Ian Bower made $90,000 in ONE MONTH using Amazon wholesaling.
He started selling on Amazon FBA as a side hustle while working 60+ hours as an executive chef.
Ian grew that side business to $45,000 per month and eventually, he quit his 9-5 job to scale his Amazon business even further.
If you want to discover how you can leverage big brands through the power of wholesale and create your own lifestyle business, listen to Ian!
Watch the video below:
(Click here to watch on YouTube)
[smart_track_player url=”https://stream.redcircle.com/episodes/32614676-cf32-4353-ba77-b3a342c95847/stream.mp3″ background=”default” ]
Are you ready to make high-profit Amazon sales using the power of wholesaling? CLICK HERE to find out more about The Wholesale Formula!
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What is Amazon wholesaling?
If you follow me, you know that I talk a lot about selling private-label products on Amazon. With private labeling, you work with a third-party manufacturer to create your own custom branded products.
Amazon wholesaling is a different model altogether. Whereas traditional wholesaling involves using wholesalers to find products that sell well on Amazon, with Amazon wholesaling you look on Amazon itself to find products.
In our interview, Ian talks about how Amazon wholesaling works. More importantly, he shares how he used this model to create a $90,000 MONTH selling on Amazon. Let's dive in!
How did you get started selling on Amazon, and how did you discover reverse source wholesaling?
I've been a chef my entire life. I got a full scholarship to culinary school. My entire life I have identified as a chef. It was a huge part of my identity. I always knew that I wanted to own a business. However, I always imagined that I would own a restaurant.
Thank god that didn't happen!
I stumbled into Amazon FBA when I was looking for ways to accrue reward points.
I've always wanted to travel and see the world.
I learned about retail arbitrage and I thought it was a cool opportunity. However, I'm not someone who likes to shop so I suggested that my wife take it on. That's how we got started.
That being said, the moment that she had to create a spreadsheet or do things like bookkeeping, she was done. We started looking for alternative ways to supply inventory. That's when we came across reverse sourcing wholesale.
How does the reverse source wholesaling process work?
The idea behind reverse source wholesaling is that you go on Amazon to find products that are already selling well.
You identify those products based on a set of criteria. From there, you reach out to the brand owners and ask them if you can buy their product wholesale and sell it on Amazon. Once the brand owners approve you, you can start making money on Amazon.
How would this process work if the products that you want to sell are already selling on Amazon?
The product needs to be selling on Amazon and should be selling well. If a product is not already selling it won't meet your criteria.
However, if other sellers are selling at the same time as you, you'll need to calculate what your buy box share will be. The buy box will rotate amongst the sellers who are prime eligible. So if there are four sellers you'll get 25% of the total sales, for example.
When you're first getting started, what does the process involve?
Getting started is pretty simple. You want to scrape Amazon, do a bunch of research, and go through the different products on Amazon.
You're looking for a set of criteria. You'll want to insert all of the products that match the criteria you're looking for into a spreadsheet or CRM software.
When a brand owner agrees to sell you their product, a negotiation process will ensue.
They will send you their price list and have you fill out a new account application. Typically, brand owners have a minimum order that they want you to place. It could be as little as $250-$500. However, some will be $3,000-$4,000.
If those numbers are too high for you, simply find a new brand owner. In the beginning, I recommend that you order as little as you possibly can. When you're doing this process, the initial step is an estimate. You're using software that guesses what the sales velocity will be.
You don't want to get stuck with inventory that you can't sell. In the beginning, we placed test orders and sent them in, which gave us sales data that helped us confirm if our estimates were correct. Once that is good, you'll want to order one month of inventory at a time.
It took me about one 1-2 months to land my first wholesale account. They are still my wholesale account to this day. That's one of the benefits of the reverse source wholesaling method. Once you find a wholesale account, as long as you're providing value to them, you can keep that account.
Did your success all happen at once or did it take some time?
Reverse source wholesaling is an inventory-based business model which means that some of your primary restrictions are always going to be your available capital. If you're starting with $1,000 on a credit card, you're going to be able to grow it into something big.
