Someone on the Amazon Seller Central forums recently shared a browser screenshot showing massive Amazon FBA shipping charges for a pallet of baby goods. What interested me were the other things included in the screenshot, which indicate this person is heavily invested in other “side hustles,” not just Amazon:
Mining rigs? Credit repair? A bank in the Caribbean? I knew that there is a large contingent of newbie Amazon sellers who are attracted to the promise of easy money side hustles. I talk about them all the time on my videos (see Beware Amazon KDP passive income schemes from “masterclass” gurus). But I did not know about the other side hustles they are getting into.
“Mining rigs” refers to computer hardware (usually banks of supercharged PCs) set up to create cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin that basically have no real-world use case except speculation and money laundering. Cryptocurrencies (and the related NFT market) are notorious for attracting shady characters who engage in fraud and rug-pulls, frequently at the expense of newbies who seek easy money. Some end up losing their life savings on crypto side hustles.
And while there’s nothing wrong with using a bank in the Bahamas, it’s also a characteristic of those passive income apostles who want to live the dream expounded by Tim Ferriss in his best-selling book, The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich sitting on a beach.
The passive income crowd has long been into Amazon side hustles, whether it’s publishing AI-generated books on Amazon KDP or plunging into the risky world of flipping goods using Amazon Seller Central. They are frequently attracted by incredible riches promised on YouTube:
Getting back to our Amazon seller who appears to be dabbling on crypto mining while living in the tropics: This person not only confused import fees with shipping charges, they didn’t even understand the pesky details around H.S. numbers and import taxes.
The fact that he or she is importing baby products is downright depressing. The last thing Amazon needs are more sellers looking to make a quick buck on items that have the potential to harm children.