{"id":15613,"date":"2026-07-15T20:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15613"},"modified":"2026-07-15T20:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:07:17","slug":"16-year-olds-amazon-side-hustle-used-chatgpt-to-hit-150k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15613","title":{"rendered":"16-Year-Old\u2019s Amazon Side Hustle Used ChatGPT to Hit $150K"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"tw:border-b tw:border-slate-200 tw:pb-4\">\n<h2 class=\"tw:mt-0 tw:mb-1 tw:text-2xl tw:font-heading\">Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"tw:font-normal tw:font-serif tw:text-base tw:marker:text-slate-400\">\n<li>Alexander invested $500 to learn the ins and outs of being a verified reseller online. <\/li>\n<li>He saw $10,000 in sales in month one, then $150,000 within 10 months. <\/li>\n<li>Now, he\u2019s focusing on school, with plans to pursue business or psychology in college.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Last year, Ethan Alexander, then 16 years old, had some spare time to fill after he stopped playing lacrosse. Starting a side hustle seemed like a solid option. The Kansas City, Missouri-based teen had seen people online who were verified resellers on Amazon and Walmart \u2014 third parties selling products on the platforms \u2014 and wanted to learn the business.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image Credit: Courtesy of Ethan Alexander<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So the high school student invested $500 (a sum he receives annually from his great-grandfather\u2019s will) to have a reseller teach him how to make money reselling items online.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI \u200afeel like everyone always tries to find the perfect side hustle,\u201d Alexander says. \u201cWhat\u2019s the best thing to do right now? But I saw it and went for it. I didn\u2019t try to look for a perfect opportunity. I just took what was in front of me and made it mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-walmart-laundry-detergent-launches-a-side-hustle-10k-in-one-month\">Walmart laundry detergent launches a side hustle: $10k in one month<\/h2>\n<p>In the beginning, Alexander used the software program <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/selleramp.com\/\">SellerAmp<\/a>, which shows seller metrics like price point, quantity in stock and who\u2019s owning the sought-after \u201cbuy box,\u201d to zero in on which products to sell. The<strong> <\/strong>\u201cbuy box\u201d refers to the section on a product page featuring \u201cadd to cart\u201d and \u201cbuy now\u201d options. SellerAmp also provided information on processing costs and fees, along with what price to set to see a certain profit percentage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alexander\u2019s analysis led him to his first product: laundry detergent from Walmart. He officially launched the side hustle, primarily selling on Amazon, in May 2025. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was driving to every single Walmart in the entire Kansas City metro,\u201d Alexander recalls. \u201cLiterally for hours a day, just driving, 30, 40 minutes to each of the big Walmarts and buying out everything that they had to try and send stock.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alexander packed and labeled the boxes, then took them to the post office to ship.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He hit $10,000 in sales in that first month, then $150,000 total by March 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1024\" width=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_0546-rotated.jpeg?w=768\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-440768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_0546-rotated.jpeg 3024w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_0546-rotated.jpeg?resize=225,300 225w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_0546-rotated.jpeg?resize=768,1024 768w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_0546-rotated.jpeg?resize=1152,1536 1152w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_0546-rotated.jpeg?resize=1536,2048 1536w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_0546-rotated.jpeg?resize=169,225 169w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image Credit: Courtesy of Ethan Alexander<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-rinse-and-repeat-sales-with-amazon-and-chatgpt\">\u201cRinse and repeat\u201d sales with Amazon and ChatGPT<\/h2>\n<p>After the success of his first product, Alexander ran the side hustle with a \u201crinse and repeat\u201d approach, focusing on different trending items.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, he integrated AI into his product-selection process. He trained ChatGPT on Python coding to filter out products he knew he couldn\u2019t move based on various metrics, which saved a lot of time. Additionally, he used the AI to track inventory and stay organized.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Several months into the growing side hustle, summer began, which meant Alexander had more time on his hands to devote to the business. He added more retailers to his rotation, including Menards, Target and Home Depot.