The best month I ever had on Amazon was $95,000.
It took me about 3 years to get to that place. Most months my business settles in at $50-$55,000 in revenue. Once you grow to that point, you can reinvest or start taking a paycheck.
How much time does your business require from you?
It depends on the trajectory and the goals that you have for your business. Initially, I was spending less than 5 hours per week because I was a full-time chef. I was pulling 70-hour workweeks. When I wasn't working, I was spending time with my wife and children. I just didn't want to spend that much time on this business.
The moment that I was able to hire virtual assistants to work for me, the game changed. This proved to be rocket fuel for the growth of my business. They started working 40 hours per week on my business. I quit my full-time job in 2017, which allowed me to invest even more time as well.
Today, I spend 5-10 hours per week working on my business. I'm not actively growing my business right now. Rather, I am going deeper with the accounts that I already have and providing better services so that I can hold onto them, long-term.
As Amazon continues to grow, do you think that the Amazon wholesaling model will be of value to sellers?
It is getting more competitive, but that has always been the case. The rate of competitiveness is not meeting the rate of Amazon's expansion. Most Amazon sellers don't stick around for very long, so that competition falls off.
Persistence pays off. Also, brands are always coming to the Amazon marketplace. They don't know what they are getting into sometimes.
Thus, there is a tremendous opportunity to provide value to them.
I manage five brands in total. You don't need to have a gigantic slice of the Amazon pie. It's your job to carve out a place for yourself. If you get a handful of great brand accounts, you could potentially replace your income.
What is considered a good profit margin with the Amazon wholesaling model?
I'll assume that your business is up and running and you've already got a few brand accounts. When you're at this place, you can expect to see 15-20%.
This profit margin will depend on how much PPC advertising you're running, the rate you negotiate with the brand owner and shipping costs. When you're first starting you have to absorb some fixed costs. The more revenue that you have, the smaller your software subscription percentages become and the bigger your margins are.
How did you come across the Wholesale Formula and what has been your experience with it?
I first came across the Wholesale Formula inside of a retail arbitrage group that I was a part of. At the time, I was complaining about how I disliked retail arbitrage. Someone inside of the group introduced me to Dan Meadors and Dylan Frost, who are the founders of the Wholesale Formula.
They taught me everything that I know about reverse source wholesaling.
Everything from the criteria that you need to look for, how to identify great products and brands, and how to land great accounts. However, it goes a lot further than that. The model teaches you how to build relationships with brand owners so that you become more valuable to them.
Ultimately, the goal is to have an exclusive right to sell a brand's products on Amazon. Getting to this place in your business means that you've eliminated other Amazon sellers on a listing and you now have 100% of the buy box sales. The Wholesale Formula teaches you how to do that.
What advice would you give to someone who has a desire to make money on Amazon, but isn't sure how to get started?
I came across a study that said small business owners who start a business while working full-time have an incredible advantage over those who start without a day job. There has never been a better time to start a side hustle.
Amazon FBA presents a huge variety of opportunities. Of those opportunities, I believe in the power of the Amazon wholesaling model. It's the least risky way to start, in the sense that it doesn't require a huge time or monetary commitment.
What was your driving motivation to create success with this business model?
I don't like working for other people. That was my strongest WHY.
I'm very possessive over my time. I want to use my time in my life the way that I want to use it. I always felt that I had a boss that felt entitled to my time. Ultimately, this is why I decided to quit my day job and pursue this business opportunity, full-time. It was the best decision I've ever made.
This is how Ian Bower made $90,000 in ONE MONTH with Amazon wholesaling.
I hope Ian's success story inspires you to take action with this business model. If you want to learn more about reverse source wholesaling, watch my interviews with Dan Meadors and Dylan Frost who are the founders of the Wholesale Formula.
Whether you want to build a side hustle or replace your income altogether, Amazon wholesaling is a great way to make money on Amazon.
Are you ready to make high-profit Amazon sales using the power of wholesaling? CLICK HERE to find out more about The Wholesale Formula!