Cheap labor to fulfill items

[Kelly441]

Originally Posted by MICKY H

Not ridicule, but if you don't know your own business who else does. If you cannot time yourself for packing 10 items then work out from there how many a hour can be packed, then halve it you will have a rough idea. Being helpful, why change from FBA, more orders FBA as customers trust amazon and if you if beat amazon on price you always get the buybox. You don't have to be the cheapest to get lots of orders.

The whole point of asking was to get feedback from other business owners that do this. I'm sure many here hire help to do this.

[Kelly441]

Originally Posted by MICKY H

why change from FBA?

Because what I am noticing is that many items can not be sold FBA to make a profit. However, they can be sold seller fulfilled. I found one item in particular that I can make $1- $1.20 per item and the other guy is selling 150-200 a day.

Something I realized though is that particular seller is a featured merchant. I am not yet and I doubt I would get that many sales even if I under cut the guy.

I think this is something I will try once I get featured merchant status.

Does Amazon notify you when you reach featured merchant status?

[Kelly441]

Originally Posted by Futuremogul888

At some point a successful business will need to take on employees to scale the business. The only reason to hire someone is if your profits will go up as a result. If hiring someone will allow you to take your business to the next level then definitely do so.

To prevent your employees from competing with you the best thing to do is make them strictly labors. All you allow them to do is pick and pack. They will know what you sell and will have no idea where to get it and they should not see the in and outs of your Amazon or Ebay business. Remember you don't want to hire complete idiots but they should not be too smart either. Make sure that you subtly make them aware of the barriers to entry and the significant cost of getting in this business whether true or not. Also completely avoid providing them with any insight or expertise in the business. Pay them enough to provide for their basic needs not to set aside money for investment. $8-$8.50 is about right.

Within a month or two of training they should operate like machinery. They should be able to do everything you ask extremely efficiently with no hassle on your part. You should also hold them accountable unlike machinery. For example, I have found that with a certain product I sell, my employees should be able to pack 3 items a minute or 180 an hour. Any less then that is unacceptable. The other thing you want to hold them accountable for is sending the wrong item or a complaint of item not properly packed. You should have a system in place to track the employee that screwed up if you have multiple employees.

When hiring craigslist is your friend. Interview as many applicants as you have time for because with the way the economy is right now, it is a employer's market. Even a job as lowly as this will have lots of competition. Also most states are at-will employment states so hire and fire as necessary.

I take it that you are printing out the packing slips and shipping labels and confirming shipping yourself? Do you just buy the shipping through Amazon so the shipping is confirmed automatically? I use Stamps.com software and I have to copy and paste the name and address into the software and then copy and paste the tracking number back to Amazon to confirm. If I have hundreds of orders, I'm thinking that doing it through Amazon will save a lot of time. I think it's only 8 more cents to do it through them?

[Futuremogul888]

Exactly what I do, only Ebay Shipping instead of Amazon. Have not yet ventured into Amazon because I'm more a fan of auctions then fixed price listings.

I come in at 7am, print out orders and packing slips, assign them to an employee, and I'm out by 10am. I have a camera system hooked up to the internet so I can watch them from my phone or tablet while they work. The postman comes at 4:30 and they are done for the day. Payroll is not even 10% of my gross revenue.

[MICKY H]

Does Amazon notify you when you reach featured merchant status?

I never have been, I always get the buy box when I am around 45cents cheaper than amazon. But only when selling FBA. Other sellers may be cheaper but I always get the buy box

[MM78]

Originally Posted by Futuremogul888

Exactly what I do, only Ebay Shipping instead of Amazon. Have not yet ventured into Amazon because I'm more a fan of auctions then fixed price listings.

I come in at 7am, print out orders and packing slips, assign them to an employee, and I'm out by 10am. I have a camera system hooked up to the internet so I can watch them from my phone or tablet while they work. The postman comes at 4:30 and they are done for the day. Payroll is not even 10% of my gross revenue.

By 11am...Hot Tub Time Machine, 12:00 Noon Return...then Lunch!
I bet there's a shotgun with a remote control on the other end too!

[Futuremogul888]

No but they are well aware that they are being watched at all times. I call them and tell them what they are doing all the time.

[MM78]

You run a tight ship, I like it!

[yellowrotorway]

Hey Kelly 441..

My opinion to you is, absolutely try to find some cheap labor that you can trust.
YOU CAN'T GET RICH WITHOUT DELEGATING...
If you can pay someone to do it, then free up your time to make more money somewhere else, than THAT is the secret to success!


