Is it feasible or just wishful thinking to start an Amazon business with 10,000 yuan?

How much money does it cost to work alone on Amazon? 50,000 yuan, or 100,000 yuan? Is 10,000 yuan enough? (Note: All the denominations in this article are in RMB)

Previously, an article titled "A family of eight in Shenzhen engaged in cross-border e-commerce and earned enough to buy two houses in a year" was widely circulated by various self-media on platforms such as Toutiao and NetEase News.

This news has stirred the hearts of many people, and they all want to join the cross-border e-commerce industry and earn a few houses!

But before entering the game, there is one question that needs to be clarified first, which is how much money is needed to invest.

I have seen the same problem on many different platforms.

Recently, a netizen also posted a similar question on Zhiwubuyan.

The netizen wrote in the post "I want to start Amazon with 10,000 yuan. Do you have any suggestions? This is all my savings and I want to give it a try" that he knew 10,000 yuan was not a lot of money, but it was all his savings and he wanted to give it a try by using all the money to start Amazon.

The netizen said that he planned to sell some products with low average order value on the US site first, taking the boutique route, but he was worried about the second review issue on the US site and hoped to get some advice.

Of course, this post also "exploded" a wave of comments:

Some people say that 10,000 is enough, but it is just for getting started, which means that growth will be slow because insufficient funds will hinder the pace of development. But if the direction is right, it is progress no matter how slow it is, so you can try.

Some people say that 10,000 yuan is far from enough. To register a company, purchase office equipment, pay for goods, pay for shipping, etc., at least 30,000 to 40,000 yuan is needed in the early stage.

Some people also said that starting a business is not just a matter of starting capital, but a matter of comprehensive strength. If a person wants to start a business, he should do so when he has sufficient knowledge, connections, supply chain resources, business capabilities, and financing capabilities. Otherwise, the money earned by luck will be lost with "strength".

At the same time, some people suggested that the netizen take other paths, saying: "Investing 10,000 yuan in Amazon won't even make a sound. There are many things you can do with 10,000 yuan. There is no need to waste time on Amazon. Now many provinces and cities are supporting street stall culture. It is better to choose some popular products to set up street stalls."

Someone else joked: "If 10,000 yuan can do Amazon, I will offer 15,000 yuan, please give me some advice."

Of course, judging from all the comments and my interviews with other sellers, more people are speaking from their own experience.

However, their start-up capital is very different.

Some sellers said that making 10,000 yuan to do business on Amazon is not a fantasy.

A seller from Xiamen said that his friend started with one or two thousand yuan, and after a few purchases he made about 4,000 or 5,000 yuan. In the second month he made 7,000 or 8,000 yuan. For low-value items such as earrings, a few hundred pieces don't make much money and don't take up much capital.

A seller from Zhejiang also said that when he first started his business, he spent 10,000 yuan to start his business. After 10 months, he made a net profit of 600,000 yuan.

A seller who knows everything also had such an experience: "I started with around 10,000 yuan. Although I haven't become a big seller now, I didn't need to buy a ready-made computer. The company registration cost 2,000 yuan. The first batch of goods was relatively small, so I spent a few thousand yuan. Logistics cost more than 1,000 yuan. Other small expenses, such as printers costing hundreds of yuan and cartons costing hundreds or dozens of yuan, are negligible. I take the pictures myself with my mobile phone."

Not only that, he also put forward his own suggestions: "First, products are very important. Don't choose blindly. It's okay if they can't become hits, but don't lose money. This will hit you hard. Your second, third, fourth, and fifth products all failed, but the money you lost was earned from the first product. Then, after a long time, having a few products that can generate stable orders is better than working for a part-time job. Second, since the starting capital is not particularly large, don't quit your job yet. Do it yourself while working, and then quit your job if you succeed."

Some sellers also said that it is not enough to make a living on Amazon with 10,000 yuan, because the starting capital for working alone is far more than 10,000 yuan.

One seller revealed that he had prepared 200,000 yuan when he started alone last year, but this year his sales have reached more than 2 million yuan. At the same time, he said that it is very important to sell products on Amazon. Choosing the right product is half the battle, and the other half may depend on good operations.

Another seller said that when he started selling on Amazon, he also invested 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, but he made his investment back in the first year.

Some sellers also said that they started their business last year with 50,000 yuan. Although they sold products on AliExpress, they have not yet made back their investment.

Based on the independent experiences of these sellers, we can see that when it comes to starting a business on Amazon, the amount of start-up capital is not the key to success, because in addition to start-up capital, there are many other factors that determine whether a seller can continue on the road of entrepreneurship.

As one seller said: “Starting a business is not just about starting capital. In addition to money, the ability to bear risks, capital, supply chain, operational capabilities, etc. are all factors that affect it . Starting a business requires the right time, right place, and right people. None of these can be missing, and I will not accept any rebuttal.”

On YouTube, an Amazon seller named Han Dahai uploaded a video titled: "How much money does a newbie need to start a business on Amazon?", explaining in detail how much investment is needed to open a store on Amazon and giving them some guidance.

According to his profile, Han Dahai started selling on Amazon in 2018 using the FBA model. After entering Amazon, he quickly fell into a series of pitfalls, but got up and continued to move forward. After 100 days of officially opening the store, he achieved a monthly net profit of 15,000 yuan.

According to him, the first thing to understand about doing business on Amazon is that it has three models: WholeSale, Dropshipping, FBM, and Private Label (FBA).

Regarding the question of how much money is needed to run Amazon, some say that no money is needed, some say money is not a problem, and some say that any amount of money can be spent.

He said that these statements are all correct, but they are at different stages and are relatively vague.

In the video, he listed a list of various expenses and the related costs.

From the cost list, you can see that the initial costs include: company registration, address, and accounting fees - the first pitfall, subsequent review, the required cost is 3,000 yuan (Note: accounting fees vary in different cities); mid-term costs include: Amazon platform usage fees, product selection, and investment costs, the required cost is about 600 yuan; late costs include: product selection and procurement, domestic and international logistics, shooting fees, miscellaneous expenses (UPC, suppliers), the required cost is 7,500 yuan.

In summary, the initial investment for novice sellers on Amazon is at least 11,100 yuan.