Amazon FBA Wholesale Guide
- Extra Pocket Change
- Feb 11
- 8 min read
Updated: Feb 13
As someone who has gone through an Amazon FBA course and is currently running a successful Amazon FBA business, I will provide a free walkthrough of my strategy. This is a basic guide but will roughly cover all the key points you need to know. This guide will be split into the three main sections of the Amazon Wholesale method: Setting Up, Sourcing and Shipping.
What is Amazon FBA Wholesale
The Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) wholesale method is a business model where sellers purchase products in bulk at wholesale prices from authorized distributors or brand manufacturers and then resell them on Amazon. Instead of handling storage, packaging, and shipping themselves, sellers use Amazon’s FBA service, which takes care of warehousing, order fulfillment, and customer service. This method allows sellers to leverage Amazon’s vast logistics network, ensuring fast and reliable delivery to customers while focusing on sourcing profitable, in-demand products. Unlike private label selling, where sellers create their own branded products, wholesale FBA sellers typically resell established, recognized brands, making it a more straightforward and scalable approach to e-commerce.
A basic breakdown is shown below:
1) Pack your products and add the required labels
2) Ship to Amazon fulfilment centre
3) Amazon receives and stores your product
4) Customer purchases item via Amazon website
5) Amazon picks and packs product
6) Amazon delivers items to customers
Setting Up
Budget
The budget required to start an Amazon FBA wholesale business in the UK varies depending on product selection, supplier pricing, and inventory size. However, a realistic starting budget is a minimum of £500 covering key costs such as:
Inventory Costs – Purchasing products in bulk from UK-based or international wholesalers.
Amazon Seller Fees – A £25 + VAT/month Professional Seller Plan,
Software & Tools – product research and pricing (e.g., Jungle Scout and Seller Toolkit).
Packing Expenses – Cardboard boxes, labels and polybags.
There are also other one-off fixed costs you will need to consider such as a laptop and printer.
Check out our blog for Amazon FBA prep essentials.
Business Formation
With the Amazon FBA Wholesale method, it is recommended to form a limited company first which will cost you £50 online, this is because the majority of wholesalers and distributors are only willing to work with other companies and businesses. Once you've done this, open a business bank account for accepting FBA payments and paying suppliers. We recommend Tide for E-commerce businesses, who will also form your company for a discounted fee of £14.99.
Signing up to Seller Central
Next sign up to Amazon Seller Central, which will cost you £25 monthly. You will need an image of your passport or National ID when signing up. The signing-up process tends to be done within 10 working days. Within this time frame, you may have to have a basic virtual meeting with an Amazon representative, to confirm your identity and intentions.
Sourcing
Once you have setup your Amazon seller account its time to source products to sell. Sourcing is the hardest part of the Amazon FBA Wholesale method and may take you days or even weeks to find your first profitable product, but the trick is being consistent and dedicated.
Finding reliable suppliers is key to success in the Amazon FBA wholesale business. Here are the main sourcing methods used by sellers:
Direct Brand Sourcing – Contacting manufacturers or brand owners directly to become an authorised reseller. This method can lead to better pricing and long-term partnerships but may require persistence.
Distributor Sourcing – Purchasing products from authorised wholesalers or distributors who supply multiple brands. This approach offers a wide product selection but may involve lower profit margins due to competition.
Trade Shows – Attending trade shows to connect with vetted suppliers. This is a great way to find exclusive deals and build strong relationships.
Reverse Sourcing – Identifying profitable products already selling well on Amazon and then finding the brands or suppliers that distribute them. This method helps focus on proven, in-demand items.
Each method has its pros and cons, but combining different strategies can increase sourcing opportunities and improve overall business success.
With product sourcing we recommend using a software which can tell you the monthly sales of a product and one which can also help you find products. For beginners and people just starting we recommend using Junglescout, as it's very user-friendly. Check out our guide on the best Amazon FBA software.
This guide will show you how to use a reverse sourcing method to find profitable products.
Click this link here to go to the JungleScout website.
Before you start sourcing there are 3 types of products and listings to avoid or check for as a beginner:
1) Products sold by the brand themselves or someone that's partnered with the brand.
This is because you will be kicked off the listing or receive an IP complaint which can lead to the closure of your selling account. To check if you can sell on the listing, look at the buy box and check if there's only 1 seller, or if the business selling the product matches the name on the listing. If it does avoid this listing.
An example is shown below:
2) Hazmat products:
When starting on Amazon it's best to avoid Hazmat products, as you will not be able to sell these products unless you are enrolled in the Amazon Hazmat program. It's best to explore this when you have become an established seller and can join this program. To check if a product is classified as Hazmat, in your seller central search: dangerous goods identification guide hazmat.
3) Products sold by Amazon themselves:
You can check this by looking at the buy box and if it says "Dispatches from Amazon" and "Sold by Amazon", then avoid this product. This is because competing with Amazon 90% of the time is not a smart decision, as you will not be able to compete price-wise. This will lead you to sell your product for a loss.
4) Gated brands and products:
These are products which you cannot list straightaway. These products require further documentation (An invoice from a wholesaler showing the purchase of at least 10 units dated within the last 3 months) and checks for you to sell on this listing.
