7 Best Places to Buy For Amazon FBA (with increased profit!)

Amazon has over 2 million third-party sellers, but only 44% claim that their businesses have outperformed their expectations.

So, what is the difference between successful sellers on Amazon and unsuccessful? The answer could be where they buy products to sell on Amazon FBA. Finding the best place to buy products for your Amazon store can improve your profits significantly.

In this article, we will look at some of the top options for sourcing products for Amazon FBA to help you make informed decisions and set yourself up for success.

You might also enjoy reading: Most Popular Products on Amazon FBA (With helpful tips!)

Where to Buy to Sell on Amazon FBA

You can buy inventories to sell on Amazon FBA in the following places:

Buy from big box stores
Buy wholesale from manufacturers.
Buy from B2B marketplaces
Create Your Own Products
Sell Print-on-demand
Drop Shipping
Auctions and Thrift Stores

Let’s discuss each of them.

1- Buy From Big Box Stores (Retail Arbitrage)

Big boxes retail stores like Target, Walmart, CVS, Big Lots, and Walgreens are excellent inventory sources. Sometimes they sell products even at 75% off retail, meaning you can buy at a discounted rate and resell them on Amazon for a profit.

While it is true that retail arbitrage is time-consuming (driving to various big box stores), it doesn’t require huge capital.

Furthermore, once you know what’s selling higher on Amazon on a given day and the costs, you can calculate and predict your profits from retail arbitrage goods.

But what if you are not a math guru? Worry not; Amazon pricing apps can scan item UPS codes, matching them to the current product listing.

And with this information, you can establish each product’s average selling price and potential profit. You will also know if buying the product is worth it and the correct quantity based on the overall demand.

Pros of Retail Arbitrage:

It is economical for beginners.
Low barrier to entry
High-profit potential
You can do Retail arbitrage on your own schedule.

Cons of Retail Arbitrage:

Always chasing discounted products make it challenging to build a consistent business.
Limited scalability
Competitive market
Requires time and effort
Risk of counterfeit products

2- Buy Wholesale From Manufacturers

Buying products in bulk directly from manufacturers to sell on Amazon is another way to source inventories.

If you have considerable capital, it is an easy entry into e-commerce.

Established manufacturers often sell their products at lower prices. You can then resell these products in your Amazon store at a higher price and realize profits. And the best part is that most wholesale products already have a sale rank or demand.

But how do you get wholesale suppliers? You can source them from online wholesale marketplaces such as Thomasnet and Alibaba.com. We’ll cover Alibaba to Amazon in a while.

Alternatively, you can find manufacturers at trade shows and with your industry buyers’ market.

Pros Of Buying Wholesale From Manufacturers:

Lower prices
Better inventory control (you avoid running out of stock)
Access to exclusive products
Consistent quality
Long-term relationships
Branding opportunities

Cons Of Buying Wholesale From Manufacturers:

Manufacturers often require large minimum order quantities, burdening new sellers without financial support.
Lack of brand control because you sell already branded products.
Shipping and handling costs can add up quickly with large quantities and reduce your profits.
Manufacturers may offer a limited range of products.

3- Buy From B2B Marketplaces

Many experienced Amazon sellers outsource different products from B2B marketplaces. Manufacturers on these platforms often sell bulk orders at a discount, allowing you to sell on Amazon at a higher price for a profit.

Some top B2B marketplaces you can source your inventory include:

Alibaba.com: The largest B2B wholesale marketplace
ThomasNet: It has over 500,000 suppliers and is one of the best online B2B seller platforms.
IndiaMart: India’s best B2B marketplace similar to Alibaba.
eWorldTrade: A US-based B2B marketplace and the world’s fastest-growing portal.

Many private-label Amazon sellers get their products from Alibaba to Amazon FBA and profit from the deals. However, if you don’t know how Alibaba works, you could make losses with your private label business.

So, research which product to sell, which manufacturers to contact, and how to avoid counterfeit products.

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Pros Of Buying From B2B Marketplaces:

Access to a wide range of products.
Competitive pricing than retail prices.
You have access to large quantities to scale your Amazon business.
Access to unique products not readily available on Amazon.

