Making Money on Amazon Without Selling: Promoting, Working, Reviewing, and Other Ways

Decades ago in his garage, Jeff Bezos launched a company that was bound to become the world’s most valuable brand, leaving behind Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, and Instagram. Yet, not everyone possesses an entrepreneurial spirit this strong. Frankly speaking, many people do not have it at all. Still, it does not mean a platform this big will limit its users’ profit-generating opportunities strictly to buyer-seller relations. So, if you have been wondering, “How can I make money on Amazon without selling?”, here are some of the most lucrative options for you to start with.

How to Make Money on Amazon Without Selling? 

The first rule of getting involved in any financial affairs, even when they seem to be effortless and low risk, is to do your research on the methods, implications, rewards, and requirements beforehand. Therefore, do not forget to:

• Check that your location allows you to participate in the program you like.
• Ensure that there is a convenient payment method available to receive your funds (usually, you can choose checks or direct deposits, but there are cases when your only option is Amazon Gift Card).
• Learn everything you need to know about your country’s tax legislation because in most cases it will be your responsibility to report this additional income (even if it is small).

For Those Who Have an Audience

How to make money from Amazon without selling?

If you have enough people that will listen to your opinion, you can advertise the platform’s goods and services on your website or social media page.  

Amazon Associates

This is the company’s affiliate program. Like any program of the same nature, it presents the participants with a simple algorithm for making profits:

1. Sign up.
2. Recommend goods & services.
3. Earn a commission for every purchase made through your link. 

Although it seems like an effortless way to get a passive income, there are certain complications that you need to carefully consider before rushing to send your application. First, you need to already have a loyal audience and an established reputation as promotional assets. To secure a permanent spot on the program, you have to:

• Bring in at least 3 sales in the first 180 days. 
• Provide links to your website, mobile application, or social network to prove that your content is original, up-to-date, law-abiding, and morally faultless. 
• Ensure that you have enough visitors to generate a significant traffic boost. 

Thus, before signing up, you’d better check that:

• The materials you publish are recent (within at least 60 days), unique (even with removed advertising), and accessible (no closed groups, hidden followers, etc.).
• You have enough posts (at least 10) or followers to qualify (at least 500).
• Your social media profile is on Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok.

If you feel strongly about your capabilities, go ahead and sign in, insert links (text/image/text & image), banners, or even Product Advertising API on your site/page. That is how you start to:

• Recommend products for 1–20% commission, depending on the purchase’s category.
• Promote events like subscribing, registering, or making the first buy on Amazon services for a $3–25 bounty (Amazon Prime, Audible, Kindle, etc.) or a $3 bonus (Amazon Fresh Products/Pet Food & Supplies).
• Become an advocate of the Trade-in Program. Induce people to trade in their books, textbooks, or electronic products for Amazon Gift Cards with a 4% commission of the item’s value (you will get your reward when the platform accepts items submitted by referred users).

You will get paid when customers:

• Acquire items directly after clicking on your link.
• Put the desired goods in the shopping cart and obtain them within 89 days since the click-through initially happened.

Still, keep in mind that in case of cancellations, refunds, or returns, your remuneration will also be called off.

Amazon Influencer Program

This program is similar to the affiliate one, but it is designed specifically for influencers who long to work in partnership with Amazon. Thus, on the one hand, in terms of rewards, links display, and content everything stays the same. Yet, on the other hand, there are also some specific conditions and requirements, such as:

• Besides sharing the links to the platform’s products or services, you can create a personal storefront to recommend goods and monetize your publications by showing your Amazon page’s URL on social media. 
• Only Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube users are eligible for the program.
• Having a sufficient number of followers is not enough, your other engagement metrics need to be impressive as well. 

For Those Who Have Spare Time 

If you rephrase your question into “How to earn money on Amazon without selling?”, the ‘I’ve got an idea’ bulb will light up in your head immediately. You can simply get a job. Whether you search for a full-time, part-time, or on-demand occupation, the platform has a suitable offer for you.

Amazon Mechanical Turk

Turns out that people are better at doing certain tasks than machines. Hence, artificial intelligence can learn from human experience. That is why MTurk was developed as a crowdsourcing platform where Requesters can find Workers who are willing to perform HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks) for them.

Now, the tasks are relatively small and simple (e.g., moderate content, participate in a survey, translate a text, deduplicate data, etc.). Therefore, anyone who has spare time and Internet access can participate. However, soon, some HITS will be available to skillful or experienced users only.  

Amazon Flex

If you have a midsize or large car, smartphone, and spare time, this is your call. All you need to do to get $18–25 per hour is:

1. Download and install the Amazon Flex app.
2. Set up an account and select any of the available delivery blocks in your area.
3. Pick up and deliver the packages.
4. Receive your payments twice a week via direct deposits.

Other Job Offers

Being the second-largest private employer in the country (after Walmart), Amazon does not have a shortage of job opportunities that almost anyone can seize. Depending on your qualification and demands, you can help manage stores, warehouses, online grocery orders, deliveries, or even pharmacies.   

For Those Who Are All About Honest Reviews

How to make money on Amazon without a product? Just write fair & detailed reviews about the ones you buy.

Amazon Vine

Amazon claims to want its customers to be well-informed about the goods they seek to purchase. Thus, it launched a Vine program where the platform receives various products from participating selling partners and sends them to the selected trusted reviewers to get an impartial opinion on their quality.

Naturally, you do not make any money out of it. Yet, getting free stuff is always beneficial for your budget. Plus, it teases your brain and curiosity. You can try new things, experiment with them, and test their limits.

The trick is that this is an invite-only program. Still, you can contribute to being nominated as one by being active and unbiased with your feedback.

For Those Who Have Large Bookshelves

Technically, this solution does not teach you how to make money on Amazon without selling anything. Yet, it does show you how to make money on Amazon without selling products because you do not have to produce anything or even start a business.  

Amazon Bookstore

If you are a bookworm, you can sell your old books & textbooks yourself, instead of leaving them in a Trade-in program. Maybe you do not want a 25% discount for a qualifying product because you do not plan to get one, or you strive to control how to present, describe, and even price your goods. Anyway, this is the best instrument to check that you pass your favorite stories to another book lover.

So, what published materials can you help find a new home here? Almost any of them:

• New books that you got as presents, yet are not particularly excited to read.
• Used books that you love and cherish, but do not have enough storage space to keep (e.g., old children’s books, classics collections, etc.).
• Textbooks that you do not need anymore (a relief to you, and a help to your successor).
• Collectible or rare books (rumor has it, vintage & antique is the new black on the market these days).
• Even your own e-books are eligible for publication and selling.

Make the Most Out of the Opportunity  

Making money on Amazon without selling is not as impossible as you might think. On the contrary, in most cases, it only requires the assets that you already have, whether it is an existing fan base, old books on your shelf, a car, or just a smartphone. So, do not waste your time and seize the opportunity that tempts you the most.