Everything You Need to Start Amazon Dropshipping Today (The Real Checklist)
Most people are waiting for the wrong things before they start. They think they need an LLC, a business bank account, thousands in inventory capital, an EIN number, and some expensive software suite. None of that is true.
Here's the actual checklist — what you need and what you can stop worrying about.
What You Think You Need vs. What You Actually Need
Let me debunk these one by one.
You do NOT need:
What you actually need:
That's the entire setup. You can be operational in less than a week.
Step 1: Account Setup
Go to Google and search "sell on Amazon." Click the first result (Amazon Seller Central). The signup process has five steps and takes maybe 10 minutes:
1. Business information — Your location, business type. If you're not incorporated, select "None — I am an individual." That's it.2. Seller information — Verify your identity with a government ID (passport or driver's license).3. Billing information — Your bank account (so Amazon can pay you) and credit card (for the $29/month fee).4. Store information — Choose your store name. Keep it short, professional, and broad enough that it doesn't pigeonhole you into one product category.5. Identity verification — Upload your ID. This takes 48–72 hours to process.
One important note: if your account doesn't get verified immediately, do not open a second account. Submit a support case through Seller Central and wait. Opening multiple accounts under the same household, name, or device is a violation that can get you permanently banned.
Step 2: Supplier Approval
You don't need wholesale accounts with minimum order quantities. You don't need a business license to get approved. You need domestic-based suppliers that allow you to place individual orders after a sale is made and ship directly to the customer.
There are supplier directories and networks built specifically for Amazon dropshippers operating through FBM (fulfillment by merchant). Services like US Direct are examples — they let you order at wholesale cost per unit and ship to the customer's address.
Your target: 3–5 domestic suppliers in whatever marketplace you're selling in (US-based suppliers for the US marketplace, Canadian-based for Canada, etc.).
No AliExpress. No Alibaba. No overseas sourcing. You want fast domestic shipping to stay competitive on Amazon.
Step 3: Product Research — What Tools You Actually Need
You don't need a $500/month software subscription with 50 data points you'll never use. For Amazon dropshipping, you need two things:
1. The ASIN (Amazon's unique product identifier)2. The BSR (Best Seller Rank) — the lower the number, the faster the product sells
That's it. AMZ Scout gives you both for a one-time $99 fee. No monthly subscription, no unnecessary dashboards. It tells you how many units a product sells per month based on its BSR and category. That's all you need to decide if a product is worth listing.
Example: If you're looking at a coffee warmer with a BSR of 1,200 in Home & Kitchen, AMZ Scout might show it sells ~3,000 units/month across that category. If your supplier has it for $132 and it's selling on Amazon for $242, the math works. List it.
The Core Profit Formula
This business comes down to one equation: Supplier price vs. Amazon selling price.
If your supplier charges $132 for a product that sells on Amazon for $242:
You never buy inventory before a sale is made. When someone pays you $199 on Amazon, you go to your supplier, pay $132, and have them ship directly to the customer. You keep the difference minus Amazon's fee.
The risk-free nature of this model is why it's the right starting point for anyone who doesn't want to gamble thousands of dollars on inventory.
What Starting Actually Looks Like
Month 1 cost: ~$128
That's it. After month 1, your ongoing cost is $29/month for the seller account.
The process:1. Set up your seller account2. Lock in 3–5 domestic suppliers3. Run brand research to identify what brands you're ungated to list4. Cross-reference those brands across your suppliers for pricing5. Find products where supplier price is lower than Amazon selling price6. List them — takes about 30 seconds per product7. Repeat
Your first 30 days aren't about making $10,000. They're about confirming the system works. Most students see their first sale somewhere between 20 and 30 listings.
The Mindset That Kills Progress Before It Starts
The two biggest killers in this business:
Perfectionism. Waiting until every detail is optimized before listing anything. The students who move fast and list messy outperform the ones who spend two weeks perfecting a single listing. Success loves speed.
Overcomplication. Buying expensive software you don't need, researching business structures for months before registering, trying to have every contingency covered before starting. None of that makes you money. Listings make you money.
The students who see the best results earliest are the ones who take the checklist, execute it, and start listing. They learn by doing, not by preparing to do.
Stop Waiting. Start Listing.
You have everything you need to start. The system works. Over 700 people have used it to build Amazon businesses from scratch — from cooks and construction workers to stay-at-home parents and full-time employees.
If you want to shortcut the learning curve and have someone mentor you through the process directly, apply to the Leading Digital Ecom mentorship program. You'll get the full supplier list, the product research system, the AI frameworks, and direct access to coaching — everything in one place instead of piecing it together from YouTube.
[Apply to the Mentorship Program →]
