Marvin Leonard’s Wholesale Underground Review: Amazon FBA Wholesaling Pitfalls, Strategies, & Alternatives

What are the Wholesale Underground Pros & Cons?

What is Included in Wholesale Underground?

Chapter 1 - The Essentials

In chapter 1, Marvin gives you an introduction to the course and shows you what it is you need to do to start your own business. Marvin shares what documents you’ll need to fill out if you’re looking to sell products internationally. Also, you’ll learn how to navigate in your Wholesale seller account. To finish this chapter, he breaks down the terms you’ll come across in this business model.

Chapter 2 - Without a Strong Foundation, Your Empire Will Fall

To start this chapter, Marvin explains what the ‘Buy Box’ is and how to win it. It’s the white box next to the products on Amazon where you can click ‘Add to Cart’ or ‘Buy Now’.

He also teaches you the best strategies for product pricing so that your listings can remain competitive. Then Marvin lays out which tools will help you run your wholesale business. These tools will not only save you money, but they will help you cut down your research time and allow you to make smarter, quicker decisions on what products to sell.

Chapter 3 - Everything You Need To Know About Suppliers

Marvin explains what authorized suppliers are and shows you where to look to find them. He gives you several questions you should ask a supplier while you’re vetting them.

He then shares a list of the best suppliers and how you can connect with them. If you don’t find the right supplier, it can cost you lots of money. Finally, Marvin provides you a list of the products you should stay away from and why.

Chapter 4 - Relationships & Ungating

Marvin stresses the importance of maintaining contact with the sales representative of the supplier you’re working with. He also shows you what to do to not be gated by certain categories on Amazon.

Chapter 5 - Payments & Shipments

In this chapter, Marvin shows you…

• How to place and pay for your first order
• Whether to use small parcel delivery (SPD)
• How to create an SPD shipment
• What an LTL shipment is
• How to create an LTL shipment Whether to use third party prep companies
• How to make bundles (combining different products into one listing)
• Sending your inventory to one or multiple warehouses

Chapter 6 - Extra Knowledge Bombs

In the final chapter, Marvin dives into how you can get your product listings on more platforms so that you can drive more traffic and generate more sales. Some of the platforms he recommends you scale to are…

1. Etsy
2. Craigslist
3. Bonanza
4. eBid

Marvin then touches on reviews. He shows you how to get as many reviews as possible with the help of different online services like FeedbackFive by eCom Engine .

You’ll also get training on how to hire virtual assistants to help you scale your business, how much they might cost you and what things you should automating.

Bonuses

• The Master of Money (Tips to Boost Your Profits)
• How to ungate yourself in the Grocery and Gourmet categories
• How to ungate yourself in the Toys category

Who is Marvin Leonard?

Marvin Leonard is an online entrepreneur whose parents immigrated from Mexico. Therefore, things weren’t easy for him growing up since his family had little money. After graduating high school, he went to community college only because he did not know what else to do. While in college, he got into the police academy at 21.

Eventually, he was promoted to detective, which he did for a year. Marvin was making $80K per year at the time and had what most people would call “job security”. Still, this wasn’t the career he wanted to pursue. Working overtime, weekends, and holidays made him feel like he had no life at all. After coming across a video by Graham Stephan where he spoke about passive income, Marvin was determined to make a change.

More and more, Marvin began consuming content about business. On April 30, 2018, he quit his detective job and got into wholesale. He hasn’t looked back ever since. Marvin got his motivation from knowing that he needed to provide for his wife and newborn baby.

Today, he’s a successful entrepreneur who has earned over 6-figures on Amazon. The Wholesale Underground YouTube channel has over 14.2K subscribers, but Marvin doesn’t post content often. On a video he posted selling his course at a discounted price for Black Friday, he said he was going to post more content about making money online.

Marvin seems to be more focused on helping other people become the best version of themselves. He is more consistent posting content about fitness on TikTok than about Amazon Wholesaling. On his TikTok account, he has over 18K followers.

How To Do Amazon Arbitrage in 2025 According to Marvin Leonard

Marvin Leonard’s Key Strategies in 2025

• Tools: Marvin suggests using the right tools for your affiliate arbitrage business, like Keepa for data analysis, Seller Amp (a profit-and-loss calculator), and IP Alert for handling intellectual property issues.
• Product Research: He suggests analyzing data to predict sales success and avoid investing in non-profitable items. Marvin emphasizes the importance of understanding price trends and seller competition.
• Avoid Price Tanking: Watch out for sudden price increases that might return to normal after a few weeks. Keep an eye on products that have an increasing number of sellers which could signal a price drop.
• Product Sourcing: Use techniques like storefront stocking to quickly find profitable products to sell.
• Increase Margins: Utilize cashback sites and discount gift cards to increase your margin over regular site discounts.
• Understand Amazon’s Gating Policies: Prepare for Amazon’s restrictions on selling certain products by obtaining necessary documentation and understanding the process of getting ungated.
• Manage Order Cancellations: Understand why orders get canceled and learn strategies to mitigate this. Use different payment methods and contact customer support for help.
• Inventory Management and Repricing: Leverage automated repricing tools to maintain competitive pricing and inventory management tools to track and optimize stock levels.
• Shipping, Prepping, and Prep Centers: Handle your own shipping and inventory preparations to understand the process. Slowly shift to outsourcing prep centers in tax-free states to optimize costs and logistics.

