A post-95s girl started a business: She ate instant noodles for three months and started working on Amazon alone, using her 20% gross profit to support a cross-border store...

I am a girl born after 1995. I quit my job and started working on my own last year. I remember that it was very difficult at the beginning. I ate instant noodles and fried rice for 3 months! Because I had no income at the beginning, I was very anxious every day. I basically locked myself up for 3 months. During this period, I did not socialize, travel, or go shopping. I just thought about product selection, operation, drawing, and store delivery every day.

I have been working alone for almost a year now, and my monthly payment is 90,000 yuan. Based on a 20% profit on the payment, I should make 18,000 yuan every month. Haha, I should be the only one in the whole network who didn't calculate the specific profit, right? I only calculated how many meters I purchased and how many meters I received in total.

Currently, I get 3K in cash back a day and 90K in cash back a month. I estimate that the gross profit is about 20% of the cash back. By the way, what percentage of the cash back is the general profit in the industry?

question:

Now I am a bit too busy to do it by myself, so I want to find an assistant and someone to help with the packing, but I am worried about finding someone outside. Because my family is in Zengcheng, Guangzhou, they have been asking me to go back, and my sister is currently unemployed, so I can ask her to help.

But I always feel that Zengcheng is too remote, and logistics is very inconvenient. Now in Dongguan, we usually find a freight forwarder from Shenzhen, and we can pick up the goods for free if the weight is over 200kg. In Zengcheng, it must be over 500kg?

At present, my shipment volume is not that large. Zengcheng is more suitable for retirement, and there is no e-commerce atmosphere. Would you move there?

Hulk holding a ball

Agree with: FeiFeizz, Riding a Pig Across the Yellow River

The fact that the OP was able to start working on Amazon alone for a year and make a stable profit has surpassed many people who only talk big. Based on a collection rate of 50% of sales, a profit margin of 10% in the first year is not bad in the industry, especially when operating independently. The execution and learning ability behind this are worthy of respect.

Some people always say "invest 100,000 and earn 100,000". Let's not talk about whether this profit is legal and compliant. Let's just talk about sustainability. If it can double every year, it should have been on the rich list long ago. Why bother to teach others how to do things here? Amazon is an industry that requires long-term accumulation. If it can make stable profits in the first year, it is considered to be better than most people. The average net profit margin of Amazon's top sellers is only 10%-15%, and they need to continuously optimize the supply chain and advertising strategy.

In addition, comparing Pinduoduo's "invest 100 and earn 10 yuan" to Amazon is completely outrageous. PDD's low-price and high-volume model has a high short-term return on investment, but the product life cycle may only be a few months. The after-sales and penalty costs can overwhelm small sellers, and the supply chain response speed requirements are extremely high, which ordinary people can't handle at all; while Amazon is making long-term stable profits, and the underlying logic of the two is very different. Using a one-sided comparison like "it's better to play domestically" not only denies the characteristics of different tracks, but also exposes the limitations of the industry's cognition.

Furthermore, the poster's sister is currently unemployed, and asking her sister to temporarily help pack is also based on the principle of helping each other in the family. It is hard to say that it has delayed the height of others. Forcibly building a wall for yourself, and then standing on the commanding heights and showing off your fangs and claws.

The author of the post shares his experience in the hope that everyone can discuss rationally, rather than being discouraged by sarcasm. If you really want to "give advice", you might as well bring out specific methodologies or successful cases, which is more valuable than simply belittling others.

Discus fish • Zhengzhou • 1 day ago

I am doing fbm and fba at the same time. My monthly income from fbm is more than 10,000 yuan, which is not much, but my investment is less than 30,000 yuan. fba has just started not long ago, and I am also working alone. I am not a big shot, and I am also exploring by myself.