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, Alexander designed his summer schedule to maximize productivity: packaging items until 5 a.m. or 6 a.m., going to sleep, then waking up to make post-office drop-offs and purchase more products at stores, often getting home around 11 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u200aWith Amazon, you have to keep your delivery speeds up because that\u2019s how you get more sales,\u201d Alexander explains. \u201cAmazon is known for being fast, so you have to be fast and efficient with your business.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" height=\"1024\" width=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_1075-rotated.jpeg?w=768\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-440770\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_1075-rotated.jpeg 4284w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_1075-rotated.jpeg?resize=225,300 225w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_1075-rotated.jpeg?resize=768,1024 768w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_1075-rotated.jpeg?resize=1152,1536 1152w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_1075-rotated.jpeg?resize=1536,2048 1536w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_1075-rotated.jpeg?resize=169,225 169w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image Credit: Courtesy of Ethan Alexander<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-keep-metrics-up-to-win-the-buy-box\">Keep metrics up to win the \u201cbuy box\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>As a reseller, setting a good price and maintaining the best metrics are key to winning the \u201cbuy box\u201d over competitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many resellers source from other sellers\u2019 stores, so Alexander experimented with that sourcing strategy too. \u201c\u200aI would just open to everyone that\u2019s selling a profitable product,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI would go through all of their stores, then go through all their products and see if there\u2019s any good ones. And just keep doing that. My computer would crash from how many tabs I had open.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s hardly a product Alexander hasn\u2019t tried to sell, he says. But the business never relied on high-ticket items to make money; small-dollar, large-volume sales were always key.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-000-in-sales-and-2-000-profit-in-a-single-day\">$6,000 in sales and $2,000 profit in a single day<\/h2>\n<p>Over time, Alexander moved away from sourcing from retailers and sellers piecemeal and bought in bulk from Home Depot, Lowe\u2019s and a pallet store. He would pick up those pallets and store them in his parents\u2019 garage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes third-party wholesalers would even connect Alexander with products coming right off the boat. \u201cThen a truck comes into our very small street, suburban neighborhood, and is unloading this pallet,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery day I\u2019m out there, just throwing packages around and into my car. Neighbors probably think I\u2019m crazy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On his biggest revenue day, Alexander did about $6,000 in sales, with roughly $2,000 profit, he notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1024\" width=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/photo-55_singular_display_fullPicture.jpeg?w=768\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-440771\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/photo-55_singular_display_fullPicture.jpeg 2616w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/photo-55_singular_display_fullPicture.jpeg?resize=225,300 225w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/photo-55_singular_display_fullPicture.jpeg?resize=768,1024 768w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/photo-55_singular_display_fullPicture.jpeg?resize=1152,1536 1152w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/photo-55_singular_display_fullPicture.jpeg?resize=1536,2048 1536w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/photo-55_singular_display_fullPicture.jpeg?resize=169,225 169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image Credit: Courtesy of Ethan Alexander<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-challenges-of-being-a-teen-with-a-reselling-side-hustle\">The challenges of being a teen with a reselling side hustle<\/h2>\n<p>As one might expect, plenty of unique challenges come up for a teenager running this type of side hustle. \u201c\u200aThere\u2019s a lot of very small things that are easy to mess up that you don\u2019t realize you don\u2019t know how to do when you\u2019re 16, and you haven\u2019t even done taxes before,\u201d Alexander says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alexander has had to navigate credit card holds and packaging hiccups, like leaky spray bottles wiping ink off labels and requiring a total recount, and the complexity of balancing a business with being a full-time high school student. He\u2019s hired several virtual assistants to help him manage it all.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alexander intends to put some of his side hustle earnings toward college, where he plans to study a business-related subject or psychology, which he notes would also be an advantage in any future entrepreneurial pursuits.