In this article, I’ll be sharing my 10 Amazon Money-Saving tips when doing online arbitrage.
Everyone who is interested in online arbitrage is well aware that it can come with a lot of expenses. Amazon fees alone can take a significant chunk out of your profits, and that’s not even taking into account other expenses like tools and prep centers. With all of these costs to consider, it’s essential to think about saving money wherever you can.
Topic Rundown:
- Why is saving money important?
- 10 Amazon Money-Saving Tips
Why is saving money important?
Saving money is crucial for any type of business, especially for those selling on Amazon and using the FBA program. These types of businesses require payment of numerous fees to Amazon, including storage fees, variable closing fees, fulfillment fees, referral fees, and more.
Additionally, Amazon sellers must also pay for tools such as sourcing tools and profit calculators, as well as administrative costs like accounting and prep centers.
With so many fees to cover, profits can quickly disappear if proper Amazon money-saving strategies are not implemented. Failing to save money can quickly eat away at profits and even result in losses for your business. Therefore, you have to prioritize saving money and implementing money-saving techniques to ensure your business stays profitable in the long run.
10 Amazon Money-Saving Tips
1. Buy Discounted Items
This may seem like an obvious strategy, but taking advantage of clearance sales can be a great way to obtain items at significantly reduced prices. During clearance sales, retailers offer large discounts on their products, allowing you to purchase more items at lower costs. Which, in return, can make your items more profitable. By being on the lookout for discounted items, you can save money and increase your profits when buying goods for your Amazon business.
2. Ask for discounts from your suppliers
Another great tip for saving money in your Amazon business is to negotiate discounts when buying in bulk from your suppliers. While this is not a common practice, it can be an effective way to save money on your purchases. By making a bulk deal with your suppliers, you can get a discount that you wouldn’t receive otherwise. This tactic is particularly useful when you have numerous orders coming through, and it can work well with online arbitrage. By negotiating for discounts, you can save more cash than your normal purchasing cost, which can be used to cover your expenses or keep your profits.
What happens when they say no?
If a supplier initially rejects your request for a discount, don’t be afraid to ask them how much the order value needs to be to receive a discount. Sometimes, it may only require a small increase in the order value to get a significant discount. By negotiating for discounts when buying in bulk, you can potentially save a substantial amount of money and make a positive impact on your business’s bottom line.
3. Maximize cashback
Cashback strategies can be a game-changer for your Amazon business. Cashback is essentially earning a portion of the purchase price back from the amount you spent buying a product.
For example, if you get 10% cashback on a $100 purchase, you’ll receive $10 back. You can earn cashback from various sources, such as cashback websites, e-wallets, or even credit cards. By incorporating a good cashback strategy, you can earn up to a thousand dollars or more per month. This extra cash can help you generate more profits and cover your expenses.
To maximize your cashback earning, consider utilizing cashback websites or credit cards that offer cashback rewards. Earning cashback on almost every purchase you make, you can quickly accumulate extra cash that can be reinvested back into your business.
To learn more about cashback strategies, check out my video on the ultimate cashback strategy. In the video, I provide valuable tips that can help you generate extra cashback in your business, allowing you to save money and increase your profits.
4. Always reevaluate your fixed costs
One cost-cutting technique that many large corporations used to keep their operations lean is to review their fixed costs regularly. Personally, I also go through this process once a month and ask myself if each cost is necessary or not. If the answer isn’t a resounding “yes,” then it’s likely that I can cancel the cost. This approach ensures that I’m only paying for things that are essential to my business.
Incorporating this cost-cutting technique into your Amazon business can help you trim costs and keep your operation lean. Make it a point to reevaluate and question your fixed costs regularly to ensure you’re only paying for what you truly need.
5. Check the FBA fees of the product
It’s recommended to create a list of your top-selling products and check their dimensions on the FBA fee calculator or Amazon revenue calculator. If the dimensions on the calculator are greater than the product’s actual size, you may be overpaying for FBA fees. In this case, you can contact Amazon seller support and raise a case to reclaim the overpaid fees. Many sellers have been able to get refunds from Amazon by raising such cases.
In addition to checking FBA fees before selling products, it’s also important to do so before purchasing them. For instance, ordering a 6-foot goal post without checking the shipping and prep center fees can be costly. So, always check the FBA fees and sizes of the products you’re purchasing to avoid unexpected expenses.
If you want to learn more about Amazon FBA fees, watch this video, where I explain everything in detail.
Get the FREE Ultimate Amazon Ungating Guide
The Ultimate Amazon Ungating Guide is based on my own experience selling through Amazon Arbitrage. I discuss what ungating is and why it happenes, and list down how I ungate profitable categories and brands to help you in your business.
- 3 ungating hacks
- Learn the types of restrictions you'll encounter
- UK suppliers to get you ungated
- US suppliers to get you ungated
- Amazon requirements for ungating
- Do your own analysis on the suppliers
6. Use a cost-effective prep-center
If you use a prep center to ship your products to Amazon from your suppliers, this tip can help you save money. The more units you ship, the less cost you’ll pay per unit. It’s recommended to have a conversation with your prep center to see how many more units you need to ship to bring the price per unit down. Many prep centers offer one price for a certain number of units per month, and increasing the volumes can reduce the cost per unit.
For example, increasing your volume by just an extra 100 units per month can bring the price per unit down from $60 to $50. This small change can add up quickly, resulting in significant savings over time.
7. Use thermal printers
If you’re prepping products yourself, using a thermal printer can help you save money. When printing your barcodes or labels, thermal printers are more cost-effective because they don’t require ink refills like inkjet printers. Ink can be expensive, and using a thermal printer eliminates the need for constant ink refills. Many Amazon sellers have found that using a thermal printer is more efficient and cost-effective for their operations. It’s a onetime investment that can save you money.
8. Change your subscription plan to yearly
Many software companies offer discounts on yearly subscriptions, making it a cost-effective option for Amazon sellers. Check with your software provider to see if they offer a discount on yearly subscriptions. If they do, switch your monthly subscription plan to a yearly plan to save money. Taking advantage of these discounts can free up cash flow and use it to cover other expenses in your business.
9. Share software with other Amazon sellers
This is a great option for new Amazon sellers who are looking to keep their fixed costs low. For example, if you and another seller are both using the same calculator software, why not split the cost and use one license each? You can also share the software with multiple sellers, reducing the overall cost of subscriptions.
10. Ask refund for untouched account
This final Amazon money-saving tip is for new sellers who haven’t sold anything yet but have been charged by Amazon. If this is the case, don’t worry – you can contact Seller Central and request a refund for the months you haven’t made any sales. While this isn’t outlined in their terms and conditions, we’ve seen other sellers successfully request refunds by simply asking nicely.
Save money in your Amazon business today!
Now that you know the 10 Amazon Money-Saving Tips, I hope that this can help you save more while you grow your own Amazon business. Saving money is essential to running a successful Amazon business. Use these top tips to trim your expenses and maximize your profits.
To learn more about online arbitrage: the how and the can. Read our articles about it.