Discus fish • Zhengzhou • 8 hours ago

And the Pinduoduo I mentioned is the domestic one. I used 90,000 to earn 18,000. If I do any other business in the country, the profit will be about the same, or even higher. For example, if I open a restaurant, you may say, doesn't running a restaurant require paying staff or something? Then I would like to ask, when he was working on Amazon, did he know that he would earn 18,000 in a year? What if he didn't? What if there are other performance issues? I am just doing the ratio of the real economy and his investment. The profit margin is not equal!

Hulk holding a ball • Guangzhou • 8 hours ago

@七彩神仙鱼: The only data you gave are these. "Pictures speak louder than words. I don't make many orders a month, only about 300 to 600 orders, but my profit is high. For example, one of my products is fbm. A link I made a few days ago currently has 4 orders. The product is priced at 45.99. After deducting the sales commission, the balance is 39.1 USD. My procurement cost 25 RMB and logistics cost 58.9 RMB, so the total cost is 85. But I received 39 USD, which is 273 RMB. My total expenditure still leaves me with a profit of more than 180 RMB. I don't run many ads, so I can advertise as much as I want with this profit."

1. Your picture was not sent for review and discussion

2. Assuming that your orders are 500, the gross profit is 15K, the investment is 30K, and the first and last leg of your product is 60 yuan, with a net profit of 30 yuan per order. The "4 orders..." you listed is simply an extreme case, and there is no need to use it to prove your point. 3. Amazon FBA is a heavy asset, and whether it is product selection/stocking/promotion/replenishment/after-sales/risks, it is not at the same level as FBM. There is no need to be complacent and belittle others here.

michaelabc

Agree with: Duole Little Clever, Riding a Pig Across the Yellow River

Profit accounts for 20% of the payment. The payment is the sum of cost and profit, so the cost is 4 times the profit. The profit of 18,000 is the cost of 72,000 (including the first leg and domestic miscellaneous fees). If the turnover rate is two months, the investment is 144,000 (in transit and FBA inventory). If it is three months, it is 216,000 (in transit, FBA inventory and prepaid payment, etc.)

In this case, if calculated on an annual basis, based on a three-month turnover rate (four times a year), the annual profit is 216,000 (1.8*12), so the annual return on investment is 21.6/(21.6*4)/4) = 100% . Here, 21.6*4 is the total annual investment cost, and 4 is the number of turnovers.

I don't know why so many people look down on such a business. I personally think the biggest problem with this article is how the profit is calculated. Other aspects are very reasonable and it is a very representative successful individual seller (according to my contact and observation, most individual sellers cannot reach this level). Of course, if you think that it is normal to not make two million a year and feel empty after spending it all, then there is nothing to say.

Discus fish • Zhengzhou • 1 day ago

I don't understand your case. I am a rough man. I only know that I only need to invest 20,000 to make 18,000 yuan, and at most 30,000 yuan can make it.

Discus fish • Zhengzhou • 1 day ago

Pictures speak louder than words. I don't make many orders a month, only about 300 to 600, but I have high profits. For example, one of my products is sold through FBM. A link I made a few days ago currently has 4 orders. The product is priced at 45.99. After deducting the sales commission, the balance is 39.1 US dollars. My procurement cost 25 RMB and logistics cost 58.9 RMB, so the total cost is 85. But I received 39 US dollars in exchange for 273 RMB - my total expenditure still has a profit of more than 180. I don't run many ads, so I can advertise as much as I want with this profit.

michaelabc • Shenzhen • 23 hours ago

@七彩神仙鱼: For small sellers, the smaller the scale, the greater the profit fluctuations. Various situations may exist, but generally speaking, a sales profit margin of 10% and a profit cost ratio (profit/(receipt-profit) of 25% are not bad, especially when there is a stable sales volume in a month, the total revenue must be above the median among small sellers. I said in another reply that under the same profit margin, due to the impact of FBA shipping costs, the lower the customer unit price, the higher the profit-receipt ratio. The key point here is to compare under the same profit margin and fixed shipping costs. When we talk about something, it should basically conform to the public's understanding. For example, cross-border e-commerce is an ordinary investment like other operations, and there is no huge profit. A certain product may have a profit margin of 50% or even more during a certain period (it may also be unsalable and abandoned), but most people will tend to the normal operating profit margin of society after reaching a general scale (such as a profit amount sufficient to make a living), such as 20%, 10%, 5%, etc. We should especially not instill unrealistic hopes in other people who are full of aspirations on the platform. The Amazon platform is no better than the vegetable market downstairs in terms of market attributes, and there is no gold mine to be mined.

