myself. I joined eBay seller groups and began hearing about people making money on Amazon without many of eBay’s hassles.
I tried selling books on Amazon in 2010 but didn’t stick with it. Later that year I tried retail arbitrage—buying discounted retail products and reselling them on Amazon—and I was hooked. Amazon handled individual order fulfillment, which made the process far more scalable.
I set a goal to replace my husband Cliff’s income so he could stay home with our newborn. Within roughly a year he was able to quit a job he disliked. We had replaced nearly $5,000 per month while I worked evenings and weekends.
In our first full year selling full time together, we generated almost $300,000 in sales and netted close to $100,000 in profit. That was life changing and allowed us to work from home and spend time with our son.
Five-plus years into running an online business full time, I still love it. Our Amazon business has evolved into new niches and sourcing methods, but at its core it’s still buying discounted items and reselling for profit. We don’t aim to be the largest sellers—our goal is steady income of a few thousand dollars per month and to concentrate effort in Q4 when we often make $25,000+ in a few months, which supports the rest of the year.
What exactly is an Amazon FBA business? Can you explain it for beginners?
Even after five years I find it a bit tricky to explain in one sentence, but here’s the essence:
Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) lets you sell products on Amazon while Amazon handles storage, packing, shipping, and customer service. You source and own the products; Amazon stores your inventory in their fulfillment centers. When an item sells, Amazon picks, packs, and ships it to the buyer, and handles customer support for the order.
Many Amazon listings are offered by third-party sellers. Items labeled “sold by [seller] and shipped by Amazon” indicate FBA sellers. FBA items often qualify for Prime two-day shipping, which is a major advantage because Prime members value fast shipping and are frequent buyers.
One benefit of selling on Amazon rather than building your own ecommerce platform is leveraging Amazon’s traffic, credibility, and advertising—Amazon brings customers to the marketplace and many buyers remain loyal.
FBA allows sellers to scale without employees or personal warehouses because Amazon does the heavy lifting. Our core method is retail arbitrage: we buy discounted products at retail stores and resell them on Amazon, filling demand for items Amazon doesn’t have in stock. Retail arbitrage is an accessible way to get started, though there are other sourcing strategies.
What stores do you source inventory from?
We source in a few ways. A primary source is local liquidation and discount retailers—stores that sell overstock or manufacturer-discontinued products at steep discounts. Examples include Big Lots and Grocery Outlet. These stores often carry items we can resell at or above their original retail price while still earning a profit.
We also shop retail stores, focusing on clearance items. Drugstores with clearance sections are favorites; finding items at 75% off that can resell near retail can yield substantial returns. Walgreens and Rite Aid are common picks.
How do you decide what to buy?
We use a barcode scanning app on our phones tied to an Amazon seller account. Scanning a product’s barcode reveals current Amazon sale prices, sales rank, number of sellers, and estimated payout after fees. This data helps determine whether a product is profitable after factoring in purchase cost.
Even if an item looks profitable, we evaluate additional factors: whether Amazon itself is selling the product (we avoid competing with Amazon when possible) and the product’s sales rank (a high rank may mean slow sales). The decision blends data from the app with practical judgement.
How are items priced?
Most items we sell already exist on Amazon with multiple sellers, so we aim to price competitively. Amazon rotates which seller wins the “Buy Box” (the buy button displayed on a product page) among sellers within a similar price range. Pricing too high can exclude you from the rotation; pricing too low can trigger a price war that hurts seller profits.
When purchasing inventory, we confirm via the app that current prices would yield a profit. If so, we purchase and list at a similar price so our listings remain competitive.
How much can a new Amazon FBA seller expect to make, and what about after a year?
Income varies widely and depends largely on how much you invest in inventory and how many items you move. It’s not like an hourly wage; it’s tied to inventory turnover and reinvestment.
A simple estimate: take your starting investment. If you reinvest all proceeds for the first three months, you should begin to see consistent profit and be able to withdraw earnings thereafter. Sellers who invest thousands upfront will typically scale faster than those starting with just a few hundred dollars. If you withdraw profits immediately, growth slows and outcomes depend on how quickly you restock and sell inventory.
What do you enjoy about selling on Amazon FBA?
My favorite thing is the freedom to choose when and how much I work. Spend more hours sourcing and buying inventory and you’ll likely earn more. Work less and maintain smaller income—this flexibility lets me prioritize family time.
We concentrate effort in Q4 to build a cushion, then take more time off during the rest of the year. There’s no employer dictating hours—no punch clock—so long as we follow Amazon’s policies.
FBA is also a family activity: my husband and I source together, our son helps label when he wants to, and sometimes my mom pitches in. It’s flexible and collaborative.
How can someone start an Amazon FBA business?
Starting is straightforward compared to many businesses. The three main steps are: set up a seller account, source inventory, and list and send products to Amazon. You can test the concept by checking items you already own—many people have new, boxed items in their homes that resell for retail price or higher.
To experiment in stores, create an Amazon seller account and download the Amazon Seller app. Use it to scan clearance items and compare Amazon prices instantly.
What does it cost to start and maintain an FBA business?
You can start with a small budget, but an ideal beginner investment is around $1,000 to cover training, essential tools, and initial inventory. Training isn’t required, but it can save time and reduce mistakes.
Main recurring expenses include:
- Inventory – the primary variable cost. Your investment level determines potential income.
- Scanning app – free options exist, but paid apps ($10–$50/month) speed up sourcing and often pay for themselves.
- Amazon Pro Merchant account – optional but cost-effective if you sell over 40 items monthly. It costs about $40/month and replaces per-item fees that would otherwise apply.
- Shipping and supplies – boxes, tape, product labels, and shipping labels. Once you have basics, ongoing costs can be modest, sometimes under $10/month depending on volume.
Additional subscription tools can enhance productivity but aren’t necessary at the start. As you grow, consider tools to automate and streamline operations.
Any final tips for someone interested in trying Amazon FBA?
Amazon FBA can sound too good to be true, but it’s a legitimate business that requires dedication. Starting is easy; building a consistent, profitable business takes time and effort. Treat it as a real business, not a get-rich-quick scheme. Inventory must be sourced and regularly sent to Amazon to maintain sales.
Over time you can develop systems to reduce workload, but expect more effort up front. If your goal is a few hundred dollars a month, a few shopping trips and weekly shipments can achieve that. Earning thousands will require more hours and reinvestment.
If you’re overwhelmed by different methods, pick one approach—retail arbitrage is our recommended entry point because of its low barrier to entry—and stick with it long enough to assess results before switching strategies.
What do your courses teach and who has found success?
Our primary course, Amazon Boot Camp, walks new sellers from concept to making their first sales and beyond. It covers account setup, using scanning apps and interpreting data, finding products with four sourcing methods, sending products to Amazon, and managing your seller account. The goal is to provide a solid foundation so new sellers avoid common mistakes.
Students come from diverse backgrounds. One woman started to cover a car payment and now earns a few thousand dollars a month. Another mom covered her daughter’s college payment through Amazon sales. Some students have surpassed $100,000 per year selling on Amazon. Our students range from high schoolers to retirees in their late 70s, demonstrating the accessibility of this business model.
For established sellers, we offer advanced courses to expand into additional niches and strategies.
I hope you enjoyed this interview. At over 3,500 words originally, it’s a long, informative conversation. Are you interested in learning how to work from home selling on Amazon FBA? Would you like to learn the steps to start selling for Amazon from home?