You Could Make $100k From Selling Hemp on Amazon: Here’s How

If you have a hemp company, you might have considered becoming an Amazon seller and putting some of your products up on the site.

However, Amazon policy forbids selling consumable CBD – at least in theory – and sellers with experience working on the platform have mixed feedback.

So is it really a good idea to sell hemp on Amazon? How much can you expect to make, and how can you avoid having problems with the site’s enforcement team?

The Rules About CBD on Amazon

Amazon says they prohibit CBD, anything described as “full spectrum hemp oil” or “rich hemp oil,” and anything identified by LegitScript as containing CBD. The only exception is for topical products that comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

However, almost a third of products in CBD Oracle’s lab study of Amazon hemp products did contain CBD. So the reality is that this policy is not at all well enforced, and actually people do make money from selling CBD on Amazon every day.

How Do People Get Away With Selling CBD on Amazon?

The core strategy of all of the companies who successfully sell CBD on Amazon is to never say it’s CBD. It is dishonest, but this is the reality of Amazon’s rules right now.

Kelly Lombard, founder of Forge Hemp, explained this issue to us perfectly, “Amazon has demonstrated that they don’t understand the difference between hemp seed oil and hemp extract that contains cannabinoids. As long as sellers are vague about a product’s contents, Amazon doesn’t seem to care. This is problematic because U.S. consumers need more information about hemp and CBD, not less.”

What Do Hemp Companies Who Sell on Amazon Say About Their Experience?

We interviewed some Amazon sellers for our report, and they give a good snapshot of the range of viewpoints about selling hemp on Amazon.

Mike Sill, co-founder and CEO of Sunday Scaries, was blunt, “Our experience selling hemp on Amazon has been miserable, and we would not recommend it to other hemp brands. There’s a reason that the top CBD companies, including the publicly traded ones, do not advertise on Amazon and it’s because our accounts will be banned.”

Kelly Lombard was more positive, but with an important caveat, “Our brief experience reaching a national audience through Amazon was incredible, and the customer feedback on our products was excellent. If a hemp company is able to thread the needle by complying with Amazon’s requirements and also serving consumers with high-quality products and transparent information, then I recommend selling qualifying products on Amazon.”

Finally, one seller who wished to remain anonymous said their experience had been “Rocky. It seems like the more questionable the product the longer it stays up there. We have been kicked off several times and have to repeatedly appeal being on their platform.”

The biggest issue for most sellers is the inconsistent enforcement, with Forge Hemp having been removed from the platform primarily because of their (admirable) commitment to transparency and the anonymous seller having to struggle to remain on the storefront.

How Much Could You Make from Selling on Amazon?

Selling hemp on Amazon could be pretty profitable, with 50% of the products covered in our analysis likely generating over $20,000 per year or more. In fact, the most profitable seller from the study (GummiMi) generated almost $100k per month from three products. They’re a great example of both the promise and the risk of selling hemp on Amazon.

On the plus side, they obviously make an incredible amount of money, and they have a recognizable brand. However, they are also a poster-child for the multitude of issues with Amazon hemp. Two of the three products listed dosages so high that it is literally impossible that it could fit into the containers and two of three products made an illegal medical claim. And all three products did not contain any hemp at all.  

So you can absolutely make great money selling hemp on Amazon, but the challenge is both keeping your morality intact while being pressured to deceive to remain on the storefront and beating companies like GummiMi who are lying in more ways than you would think possible.

Should You Sell Hemp on Amazon? And If So, What Are the Dos and Don’ts?

Our honest advice would be to avoid selling hemp on Amazon unless they change their policy to allow CBD to be sold openly and honestly by reputable companies.

However, it’s true that Amazon has a huge potential market and as Kelly Lombard said, if you can “thread the needle” and stay on Amazon’s good side, it could be very profitable and rewarding.

So with that in mind, here are some Dos and Don’ts:

Do

• Have an independent website. This gives your brand legitimacy and gives you a place to describe your products in honest terms that may not be allowed on Amazon.
• Make good products. Just because your competitors are selling expensive candy disguised as real CBD it doesn’t mean you should – make something that will actually benefit your customers.
• Stick with topicals if you want to be transparent. Topical CBD that complies with relevant laws is allowed on Amazon and you won’t have to mislead or omit information to sell it.
• Learn the difference between a structure/function claim and a medical claim. Read the FDA guidance so you don’t wind up pulled from the storefront or in legal trouble.
• Get your products independently tested. Share the certificate of analysis (COA) on Amazon if possible, but if not, use your website to give customers the whole picture.

Don’t

• Say your product contains CBD (unless specifically approved by Amazon as a topical). The golden rule for selling on Amazon is to not say anything about CBD or other cannabinoids on your product pages and packaging.
• Compete for the highest dosage. Some brands will claim to pack millions of milligrams of hemp into their products. Some customers will fall for it, but the smart ones will avoid you like the plague.
• Risk selling THC. Amazon may turn a blind eye to CBD, but if they spot a sign your product contains THC, you’re much more likely to have problems with enforcement.

Related:

• Half of the Hemp Product Listings on Amazon Make Illegal Medical Claims
• Amazon Could Get Fined Up to $1.3 Million Over INFORM Consumers Act Violations
• Amazon’s Hemp Market Costs the CBD Industry Over $60 Million Per Year
• Study Reveals Amazon’s Hidden Market for THC Gummies
• This Gummy on Amazon Says It Has 200,000,000 mg of Hemp Extract, But Is That Even Possible?