Personal Cultivation • Zhengzhou • 21 hours ago

@七彩神仙鱼: Friends in Zhengzhou, do you do both FBA and FBM?

Discus fish • Zhengzhou • 8 hours ago

@michaelabc: I agree with what you said. Amazon does not have huge profits. I have always treated it as a physical store. My requirements are not high, but I study products every day. I am also aware of the risks involved. In fact, Amazon is relatively difficult overall. If you do it with the intention of making a fortune, you will definitely not be able to make it.

Discus fish • Zhengzhou • 8 hours ago

@个人的练: I am a self-employed seller with no money. Currently, I mainly do small batches of FBM and FBA.

michaelabc

Agree with: Riding a Pig Across the Yellow River

Because for low-priced products, FBA shipping costs are an important fixed cost. When the sales profit margin (net profit/sales) is fixed, the higher the average order value, the lower the proportion of profit to warehousing costs (purchase cost plus first leg plus miscellaneous fees), that is, the lower the proportion of profit to payment. The lower the average order value, the higher the proportion of profit to warehousing costs, that is, the higher the proportion of profit to payment.

Therefore, contrary to popular belief, people who think that 20% of profit is a very low proportion to cash collection are most likely sellers of products with very low or even extremely low average order value.

For example, for goods priced at $10 and $100, with a 20% profit margin, the profits are $2 and $20 respectively. After deducting the $4 and $8 FBA shipping fees respectively, the remaining variable costs are $4 and $72 respectively. The profit accounts for 50% and 28% of the variable costs respectively. If someone who buys phone cases says that 28% is too low, it means that he lacks basic financial knowledge.

Ms. Catfish

Agree with: White-cut chicken is really delicious, Ah Boci Delfoge, luxifa123, Moumouhao, rainco more »

I feel really touched. I'm a girl born in 1993. I started doing this last March and invested 200,000 yuan. I saw that Lingxing said I had a profit of 11,000 US dollars as of February 24 this month. I think you can just download Lingxing and let it calculate the profit.

I really don't trust anyone else, I only believe in myself. I don't think I can do anything big. I just want to earn a little money to buy a small car, and if I have enough money, I can buy a small apartment in Dongguan.

Actually, I don't understand why you need to pack. I usually let the supplier label and pack the goods, or send them to the logistics department and pack them myself. I don't need to ship frequently. I don't think I need to hire someone, otherwise it would not be good if he has no work.

I live in Huangjiang, and I feel that Dongguan is more suitable. Other places, except Shenzhen and Guangzhou, are not suitable. I will not go there.

Hao Moumou • Shenzhen • 23 hours ago

Look at the products. You can sell your products directly after purchasing them. Some people purchase accessories and need to assemble them themselves. Some people need to go through quality inspection.

Personal Cultivation • Zhengzhou • 20 hours ago

@某郝: That makes sense, but it depends on the product.

General feeling

If the host can lock himself up for three months and devote himself to the work, he will be halfway to success. The remaining half can be left to the market. The profit is calculated as a percentage of the payment.

Generally:
Gross profit = profit / sales. It is normal for the gross profit to be between 10% and 25%. It is normal for the net profit to be between 50% and 80% of the gross profit.

Finally, just for reference.
Don't go back, don't let your relatives get involved. Don't go back, don't let your relatives get involved. Don't go back, don't let your relatives get involved.