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u200aI don\u2019t know how much more you can learn [about business] in a classroom than you can by actually doing it,\u201d Alexander says. \u201cFailing and learning from your failures and trying not to repeat them, and actually having the hands-on experience of a real business. So that\u2019s something that I\u2019ve thought about, and I\u2019m interested to see if that\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1024\" width=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/4BF67D31-9BD1-4E6A-872B-21129FED4464.png?w=768\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-440772\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/4BF67D31-9BD1-4E6A-872B-21129FED4464.png 1086w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/4BF67D31-9BD1-4E6A-872B-21129FED4464.png?resize=225,300 225w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/4BF67D31-9BD1-4E6A-872B-21129FED4464.png?resize=768,1024 768w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/4BF67D31-9BD1-4E6A-872B-21129FED4464.png?resize=169,225 169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image Credit: Courtesy of Ethan Alexander<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-comes-after-a-150-000-sales-milestone\">What comes after a $150,000 sales milestone<\/h2>\n<p>After reaching his $150,000 sales milestone a few months ago, Alexander paused his reselling side hustle to focus on school and other projects. Although the business was lucrative and taught him a lot, he doesn\u2019t necessarily see himself continuing it down the line, especially as a college student.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The side hustle is a bit too hands-on, requiring a significant amount of space and labor, Alexander explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One of the biggest lessons Alexander took away from the business? Don\u2019t waste time waiting for the perfect opportunity to come your way.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople think that there\u2019s a treasure map that\u2019s just going to fall out of the sky and have the X that marks the spot on it,\u201d Alexander says. \u201cBut people don\u2019t make opportunities for themselves as much as they should. There\u2019s an opportunity in every single second of life that you can either get something out of, or you can have a negative mindset and not pay attention to what you could be benefiting from.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"tw:border-b tw:border-slate-200 tw:pb-4\">\n<h2 class=\"tw:mt-0 tw:mb-1 tw:text-2xl tw:font-heading\">Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"tw:font-normal tw:font-serif tw:text-base tw:marker:text-slate-400\">\n<li>Alexander invested $500 to learn the ins and outs of being a verified reseller online. <\/li>\n<li>He saw $10,000 in sales in month one, then $150,000 within 10 months. <\/li>\n<li>Now, he\u2019s focusing on school, with plans to pursue business or psychology in college.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Last year, Ethan Alexander, then 16 years old, had some spare time to fill after he stopped playing lacrosse. Starting a side hustle seemed like a solid option. The Kansas City, Missouri-based teen had seen people online who were verified resellers on Amazon and Walmart \u2014 third parties selling products on the platforms \u2014 and wanted to learn the business.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1024\" width=\"728\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Ethan-10th-grade-pic.jpeg?w=728\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-440767\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Ethan-10th-grade-pic.jpeg 1872w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Ethan-10th-grade-pic.jpeg?resize=213,300 213w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Ethan-10th-grade-pic.jpeg?resize=768,1080 768w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Ethan-10th-grade-pic.jpeg?resize=728,1024 728w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Ethan-10th-grade-pic.jpeg?resize=1092,1536 1092w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Ethan-10th-grade-pic.jpeg?resize=1456,2048 1456w, https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Ethan-10th-grade-pic.jpeg?resize=160,225 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image Credit: Courtesy of Ethan Alexander<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So the high school student invested $500 (a sum he receives annually from his great-grandfather\u2019s will) to have a reseller teach him how to make money reselling items online.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI \u200afeel like everyone always tries to find the perfect side hustle,\u201d Alexander says. \u201cWhat\u2019s the best thing to do right now? But I saw it and went for it. I didn\u2019t try to look for a perfect opportunity. I just took what was in front of me and made it mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/side-hustle\/at-age-16-he-started-a-side-hustle-that-made-150k-used-amazon-and-chatgpt\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Alexander invested $500 to learn the ins and outs of being a verified reseller online. He saw $10,000 in sales in month one, then $150,000 within 10 months. Now, he\u2019s focusing on school, with plans to pursue business or psychology in college. Last year, Ethan Alexander, then 16 years old, had some spare<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-green-brands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}