Most of us are all too familiar with shopping on Amazon. In fact, the average American spends $91.75 on Amazon purchases each month. But did you know that there are just as many opportunities to make money with Amazon from home? Well, maybe not quite as many — but we found six great ways to earn extra cash with these Amazon work from home jobs. As the world’s largest online marketplace, Amazon is exploding with opportunities for remote workers to reach a huge customer base and take charge of their financial future.
1. Perform simple tasks with Amazon Mechanical Turk
Have an Amazon account and a few spare minutes? Then you’re all set to make money with the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) program!
Through MTurk, remote workers (here’s looking at you) get paid anywhere from 8 cents to $5 and up per minute performing “human intelligence tasks,” known as HITs. These are simple microtasks that humans can do more effectively than a computer, such as data entry and surveys.
“That could be something as simple as checking the spelling of a word to copying text from a business card to writing a 50-word description of a cat,” says Trent Hamm, founder of TheSimpleDollar.com and a Mechanical Turk earner. “Visit Mturk.com, set up a free worker account, then click on “Find Hits Now,” and you’ll see a list of tasks. Click one you like and get to work.”
There are thousands of tasks on MTurk to choose from, and the more HITs you perform, the higher your earning potential. See a “pre-test” pop up? Take it! Hamm says they prequalify you for slightly more complex tasks that pay $1 to $5 each but may take a couple minutes, such as filling out longer surveys. “The more tasks you complete, the more trusted you become on the site,” says Hamm, “and the more eligible you will be for other higher-paying jobs.”
Want more tips to increase your success on MTurk? Forums such as MTurk Crowd and Turker Nation are full of ‘em!
2. Sell your own private label and other products
There’s a reason selling private label products on Amazon is such an attractive work-from-home opportunity — actually, there’s 310 million of them.
That’s right: Selling through Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program gives you automatic access to over 310 million potential customers worldwide. Being a private label seller means manufacturing an item that already exists, putting your own branding on it, and selling it on Amazon.
“If you are new to the world of Amazon selling, or eCommerce more generally, I highly recommend enrolling in the FBA program. The benefit is that Amazon handles all the internal operations for your business, including storage, packaging, shipping and even customer service, so you don’t even have to leave your home,” says Krishna Vemulapali, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Trellis.
Wendy Wang, owner of F&J Outdoors, an outdoor furniture cover store that primarily sells on Amazon, says that working with Amazon FBA has been a “significant aspect” of her online selling experience.
“Over time, I've learned the importance of optimization, such as keywords, listing optimization and using high-quality images to enhance product visibility and rankings. It's not just about selling your product; it's about making it findable and desirable. And that often comes down to understanding Amazon's algorithms and customer searching habits,” she says.
To get started, create an account on Amazon Seller Central. This is the online hub where everything involved in selling products goes down. Women-owned businesses also get a badge alongside their listing on Amazon, so don’t forget to add a badge to draw attention to your product!
It worked for me: “I earn up to $2,100 a month selling books on Amazon via FBA!”
When Kathy Belge, 57, quit her job working in customer service for Airbnb in 2020, she was looking for a way to make money from home.
"I listened to the The Side Hustle Show with Nick Loper podcast and learned about selling books on Amazon. Since I’m an avid reader and an author, selling my books seemed like a great way to earn cash and declutter my home.
“I applied for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), a service that picks, packs and ships the orders for you. I had to do a video interview with them so they could make sure I was a real person. You can list books for free, but I paid for the ScoutIQ app to scan the books and see how much they’re worth, as well as the ScanLister app, which makes listing the books easier. Both apps are available via a paid subscription.
"I ship about 30 books at a time. Once Amazon receives them, they handle all of the customer service and shipping, which costs about 40% of the selling price. I check my listings regularly to make sure my prices are still competitive. Today, I also resell books I find at thrift stores.
“This work allows me to get out of the house to search for books — it’s fun to go on a treasure hunt! And I can earn up to $2,100 a month. That money pays for travel in my RV and allows me to work on my blog, SoloWomenRV.com.”
3. Become a wholesale seller
Did you know buying in bulk and reselling the goods on Amazon can be a great way to bulk up your bank account?
61% of wholesale sellers on Amazon earn $5,000 or more in monthly sales, and there’s no special experience required to make a profit as a wholesale seller. What’s more, you can do it from home!
The first step is deciding what product to sell. The key is to find products that are high in demand and well-established (which means far less marketing for you!), but with a low number of sellers. Then, you purchase the products in bulk from a brand or manufacturer and make a profit by selling them as single units on Amazon.