Once you are infected, your upward potential will be blocked by half.

michaelabc

Agree with:

I don’t know whether what the original poster said is true or not, especially since you haven’t calculated it, how can you know the profit margin?
But many replies are ridiculous. It is normal for profit to account for 20% of the payment, unless you say that 15% or even 5% of the net profit margin is "too low". You should know that the current bank deposit rate is 2.3%. From a universal perspective, a 20% net profit margin is just like making 2 million yuan a year or making a few hundred million yuan by investing 10 million yuan. It is an irresponsible statement. The financial reports of listed companies do not support this statement. Instead, losses are often the norm.

Hahahalol • United States • 1 day ago

Indeed, if we collect 90,000 yuan in cash, and assume that the cash collection rate is around 60%, then the monthly sales will be around 150,000 yuan, with a profit of 18,000 yuan, and the gross profit margin on sales will be around 12%, which is not high, but not very low either. Many companies that have been in business for two or three years only have a gross profit margin of around 15%-20% for the entire year, which is still considered high. Even many new companies’ projects lose money in the first year. If the original poster can really achieve a gross profit of around 12% in the first year, there is still a lot of room for subsequent development if we break it down further. But the problem is that the original poster said that he did not calculate the profit in detail, but only calculated it based on the profit margin of 20% on the cash collection. The profit of 18,000 yuan is probably just a guess by the original poster, that is, many miscellaneous expenses are not calculated, so it is unclear how much water there is in this 18,000 yuan profit. If this 18,000 yuan profit has to deduct a lot of hidden expenses such as venues, water and electricity, etc., the profit is estimated to be very low, and it may even be a loss if you calculate it in detail.

Discus fish • Zhengzhou • 8 hours ago

You can't compare it to a bank. Banks are risk-free, but Amazon is risky.

KK

Agree with: rainco, Xiaozhu Shaman, Elina9, Champion of Staying Up Late

The OP's profit is only 20% of the payment received. I don't know how this profit is calculated. Normally, gross profit = payment received - product cost - first-leg logistics cost. If it is only 20% of the payment received, it means the profit is really too meager. The profit is 18,000 yuan a month. How much is the investment? The profit margin is so low. If you want to increase the profit, you can only continue to increase the investment. It is definitely not cost-effective to hire people. It is better to find temporary workers when shipping and solve other things by yourself first.

michaelabc • Guangdong • 2 days ago

I don't agree that the payment is the sum of the warehousing cost (purchase cost + first-leg logistics + miscellaneous fees) and the net profit. If the warehousing cost accounts for 40% of sales, which is also a very common situation, then the net profit accounts for 10% of sales and 20% of the payment, which is also a very common situation. It is really not low. The profit margin of small sellers may often be only in the single digit. According to the accounting method, the payment and profit are "not proportional", and the proportion is meaningless. This reply has a key point. The so-called profit is "not calculated", so how did it come from?

Hanxing Cross-border Xiaobai • China • 3 hours ago

@michaelabc: The investment-output ratio is so low... If we only consider the head-leg + payment, we won’t do it if the return rate is less than 100...

City Cow Horse 001

We encourage working alone, not blindly. It is not worthwhile to hire an assistant for this profit. It is better to hire a trustworthy hourly worker. You can hire hourly workers to find quality products. A lot of people are willing to come to you. If you don't trust them, you can set a higher hourly wage. You can monitor the quality for a period of time. You can do whatever you need to do.

You want to move, and you also want to find someone to do it for you. I'm afraid there is something you haven't said yet, and you haven't got to the point.

Anonymous user

I'm in Zengcheng-Xintang. The logistics company I work with requires me to ask Huolala to deliver the goods. They don't deliver to my door like the poster does when the goods weigh more than 200 kilograms. This is also an expense. You can ask your sister to help you. Come to Zengcheng. If you say it's far away, it should be near Zengcheng Square. Xintang is not bad and is not far from Dongguan. I suggest you don't move here and there, as it will increase the cost a lot.

