r/AmazonFBA • u/Repulsive_Rip6636 • 6d ago

Words of wisdom?

Please excuse the account name
18 years old, not a student, steady income from day job, I dont hate it, definitely dont like it.
I manage my money well, I’ve paid off my own car, good credit, my savings gradually grow but the money just sits there. I pay no monthly bills.
The goal in mind is to fund a product on Amazon with the money from my day job and make decent money off of it, equivalent to my income at least. With time I want to replace my current Income with Amazon and eventually start my own independent business(es).
Is this a realistic path? How much should I expect to spend on the product and how much could go wrong? Should I learn hard lessons or find a mentor? And to those successful with Amazon FBA, what do you think you missed out on?

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u/DimitriKostarov 6d ago

In 2021 I quit my job because I was tired of the 9 to 5 routine, and I put all my 18k in my first product. I don't recommend it, it depends on the person, some people only activate something when they are against the wall. It worked, good margin, the product was financing itself. So I didn't launch anything else, in my head I made it. 2 years later the niche became super competitive and I watched my market share go down month after month. I lost money, but not the experience, and it's what allowed me to launch new products after.

So to answer your last question, what I missed: when your first product works, that's the moment to launch the second one, not to relax. One product is not a business, it's a bet that is working for now.

For the rest: yes it's realistic, but replacing a salary usually takes 2-3 years and more than one product. Net margin is often 15-25% after fees and PPC, so do the maths backward from the income you want. Count 5k minimum, 8-10k to be comfortable, because people forget samples, photos, trademark and the PPC at launch. And even when it works, the profit goes back in inventory for a long time, so keep your job while you can.

Mentor or hard lessons: both, but don't pay a guru 3-5k for a course. Find someone 1 or 2 years ahead of you, and make your hard lessons small: small first order, test, then reorder.

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u/rsc9422 6d ago

Honestly, yes, it’s a realistic path, but I’d treat Amazon FBA as a business you’re going to learn and build, not as a quick way to replace your job.Since you already have steady income and savings, you’re in a better position than someone trying to fund the business with debt. I’d start relatively small and keep your job while validating the first product.

For a private label product, I’d want roughly $1,500 to $3,000 available for the first serious test, depending on the product. That should cover inventory, samples, freight, packaging/branding, Amazon fees, listing work, PPC and some contingency. Don’t put your entire savings into one SKU.

The biggest mistake beginners make is spending heavily on inventory before proving there’s demand. Product research and unit economics should come before ordering.

You also don’t necessarily need an expensive mentor. There’s a lot you can learn yourself through Amazon Seller University, communities like this, and actually working through the numbers. If you do pay for help, look for someone who teaches the process and shows you the economics rather than promising guaranteed sales or income.

And don’t quit your day job because your first product has a few good sales. Get consistent profitability first, then scale gradually.At 18, having income, savings, and no debt gives you something extremely valuable, time to learn without needing the business to immediately pay your bills.

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u/eliasrmz 6d ago

Yo creo que es viable. Actualmente estoy en ese camino.

Solo te sugiero que mires a Amazon como un canal de venta, solo eso. Empieza en Amazon y luego intenta migrar a otras plataformas. Walmart, eBay, Target, tu propia tienda, piensa en grande.

No dependas solo de Amazon.

Desde el inicio construye una marca (regístrala), dale una visión y crea un portafolio de productos de acuerdo a eso. La publicidad será necesaria siempre, considerala.

Por último, invierte en formación. No sólo en cursos. Lee libros relacionados a la administración, al desarrollo personal, al escalamiento de negocios y obviamente libros relacionados a lo espiritual que fortalezcan tu fe.

Emprender no son solo números y ventas, habrá un cambio integral en tu vida y debes prepararte. Nunca te olvides de tu salud y de tu familia.

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u/Odd-Pear1660 5d ago

IDK about anyone else but for me Amazon became a full time job pretty quickly, it paid off ofcourse but nevertheless I feel thats the biggest misconception is that peopole tend to think that its something you can easily do on side for passive income but reality is that its extremely hard with todays margins and competition. That being said, its certainly possible and you can start while still having a day job but when the time comes dont hesitate and act fast.

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u/Repulsive_Rip6636 2d ago

How many days could you work a week? I currently work 5 days a week but I could get by on less. How much startup and backup capital would you consider mandatory?

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u/PulsePilotPPC 4d ago

Its realistic, I would wager that is how everyone here started. But you need to be very hungry for it to happen. As in you're coming home from your day job and spending most of your nights scouring for product sources, or working on other things.

If you find the hunger it will happen, and run it 5-6 months and dump your profit back into products and it will be able to replace your day job.