Ever thought a stack of USED BOOKS could pave the way to a monthly sales figure of $1,000,000? Meet the entrepreneur who turned this dream into reality, leveraging the powerful platform of Amazon FBA. 📚 This isn't your typical rags-to-riches tale. It's about spotting opportunities where others see junk, and meticulously scaling a business to dizzying heights. Learn how he was making $2,500 per day in profit from selling used books on Amazon.
🙌 Reach out to Obed here: https://www.instagram.com/closezilla/
Amazon Book Seller Interview Notes
Key Statistics:
- Warehouse size: 35-40,000 sq ft.
- Equipment: 4 forklifts.
- Staff: 25-30, including managers.
- Structure: A partner with multiple investors.
Tips for Sourcing & Yield Improvement:
- Speak with store managers about any books they have stored out back.
- Source books from bulk suppliers, charity bookstores, and colleges.
- Enhance yield by reselling books on platforms like eBay and Facebook.
- Sell to paper recyclers for additional yield.
About the Books & Operations:
- Initial cost for his first Gaylord: $50 (but he had to return the pallet).
- Average number of books in a Gaylord: 1,000.
- Typical ROI: Buy a Gaylord for $50, make a conservative $300 from it.
- Current yield rate for a Gaylord: 15-20%.
- Obed's capability: Can scan 10 Gaylords/day (factoring in collection time).
- Revenue generation: With a price of $250 per Gaylord and scanning 10/day, he can make about $2,500/day based on a 5-10% yield.
- Working hours: 16-20 hours/day.
Scaling the Business:
- First hire: Someone to help with scanning during the weekends.
- Pay strategy: Double the standard rate for employees. As a result, they work longer, faster, and are more committed.
- Subsequent hires: The second was a listing person, followed by someone for shipping and packaging.
- Employee benchmarks: At the pre-scan book station, they should achieve 150-170 scans per hour, including material sorting.
- Business outlook: At one point, he considered shutting down. However, after sharing his journey, he secured an investor and expanded his operations.
- Business strategy: Employs the “Traction” methodology.
Quotes:
“With a team, if you are the best in your company, you have failed.”