Anonymous user

Similar to the original poster, the monthly profit accounts for about 20% of the sales, and the monthly profit is 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. Currently, I work alone. In addition to launching new products, I basically have nothing to do. Daily maintenance is enough. The original poster has a small scale now, so it is not necessary to call on family members. In addition, the risk of working alone is also high, and there is no need to increase the extra risk

William427 • Hangzhou • 3 days ago

They are paying back the money... Look carefully

Discus fish • Zhengzhou • 2 days ago

Carefully examine the question. Yours is normal, hers is abnormal. Her method is not as good as that of domestic

shellkit • Shenzhen • 7 hours ago

@William427: According to most of the payment ratios, the profit margin of the host is about 6-8%

Anonymous user

Agree from: andy鲸123, Steven111111, orange user, device

I have been working in a farmer's house for five years, selecting products, operating and packing by myself. When there are a lot of goods, I will ask the cleaning lady and her husband to help pack. After all, FBA does not require daily delivery. I dare not rent an office or hire people. I just want to maintain the status quo, save more money, and put more products on the market.

Sheep in SZ • Shenzhen • 1 day ago

May I ask if the annual profit is 7 figures?

Hao Moumou • Shenzhen • 23 hours ago

Are there peasant houses in Shanghai? I don't know how Shanghai's housing prices compare to Shenzhen. If they are too expensive, why not come to Guangdong?

Anonymous user

Did the questioner write it wrong? The monthly payment is 90,000 yuan (this 90,000 yuan is basically your profit + the value of the goods + the first-leg fee), and your profit is only 18,000 yuan? That is, the value of your goods and the first-leg fee are 70,000 yuan, but each time you ship less than 500KG, so your first-leg fee is only a few thousand yuan. Is your goods value more than 60,000 yuan? ? ?

Sheep in SZ • Shenzhen • 1 day ago

I also think that she spent money on shipping and only had 180,000 yuan left in her card, but she said the profit was 18,000 yuan, not the so-called 20% repayment. For example, if she spent the repayment money on launching new products, that is definitely not the same concept as profit.

Anonymous User • United States • 19 hours ago

@羊人在SZ: Yes, the profit is too low. And the 18,000 should at least deduct personal time cost and food, clothing, housing and transportation. The comments said that this investment-output ratio is very good and normal. Either they have never run a business, or they have never been short of money in business, otherwise the capital turnover rate is really too poor.

Anonymous user

It is recommended to calculate the profits carefully, because there are many unknown expenses, and then understand the red line of your own working capital. There are many ERPs that can be used for free. It is recommended to use Lingxing, which is free for orders within 5,000 per month, and maintain all the maintenance costs.

Anonymous user

Agree from: andy鲸123, hopeful Umber, newbie Light

How much is your monthly turnover? It is not necessary to hire an assistant if it is 18,000. Use ERP to calculate the profit and then decide the direction. If you work alone, don't hire someone if you don't have a certain profit. For example, set the monthly profit to more than 100,000 before considering hiring people. This will be better.

Albert666

Agree from: number101

I don't understand how the LZ calculated the profit, 20% return? ? ? How low is your profit?
In fact, a simple rough calculation can be used to calculate the approximate profit = income - cost - expenditure profit = sales - (product cost + first-leg freight) - (commission - advertising fee - delivery fee - storage fee - promotion fee and other miscellaneous expenses.)

tyl00r

Agree with: Brewing tea in the summer sun

Who would calculate the profit if they work alone? Usually they calculate it at the end of the year! If you are talking about US dollars, it is still okay! I used to remember that the profit margin was about the same. I envy that they can still grow bigger and stronger under the current situation. I admire them.

Cross-border ten-year slacking king

I don't care about other things, just to explain the logic. The OP has been working on his own for a year, which should not be too short. How much money do you make? The wording is that you should make some money, how much do you estimate? And if you make 18,000 yuan a month as you said, do you still need to find a packager and an assistant?

