Selling Wholesale Bundles on Amazon with Kristin Ostrander from Mommy Income
Episode 525: Show Notes
Today on the podcast we have Kristin Ostrander from Mommy Income. She is an e-commerce expert who got her start 17 years ago on eBay. She has since transitioned to Amazon where she has been a serial entrepreneur who has learned all the ins and outs of how to run a successful wholesale business selling on the platform. Today she touches on her wholesale bundle system and how she’s helped thousands of students through her online course and podcast.
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In this episode, we talk about a product offering, revenue stream, and selling platform that we’ve never talked about on the podcast before: Amazon, and more specifically, selling wholesale bundles on Amazon. Honestly, there was so much information that we did not know. So we really think you guys will get a lot of good ideas from this episode if you’re interested in selling a new product, getting a second stream of revenue up and running or just testing your toes in running a business that might be a little different to what everyone else is doing. Kristin breaks down her strategies in the order that she did stuff really, really well, and has some incredible resources for you guys to keep learning if you want to find out how to sell on Amazon. We’re sure this show will give you a lot of great ideas!
The Genesis of Mommy Income
When Kristin Ostrander first started selling products online in 2008, it was like the wild west. She began on eBay selling all kinds of thrift items like second-hand books because it was really easy to get into. On her journey along the frontier of online selling, Kristin came across Amazon, which not only allowed her to scale her business, but also gave her the opportunity to live the lifestyle she wanted. By leveraging the versatility of Amazon, Kristin quickly realized that working hard wasn’t going to give her more time with her kids — it was working smart. Over time, Kristin explored the many avenues Amazon has to offer, namely Amazon FBA, which is their fulfillment service, and selling arbitrage. That was until she learned some of the pitfalls of sourcing and selling inventory for arbitrage. Kristin quickly learned the virtues of wholesale, and found a niche that has been working for her ever since. After touching on margins and creating an income from wholesale, Kristin then dives into how she tapped into her market’s needs and created a product she knew would sell without advertising. Enter the bundle system. Through careful market and product research, Kristin started curating bundles, filled with like-items that compliment each other. Her unique idea eliminated the need for Amazon shoppers to source individual products that would arrive at different times in separate packaging.
The drawcard? Kristin’s bundles all come together, beautifully packaged and at the same time.
How To Get Started
Over the years, Amazon has become an online shopping giant with an impressive 50% market share in the United States. But with great power comes great responsibility. The platform has introduced a variety of stringent rules to keep vendors on the straight and narrow. The most important thing on your to-do list is to get yourself verified, whether you’re an LLC or a sole proprietor. Second to this, but probably just as important, is the reseller’s license that will enable you to get into wholesale. Now that your housekeeping is done and dusted and you’re a credible wholesaler, what comes next? Kristin recommends that you go out there and find your niche, and the best way to do that is to consult your very own knowledge bank. We all have an ethnicity, have had a job, have experienced illness, and have enjoyed hobbies — whatever it is, you are already someone’s market, and this market is the best one you can tap into. Once you know what you’d like to sell, it’s time to get in touch with vendors and manufacturers, and the best part about that is you don’t even need to get out of your pajamas to do it. By tradeshow stocking, you have dozens of vendor and manufacturer information to scrape. Kristin then touches on how she coped with managing her inventory and talks us through how the walls of her home were covered in cardboard boxes, with the only solution being prep centers. Before we leave the topic, Kristin talks all about why these centers are such great value for money and time.
Let’s Talk Hacks
It can be pretty daunting starting out on Amazon. The internet is filled with information that appears to be useful but turns out to be a sales funnel, within a sales funnel, within a sales funnel. For lack of a better word, it’s sales funnel-ception. But fear not, because Kristin shares exactly how you can get started quickly, and without using all the bells and whistles like social media campaigns, creating websites, and advertising. As Kristin puts it, selling wholesale bundles is perfect for introverts. And the best part is, you don’t need to get deep into analytics or difficult software. What Kristin does use though, is an awesome tool called MerchantWords, which helps you create the perfect keywords for your bundles, so you don’t need to invest time and money into paid ads. As we make our way to the end of our amazing chat with Kristin, she also shares some parting advice on why it is so important to stick to Amazon’s rules. The first and last rule you ought to stick to is complying with their terms of services. Dropshipping might be a popular shipping method for other platforms, but not so much with Amazon. This is because Amazon wants to ensure their customers get the best service possible — the rule says you have to have possession of the inventory to list it.
Quote This
Step one of the framework is really finding a niche or a category. Start off with your knowledge bank because everyone has a knowledge bank.
Highlights
The Genesis of Mommy Income. [0:04:24]
How To Get Started. [0:17:21]
Let’s Talk Amazon Hacks. [0:31:54]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:46:59]
Try a beginner course to get selling on Amazon if you’re new to it.
Start with wholesale and wholesale bundles by using tradeshow stocking.
Make a list of your knowledge bank.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Kristin Ostrander
Mommy Income
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Kristin Ostrander founded MommyIncome.com in order to teach others to start and grow businesses on Amazon by turning small steps into big results. Her family consists of 3 beautiful crazy kids, a hunky husband, and 3 super cute fur babies. As a full-time Amazon FBA business owner, podcaster, Amazon selling coach, speaker, author, and business strategist, there is never a dull moment in her life. If you tune into her weekly podcast, you’ll discover her quick wit and tough love as she trains others to start and grow businesses online. When she is not doing all this she enjoys baking fun cakes, writing, watching weird DIY YouTube vids, and going to the beach.
KEY TOPICS
eBay, Amazon, Wholesaling, Amazon FBA, Amazon Prime, Merchant Fulfillment, Customer Research Tools
