People are having mixed reactions to a man who showed how he sold a Dollar Tree item online with a 1485% markup. That’s about 15 times the original price.
Here’s how he did it and why some people aren’t happy about it.
Amazon has a service called Amazon FBA, which stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. It allows sellers to automate and outsource most of the logistics of selling and shipping items to customers to Amazon. All they have to do is get the products and send them out to an Amazon fulfillment center, where they’ll handle packing and shipping.
A lot of people choose this option because they don’t have to deal with a bunch of marketing and extra logistics. It’s also cost-effective in some ways since there isn’t a need for sellers to have their own storage facilities and workers. Plus, the shipping costs are cheaper through the retail giant.
Customers also tend to trust listings that are fulfilled by Amazon versus those that come from smaller sellers.
However, the FBA fees can cut into your profit margins, and you have less flexibility with your inventory and shipping options. Plus, not all products are FBA eligible, especially those that are big, bulky, heavy, or expensive.
In a viral TikTok video that has more than 4.7 million views, FBA seller Beezy (@beezyesco574), who also teaches people how to do Amazon as a side hustle, shows how he fulfills inventory to maximize his profits.
In the clip, Beezy pulls up to his local Dollar Tree, where he finds a deal for a two-pack of Sunbeam Power Strips for $1.25. So one strip only runs him $0.63.
Meanwhile, on Amazon, just one of those power strips costs $9.99.
“Had to clean up on those. Let’s go,” Beezy says as he loaded his cart up with boxes upon boxes of the power strips.
He takes the individually boxed strips out of their two pack and then loads them into Home Depot boxes to ship ’em off to Amazon.
Beezy pointed out that he was making even more of a profit because, for some reason, he hasn’t had to pay shipping fees the last few times to send the items off to Amazon.
“My last five shipments to Amazon have been $0,” Beezy shares.
Once Amazon started selling the power strips, Beezy received consistent notifications letting him know each time one sold. While we know how much Beezy paid for the strips and how much they cost on Amazon, he didn’t share what his actual profit was for each item sold.
@beezyesco574 You Can Start Selling On Amazon With Very Little Money Even Dollar Tree Has Profits Inside Just Waiting For You🗣✅ click the link in bio #amazon #fba #amazonfba #passiveincome #flip #dollartree #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Chichiquetere – HCTM
The video has nearly 4,000 comments. While some people commend him for his entrepreneurship others are thinking twice about ordering things online.
“So, don’t buy off Amazon, got it!” the top comment read.
“Truly be on your grind homie but this is an act of capitalism that I do hate,” a person said.
“Now the people that need those whose can get them at a price they can afford like I love your hustle but leave some for others,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Beezy and Amazon for comment via email.
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