I set up my Amazon FBA account a month ago and I am ready to start this journey. I have around £2,000 to launch my first product, and I am currently using AMZScout and SellerAmp for product research. However, I am honestly struggling to source the right product and find reliable suppliers.
I know many people here have experience with Amazon FBA, so I would genuinely appreciate any advice, tips, or mentorship from those already in the game.
TIA.
What’s your business model, is it Wholesale, Private label or Arbitrage? Stick to small, lightweight products with consistent demand and go only with verified Alibaba or trusted wholesalers, implement best launching strategies to gain profit.
If Amazon wholesale is something you’re planning to get into this year, now is the time to start reaching out to brands.
Once Q3 hits, distributors get buried in orders from their existing approved sellers. New applications basically sit untouched, and a lot of them stop responding to new sellers altogether until things slow back down.
Right now they’ve actually got time to review your application properly and get you approved.
Wait until later in the year and you’ll likely miss the window completely.
I think you’re already doing the right thing by researching before jumping in. Amazon FBA can definitely work, but with a £2k budget you need to be very careful with product selection, supplier reliability, shipping costs, and how much capital gets locked in inventory.
I personally ended up focusing less on Amazon and more on other opportunities. For me, I’ve been making money through platforms like mostbet mobil rather than building an FBA business. It’s a completely different approach, but it taught me a lot about managing risk and making calculated decisions.
That said, if you’re committed to FBA, I’d suggest starting small, ordering samples first, and not rushing into a large inventory purchase. Good luck with the journey!
Ron, one thing worth untangling before you spend anything. Your title says arbitrage but the body talks about launching a product and finding reliable suppliers, which is private label. They are two different businesses and the £2,000 goes a very different distance in each.
Arbitrage is buying stock that already exists and selling it on listings that already exist. No supplier relationship, no launch, no PPC. You scan, you buy a handful of units, you list, you find out within weeks whether you were right. £2,000 is plenty to learn on because you spend it in small chunks and get the money back quickly.
Private label is creating your own product. Samples, minimum order quantities, shipping, photography, a launch budget for advertising. £2,000 is tight for that and most of it goes before you have made a single sale. It also takes months rather than weeks to find out whether you chose right.
If it’s arbitrage you actually want, the sourcing problem you’re describing mostly goes away, because you aren’t looking for a product, you’re looking for mispriced stock. That’s a volume game. You scan a lot and buy very little.
Two things I’d add whichever way you go. Check gating before you buy, not after. Plenty of categories need approval and finding out once the stock is in your hallway is a miserable way to learn it. And look at how fast something sells, not just the margin. A great return spread over eighteen months is a worse business than a modest return that turns over monthly.
Which of the two were you actually aiming at? The advice is quite different.
With a £2,000 starting budget, I’d avoid rushing into a large order just because a product looks good in AMZScout or SellerAmp. I’d shortlist a few products, order samples first, and check the supplier’s business details, invoices, lead times, and communication before committing to stock. Keeping some of the budget aside for fees and the first few months can also save you from being stuck with one bad product.