Cheap labor to fulfill items

Kelly441 · #1 03-31-2013

I have mostly done FBA, but I have many products that I could fulfill myself but don't want to spend 8 hrs a day to fulfill orders. I was thinking of paying someone $10/hr to do the work.

What I was wondering is how many orders can an employee do in an hour? This would consist of them printing the postage, packing the item and taping the postage on. I'm trying to figure out my cost for fulfilling orders.

thanks guys

MM78 · #2 03-31-2013

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.

Octoman · #3 03-31-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelly441

I have mostly done FBA, but I have many products that I could fulfill myself but don't want to spend 8 hrs a day to fulfill orders. I was thinking of paying someone $10/hr to do the work.

What I was wondering is how many orders can an employee do in an hour? This would consist of them printing the postage, packing the item and taping the postage on. I'm trying to figure out my cost for fulfilling orders.

thanks guys

do it yourself

#4 03-31-2013

just know that you have to trust the employee, otherwise they could become your new competitor

they will know what you sell, where you sell, how you ship and possibly other info from working with you only a few hours

TonyAlmeida · #5 03-31-2013

Yup, Anyone here want to hire me?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speeder33

just know that you have to trust the employee, otherwise they could become your new competitor

they will know what you sell, where you sell, how you ship and possibly other info from working with you only a few hours

MM78 · #6 03-31-2013

Sign me up...I'll do it for free, mwuahahahaha!!!!

MICKY H · #7 03-31-2013

Unbelievable questions and you run your own business, LOL, how many can you do in an hour

#8 03-31-2013

i can see wanting to hire somebody cheap, after all this can take up quite some time, but I honestly don't believe its worth it

zoneout · #9 03-31-2013

Get your kids to do it for you. Problem solved.

GreenBean · #10 03-31-2013

If the OP is sensible, they will have no kids yet.

MM78 · #11 03-31-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelly441

I have mostly done FBA, but I have many products that I could fulfill myself but don't want to spend 8 hrs a day to fulfill orders. I was thinking of paying someone $10/hr to do the work.

What I was wondering is how many orders can an employee do in an hour? This would consist of them printing the postage, packing the item and taping the postage on. I'm trying to figure out my cost for fulfilling orders.

thanks guys

Maybe this can be put into a mathematical equation,

Time yourself for several hours, take the average then divide by 2.

GreenBean · #12 03-31-2013

http://www.aspkin.com/forums/ebay-di...lp-myself.html

There's a lot to consider before you take the plunge.

Trust is foremost.

Your hourly rate is too high until your employee ( to be) proves their worth.

Work on the basis that you might end up having to do the work if the employees are not reliable.
Consider carefully whatever options you take.

Kelly441 · #13 03-31-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by MICKY H

Unbelievable questions and you run your own business, LOL, how many can you do in an hour

If you could read you would see I said I do FBA and that I do not want to do it

MICKY H · #14 03-31-2013

I certainly can read, but if YOU cannot figure out how items you can pack in an hour then well....god forbid. Also you don't even say what your packing, cd dvd or a garden shed..

Kelly441 · #15 03-31-2013

They are very small items that are 2 ounces or less. Your right I don't know because I don't want to do it, that's why I want to hire somebody. I was looking for helpful answers, not ridicule.

zoneout · #16 03-31-2013

You could just give them the labels and product without giving em too much info about your business. Call your local community college and tell them you have a job for a student.

MICKY H · #17 03-31-2013

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.

Futuremogul888 · #18 03-31-2013

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.

MM78 · #19 04-01-2013

Futuremogul888 rules with an iron fist!

kwikiimart · #20 04-01-2013

I used to hire family members for $15 dollars hour to just pack stuff for me. They usually won't backstab you or steal your business. This went on for months until Amazon shut me down.

n8zzz · #21 04-01-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Octoman

do it yourself

Yeah, that is thinking very small. If you just want a small business that pays the bills, then you're fine doing it that way. I've been through a handful of employees; simply, it's necessary for increased revenue. Everything futuremogul888 said is correct. I pay $10/hr and give .50 raises every 3 months to keep good ones. Of course I have a couple people that do higher level stuff than just fulfilling fba, so I feel that it is worth it.

Kelly441 · #22 04-01-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoneout

You could just give them the labels and product without giving em too much info about your business. Call your local community college and tell them you have a job for a student.

That was my plan. I wasn't going to have them get on the computer at all.