There are multiple different models of selling on Amazon. Ours is the least risky and most sustainable.
01
Sellers search storefronts for deals they can flip on Amazon. This includes scouting stores like Target, Walmart, Supermarkets, Liquidation stores, and other retail outlets. There is very little barrier to entry in this model, as suppliers these sellers source from will generally sell to anyone.
02
Sellers research products in a niche that has high demand and low availability. They work directly with manufacturers to create custom products, and then market their own products. This model can take years of preparation and investment before profits are realized, but sellers own their own products and branding.
03
Our model
Sellers source established brands and purchase products that already have search volume and targeted demand. The focus of this model is building relationships to get authorized dealer access and lock in competitive pricing. This is the model SupplyForge operates under.
We use Amazon's FBA service. This allows us to have very little overhead, minimal operational responsibilities, and increased listing exposure.
Amazon sellers have two options for fulfilling inventory: Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM).
FBA
How we operate
With FBA, I send the inventory directly to my third-party logistics (3PL) company, which handles receiving, quality control, and preparing the items to be shipped to Amazon. They then send the inventory to Amazon's fulfillment centers, where Amazon takes care of all customer orders and shipments.
At no point do the products ever enter my hands. This gives me extra time to focus on growing the business.
FBM
With FBM, sellers are responsible for shipping each order directly to their customers. Amazon heavily penalizes sellers for missed or damaged shipments and also deprioritizes FBM listings due to slower, non-Prime shipping speeds.
While there are certain advantages to FBM, such as keeping the inventory under your control the entire time, FBA is less complex and provides substantial advantages to sellers.
Follow the money through one cycle: capital buys inventory, Amazon sells it, and roughly three months later it comes back with a gain, split between us.
01
$100,000
You invest into a deal.
02
The capital immediately buys real, branded inventory from an authorized source.
03
Our 3PL preps the inventory and checks it into Amazon's fulfillment centers.
04
Amazon handles every order as the inventory sells down over roughly three months.
05
$20K–$80K
Three months later, the gain is realized, and split.
Then the same capital rolls into the next purchase order, the flywheel keeps spinning.
Eyes open
Every deal carries risk. These are the four ways an investment can go sideways, and the specific guardrail standing in front of each one.
01
Demand for a product can come to a halt, leaving stock sitting in a warehouse instead of selling.
How we mitigate it
I prospect every product's seasonality and years of sales history on Keepa graphs before a purchase order is ever placed.
02
Another seller lists the same product cheaper, and a race to the bottom eats the margin.
How we mitigate it
I ensure products hold a ~10%–15% margin even at their historical lowest price, and aim for high-barrier accounts competitors can't easily open.
03
Amazon can suspend a seller account, freezing sales overnight.
How we mitigate it
I don't take risky deals, and every item is verified Amazon-compliant before a single dollar is spent.
04
Freight can be damaged, lost, or misplaced between the supplier and Amazon's warehouse.
How we mitigate it
Every shipment is insured, and every purchase order is tracked end-to-end in our proprietary software.
Our doors are currently open for investors. If you're interested in participating in our growth, let's talk.
