The vast changes I have made in my business over the last year are crazy. Back in the day, a whole year ago, I thought FBA was a waste of my time. First, I never thought I would be selling this much on Amazon. Second, I believed I could package orders myself and make a few extra dollars. Those two thought were mistakes. From the first merchant fulfilled sale to my first shipment to FBA, I have totally changed my thoughts on what having Amazon and FBA would mean for my business.
My first misconception was that I did not sell products that were suited for the Amazon marketplace. I did not sell a lot of books or music. I focused on collectables and antiques. A year ago my thoughts on Amazon were that it would be a good way to sell the cheap books, DVD’s, and CD’s I always passed up at auctions. Boy has that changed!!
I never thought it would become the monster it has for my business over the last 12 months, but the vast amount of things sold on Amazon is incredible. I still do not sell many books or CD’s, which was what I thought people were selling on Amazon. New products sourced from retail stores has gone from 5-10% of my business to 65-70%. Who would of thought money could be made straight from the shelves at a Walmart!
My second misconception, I could package orders myself and make a few extra dollars. I knew this was wrong very early on. I can remember making a video on Youtube the day after posting a large amount of new products on Amazon. I said “be prepared to ship what you post because it is going to sell.” I was not prepared and after spending a couple of hours packaging I was worn out. Not only that I was spending all my time packing the stuff I sold, but I did not have any time to buy more stuff to sell.
Today, I sell over a hundred products a day, and I was tired from the day I sold 30. Using Amazon’s FBA program not only keeps me from being tired all the time, but it allows me to source more products and grow. I can spend my time doing the only thing that really makes me money buying more stuff to sell.
If I am doing the same things a year from now as I am today. I will not only be behind the curve, but I will be disappointed in myself. I am bigger and better today because of the things I learned from my mistakes and the changes I made. Change is a good thing and makes us stronger. So, look for ways you can change and become better at what you do.