Can You Start an Amazon FBA Business with Limited Inventory?

So, you want to start selling on Amazon – but you have limited inventory, at least for the time being. Is it possible to begin an e-commerce business on Amazon with a limited number of items?

Here is the answer: absolutely. It most certainly is possible to start your Amazon FBA business with only a few hundred items in your possession – or even only a few at all.  But what about when it comes to how much your inventory is worth? Remember that the phrase “worth of stock” is subjective.  For example, even though your stock may have cost you less than $500, the true question is in regards to the value of your stock.

There are endless items that you can obtain for a low cost, especially in bulk, and later sell for an excellent profit. So even if it seems like your stock’s value is not much, and even if you think it will not turn much of a profit, it’s absolutely possible to begin selling online.

This is economics 101.  Mankind has been battling to figure out how to end up on the positive side of this curve since the beginning of time.  You need an item that many people want – but at the same time, an item that not many people are selling. When it’s put this way, it sounds simple. A + B = C …  always.  All you need now is the necessary insight and the unique connections to find those niche items needed to make your e-commerce business prosper.

November 2018 Update by Joseph Volpe, Paralegal, Rosenbaum Famularo, P.C., the law firm behind AmazonSellersLawyer.com:

Other things to keep in mind for an FBA Business with limited inventory:

If you plan on selling FBA but only have limited inventory, then you must keep a watchful eye on your inventory levels to avoid an Amazon suspension and the need to submit a Plan of Action.

If you do not have enough inventory to support multiple orders, then it is best to promptly deactivate yourself from the listings until the inventory can be replenished. Simple tracking of your listings through both the use of inventory management software and multiple employees reviewing the inventory levels is best; over-reliance on the technology has led to suspensions as well.

Additionally, another thing to keep in mind with limited inventory is aging inventory. Amazon requires that all items be sourced within the last 365 days, so if your sales are limited on these ASINs be sure to track when they were sourced. Follow the same steps for low inventory by deactivating yourself from the listings, however you must now go one step further by creating removal orders for these products. Once removed, the products must never be resold on the platform or you will put your account at risk of a permanent suspension.

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