My second Q1 is officially over and I couldn't be happier with my 2022 sales so far! The first quarter was challenging for me, for a variety of reasons, but I was able to adapt which allowed me to continue to scale my business. I have definitely started the year off with a bang and my only goal at this point is to keep up the momentum.

I've mentioned before that my goal with this blog is to be as transparent as possible with my Amazon journey, and this is one of those posts!

In this post, I will share all things that happened in Q1 and what I'm hoping to achieve in Q2!

Q1 Review

In this Q1 review, I will do a complete number crunch sharing how much I spent, my profit, and more. This post is not intended to brag or boast about my journey. It's so you can catch a true glimpse at what being an Amazon seller is like. Let's get started!

Expenses, Income, & Profit

First, let's talk about the expenses. Spending money is the easy part. Finding profitable items to flip for a profit can be a bit more challenging. To be a successful Amazon seller, you have to spend money to make money. There's just no way around it. And, trust me, the expenses add up quick!

My total expenses for Q1 totaled $14,319.63! Here's a breakdown:

Total Cost of Goods Sold: $5,782.56 (75% of that was from March!)
- Note: Inventory Lab utilizes an accrual-based accounting method, so this number may not reflect all COGs that were purchased in Q1.

Selling Fees: $2,607.54

FBA Transaction Fees: $3,216.74

FBA Inventory and Inbound Service Fees: $636.97

Other Expenses: $2,075.82
- Includes things like subscriptions, memberships, shipping costs, supplies, sales tax, and more!

Now for the exciting part... Income!

Amazon Sales: $18,093.51 (over half of that was from March!)

Ebay Income: $257.60
- Thanks to either bad buys or Amazon price tankers!

Refunds: $1,067.28

Other Income: $165.29
- This may include things like liquidations, shipping credits, and promotional rebates.

So, how much money did I actually make in Q1?

My net profit was $3,465.57! While it may seem like I did a ton of work to only make this much money, I'm still very happy with my numbers. My profit is already much higher than it was last year and that's just for Q1!

To figure out your net profit, subtract the total expenses from the total sales. Or just look at the Inventory Lab report like I did!

Suppliers and Categories

The stores listed below were my 10 most profitable suppliers in Q1:

Walmart
Kohls
Chewy
TJ Maxx
Target
Home Goods
CVS
JCPenney
Ross
Marshalls

Supplier Profitability Report from Inventory Lab

The categories listed below were my 10 most profitable in Q1:

Grocery
Pet Products
Shoes
Toy
Health and Beauty
Kitchen
Office Product
Baby Product
Apparel
Home

Category Profitability Report from Inventory Lab

All of my numbers were pulled from Inventory Lab. If you want to track your progress and run reports similar to those above, click on the link below and get a 30-day free trial!

Inventory Lab

Disclaimer: This is an affiliate link. If you click through or make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Appreciate the support!

What went wrong in Q1?

This quarter was challenging for a variety of reasons. Some of these challenges were out of my control, and others were just flat-out mistakes on my part. But I didn't let this stop me! I continued to "feed the beast" and, overall, ended up with a solid quarter.

I had surgery in mid-January, which significantly slowed down my ability to source and send in shipments. In January, I was only able to send in 3 shipments and all of which were fairly small. My sales for the first two months were decent, all things considering, but I still wonder what could have been!

While surgery was my main challenge in Q1, the fact that my husband and I are sharing a vehicle at the moment didn't help things either. Surgery plus one vehicle sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it was just an obstacle that I had to learn how to overcome! This wasn't as big of an issue as I was anticipating; I just had to plan out my sourcing trips ahead of time!

I also received the most dreaded email an Amazon Seller can receive... deactivation of your account! Luckily, this email was sent in error and only impacted my ability to sell in Brazil (still don't know why). I had been working with Amazon regarding my liability insurance and received this message as a reply to one of my messages. I'm not sure how I didn't completely lose my shit, I just knew I needed to get to the bottom of it. I immediately contacted Amazon Seller Support (shout out Robert!), who confirmed that my account was in good standing and no further action was needed. If this happens to you, make sure you respond to Amazon in a timely manner and document everything!