Cons Of Buying From B2B Marketplaces:

Limited control over the quality of the products and the speed of delivery
Lower profit margins because of packaging, labeling, and shipping costs.
Increased competition as several Amazon sellers flocks to B2B marketplaces.
Some B2B marketplaces require minimum order quantities, which can limit small businesses.

4- Create Your Own Products

Instead of sourcing others’ products, you can make and sell your own on Amazon. If you love to craft, you can use this skill to make your product. Whether it is clothing, jewelry, candles, lipstick, mascaras, or books, you can sell them on Amazon for a profit.

Pros Of Creating Your Own Products:

You have complete control over the design, production, and marketing.
You can build a unique brand and identity from the competition.
You have the potential to earn higher profits than reselling other products.
Intellectual property over unique products

Cons Of Creating Your Own Products:

High startup costs
It is time-consuming
There is no guarantee you’ll succeed.
Stiff competition from other sellers selling similar products

5- Sell Print-On-Demand

Print-on-demand is one way to make money with e-commerce, and you have two ways to do this on Amazon.

First, you can source for products like t-shirts, cups, mugs, stationery, or gowns from suppliers, print your designs on them, and sell them on Amazon.

Alternatively, you can join Amazon print-on-demand, upload your designs, select the product you intend to sell, and let Amazon do the rest. Many sellers choose the latter option because you won’t hassle with packaging and shipping.

To make more money, you can settle for low-competition niches for your print-on-demand services.

Pros Of Selling Print-On-Demand:

Low startup costs
Wide range of products
Easy to set up
You can scale your business quickly and easily.

Cons Of Selling Print-On-Demand:

Print-on-demand is a popular and competitive market.
Limited control over production.
Print-on-demand services charge a fee for each product sold, thus lowering the profit margins.

6- Dropshipping

Drop shipping is a simple way to make money selling things on Amazon without physically handling goods. It is an easy entrance into e-commerce for beginners with little money to buy and sell online.

Here is how you do Amazon dropshipping.

Create an Amazon selling account.
Fill it with the products you support
Market your products
Wait for orders.

You act like a broker or a bridge between the manufacturer and the buyer. The customer places an order in your store, and you then forward the order to the supplier or warehouse. The supplier processes the order and ships the product to the customer. You receive the payment and pay the cost of the goods to the supplier while retaining the profit.

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Pros Of Dropshipping:

Low startup costs as you don’t invest in inventory
No storage space needed
You can drop-ship a wide range of products
Easy to scale

Cons Of Dropshipping:

Limited control over product quality
It is a popular and competitive business model, hence high competition.
Shipping and inventory issues
Finding reliable suppliers can be difficult, and working with unreliable suppliers can lead to issues such as low-quality products, inventory shortages, and shipping delays.

7- Auction and Thrift Stores

Auctions and thrift stores are excellent sources of products to sell on Amazon. You can visit your local auction or thrift store and source quality products, ranging from books to clothing to homewares.

Alternatively, you can source products from online auction stores like Auctionzip.com or eBay. Learn more from this article on the pros and cons of eBay selling.

Pro Tip: Just ensure the products are of high quality. Faulty products can lead to bad customer reviews and complaints that injure your store.

Pros Of Buying Products From Auction and Thrift Stores:

Since you buy products at low prices, you can profit more when reselling them on Amazon.
Auctions and thrift stores often offer unique, one-of-a-kind items that are difficult to find elsewhere.
Thrift stores and auctions often have a large selection of products.

Cons Of Buying Products From Auction and Thrift Stores:

The selection at auctions and thrift stores is often limited and unpredictable.
Some items sold at auctions and thrift stores may have defects, damage, or other quality issues.
Many auctions and thrift stores have strict no-return policies.
Shopping at auctions and thrift stores is time-consuming, as you may need to visit multiple stores.
Most items sold at auctions and thrift stores don’t have a warranty or guarantee of quality.

How to Find Products to Sell on Amazon?

We assume you already know the products you want to sell on Amazon before you look for sources. However, if you haven’t figured out which products to sell, it is essential to know popular product categories on the platform.

And because these categories can change from year to year or season to season, do your homework using Amazon’s best-selling page to jumpstart your store on high.

