As I mentioned in a previous blog post, consumable goods offer several advantages: mainly the buyers need to come back for more. Here are some recent consumable goods flips:
Girl Scout Cookies:
Thin mints are quite possibly the most addictive cookie on the planet (I eat them rows at a time). Surprisingly there are not many sellers and little FBA competition in this category. This probably has to do with the fact that girl scouts (themselves) are not allowed to sell online.
I listed the thin mints for $15 and it sold quickly. I paid $3.50 for the box. Here’s the screen shot.
Click on the image below to enlarge.
After FBA fees, that leaves me with $10. So, I almost tripled my money on that one. Sometimes finding inventory is right in front of your face (or your mouth).
Trader Joe's Curry:
Trader Joe's has a cult following and for good reason. They have very good organic food and it’s inexpensive. My favorite is the Thai Yellow (or Red) Curry and their Basmati rice.
However, I live more than an hour away from the nearest Trader Joe's. So, I checked online and noticed the curry was selling for $10 a bottle. Not only did I buy at this price point, but it also presents a good selling opportunity.
So, the next time I was at Trader Joe's, I bought two cases of the stuff: 12 bottles of the red curry and 12 of the yellow. The bottles cost $2.79 each. However, instead of selling them individually, I bundled them as six packs. This sold at $49 fairly quickly.
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Some things to consider about consumable goods:
1) Expiration Dates
When the package arrives at the warehouse, the expiration date must be after 90 days of the arrival. Also, a label must be on the case with the expiration date clearly marked in 36 point (or more font). Here’s a video by Amazon.
2) Bundling
I like to bundle these units because I can make more money plus I will be the only seller (for a while). In order to bundle, you need to get a UPC code. You can get them for $8 each a barcodestalk.com or you can get them really cheap on eBay. I was able to get the codes for 60 cents each (10 for $6).
Food is an interesting thing to think about selling on Amazon. My question would be this. Did you sell the Curry just for what you purchased, or would you keep buying and selling. Also, are you worried about possibly trying to sell something that doens’t have any ranking on Amazon? Thanks
Good information as usual Nathan. I have purchased individual UPC codes in the past but have always been concerned about the bargain codes on eBay.
Obviously you have some confidence about these bulk codes. I am itching to try some of these. Hopefully anyone who had an issue with them would leave a comment.
Thanks again for the information.
Chet Hastings
Thanks for the UPC information. I’ve been wondering where to purchase. I believe they also have some rules about foods that have a melting point like chocolate Isn’t there a window of time they wont accept shipment of items such as these because of warehouse temperatures?
For things like chocolate, they stop accepting them starting I believe in March all the way until early October – or something like that. Basically, they stop accepting (and start destroying) around spring until early fall.
Rhonda,
I’ll keep buying and selling the curry as long as it sells (and is profitable).
I wasn’t worried about the lack of sales rank because the single bottles of curry were selling. So, I just assumed a 6 pack would sell as well.
Nathan, it appears that the curry is in glass jars. Glass jars over 4 ounces are prohibited by Amazon, so I wouldn’t suggest selling items packed that way. You can get away with it for a while but eventually it will catch up with you and you’ll face losing the inventory you have at Amazon.
Char,
Thanks for the info on the glass bottles. I wasn’t aware of that rule.
Great article Nathan. I purchased some glass bottles that were selling for comparable prices at Trader Joe’s, but found out about the 4oz rule after. There are a lot of FBA sellers selling these over 4oz glass products, but it says not to do it.
How are you supposed to compete if they are letting the other FBA sellers do it? Take the risk?
This all sounds good but when I tried to list a grocery item, the category that includes grocery, beauty, and healthtcare was restricted. To get approval I will have to get three invoices from distributors/suppliers of those items, not from a retail store. Then I will have to submit the invoices with the application to Amazon for them to review it. How much is it going to cost me to get approval to sell those items? Thanks in advance for any suggestion.
Those categories now require approval by Amazon. I would recommend reading this post by Jessica Larrew for more information.
http://jessicalarrew.com/are-you-approved-to-sell-in-grocery-health-beauty-aids-and-beauty-on-amazon-com/