Issues That Amazon Sellers Might Encounter in 2025 According to Marvin

• Intellectual Property Issues: The risk of IP complaints is higher in online arbitrage. You should use tools like IP Alert to avoid common brands that file this complaint.
• Product Blocking: Getting ungated in certain categories and brands can be difficult. This might require documentation that may not be readily available.
• Order Cancellations and Fraud Flags: Orders may get canceled if retailers flag an account for potential fraud.

What’s not mentioned in the video: Amazon frequently updates its policies which could directly affect sellers. These changes might include adjustments in fee structures, shipping requirements, or new rules and regulations.

What are the 5 Pitfalls and Problems of Amazon FBA?

1. Up-Front Costs

Getting started with Amazon wholesale isn’t cheap. You’re going to have to invest between $5K-$15K to get started between buying your initial inventory, setting up an LLC, buying test orders from several suppliers to see which supplier has the best products, Amazon seller fees, advertising, and more. The startup costs for this business model will set you back thousands of dollars before you see any sales. It will also prevent you from seeing any profits for the few months to over a year. Many people avoid Amazon FBA because of the thousands you have to spend at first.

2. Product Research is Time Consuming

You are always in the search for the next profitable product that will make you thousands of dollars each month. Even if you find a product that sells well, you can’t stop looking for the next product. Most products only do well for a month or two and some are seasonal only. Either way, ad exhaustion is inevitable and people will eventually tire of seeing your ads. This forces you to jump back into the search for the next product in the hope you find one that makes you thousands of dollars or more. Product research is time-consuming and one reason you won’t earn a predictable income each month.

3. High Competition

Every day, on average, over 3700 new Amazon sellers join the platform. This makes it harder for you to sell products and will make the bidding wars for the Buy Box. Competing for the Buy Box isn’t worth it because to win it, you’ve got to have the best price. The problem is that everyone keeps dropping their prices and eventually everyone loses money. This increase in competition makes you spend more money and time on perfecting your Facebook ads. If you do private label, you still have to spend time and money on ads that will outdo what the more established brands are doing. Amazon FBA is an uphill battle that will put you down hundreds and thousands of dollars with no guarantee that you’ll get sales.

4. Risk Getting Stuck with Excess Inventory

If you don’t get any sales, you’re going to get stuck with the excess inventory. If you find yourself in this predicament, you will have to either sell your inventory to break even or sell it off at a loss. This is the risk you take when starting this business.

5. Paid Traffic is Expensive

The cost of advertising on social media platforms is rising with each passing year. According to one study, Meta’s CPM rose 61% each year in the past few years. Google’s CPM rose 75% each year and TikTok 185% each year. The trend is up for the cost of advertising. This rise in ad cost can also be blamed on the rise in competition.

Is Amazon FBA Wholesaling Profitable in 2025?

Amazon wholesale is profitable in 2025 if you understand it isn’t as easy to make money on Amazon as it was 5 years ago even if you’re selling brand name products. Startup costs are high (between $5K-$15K). You’re looking at around $5K-$10K to get things started, which includes buying initial inventory, paying for Amazon Seller fees, product samples, advertisements, and more.

You need to also look for the next profitable product. It can take months before you find it. If you do, you’ll then have to create ads to generate traffic and sales. Keep in mind that your first ad may not convert as well as you might want it to. Therefore, you must try different ad formats and split test several aspects of your ads. If you happen to get sales, your profit margins will also be low. This is an expensive, time-consuming activity, though necessary if you want to succeed with paid ads.

Amazon Wholesale FAQs

1. How Does Amazon Wholesale Work?

Amazon wholesale works by a seller buying products directly from a manufacturer at wholesale, or at discounted prices, and then making a profit by selling those products at higher prices to customers on Amazon.

2. How Much Do Amazon Wholesalers Make?

How much Amazon wholesalers make depends on what products you sell, how much you pay for wholesale items, how much you spend on advertising, and how many people buy your products. The average profit margin for Amazon wholesalers is between 15%-20%.

