If you are still deciding whether wholesale is the right model or whether it fits your budget, start with how the model actually works or whether it is worth it for your situation. This post assumes you have already decided and just want the steps.
Here is the order I walk every new mentee through, from zero to a placed order.
01
Set up your business properly
Register an LLC, get a resale certificate, and use a real business email. Do this before contacting a single supplier, distributors take retailers who look like a real business far more seriously.
Full list of what you need here.
02
Open your Amazon Seller account
Register as a professional seller and get through Amazon's identity verification. This takes a few days and needs your business documents from step one.
03
Find and apply to distributors
Contact brands and their authorized distributors to open wholesale accounts. Present yourself as a retailer building an e-commerce business, not as an Amazon seller.
The full outreach process is here.
04
Analyze the price list you receive
Once approved, you get a price list with hundreds of products. Check sales history, fees, and real margin on each one before ordering anything.
Full walkthrough here.
05
Handle ungating if needed
Many brands sit in gated categories. Apply for approval before you place the order, not after, since some approvals take a few weeks.
What the process looks like.
06
Place your first order and ship to Amazon
07
Reorder and keep building supplier relationships
Realistic timeline
Setting up the business side takes one to two weeks. Getting your first distributor account can take days to a few weeks depending on the brand. Most people reach their first placed order within 2 to 3 months of starting, not immediately. Anyone promising faster than that as typical is not being straight with you.
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What trips people up in this order
Skipping step one is the most common mistake. People rush to email distributors from a personal Gmail account with no LLC, get ignored or rejected, and conclude wholesale does not work. It is not the model, it is the order of operations.
The second most common mistake is spending the entire budget on step six and having nothing left for step seven. This and other early mistakes are worth reading before you start, they are cheaper to avoid than to fix.
How much this actually costs
These steps do not have a fixed price tag by themselves, business registration is inexpensive, but your first inventory order is the real cost. The full cost breakdown, including the cash reserve you need for reordering, is here.
Common questions
How long does it take to start Amazon wholesale?
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Setting up the business side, LLC and Seller account, can take one to two weeks. Getting your first distributor account can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the brand. Realistically, most people reach their first order within 2 to 3 months of starting, not immediately.
Do I need an LLC to start Amazon wholesale?
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You do not strictly need one to open an Amazon Seller account, but you do need one for most distributors to take you seriously and open a wholesale account. Set it up before you start reaching out to suppliers, not after.
What is the very first step to start Amazon wholesale?
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Set up your business properly first: LLC, resale certificate, business email. Distributors take applications from a real retail business far more seriously than from an individual, so this comes before any supplier outreach, not after.
How much money do I need to start?
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At least $5,000 to do it properly, covering your first inventory order plus reserve capital to reorder once a product proves itself. The full cost breakdown is a separate question from the steps themselves.
Can I start Amazon wholesale as a complete beginner?
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Yes. Most people who start wholesale have zero prior Amazon experience. The steps are the same whether you are a complete beginner or already run a business, the difference is how fast you move through them.
Jakub Filipcsik
9 years selling Amazon wholesale. $1.79M generated for one client in 2024. 60+ people coached. I work with beginners starting from zero and agencies that need better systems. US marketplace only.
Want someone walking you through each step?
I review every product and order before you buy.
The 1:1 mentorship covers every step in this guide in practice, with your actual supplier accounts and price lists, not a generic checklist. Or start with the free minicourse first.
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