The high-risk, high-reward world of selling stuff on Amazon

She chose stackable baby formula dispensers because the category didn’t seem to have much competition, and found a supplier in China to manufacture them.

After hiring a coach to help her navigate how the world’s largest online marketplace works, she set up listings from her home office in Reston, Virginia, selling dispensers for $11.99 a pack. After a few months, the business was doing between $1,500 and $2,000 per month in sales, about half of which she kept as profit.