Amazon FBA time commitment varies dramatically between the launch phase and maintenance phase.
Launch phase (months 1-3): 15-20 hours/week
- Product research and validation
- Finding and vetting suppliers (Alibaba, domestic)
- Creating listings, photography, A+ content
- Setting up PPC campaigns
- Learning the platform
Maintenance phase (month 4+): 5-10 hours/week
- Monitoring PPC and adjusting bids
- Inventory management and reorders
- Responding to customer questions
- Tracking competitors and adjusting pricing
This is one of FBA's biggest advantages over other e-commerce models — once your product is live, Amazon handles fulfillment, shipping, returns, and most customer service. You're essentially managing a business, not running a store.
Each new product launch adds another 15-20 hour sprint, but your existing products keep running on autopilot.