Good Luck !

[Gamefreak]

What kind of volume are you doing to need help.. Unless you are doing 300 plus big items you should be able to do it all yourself in 2-4 hours. Start at 2 by end of shipping day ( 5:30 here ) you will be done..

[rsot]

Re-read FM888's paragraph:

To prevent your employees from competing with you the best thing to do is make them strictly labors. All you allow them to do is pick and pack. They will know what you sell and will have no idea where to get it and they should not see the in and outs of your Amazon or Ebay business. Remember you don't want to hire complete idiots but they should not be too smart either. Make sure that you subtly make them aware of the barriers to entry and the significant cost of getting in this business whether true or not. Also completely avoid providing them with any insight or expertise in the business. Pay them enough to provide for their basic needs not to set aside money for investment. $8-$8.50 is about right.

You will need separate areas and access for this.

[Kelly441]

Originally Posted by Futuremogul888

No but they are well aware that they are being watched at all times. I call them and tell them what they are doing all the time.

Is this the restaurant stakeout guy?

[n8zzz]

Originally Posted by Kelly441

Is this the restaurant stakeout guy?

When something goes wrong, I yell to my gf imitating his voice, "this is out of control!"

I'm going to try to present the other side of what some of the people in here are saying. I don't think it's extremely important to worry about what employees see. Yes there are secrets that will most likely die within my own head, but other than that, their knowledge hasn't been an issue for me. Here is why:

1. If they don't know my suppliers, any hope of trying to do what I do is nearly useless
2. Most of the people I hire don't even have 5k to invest in an online business
3. Know your employee: I specifically hire someone who has a lot of aspirations going on; usually they're a college student, maybe an artist - basically someone who would have no interest in doing what you do because they have something called "a passion"
4. Every now and then I make it seem like low money and an oversaturated market is a pain in my wallet; if they knew what I made, they would be much more inclined to want to take over

[GreenBean]

Man, this is starting to sound like preparation for war.

Decide on your plan.

Work out your profits. Then look for what sort of 'labor' you want.

Ensure you have adequate insurance for anyone coming onto your property.

I have a friend who contracts out to a sheltered workshop. Amazing simple when you think of it. Kids same age as college students who will perform repetitive jobs with a minimum of fuss. More importantly he has found them to have a good work ethos.

[zoneout]

Originally Posted by n8zzz

When something goes wrong, I yell to my gf imitating his voice, "this is out of control!"

I'm going to try to present the other side of what some of the people in here are saying. I don't think it's extremely important to worry about what employees see. Yes there are secrets that will most likely die within my own head, but other than that, their knowledge hasn't been an issue for me. Here is why:

1. If they don't know my suppliers, any hope of trying to do what I do is nearly useless
2. Most of the people I hire don't even have 5k to invest in an online business
3. Know your employee: I specifically hire someone who has a lot of aspirations going on; usually they're a college student, maybe an artist - basically someone who would have no interest in doing what you do because they have something called "a passion"
4. Every now and then I make it seem like low money and an oversaturated market is a pain in my wallet; if they knew what I made, they would be much more inclined to want to take over

Sounds like my old boss when I was fresh out of high school... Lol.

[user3657]

Originally Posted by GreenBean™

I have a friend who contracts out to a sheltered workshop. Amazing simple when you think of it. Kids same age as college students who will perform repetitive jobs with a minimum of fuss. More importantly he has found them to have a good work ethos.

I like this idea...

[rsot]

Originally Posted by GreenBean™

I have a friend who contracts out to a sheltered workshop. Amazing simple when you think of it. Kids same age as college students who will perform repetitive jobs with a minimum of fuss. More importantly he has found them to have a good work ethos.

So long as no child labour

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by rsot

So long as no child labour

College aged students are no longer children.

In my state kids can work 20 hours a week spread out over days at 15 years old. Never hard to teach them some work ethics anyway.

[Sandy D]

Originally Posted by MM78

Everything is going to depend on how well trained the employee is. I would not start out paying $10/hr, if anything I think $8/hr is more than enough.

I agree. When I owned my own manufacturing business it was hard to find good workers who would be willing to be on time and put out the effort to even make minimum wage back then.

The skilled people got paid according to their skills and my profits. Then I had to deal with those who pretty much had no skills and did not want to work 12-14 hour days when orders piled in or weekends.

10 pr hr for an unskilled worker causes most businesses to lose money.