December 2013 Financial Results from Amazon and eBay

Original Post:

Happy New Year Everyone! It’s the beginning of another month, and that means that it is time for me to share my financial results from the past month.  This is my third month selling online since quitting my job in September.  You can find the post with October’s results HERE, and November’s results HERE, if you would like to compare to my results this month.  From last month’s post you can see that my goal for this month was to have at least $6,500 in profit and to continue to increase the percentage of my profits that are coming from Amazon FBA.

First, a little background on how my time was spent this month, and then we’ll get to the numbers.  December has been a very busy month for me, but a significant portion of my time was spent on activities not related to earning this income, which is a very cool thing.  For the first week of December I put in well over 40 hours of work, as I knew that I would not have as much time available later in the month.  From December 9th through the 21st, the majority of my waking hours were spent working on my other business, www.textbooks4you.com, and I spent at most 2-3 hours per day related to online selling.  For Christmas, I did not work from the 22nd through the 27th, and also did not work from the 30th to the 31st to spend time with family and friends over the holidays.  So, my efforts directly related to selling things online for profit were somewhat limited due to my other business and time off.

Before we get to the numbers, one more topic to discuss.  My goal with sharing my financial results is to prove that this can be done, and is not meant to be seen as bragging or anything of that sort.  I just want to show that working hard and smart, and sticking with your plan  can pay off.

December 2013 Financial Results

With that said, let’s get to it.  The numbers below are basically the profits that I am making for the month.  The profits are calculated only on items that have been sold and shipped during the month.  They were calculated by taking selling prices, minus all fees, minus all shipping and packaging costs, and subtracting the cost of the items.  The number shown in the FBA profits for the month also factor in returns of products, shipping costs to ship products to amazon, and inventory reimbursements from amazon for products that were damaged at amazon warehouses.  This won’t be the exact number that goes on my tax returns as there will be additional deductions for mileage, cell phone, home office, etc.  However, these are costs I would generally be incurring anyway, so for simplicity I will be leaving them out of the calculations.  Also for clarity, this does not include any income from www.textbooks4you.com, it is simply my income from amazon and eBay.  excel december resultsMy goal for the month was exceeded by over 38% which I am very happy about! This is due largely to the work that I completed in November and the first weeks of December building up inventory, as in the middle and end of December my time was largely spent elsewhere.

Another very large factor is that people are buying gifts for Christmas.  The demand for items is very high this time of year and that leads to sales for sellers who have items that are often given as gifts in stock.  I tried to sell as many of this type of item as possible during December to cater to these buyers.  As with last month, there were several items that I made over $100 profit on that helped boost the profit numbers, but the bulk of the increase can be attributed to the large increase in volume, as this month I sold 969 items and last month it was 299.

Here some screenshots from my amazon and eBay accounts to provide some backup for these numbers(click to enlarge):

December 2013 Amazon Sales
December 2013 Amazon Sales
December 2013 eBay Sales
December 2013 eBay Sales

These are the same 2 as last month.  Amazon recently added a sales by product report to show which categories sales are coming from, here’s a look at this report for December:

December 2013 Amazon Sales by Category
December 2013 Amazon Sales by Category

This report shows that the bulk of my sales came from the toy and grocery categories.  I have been working on finding as many grocery items as possible, as they are easily replenish-able and can provide a consistent stream of income.  The toys category was one that I put extra focus on during November and early December as I wanted to capitalize on people buying toys for gifts.  As a result, this was my largest category for the month in total sales dollars on amazon.

I am very excited by these results so far.  I am really looking forward to the next year to see what I can do with this business, as I have seen many people post results much greater than this who have been operating a similar business for just a few years.  I will be doing a separate post next week to outline my goals for 2014, so stay tuned!

If you enjoyed reading, sharing is always appreciated!

Click here for my results from January 2014.

64 thoughts on “December 2013 Financial Results from Amazon and eBay”

  1. Long time since the grocery email, but I would like a copy of it as well as I could find no other info on grocery selling.
    Thanks, Balin Butler

    1. Hi Balin,

      Thanks for the comment. At this time, I’m not sending that out anymore as it’s not as relevant today. I will consider doing an updated version and will make it available on the site if I do.

      Best Regards,
      Ryan

  2. Hi Ryan, I’m years late to this party but do you mind sending the grocerie tips email to me as well or if you have some new advice that you can give, I’ll gladly take it. Thanks so much!

    1. Hi Evan,

      Thanks for the comment. The advice from this email is not the most current as we are about 2 years down the road from when I initially wrote it. I will look into doing a new post on this topic in the near future.

