I keep hearing in the Merch by Amazon community that the program is passive income. I disagree and believe that you have to work at it to evolve with the constant changes made by Amazon. It's taken me over a thousand hours to get the results I currently have, and I continue to be very active to this day.
I admit I'm not putting in the hours as I used to when I first started Merch. However, I continue to be active in the program by uploading designs, making edits and making sure my best selling shirts don't have any pixel by pixel copycats. If you outsource various tasks to VA's and for some reason, your account gets suspended, then you have no one to blame for yourself.
I believe we all try our best to follow the rules provided by Amazon, but there's always the human element. We're going to make mistakes at some point, and that includes VA's. If my account was ever to get suspended, then I want it suspended because it was my fault.
The problem is we watch YouTube videos and read blogs about how people are making passive income while they're sitting on a tropical beach. The reality is that it's all a smoke screen. Chances are they're trying to build their channel, or they have some other agenda.
I'm not discouraging anyone from hiring VA's and outsourcing their tasks. You can automate the program as long as you implement a strategic system. As for me, I want to be completely hands on with my account. I want full control and not risk getting my account suspended because of someone else's mistake.