3. Is LLC Required for Amazon Wholesale?

No, an LLC is not required for Amazon wholesale. You can begin as a sole proprietor using your personal information and tax ID. However, forming an LLC is highly recommended if you plan to scale because it provides legal protection, separates personal and business liabilities, and makes it easier to work with suppliers who prefer dealing with registered businesses. In most cases, an LLC also helps you look more credible to distributors and potential brand partners.

4. Why Do Sellers Leave Amazon?

Sellers leave Amazon for several reasons. They find it to be expensive to get started and may not see a fast ROI. They don’t understand the rules, have a hard time finding profitable products, underestimated the workload of Amazon FBA, and aren’t patient enough with the business model.

5. Can You Start Amazon FBA With No Money?

You can’t start Amazon FBA with no money because there are several things you need to do before you make a sale that require you to spend some money, such as buying initial inventory, paying Amazon Seller fees, and paying for advertisements.

6. Which Tools are Best for Amazon Wholesale?

Tools like Helium 10, AMZScout, ZonGuru, and JungleScout are among the best and most popular that will help you run your Amazon business effectively and efficiently.

7. Which Products Sell Most on Amazon?

Products like video games, electronics, clothing, books, home and kitchen, and pet supplies sell most on Amazon.

What are the Alternatives to Wholesale Underground?

• The Wholesale Formula by Dan Meadors and Dylan Frost is one of the most recognized Amazon wholesale training programs, created by 7-figure sellers Dan Meadors and Dylan Frost. It teaches the Reverse Sourcing Wholesale (RSW) method or finding established brands and forming profitable wholesale partnerships rather than chasing low-margin retail arbitrage.
• 50 Day FBA Mentoring by Jatz Naran is a mentorship program that offers a hands-on, step-by-step approach to launching or scaling an FBA business in just 50 days. It combines live coaching, accountability, and personalized guidance to help students overcome roadblocks like sourcing issues, product validation, and PPC optimization.
• ALGO Online Retail Mastery by Tim Hellbusch focuses on teaching sellers how to build a sustainable wholesale business on Amazon without private labeling. It emphasizes data-driven product sourcing, supplier relationships, and risk management, with lifetime access to training materials and a private support community.

Final Verdict: Is Wholesale Underground Worth the Time and Money?

Wholesale Underground is worth the time and money for Amazon sellers who already have experience managing FBA operations, understand supplier negotiations, and have the $5,000–$15,000 capital needed to start. Marvin’s training is comprehensive, covering supplier vetting, ungating, and inventory management. It provides solid insights into wholesale logistics and product sourcing.

However, the Amazon wholesale model itself is oversaturated and heavily fee-driven, with shrinking margins due to competition, account suspensions, and rising ad costs. While the course provides value in structure and strategy, the business model it teaches demands deep pockets, constant repricing, and risk tolerance, making it more of an operational grind than a passive business.

If you’re a beginner or looking for a lower-risk digital business that compounds over time, local lead generation is a better option because it builds your own online assets that rank organically, generate recurring income, and aren’t dependent on Amazon’s rules or third-party platforms.

Is Local Lead Generation More Profitable Than Amazon FBA Wholesaling in the Long Term?

In my experience, local lead generation is more profitable than Amazon FBA wholesaling in the long term because it has near-zero overhead (no inventory, shipping, or storage costs) like sling the map to the Yamashita treasure instead of digging for gold yourself (no tools, no tunnels, just directions that others pay for again and again). Once a site ranks, the leads are pure margin (80%-95% profit). You’re not fighting over a few dollars per sale, you’re charging $500–$2,000 monthly per site. Unlike the intense competition with Amazon FBA wholesaling, local lead gen deals with real contractors who need real customers. Most cities have weak online competition, giving you space to dominate with simple SEO and consistent content. Plus, you have total ownership over your websites, domains, and leads. There’s no central authority that can suspend you or erase your income overnight. Even if one client leaves, the site keeps generating calls.

Why Pick the Local Lead Generation Biz Model

Pick the local lead generation business model because it offers low overhead, high-profit recurring income, and full control over a scalable digital asset unlike Amazon FBA wholesaling with its inventory costs, competition, and slim margins. I’ve been making lead gen sites for over 10 years. My site Schaumburg Superior Roofing 1125 S Roselle Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60193 847-886-0974 https://schaumburgsuperiorroofing.com/ brought in $63,690 worth of additional revenue to my long-term client for forwarding 18 high-value leads. I earned $3,184.50 in passive income for a 5% commission.

Ranked sites are like billboards in prime locations in the physical world. They generate leads you can sell to local entrepreneurs for up to 95% profit margins. You can rent out these sites to companies who don’t have their own (there are over 10 million of them in the U.S. alone). To learn how to make money online without paying for traffic and stressing out about what products to sell, check out my local lead gen program.