      Best Regards,
      Ryan

      1. Thanks for taking the time in replying to my comment. I myself is in a position where you were when you started reselling. Any advice on how to get started the best possible way and where to buy items for cheap (distributors, wholesalers) would be greatly appreciated! I’m proud to say that you’ve been an inspiration to me.

  3. In the beginning 2013/2014 what capital did you use to purchase inventory? I noticed that your inventory purchases where greater than your previous months profits.

    1. Hi Heather,

      I used capital that I had from my prior job, as well as available credit on my credit cards. With the credit cards, I paid in full each month without paying interest.

      Best Regards,
      Ryan

      1. I’d love if you could toward the email as well! I’m a nursing student and I was following a post in flipping and came across your link! Amazing job!

  4. Ryan,

    Great site! I’m going through all of your posts in chronological order and appreciate your input. I private label through Amazon FBA currently but have never done any arbitrage. Your “grocery email” is a bit dated by now but I’d love to read it if that’s still possible.

    Keep up the great work! Happy 2015!

    Rick

  5. Ryan~

    Oopsie…..I see that two post’s up, you explain grocery…I’ll try to refrain from getting too jumpy next time & just KEEP READING!!! 😉

    June

  6. Ryan:

    THANK YOU for your willingness to share your results and story. You really are an inspiration! I’ve been reading, researching and learning daily on your blog. I have started from the beginning-reading post by post. I LONG to be in your successful shoes! *soon!!* The freedom and ability to provide for my children spurns me on!!!

    Could you send me your email on grocery too?

    Thank you and happy holidays 🙂

    June

  7. I just stumbled upon your blog from another blogger. I just started selling on Amazon and made my first sale yesterday – sold within a day of arriving at the Amazon warehouse. Am working my way through all your posts. So please let me add my name to the list of those requesting your email on grocery info. I know Amazon now requires approval to sell in this category and hope I can sell in this category in the near future. Thanks so much for sharing! You are an inspiration!

    1. Hi Rita,

      Glad to hear you are making it through all of my old posts! I will send that email over shortly.

      Best Regards,
      Ryan

  8. Congratulations on your awesome success! I haven’t read January-April yet, but for the looks of it you are doing awesome.

    I’m going to be starting this business within the next couple of weeks, I was intrigued by the fact you’re selling groceries. Can you please shed some light on the type of products and sourcing opportunities that I should focus on?

    THANKS so much!

  9. Ryan

    I can’t get enough of your website, I’m hooked even though I didn’t started yet with online selling , but I just like to read it and read your advice
    If possible could you send me the email with your grocery tips that you sent to others please?
    marieantoinette2000@hotmail.com

    1. Hey Marie,

      Glad to hear you are enjoying it! I will send that email over to you right away.

      Best Regards,
      Ryan

  10. Ryan:
    Awesome work in making all of this happen in a record amount of time. It is also great that you are willing to share your results. They really do inspire people -like me – who are slowly struggling to make this work.

    Could you send me your email on grocery? It is a category I would love to pursue.

    Thanks

    1. Hey LC,

      Thank you very much for the kind words! I will get that email sent over to you right away.

      Best Regards,
      Ryan

  11. Guess I will be seeing this in a future post hopefully. I wouldn’t bug you to send me the email, but hope to hear about it shortly.

    1. I would plan on more on this topic in the future. If you want the email though, just let me know.

      Best Regards,
      Ryan

  12. Hey Ryan,

    Just starting with FBA myself and came to your site from Jessica Larrew. I am a bit overwhelmed but seeing that you started fairly recently yourself (not counting your eBay experience), it’s been very helpful to read through your posts (yes, all of them). On this particular post, all the comments about the magic groceries tips email got me wondering as well. Would appreciate a copy myself and will definitely keep following your progress here. I enjoy your no-nonsense writing so far, keep it up!

    1. Hey Dima,

      Thank you! I was doing this on a very part time basis for a couple years before I quit to begin full time, so it is definitely doable to get started in a very quick manner. I will send you that email over right away.

      Best Regards,
      Ryan

  13. Hi Ryan,
    I live in the UK and find your blog very inspiring. If possible could you send me the email with your grocery tips that you sent to others please?
    Thanks really appreciate it

    Martyn

  14. Pingback: Selling Groceries on Amazon FBA – A few tips to get started

  15. Great job. Very inspiring to see your progress! Do you factor in your unsold inventory in your numbers? If you sell $6K but spent $7k on inventory, with most of it not yet sold, that would be an important factor. I am asking because I worry about overspending by buying more than I can sell. Looking forward to your reply. Happy New Year my friend.

