Amazon is a preferred e-commerce website for Chinese sellers to grow their cross-border selling business. Before deciding whether to join, many beginner sellers ask the same question: how much income and profit can you make by selling on Amazon?In fact, there is no fixed answer to the question of how profitable it is to sell on Amazon, because differences in product categories, store size, level of operational refinement, and various costs can all lead to very different results. However, if you want to know how you can make money on Amazon, you should focus on controlling costs and increasing sales. Therefore, this article will provide beginner sellers with some suggestions on how to reduce costs and how to get orders quickly, helping you achieve satisfactory profits as soon as possible.

If you want to control the cost of opening an Amazon store and get more profit, you first need to figure out what the cost structure of doing cross-border e-commerce is, and then consider which aspects are worth focusing on and how to control them. On Amazon, store-selling fees and Referral Fees are fixed relative to sales, while product costs, logistics and customs duty costs, and other possible costs may vary based on your production, sales, and operations. For details about the costs, refer to the chart below:

Based on feedback from some successful Amazon sellers, lowering costs is a very important part of earning solid profits on Amazon. The most frequently mentioned costs are logistics and labor costs. Below are some suggestions for controlling these two major costs.

1. Plan logistics costs wisely: stock up early, and use both sea and air shipping
Some sellers shared that the key to saving logistics costs is to plan ahead. To maximize logistics cost efficiency, you should start stocking up at least two months before the peak season and choose sea shipping. Although it takes a long time, about two months, the cost can be significantly reduced, only about one-quarter to one-third of air freight.

In addition, during the new product launch period, you can consider using both ocean and air shipping. The critical period for a new product launch is usually three months, and in the early stage, you can prioritize air shipping to respond quickly to demand and ensure the first batch of goods is listed promptly. Then, as ocean shipments continue to arrive, you can keep replenishing inventory and maintain supply chain stability. With this shipping approach, once the air shipment is received, the replenishment stock shipped by sea is also about to arrive, effectively balancing cost and efficiency.

2. Refine labor costs: improve the skill level of core staff
Managing labor costs well can also help increase store profits, especially for sellers who want to start a business on their own or with a small team, who should pay close attention to labor cost planning. For example, some Amazon sellers have shared that to control labor costs, in addition to the core operational skills they must master, they can consider outsourcing other non-core tasks. This flexible employment strategy helps reduce fixed costs while maintaining operational flexibility and cost efficiency.

In addition to the two points above, to earn considerable profits on Amazon, sellers also need to do a good job of product promotion, store operations analysis, and other tasks, and continuously optimize and adjust to improve store profit margins.

Stage 1: Build a solid foundation
When starting cross-border selling, it’s important to take an efficient first step. At this stage, you need to build a strong foundation in the three basics of Brand Registry, Listing creation, and shipping setup to pave the way for creating bestselling products and driving traffic later on.

Stage 2: Plan the Big Picture
After completing the setup for the first stage, you can start thinking about how to get more traffic. Choosing Amazon Advertising is one of the more efficient ways to drive traffic. Sellers can use Amazon Advertising tools—Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display—to increase product and brand visibility, attract shoppers, and drive store traffic.

Stage 3: show your strengths
After sellers complete the first two stages and build a solid sales foundation, they may become eligible for promotional recommendations. You can start using promotional tools such as coupons (Coupons) and Deals to further increase conversions and keep driving sales. At the same time, you can also use brand protection tools to support safe and efficient operations.

For more details, you can click to go to the Amazon Efficient Operations Guide page or download “Perfect Launch playbook” directly.

In short, to achieve satisfactory returns on Amazon, sellers need to take each step of selling on Amazon one step at a time, continuously optimize and refine their operational details, help their stores grow faster and healthier, and achieve success in cross-border selling.