I made a true newbie mistake... I sent in 1 of an item that was supposed to be a pack of 6. Yikes! I sold 3 out of 5 of them before I received a message from an upset customer. I asked that they request a refund through Amazon, which they did, and immediately closed the listing. Luckily, I never heard from the other two customers, so I was only out approximately $15. Definitely learned that lesson the hard way. Here's the listing and I still can't believe I missed this!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I have a newfound love for online arbitrage. While OA is great, it also comes with some risk. In most cases, you don't know the expiration dates of the items you are purchasing, and you also don't know if you will receive them in sellable condition. I have returned everything from coffee that expired in 2020, to pet food with ripped packaging, to shoes with smashed boxes because they were shipped in a poly mailer. In Q1 alone, I have returned approximately $650 worth of unsellable products purchased online! While it's frustrating, these things happen, and I realize that it's just a part of doing business.

The last challenge occurred because I was blinded by the profit. I was sourcing shoes at the Nike Outlet store and found a shoe that I was making just under 100% ROI on. What did I do? Stock up. What did I not do? Check to make sure it was the right shoe in the right box! I didn't check this until I got home, and I was so frustrated with myself. The shoes should have been white and blue (which is what the box said), but a pair of all black shoes were in the box. Ugh! Now I have to drive an hour back to the store to return them or try to sell them on eBay. Always double check your items before purchasing them!

What went right in Q1?

Sometimes it's easier to talk about your failures, rather than your successes. I know I'm definitely guilty of this, but I'm so excited to talk (or write) about the "rights" this time. For the first time since starting my business, I have realized that this isn't a pipe dream or something that's too good to be true. I CAN do this, and I will!

Without a doubt, the biggest contributor to my successful Q1 was learning how to do online arbitrage. I was basically forced into doing OA because of my surgery, and now I can't imagine not doing it! While I am in no way an expert, and still make mistakes from time to time, it has been an absolute gamechanger. Because I work a full-time 9 to 5 job, I'm limited on how much time I have to source each week. With OA, I can source for a little while every evening and even on my breaks. Fun fact? I do OA without any of the fancy software, like Tactical Arbitrage. I literally just have my computer and phone and either photo scan the item on my screen or manually search for it. I have been successful doing it this way and so can you! Here's a picture of my most recent OA haul!

As a new Amazon seller, I envied everyone who would post about their $1,000 days and their $10,000 months. I felt like these milestones were too far out of reach and something I would never accomplish. Looking back, I realize that I am way too hard on myself, because do you want to know what I'm most proud of this Q1? I had a $1,000 day AND a $10,000 month!!! While I have surpassed this milestone once before in Q4 (thanks to one crazy lead from the BOLO group), this one just feels different because I've truly worked my ass off to get here.

In other news, my shipments keep getting bigger and more profitable. In March alone, I had 4 shipments in a row that had a profit of more than $1,000! See below for pictures of some of my recent shipments.

In Q1, I've really been focusing on trying to get out of my comfort zone. I'm so used to going into the same stores over and over again because it's what I know. But you can literally do retail arbitrage anywhere and I believe it's important to branch out. Sourcing at new places and sourcing for new products can be challenging, but I realize that this will also help me scale my business at a faster pace. Therefore, I've tried sourcing at a couple new stores this Q1 and am proud of the return. Some of the stores that I've recently started to source at are CVS, Christian Book Store, Kohls, and Nike.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I started selling on Amazon in March of 2021. Therefore, I felt like it was appropriate to mention another huge milestone that was met this Q1. Over the past 12 months, I have surpassed over $50,000 in total sales! I'm halfway to the $100K club, which seems absolutely crazy. One year ago, this all felt too good to be true but now it's starting to become reality.

Something dawned on me as I was writing this post and pulling my numbers from Seller Central. I get paid by Amazon and my full-time job every other week. My last payment from Amazon matched my last paycheck from my 9 to 5. While this doesn't take into account my health insurance or 401k, it was still mind-blowing to see! And, do you know what's even cooler? My next Amazon payout will be even more than my biweekly checks from my "real" job! Becoming a full-time Amazon seller is quickly approaching.

Q2 Goals

I didn't set any real goals in Q1 and, luckily, it worked out in my favor! But I'm hoping to change that for Q2. Listed below are my goals I hope to achieve in Q2:

Continue to source and send in weekly shipments

Source in a new store

Have another $1,000 day (multiple would be nice!)

Have another $10,000 month

Surpass my Amazon sales from Q1

It doesn't seem right to do a Q1 review and not give a huge shout out to Nikki Kirk! I'm confident that my sales wouldn't have been what they were this Q1 without the BOLO Group! Click HERE to join the group that helped me reach over $50,000 in sales in my first year as an Amazon seller!