9 Ways to Make Money on Amazon

Let me first start with an ode to Amazon in the form of haiku:

Amazon my love.

You have everything I want.

Please give me money.

If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life it would definitely be Amazon. I would never run out of things to buy. Ever.

And the only thing that I love more than shopping on Amazon is being paid by Amazon. That’s right — with all those products come many ways for side hustlers and entrepreneurs to make money on the platform.

Whether you’re saving up for a family vacation or trying to pay off student loans , here are some of the easiest ways to make money for it on Amazon.

1. Handmade at Amazon

Handmade, Amazon’s alternative to Etsy, is a place for crafty people to sell jewelry, home decor, art, etc. While Etsy caters to small businesses more than Handmade, Amazon has a much broader audience that may be better for artisans with unique items that can’t be manufactured by the big guys.

Signing up for Handmade is easy, but Amazon takes more in fees than Etsy and requires a professional seller account that’ll set you back $39.99 per month. Still, crafters say it’s worth being on both platforms.

2. Merch by Amazon

If you have Photoshop or PicMonkey then you have everything you need to get started with Merch by Amazon . All you do is design graphics and funny quotes, upload them to Merch and Amazon handles the rest.

You price your own shirts and Amazon takes a percentage. Most people make anywhere from $3 to $7 per shirt, depending on the price. You start with 10 design slots available, and as you sell you get more slots. Making custom designs for friends and organizations is a great way to start out with Merch — they can shop your designs straight through Amazon.

3. Amazon FBA

Fulfilled by Amazon allows you to sell products while Amazon handles the packaging, shipping and returns. For people who love finding a deal, FBA will be a great fit for you.

There are two main ways people make money doing FBA. The first is retail arbitrage: you find low priced items and sell them at a higher price on Amazon. People make a lot of money doing this as long as they pick products that are currently in demand.

The second way to make money doing FBA is by is selling private label products. Private label means you create a product that’s not already in the marketplace. You can have one manufactured or you can create bundles of smaller existing products. Either way, the possibilities for making money through FBA are endless.

You can check out how we made money by reselling in Fulfillment by Amazon on The Penny Hoarder website.

4. Amazon Associates

The Amazon affiliate program known as Amazon Associates is well known by bloggers and online marketers . Anyone with influence can make money with Associates, but it takes time and effort.

After signing up for the program you can share links to Amazon products, and if someone clicks on the link, you’ll get a percentage of anything they buy on the site for the next 24 hours. The commision is only 4% to 10%, but since the product range is so broad, it’s an easy way to make a few dollars.

5. Kindle Direct Publishing

Self publishing on Amazon is a great way for people who love writing to make extra money. It’s easy to upload and you’ll keep 35% to 70% of every sale.

You will need to market your book for it to start bringing in the cash. Amazon gives you the option to give your book away for free for the first five days, and then you can stagger price increases until you have enough reviews to sell it for the price you want.

6. Mechanical Turk

mTurk is a way to pass the time and make a few dollars doing it. mTurk is Amazon’s service to businesses who need to outsource menial tasks for cheap. When you sign up for mTurk you can expect a lot of transcription, data entry, and data organizing.

It won’t pay enough to take you on vacation, but it could buy you a few dinners out. If you have time on your hands, it’s definitely worth checking out.

7. Amazon Flex

For anyone who likes driving but not with people, try Flex. With the popularity of same-day delivery, Amazon is calling on anyone with a car (or truck) and a smartphone to deliver packages to their final destination.

The hours and flexibility of work are great, and Amazon boasts that you’ll make $18 to $24 per hour. Unfortunately it’s only available in about 30 cities right now. If it’s in your area, this is definitely something you should check out.

8. Amazon Customer Service

Amazon’s customer service team is always hiring around the holidays for full- and part-time opportunities. They pay $10 per hour, and you can work from your PJ’s — win!

If you live in Arizona, Kentucky, Texas, West Virginia, Delaware, Minnesota, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, or Virginia, apply before the holiday rush to secure a spot and your Christmas money.

9. Amazon Trade-In

The Amazon Trade-In allows you to trade select used books, video games and electronics for Amazon gift cards. It doesn’t pay real dollars, but since Amazon has almost everything, gift cards are always useful.


Jen Smith is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites with more than 19 million monthly readers. In 2016, the Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder the 32nd fastest-growing private company and the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the United States.