Method 1: JungleScout Reverse Sourcing Method
This method uses the Junglescout software to help find products. Input in the filters shown in the image below.
The reasoning behind filter choices:
1) Categories: Be open to selling any product. You'll be surprised at how much money you can make from categories you wouldn't have thought about. Careful, with the clothing category as it has the highest rate of returns which will eat into your profit.
2) Product tier: Standard is best as you are limited to 23kg boxes when shipping.
3) Seller type: FBM and FBA sellers are who you would want to compete with.
4) Price: This price point leaves room for profit after fees and product costs, especially after Amazon has removed their small and light program.
5) Reviews and Rating: You will want to sell a product that causes minimal problems for customers, as bad reviews on the listing can affect your account health.
6) Sales: 30 sales a month is the lowest you should aim for, due to the chance of competing with other sellers on the listing, which will be explained later.
7) Sellers: As explained before, a listing with only one seller is a potential red flag, so 3 sellers already on the listing, is an indicator that it is safe for you to compete on it as well.
After you've input these filters and searched, you will see pages of products. You will then need to source these products from wholesalers, using Google or by directly contacting the brand and asking for a wholesale account or the contact details of their distributors. This will be a long process but well worth it once you start finding winning products. Furthermore, once you open an account you can check the other products stocked by the supplier.
Once you have sourced the product, you will have to calculate if it is profitable, using the Amazon FBA calculator, which is found in your Amazon seller account under the revenue calculator.
To use the Amazon FBA calculator, you will need the product ASIN number, which is found in the product information section. Input this into the calculator and your product should come up.
Only use this section of the FBA calculator, where the title is Amazon fulfilment. You will need to input the price of the item and the costs of goods sold. If you are a new seller who has done less than 75k in sales in the last 12 months put the estimated VAT to 0, however you will still have to pay VAT on the Amazon fees. This calculator will then calculate your profit and margin.
When sourcing you must always double-check if you can list:
Dummy Shipping Plan:
The best way to check if you can list a product is by creating a dummy shipping plan. A dummy shipping plan is the same process as adding and shipping a product to Amazon but stopping just before paying the carrier fees.
Why Create a Dummy Shipping Plan?
Check Amazon’s Assigned Fulfillment Centers before ordering stock.
Estimate Shipping Costs based on warehouse locations.
Understand Labeling & Packaging Requirements for your product.
Prepare for Bulk Shipments by seeing how Amazon distributes inventory.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Dummy Shipping Plan
Go to “Inventory” > “Manage Inventory”
Find the product you want to ship and click “Send/Replenish Inventory”
Choose “Create a New Shipping Plan”
Enter Quantity & Prep Details – Input a test quantity (e.g., 10 units)
Skip Labeling (If Needed) – Choose "Amazon Label Service" if you want Amazon to handle labeling.
Click “Continue” to see the assigned Amazon Fulfillment Centers
Take Note of the Warehouse Locations
Cancel the Plan Before Finalizing It – If you don't want to proceed, simply abandon or delete the shipping plan.
Test Products:
You may have found a product that ticks all the boxes, but things can still go wrong. For example, the product may not sell as well as you thought or the product price drops drastically. To mitigate these risks, the best option would be to do a test order. A test order would consist of 20 to 40 units of the product, you can source them from anywhere, and profitability does not matter. The idea of the test order is not to make money but to see if the product sells as you thought it would.
Shipping:
For this stage, you will follow the same steps as the dummy shipping plan, but this time you will need to actually print the labels, prep your products and then package and ship.
Once you’ve sourced your wholesale products, the next step is shipping them to Amazon’s fulfilment centres.
This process involves several key steps:
Labeling & Packaging – Products must be prepped according to Amazon’s FBA requirements, including proper barcoding (either manufacturer barcodes or Amazon’s FNSKU labels). Some suppliers may handle this for you, or you can use Amazon’s FBA Label Service for a fee.
Creating a Shipment Plan – In your Amazon Seller Central account, you’ll create a shipment plan, specifying product details, quantities, and preferred fulfilment centres. Amazon may require you to split shipments across multiple warehouses.
Choosing a Shipping Method – You can send products via:
Small Parcel Delivery (SPD) – Suitable for smaller shipments using couriers like UPS (Amazon’s Partnered Carrier Programme often offers discounts).
Less Than Truckload (LTL) / Full Truckload (FTL) – Cost-effective for large shipments, where pallets are used for bulk transport
Sending to Amazon – Once packed and labeled, the products are shipped to the assigned Amazon warehouse. Tracking information is provided to monitor the shipment’s progress.
Amazon Receiving & Processing – Upon arrival, Amazon checks and stores your inventory, making it available for Prime fulfilment. Any issues (like incorrect labeling or damaged items) may result in delays or additional fees.
This concludes the basic guide the Amazon FBA Wholesale method and it should serve as one of the many resource that you should use to help you on your journey. There are now countless resources from blogs online to videos on Youtube and Tiktok.
If you would like to explore a different Amazon FBA model check out our Amazon FBA Retail Arbitrage guide.
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