One perk of being a wholesale seller is that you don’t have to deal with manufacturing or branding the products — another company has already done the legwork. You can resell all kinds of goods, from toys to clothing to electronics.
“My advice for women (and men too) venturing into the Amazon selling space is to research thoroughly, be persistent and patient, and not be afraid to pivot or experiment with different strategies. Find your niche, understand your customer base, and serve them well,” says Wang.
To get started, set up an Amazon seller account. This process is fairly straightforward, and offers two seller plans: individual and professional. The professional plan is a good fit for those who plan to sell a large amount of products, while the individual plan is beneficial if you plan to sell on a smaller scale (This article gives an in-depth overview of both plans).
4. Work from home as an Amazon rep
When most people think about working for Amazon, delivery drivers likely come to mind. But you can also make money working from home as a remote employee!
There are various work-from-home positions out there, from data entry to customer service. The amount of pay depends on the position, but Amazon did establish a $19 minimum wage in 2022. Check out all the opportunities available on Amazon Jobs.
5. Become an Amazon Affiliate
The Amazon Associations program is one of the largest affiliate marketing programs in the world…and you can have a slice of the pie, too!
It’s as simple as this: Whenever you share a link to an Amazon product and a purchase is made, you earn a percentage of the sale. So if you’re the go-to for products in your friend group, you can get paid to do what you’re already doing! Being an Amazon Affiliate is also a great opportunity if you have a blog, social media presence or following of any kind.
To sign up, visit the Amazon Associates webpage for special links that only you can share (note: not all requests are accepted). You can earn up to 10% in commissions from purchases — all from home.
If you’re an influencer, you can also rake in the cash with their Amazon Influencer Program (an extension of Amazon Associates). The good news is that you can get approved for the program even if you don’t have a huge following. As an Amazon Influencer, you can create your own storefront on Amazon full of your favorite products. There’s potential to make anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars per month as an Amazon Influencer. (Ready to spend some of your well-earned cash? Click through to see how you can save when shopping on Amazon.)
It worked for me: “I make a full-time salary writing about movies and recommending ones people should buy on Amazon!”
TrinaBoice, 59, was always talking to her husband and friends about the films she saw, and so decided to start a movie-review blog (MovieReviewMom.com). And when she learned that she could make money reviewing the movies as well as linking to the ones people should buy on Amazon, she was excited.
“My reviews are from a mom’s perspective, so I include tips on whether the films I see are appropriate for a particular age and I suggest conversation starters for parents so they can talk about the movies with their kids. I also give each film a grade and I write about scenes I liked and didn’t like, plus interesting quotes and funny lines from the movie. In addition to my reviews, I pitch ideas to other websites who pay me to write articles for them. Typically I see between two and five movies a week at theaters or on DVD and I work between 4 and 16 hours a week.
“To monetize my blog, I use the Amazon Associates Program, which allows you to recommend, link and make money off products people buy on Amazon. The products I recommend might include the DVD of the movie or merchandise or products that were in the movie. I also run ads on my blog through ad networks and through advertisers I seek out.
“Traffic to my blog has grown through word of mouth and social media, and sometimes I print up advertising cards and pass them out to moms at the theater to get the word out.
“Getting paid to blog is so much fun, plus I earn a full-time salary doing it. My job has paid for trips with my husband to China and Greece!”
6. Join Merch by Amazon
Full of creative ideas? Merch by Amazon may be the perfect opportunity for you to make money from home! This print-on-demand platform turns your designs into profitable products sold on Amazon, all at the click of a button.
To get started, sign up for Merch on Demand and upload your design. Then, choose the product type you wish to sell (hats, mugs, tote bags, etc.). There’s no fee to sign up, and you’ll earn royalties on every purchase (check out the royalty ranges on Merch’s FAQ page). Plus, Amazon does the work of dealing with creating the item and even the listing, so you can earn extra cash while sitting in your pajamas. Another big perk of this print-on-demand service is that your house won’t clutter up with inventory, since Amazon takes care of all the shipping.
Hannah Chenoweth is a Baltimore-based writer who enjoys covering health, wellness and human intereststories. She loves travel, yoga, kayaking, and adventures with her corgi. Feel free to connect athannahchenoweth.com.
Want to learn more about earning money from home? Check out the stories below!
Make $1,000s a Month With These Work-From-Home Jobs — No Phone Needed!
7 Ways to Make $1000s a Month From Home — No Experience Needed!
6 Ways to Earn Extra Money Working From Home Based on Your Personality
)
