How to Sell on Amazon Without Inventory as a Beginner

Do you want to start selling on Amazon but don’t have the funds for inventory? In this blog post, I’m going to show you how complete beginners are making $100 to $800 a day without any inventory and no prior experience. Yes, it’s possible, and you don’t need to invest in expensive software or even sign up for Amazon’s professional seller plan. Let’s dive into two powerful methods that allow you to sell on Amazon without having to stock up on products.

The Traditional Amazon FBA Route: Why It’s Risky

Most new Amazon sellers go the traditional route, finding products that have high demand but low competition. Then they utilize Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) to manage storage, packing, shipping, and customer service. While FBA is a fantastic service, it comes with some significant downsides:

• Upfront Capital: You need to purchase inventory, design packaging, and ship it to Amazon’s warehouses, all before making a single sale.
• Cash Flow: Once your inventory sells out, you need to have the funds ready to restock.
• Risk: There’s no guarantee that your product will sell, meaning you could lose your investment.

But here’s the thing: inventory isn’t the key to success on Amazon—it’s getting your product ranked on the first page of search results. Just like Google or YouTube, the top results on Amazon get the most attention and sales. In fact, over 70% of all online sales happen on the first page.

So, how do you get your product ranked without spending on inventory? Amazon offers two methods to do just that!

Option #1: Amazon Merch on Demand

Amazon’s Merch on Demand platform allows you to sell custom-designed products, like t-shirts and hoodies, without needing to buy or store any inventory. Amazon handles the entire process: they print your design, package, ship it, and handle all the customer service. All you need to do is upload a design and set your price.

Steps to Get Started with Amazon Merch on Demand:

1. Find a Popular Niche:

   • Search for inspiration on sites like Pinterest or Etsy.
   • For example, if you look up cat-themed t-shirts or sports designs, you can spot trending ideas by seeing which items have high engagement or reviews.

2. Create or Commission a Design:

   • Not an artist? No problem! You can hire a designer on Upwork or Fiverr for as little as $2 to $5 per design.
   • If you want to try it yourself, use Canva to create simple yet effective designs for free. Canva even has t-shirt templates you can use!

3. Upload Your Design to Amazon:

   • Once you have your design ready, upload it to Amazon, set a price, and optimize the listing with relevant keywords to get ranked in search results.

4. Use the “Shotgun Strategy”:

   • Upload multiple designs in different niches to see which one catches on. This is a numbers game—more designs give you a better chance of ranking on the first page and generating sales.

The Key Benefits:

• No upfront costs: You don’t pay for inventory, and you only make a profit when a sale is made.
• Zero risk: Since there’s no inventory investment, the risk of losing money is eliminated.
• Scalable: Once you start making sales, you can reinvest your earnings into more designs or other business ventures, like private label products.

Option #2: Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)

The second method is through Amazon KDP, which stands for Kindle Direct Publishing. This platform allows you to publish eBooks for free, making them available to millions of readers worldwide. And, just like Merch on Demand, you don’t need to invest in inventory or pay any fees to get started.

How KDP Works:

1. Find a Popular Topic:

   • Use Google Trends to see what’s currently trending. For example, at the time of writing, topics like ChatGPT or fitness are extremely popular.
   • You can also explore trending niches like weight loss, self-help, or finance to find topics that people are actively searching for on Amazon.

2. Write an eBook:

   • Not a writer? That’s okay! You can use ChatGPT to help you create content. For example, you can prompt ChatGPT to write a 20-page eBook explaining how to use ChatGPT for beginners or any other topic.
   • Simply take the generated content, format it, and convert it into a PDF.

3. Monetize with Affiliate Marketing:

   • Publish your eBook for free on Amazon, and within the content, include affiliate links to products related to your eBook’s topic.
   • For instance, if you’re writing an eBook about fitness, you can promote health supplements from Clickbank.com and earn commissions from every sale made through your affiliate link.

   Niche Example	Affiliate Product	Commission
   Fitness	Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic	$138 per sale
   Self-Help	Personal Development Program	$75 per sale
   Finance	Stock Trading Course	$100 per sale

Why KDP Works:

• Free to start: No cost to set up an account or publish an eBook.
• High profit margins: Earn royalties on every sale, and if you include affiliate marketing, you can earn even more.
• Large audience: Millions of people use Amazon to search for eBooks, and they’re ready to buy, not just browsing for information like on Google.

How You Can Scale Up from Here

Once you start generating income with either of these methods, you can reinvest your earnings into growing your business. Many sellers eventually transition into private labeling, where they launch their own branded products on Amazon FBA. With the profits you earn from Merch on Demand or KDP, you’ll have the capital to start building a successful Amazon business without taking on the risk of upfront inventory costs.