    1. Thank you Linda! Unsold inventory is not factored into my numbers, as it is still considered an asset. What your comment is referring to is the cash flow of the business, and you bring up a valid point that your spending on inventory could exceed your sales for a given period. Currently, I am reinvesting the vast majority of any payments into inventory and as a result my net cash flow is not very high on a monthly basis. I will change this strategy when I want to pull money out of the business. I am going to be tracking some additional numbers for future posts, such as total purchases during the month, to help give a more complete picture of what I am doing, and not just sharing the profit numbers.

      Hope that helps, and Happy New Year to you!

      -Ryan

  16. Ryan, when you get a chance, I’m looking forward to your response. I believe I really need to focus on groceries for 2014 and I’d sincerely appreciate some advice in selling in that venue. Thanks!

  17. Great job Ryan! I’ve been doing FBA for a year and in the short time you’ve been full-time, you’ve certainly out-paced me. Congrats! (And you’re just getting started.)

    I have some grocery questions for you and I sent you an email.

    Thanks for sharing your journey. You are off to an awesome start!

    Best wishes in 2014.

    Mark

    1. Thanks for stopping by the blog and for your kind words Mark! I will take a look at your email and get back to you shortly.

      Best Regards,
      Ryan

  18. Betty Joe williamson

    Congratulations on your success on Amazon since 9/13!! I was impressed and noticed that you sold groceries. I am a new person to Amazon and at first felt discouraged but can see the light now. I sold groceries on a small site for 3 years but I realized that I need to move to Amazon. You are right–groceries moves!! Now, for some help, I have only been buying groceries on sale in stores and don’t always find them. How do you find your groceries?? Is their any sale pointers that you can give me? I plan to MF mine items until November and the FAB them in November/December. I have had a hard time figuring how much profit I will make after all the fees. Can you help me with that? I see that you sold more on Amazon than eBay. Why do you think this?

    I hope that you know that I would never do anything to hurt or compete with your business. I just want to be successful as well and I think that their is room for all of us.

    Again, thanks for publishing your success story and I am proud for you. I just want to do the same.

    Betty Joe Williamson

      1. Hi Ryan,

        Congratulations! Your success is so impressive and inspiring.

        If you don’t mind, can you forward your email to Ms. Williamson to me as well? Her questions are what I have in mind as well. I haven’t even started to sell on Amazon yet. Thank you very much in advance.

        All the best!

        Quinn Tay

          1. I am getting my feet wet on the FBA side and was hoping to get more info on the grocery category as well. Could I also get an email sent to me with more info? Thanks and have a great day

          2. Hello Ryan, I have recently found your website and am trying to catch with all of your blog submissions. This is all such great information. I would love to know the answers to the grocery inquiry above. I would love it if you could email me the information as well.

            Sincerely,

            Deidre

          3. Hi Deidre,

            Thanks for the comment and glad you are enjoying my site. I’m no longer sending that email out as the info isn’t as relevant today. I may do a blog post update in the future though.

            Best Regards,
            Ryan

      2. Thank you for sharing your success – congratulations. If you could also share the email about groceries, it would be very much appreciated!

      3. Hi Ryan! Thanks for this post. I’m interested in this email as well. Do you mind forwarding it to me? Thanks in advance!

      4. Ryan,

        That you for this blog and for your time and efforts! This site is a great resource for aspiring sellers.

        I’m considering entering the grocery business on Amazon as well. Can you forward the email sent to Ms. Williamson to me as well?

        Thank you very much!

          1. Hi Ryan,
            I recently started selling online part time, and stumbling upon your blog has been extremely inspiring and motivating! I appreciate all the info you’ve shared to others about your success!

            I’ve mostly been selling on ebay; Amazon seems like its own beast to me, and I’m interested in seeing how groceries can be a good source of income in that respect. Would you be able to foward me that email you have going around?

            Thanks!

      5. Hey Ryan, I find out your advise is very helpful, and I am really hope that you can share more with me. Also, I noticed there is a great question from Betty Joe williamson regarding on ”How do you find your groceries?? Is their any sale pointers that you can give me? I plan to MF mine items until November and the FAB them in November/December. I have had a hard time figuring how much profit I will make after all the fees. Can you help me with that? I see that you sold more on Amazon than eBay. Why do you think this?”, would you please share the email that you respond to him/her with me? thank you so much and I am really appreciate your help.

        1. Hi Jacob,

          I think if you read through some of the more current posts on the blog you will find answers to many of your questions.

          Best Regards,
          Ryan

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