E161: What I Learned While Working at an Amazon FBA Warehouse

Hey, it’s Dave filling in for Mike. In today’s podcast, I’m going to talk about my stint at Amazon last year.

In January 2017, I got hired as a picker at one of their oversize FBA warehouses in Vancouver. I worked for 8 hours and was paid CA$13.75 an hour. I had originally intended to work there for two weeks but had to cut it short to a few days.

Still, it was more than enough time to have a good idea of what goes on inside these warehouses and what it's like to work there.

Here are 5 important takeaways from my time there. 

1. Different sized items are sent to different warehouses.

 Amazon has warehouses specifically for storing standard items and oversize items. If you’re importing products from a Chinese manufacturer, it’s best to ship only one-size items at a time. This prevents them from getting sent to different warehouses.

2. Amazon sells a lot of diapers and TVs.

 There was a staggering amount of TV sets and Pampers boxes at the warehouse I worked in.

3. Amazon has the ability to handle any item you can throw at it.

 Don’t worry about shipping your oversize products through Amazon. They’ll find a way to pack and ship to your customer securely.

4. There is no conspiracy to lose your stuff.

Amazon doesn’t intentionally lose your orders. It's more likely that the warehouse it’s shipped from doesn’t have a reliable way of organizing all the products going in and out. At our warehouse, the apparent lack of this system caused an item or two getting misplaced ever so often.

5. Peak fees are a result of peak rates.

 Amazon often has a harder time getting people to work in their warehouses during busy seasons like Christmas. So, they lure prospective employees with higher rates. This added expense is passed on to business owners, which explains why FBA fees are steeper at certain times of the year.

For a more detailed chronicle of “Dave the Amazon Warehouse Picker”, check out my blog post here. 

Useful Resources:

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 Thanks for listening to this episode! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Happy selling!