Retail arbitrage: toys to high-end skincare

In this episode, the host interviews Brad Allen, an Amazon seller and entrepreneur, about his journey from eBay and retail arbitrage to building a successful Amazon FBA business. Brad shares how he sourced high-end European skincare products, overcame a major account suspension and $400,000 debt, and transitioned to private label. He highlights the importance of active business management, cash flow planning, and creativity. The episode concludes with actionable advice for Amazon sellers: stay hands-on, manage inventory and finances wisely, and innovate to stand out in the marketplace.

Chapters:

Introduction and Account Suspension (00:00:00)
Brad is introduced; discusses his Amazon account suspension and overcoming $400K in debt.

Early E-commerce Journey (00:00:33)
Brad shares his start with eBay in childhood, selling household items, and his early exposure to e-commerce.

Discovering Amazon FBA (00:01:11)
Learns about Amazon FBA in 2012, transitions from eBay, and begins retail arbitrage with toys and other products.

Corporate Career and Realization (00:02:19)
Describes unfulfilling corporate jobs, getting fired, and joining a friend’s epoxy flooring business in Ohio.

Entrepreneurial Mindset Shift (00:03:34)
Realizes he enjoys working for himself, which reignites his interest in e-commerce and Amazon.

Deep Dive into Retail Arbitrage (00:04:36)
Explores flipping products from eBay to Amazon, focusing on high-end skincare, and develops sourcing systems.

European Skincare Arbitrage Strategy (00:06:45)
Discovers sourcing high-end European skincare from overseas retailers, imports to the US, and sells on Amazon.

Scaling and Living Abroad (00:08:54)
Business grows; Brad moves to Buenos Aires and Africa, living a digital nomad lifestyle while running the business.

Amazon Account Suspension Details (00:10:04)
Explains the cause of his Amazon suspension—authenticity complaints and inability to provide manufacturer receipts.

Lessons from Suspension and Financial Struggles (00:11:05)
Discusses lessons learned: importance of active management, risk-taking, and not being complacent in business.

Advice on Growth and Risk (00:11:48)
Emphasizes reinvesting profits, financial planning, and the need for risk tolerance as an entrepreneur.

Financial Intelligence and Risk Management (00:13:57)
Stresses forecasting, living below means, and being prepared for the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

Three Actionable Takeaways (00:14:11)
Host summarizes: 1) Active management and planning, 2) Cash flow and inventory management, 3) Creativity in the Amazon marketplace.

Episode Wrap-up (00:16:43)
Host thanks Brad, hints at a future episode, and closes the interview.

Links and Mentions:

Tools and Websites  
EZSniper

Actionable Takeaways 
Set an Annual Plan for Your Business: 00:14:11  
Cash Flow Management: 00:15:04  
Bring Creativity to the Amazon Marketplace: 00:16:15

Transcript:

Josh 00:00:00  Today I am super excited to introduce you to Brad Allen. I met him at Kevin King's, $1 Billion Seller summit, and he's going to have a lot of knowledge to share with us. I'm going to dive in like immediately to what was mentioned in your bio. You had your account suspended. You had you ran into 400 K of debt and loans, but you've kind of come out the other end and you're you're crushing it right now on Amazon. So tell me, Brad, what happened with the account suspension?

Brad 00:00:33  So I, I was doing, retail arbitrage and I got, I got really into it. it it was actually kind of unique. It started off, where I was, I, I was really into eBay growing up, so I was always selling stuff, just like as a kid throughout the house, whether it was mine or not. I was grabbing, like, antiques from the basement and, like, selling stuff out of the garage. And I think that's where I got kind of, you know, introduced to e-commerce and kind of obsessed so that that kind of was always on the side.

Brad 00:01:11  And I was doing that through grade school, high school, and then into college. And I learned about Amazon FBA and I think 2012. and as an eBay guy, it was like blew me away because I was, you know, the guy waiting in line at the, at the post office and having to deal with customers. So the fact that you could just send a bunch of items in and Amazon will ship it and take care of customer service was very appealing to me. So I started, I just started watching videos and the easiest way to start, which I don't know how many people really started out like this, but I'm sure some. But I was going into, you know, odd lots and Walmarts and just buying toys or whatever I could find. And essentially I was just kind of learning that process. so, you know, that was a good way to, like, get my feet wet into Amazon FBA. and then, you know, life kind of happened where that was put off to the side.

Brad 00:02:19  I was in the corporate world for a while. not doing very well. I just, was not very passionate about what I was doing, and, I got a call from a buddy. I was living in South Florida. I'm from Ohio originally, and, I got fired from one job. You know, I was working for good companies. They were, like, fortune 500 companies. And I kind of noticed right away that the people that were successful were extremely passionate about the company, and they had just drank the Kool-Aid. And I just did. I just didn't care, really. I thought our products were overpriced, which is not the mentality that you want to have when you're trying to sell something. so I was just kind of, just doing enough not to get fired. And my friend, in Columbus had called me and said, hey, I just bought this epoxy coating company. So what we're doing is we're installing, like, showroom floors in garages. You know, the the garages in Columbus or the Midwest are all cracked and spoiled.

Brad 00:03:34  so, you know, this was December and he was like, hey, I can't pay you that much, but, you know, this will be our company. and I'll share profits with you. So I wasn't really doing much. You know, in terms of growing personally or professionally, although I was in South Florida, which was pretty cool for for an Ohio guy. Sure. I took him up on it, and I remember it was December. I go from this cushy sales job in South Florida. Even though I didn't like it. And then all of a sudden, I am installing, garage floors in the suburbs of Columbus. In December, we're using, like, heaters to keep ourselves warm. And the funny thing was, I actually was enjoying it more, because it was ours. So that kind of, like, turned on the light that, you know, the way that I'm going to be successful is if I'm doing something for myself, like, or as a team. And that kind of drew me back to this e-commerce stuff.

Brad 00:04:36  and like I was saying, I had learned about, the Amazon FBA and I had a this background in eBay. So I just kind of I remember in one of your podcasts, you were talking about how after work, you would go home and just watch videos. yeah. Because you, you know, you kind of saw that as a way out. But, you know, what you have to do is you have to put in the time. You know, even after a long day of work when most people are just watching TV or they want to decompress. I was just drawn to just scanning eBay, you know, looking at Amazon. And I was like, I was wondering if there was an opportunity for products that I could buy on eBay and flip on Amazon. And I kind of just somehow stumbled upon this, category of high end skincare. And I was noticing that there was these really, like, high end brands that were selling for, you know, almost nothing on eBay because, li...