Is FBA Dying? Let’s Talk About Amazon In 2018!

There have been a few changes on Amazon over the last few weeks to fees and policies. I want to take this opportunity to share my personal opinion on the whole Amazon situation; is FBA dying in 2018? This is crap to have to talk about because we don’t want to focus on the negatives, but the truth is that the platform is changing all the time – so let’s not get caught out.

Watch the video below…

How These Changes Affect Sellers

I want to talk about what this means for us as sellers going forward in Amazon FBA and beyond. I started Amazon FBA in 2015 and back then it was much easier. There were not so many restrictions in terms of category gating. I’m not going to say it was easy, but becoming ungated was relatively straightforward compared to now. In groceries, for instance, I just needed a supermarket receipt.

The verifications have become a slower process over time, especially when you become brand new seller. You could disburse your funds every day and you could operate, essentially, how you needed to in order to get going quickly. Back them Amazon really was the opportunity of a lifetime.

It was hard work, but everything is hard work. It just felt a lot easier to negotiate your way around the Amazon business model.

Changes

Since then, in the last few years, the FBA platform has got progressively harder for new sellers to get involved. Even those sellers that have been going for a while are facing new struggles. More and more brand restrictions are popping up and the process of getting ungated in some categories has become a real nuisance.

In the past week, there have been fee changes and long-term storage changes. We’re even at the point where user settings have become more difficult to navigate. When you have somebody who you employ use your Amazon Seller Central, you need to go through the extra hoop of identifying the user with passport details and second user account details.

Back in 2015, if you had a virtual assistant like I did and you added them to your account, you didn’t need to start asking them for passport details.

The Effect

This, in particular, is making the business model that I have used much more difficult to execute with minimal fuss. I want to give you my opinion on all this because it affects me, and you, massively.

The world is always changing and Amazon is no different. Where I stand on the question of is FBA dying – I still genuinely believe it is a workable business model. It is still an opportunity to change your life, but it has got more difficult.

I’m not naive enough to tell you to just get on with it, because you are going to face challenges. And the truth is, it’s those people who recognize the difficulties that will actually make a success of this. Is FBA dead? No, but just like any business model, it’s going to be hard. It’s up to you and how much you actually want it.

If You Want It Enough…

If you want it badly enough, you will find a way to make it work. It is still possible, despite the challenges I mentioned, it’s still possible. If your account is under verification or under some kind of restriction, how long are you willing to work on fixing your account before giving up?

The people who stick with it, those are the people who will make it. There is still money to be made on Amazon. I guarantee, even though it will be difficult, if you work smart enough and work hard enough, despite the struggles, you will still be successful.

That said, there will be people who start selling on Amazon through FBA today who will give up when things become challenging.

Is FBA Dying?

The truth is that Amazon is slowly getting more difficult for us, as it always has. Just like anything in the world, it gets more challenging as time passes. Just like government taxes, which are always changing. There are always going to be changes and hurdles, but we need to start looking at the challenges differently.

Look At Difficulties Positively

When I come across things I would consider a challenge, I look at it as “I need to be more resourceful.” If the minimum wage increases, the tax rate is increasing, or if Amazon are putting more hurdles in place, it’s going to make you a more adaptable and resourceful entrepreneur if you can come through these challenges.

Find a way. Find a way to make a success of this. I hope that makes sense because all this mindset has done for me is improve every aspect of my business.

I’ve always considered Amazon FBA as a steppingstone, not a be all and end all. Amazon is a vehicle to do other things I’ve always been of the mindset that diversifying my income is important. I did that using the resources I had available to me – and a big part of that is what my Amazon business has afforded me.

Amazon FBA is not dying, but it is also not the be all and end all. It’s a great way to get a good start in business; there’s no doubt about that. Automating my FBA business model was the best thing I ever did, and you would do well to work hard making that a reality now, leaving you free to work on things which you can have more control over.

Help!

Have a look around My Website! I have tons of great resources to help you automate your online arbitrage business. I have blogs on the subject and My Youtube Channel is full of helpful videos with insights into what you can achieve.

It is absolutely possible for you to automate your online arbitrage business. You can take yourself completely out of the business and just watch the money roll in. It’s not going to happen overnight and there’s no point pretending it will be easy. It will be stressful at times, especially when Amazon throws your curveballs.

My goal is to help you get the success I’ve had. I’m not saying you can do it just because I did – you will have to work hard. The sky is the limit; you just have to work for it. The model is not out of your reach. Is FBA dying? No – it’s always been difficult and it’s maybe got a bit harder, but there are people who will start today who within one year will be making life-changing amounts of money on a regular basis and having the time to work on other income streams!

If you have experience of how Amazon has changed or Amazon’s recent alterations as well as an alternative answer to the question, is FBA dying, let me know in the comments below!