No Money, No Problem: 3 Creative Ways to Fund Your Amazon Business Fast

I started my Amazon business two years ago with approximately $200. That $200 included the money spent on products to flip, shipping supplies and setting up my Amazon seller account. I was intentional about my start up budget because, like many of you, I had thrown hundreds (even thousands) of dollars away on ventures that didn’t pan out and I refused to waste money like that again.

In my post (), I mentioned this business can be launched for $200 or less and I meant it! In my opinion, this is one of the lowest cost businesses you can start. I understand that while some can easily afford the $200 investment, others may not be in the same situation. You may be interested in trying this business, but also are on a tight budget and you just don’t have the extra money laying around and don’t know where to get it from.

If this describes you, fear not! I’ve highlighted 3 ways you can generate $200 or more quickly (i.e. in a month or less) to get your Amazon dollar store business off the ground.

• Selling Used or Unwanted Items Online – Do you know the average person has close to $2k in unused or unwanted items lying around their house? Selling these items is my #1 suggestion on how you can generate money quickly. Below are a few of the best sites in which you can sell your stuff:
  • Poshmark – With more than 80 million users, Poshmark is the #1 marketplace to sell gently used items. Clothing, designer bags, footware and accessories sell well on the site, but so does home decor and beauty items. Make sure you take good photos and provide enticing product descriptions to help sell your products fast. Payment is released within 3 days of the buyer receiving the product.
  • Ebay – Ebay has been around since the Internet dark ages and is still relevant for good reason. You can sell practically anything on their platform. Is that Disney-themed bag or old baby stroller collecting dust in the back of your closet? Throw it on Ebay. How about old, working power tools or early model video games or consoles, Ebay is the place! The site allows you to create practically unlimited listings a month for free and you can expedite sales by offering to sell via auction or applying promotional discounts. Sellers are typically paid two days after the buyer has submitted payment.
  • Offer Up, Facebook Marketplace, Craiglist – These online marketplaces are specific to your local community, so you can sell products and have the buyer pick up directly from you or at a designated location, which allows for same day payment! Again, you can sell anything, but these sites are particularly good if you want to sell furniture, home decor or other items you’d rather not ship because of the high shipping costs. *Please keep safety in mind when selling products for in person pickup.
• AI Data Gigs – We’ve all heard about AI being the wave of the future. Did you know you can make money by evaluating and creating prompts used to train various AI tools? Sites like Data Annotation and Clickworker pay anywhere between $15-$30 per hour based on the task and complexity.
• Cash Back Sites – Do you do a lot of online shopping? If so, I’d highly recommend signing up for at least one cash back site, so you can get a portion of what you spend back in the form of a monthly check. You would be surprised how quickly you can get to $200 simply using a cash back site as part of your online spending. Just add the site to your browser extension and whenever you visit a company that is a part of their network, you will be notified of the cash back that is available for your purchase. There are many sites available, but I recommend Rakuten for its ease of setup, vast network of company partners and high cash back percentage payouts (some are as high as 40%). Payment is sent in the form of a check every three months.
• Take Surveys for Cash – Taking surveys in your spare time will not get you rich, but can make you an additional $50-$75 per month, which will go a long way towards funding your business. I personally recommend Branded Surveys as they have many interesting surveys to pick from, that you can actually qualify for and the site is legitimate. You earn points with each survey completed and you are paid 1-2 days after reaching the payout threshold (500 points).

These are just a few ideas on how to generate money fast to fund your Amazon business. While you can make adequate money just using one, I recommend trying all three at the same time to maximize your effort and get money in your account as soon as possible to start your Amazon flipping business.