Hanxing Cross-border Newbie

Change the product... The investment-output ratio is too low. Your gross profit is only 20% of the payment. The ROI investment-output ratio is 10-8/8, which is only 25%. The root cause is that you chose the wrong product. Don't bet on this product. You can make money by selling this investment-output ratio. Your base is too small.

Anonymous user

Agree with: andy鲸123, Conan is tone-deaf, Mengxin Light, Riding a Pig Across the Yellow River

It's okay to work hard on your own. The profit from working alone is not too high. Save more money. When the profit is stable at 30,000 to 40,000, it will be better to consider hiring a part-time help. Now is the beginning, so keep everything simple.

Waiting for the coin

E-commerce can just use the Internet. You don't have a lot of goods. Zengcheng is just a little more expensive. The logistics will not increase your costs much.

Is there anyone in Foshan Guicheng? I have been working alone for three years and it is boring.

Discus fish

The OP's investment-return ratio is not as good as mine in China. Profits are not calculated this way. If I calculate it this way, I will invest 100,000 and earn 100,000, and my profit margin is also 20%.

Discus fish • Zhengzhou

What's the difference between this and playing Pinduoduo and investing 100 yuan to earn 10 yuan? I advise you not to play it. It will delay yourself and others.

Bringle

Agree from: Dahao wants to eat hot pot, Simonn, gaocanbest

It is pretty good to be able to make 18,000 in a year, which is better than the commission I get from working for a part-time job. I just want to ask how much the start-up capital is.

William427 • Hangzhou

You can't compare like this, brothers. Earning 20,000 yuan by yourself is not as comfortable and secure as earning 10,000 yuan by working. You see 20,000 yuan, but the store risk, capital risk, and the cost of holding back the money you invested all have costs, and if the cost of failed opening of money and other costs are taken into account, you will not feel strong. Experience it yourself.

William427 • Hangzhou

There are also losses caused by the removal of complained products. Once these are taken into account, you will not feel very good.

William427 • Hangzhou

Also, you need to know how to do the accounting. I was like that. I thought I had so much profit, but I didn’t know how I lost it in the end. I only knew the real profit after I did the accounting.

andzkn • Guangdong

@William427: Yes, the OP may not have calculated the profit in detail. There are many hidden expenses. After the store receives the money, you still have to deduct it. The final money is your real profit.

Discus fish • Zhengzhou

You see, his profit from payment is 18,000 yuan. He invested 100,000 yuan, so the sales volume must be huge, but his profit is very low. After deducting the rent, water and electricity from the more than 10,000 yuan, does he have any money left? This business is not as good as Pinduoduo.

Sheep in SZ • Shenzhen

@七彩神仙鱼: I also think it’s a bit low. Unless his average order value is high, how can he only get 1.8 when he gets so much money?

takahara

Agree from: yz772024, Dahao wants to eat hot pot, take me flying, rainco, Amazon521 more »

Your sister didn't have a job, so you asked her to come to Dongguan. Why did you make dumplings and take them to Zengcheng just to be jealous?

Anonymous user

Agree with: Albert666 , Hanxing Cross-border Xiaobai, Riding a Pig Across the Yellow River

Is the profit 20% of the payment, for high-priced products? Generally it is not 20% of sales?

rainco • Shenzhen

Does the payment here refer to the daily withdrawals from the backend or the total column in the transaction report?

michaelabc • Shenzhen

@rainco: Ha, these two are just time differences. The total summary minus the amount of transfer repayments is the amount to be transferred and repaid later. There is a column for the repayment number, which summarizes the transfer and repayments according to that period.

Hanxing Cross-border Xiaobai • China

@rainco: The payment is the money that comes back... If it is only 20%, then the ROI is 25%. I directly skipped the products with this investment-output ratio...