Here’s the current list of the best product to sell on Amazon FBA:

Category	% of sellers
Beauty & Personal Care	30
Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry	27
Home & Kitchen	30
Electronics	22
Arts, Crafts & Sewing	23
Sports & Outdoors	21
Health, Household & Baby Care	21
Toys & Games	20

Table Displays a List of The Best Product to Sell on Amazon FBA

However, the question is, how do you find a profitable product idea to sell on Amazon that matches your business goal?

Product Idea Comparison Techniques

Here is how you settle for a profitable product to sell on Amazon.

Use Google Trends to analyze demand: Google Trends is handy in discovering popular products and their demand.

For example, if you want to sell powdered peanut butter, you could search its popularity on Google Trends like this:

The trend shows that powdered peanut butter’s demand and popularity are rising.

Check for market gap: Identify products with high demand but few sellers. This will help you fill in the gap and customize your product to stand out among a few competitors.

Competition is often high in saturated product categories. You can avoid them as a newbie.

Profit margins: Products with high-profit margins are ideal even if their demand is not as high as other items.

But if you settle for low-profit margin products, you’ll need to sell large quantities before making a reasonable profit.

Competitor customer review: Before selling on Amazon, peruse your competitors’ shops for customer reviews and feedback on similar products you want to sell.

This will help you understand what your potential customers look for, their frustration, and their desired improvements. Sell products that solve these problems.

Regulation: Amazon restricts certain products, so check its list of prohibited items. Otherwise, the platform could blacklist your account for flaunting guidelines.

Shipping cost: Some popular products are expensive to store and ship. So, while you may want to sell them, they can affect your profitability. If you’re a new seller, I recommend starting with lightweight products like books and clothing to avoid costly damages.

Availability: Your research could reveal seasonal, highly demanded products. But will demand plummet once the season ends?

If you only seasonal stock products, you will likely experience inconsistent sales.

Also, ensure that the product has more than one supplier. This allows you to restock even if your leading supplier goes out of business.

Use research tools: You can use relevant online research tools to compare product prices and performance.

Here are examples of tools you could explore.

These product comparison techniques will help you source products that can sell on Amazon. You want goods that hold your capital for only a short period.

FAQs

Is Amazon FBA Worth It?

Yes, Amazon FBA is worth your investment, with Jungle Scout reporting that 65% of Amazon FBA sellers make more than 10% profit, while 32% report over 20% profit margin.

Does Amazon Buy Products to Sell?

Yes, Amazon has 100+ private label brands on its site and in other markets, including automotive, food, beverage, electronics, and clothing. Other sellers with the same products have to compete with Amazon products.

Which Country is The Best for Amazon FBA?

When sourcing Amazon products, you can choose China, the United States, the UK, Canada, Singapore, Italy, South Korea, and Mexico.

Which Marketplace is Best for Amazon?

According to the 2022 Statista report, the United States takes the first slot as Amazon’s biggest market, with $365 billion in net sales. Germany comes second with a net sale of $33.6 billion, while the UK is third with $30 billion.

How Can I Find the Best Deals When Buying Products For Amazon FBA?

To find the best deals when buying products for Amazon FBA, consider using tools such as price comparison websites and deal aggregator apps. You can also negotiate with suppliers and purchase bulk at lower prices and better deals.

What Should I Consider When Choosing a Supplier for Amazon FBA Products?

When choosing a supplier for Amazon FBA products, consider product quality, pricing, shipping times, and customer service. Also, read reviews and testimonials from other customers to ensure the supplier is reliable and trustworthy.

Can I Purchase Products for Amazon FBA from Retail Stores?

Yes, you can purchase products for Amazon FBA from retail stores, but remember that there may be more cost-effective options. Retail prices are often higher than wholesale prices, and you may face restrictions on the number of items you can purchase.

What Are Some Common Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Products for Amazon FBA?

Common mistakes to avoid when buying products for Amazon FBA include:

Failing to research the market demand and competition
Not considering the total cost of goods, such as shipping and import fees
Not conducting due diligence on suppliers before making a purchase.
Buying counterfeit or infringing products.

In Conclusion

Choosing the best place to buy products for Amazon FBA is crucial for the success of your e-commerce business.

So do thorough research and consider quality, pricing, and customer service factors. Settle for reliable suppliers that meet your needs.

Whether you purchase from wholesale manufacturers, B2B marketplaces, big box retail stores, or create your own product, ensure it is the best deal to maximize your profits.