The Smartest Amazon Seller

Today, we begin the episode by telling you what we want to offer you with this podcast. We point out that instead of telling you things you could easily look up and find out online, we want this podcast to be more in depth and help make real E-commerce professionals out of our listeners. Our topic for today is Amazon’s FBA fees, including what they are, how they move, and how they affect us. We talk about the efficiency of Amazon’s FBA program and operation, including their positioning and funding of fulfillment centers. We share important changes in FBA fees and how much businesses have benefitted from those. We also share which fees have hurt our business, and how Amazon’s taking away some of these fees has saved us a lot of money. We discuss how these fees are designed to motivate efficient practices of inventory. We talk about the Inventory Performance Index and Q4 Storage fees have helped move the FBA program forward, and helps us to keep our focus on providing quality products through our service. What This Podcast is All About 0:10 Amazon’s FBA Program and Fees 3:02 Important Changes in FBA Fees 7:17 FBA Fees Promote Better Business Practices 14:01 “I’ve taken a different approach to these fees: It’s that these fees, they actually are designed to motivate good behavior by sellers. What is good behavior? That’s where you’re not stocked too deep or too light. They want you to be mindful of sending in just what you’re going to need for the next 1 to 2 months of sales.” 14:01 Social https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/ https://www.buyboxer.com/

In today’s episode, we talk with one of our BuyBoxer marketing team members, Ryan Morgan. We discuss the Brand Registry Program; what it is, how to get into it, and why it’s helpful. We talk about some of the features of the program, including using it to report violations and infringement of trademarks, patents, and copyright. We also discuss how the brand registry can help you more quickly and effectively update your product pages. We cover some of the other benefits of using the program, including opening up sponsored brands for your business, giving you access to enhanced content features, allowing you to upload and manage videos, use of storefront pages, and giving you access to the Vine Program (an early review program). As we conclude, we invite you to go to smartestseller.eventbrite.com and use the coupon code, SMART if you want to participate in one of our meetups. -How to Get Into brand registry -- Timeline and Cost 2:18 -Using brand registry to Manage Unauthorized Activity and Report Violations 7:29 -Updating Product Pages With brand registry 10:41 -Additional Benefits 12:20 “If you have one product, you can go fight all day to get the content you want onto your product page. But when we’re dealing with a few hundred products and lots of changes made across many of them, brand registry simplifies that process for us a lot.” 12:00 Social https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/ https://www.buyboxer.com/

In today’s episode, we talk about compliance with Amazon policies to keep your account in good health with Megan Swanton, BuyBoxer’s compliance manager. As a disclaimer, we remind you that we are not legal professionals and that you shouldn’t take anything said on this episode as legal advice. We talk about contacting rights owners as soon as possible when dealing with intellectual property complaints and complaints about selling below minimum advertised price. We discuss what to do in case rights owners don’t respond, including the importance of invoices, as well as what info to include and how to format. We also talk about how best to respond to patent and copyright complaints, as well as dealing with complaints about products you have never sold. We recommend some online groups that talk about compliance issues. Follow this link for a free document that speaks to all the issues discussed here and more: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://docs.google.com/document/d/159lzwUYmtziOLgNmOeUdlK8d5OpHh3CE/edit&sa=D&source=hangouts&ust=1578528588216000&usg=AFQjCNGHw-WAZ4YKJxn7MbKZRYVcMQUNEQ -Compliance: Possibly the Most Valuable Topic We’ve Covered So Far 1:44 -Legal Issues You Will Encounter and How To Take Action 5:12 -More About Copyright Complaints; Complaints About Products Never Sold 19:23 -Keeping You Account Health Page Up to Date; File Management 29:12 “So people are out there taking it seriously, and the best thing you can do is learn the skills to get on top of it, because that’s how I sleep better now. You know, there were some times where I thought we could get shut down at any moment, and that has kind of shrunk a little bit over time as we have gotten better at this and actually just have put a lot more resources into it, Megan being that primary resource.” 34:11 Social https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/ https://www.buyboxer.com/

In today’s episode, we talk about what we have learned from other large Amazon sellers. We speak briefly about the process of selling our business, Valence Services, our Amazon reimbursement/auditing service. We discuss the advantages of using such services, as well as the advantages and details of selling a business. We then talk about the strengths and differences of sellers such as Pharmapacks; AnkerDirect; Asurion, LLC; and Zappos. We then talk about large Amazon book sellers and what we can uniquely learn from them. We talk about the ups and downs of other companies and what we can learn from them. -Selling Valence Services 2:06 -Profiles of Large Amazon Sellers: Pharmapacks, AnkerDirect; Asurion, LLC; Zappos 7:11 -What’s Unique about Amazon Book Sellers 15:56 -Other Seller Profiles: Juvo+; etailz, Utopia Deals -- What We Can Learn 19:02 “I think the fundamentals on Amazon is just being profitable, all things included -- all fees and all employees included -- and knowing your profit margins, and making sure you’re focusing on your highest ROI activities.” 24:59 sellerratings.com Social https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/ https://www.buyboxer.com/

This is an invitation for our loyal listeners to set up an Amazon Seller meetup with Scott! Included below is the link to set up your meetup, as well as a coupon code to get a 50% discount off the cost! Coupon Code: SMART smartestseller.eventbrite.com

In today’s episode, we talk about the Amazon lending program. We discuss the different parameters that determine the customized offers they make to each seller. We explain how the program works and highlight why we, at BuyBoxer, chose Amazon Lending above other services. We also explain the particulars of why we now want to switch to another service. We talk about their policies and how they are strictly enforced, as well as some of the pros and cons of using their program. We explain our experience in trying to knock out our Amazon Lending with a lower interest rate and a slower paydown, which is beneficial for both sides. This is through a company called Fundwise, with whom we’ve set up an affiliate link for listeners of this podcast, the link for which is included below. -What is Amazon Lending? 2:13 -Amazon Lending’s Enforcement of Policies 6:11 -Replacing Amazon Lending With Fundwise 12:12 “The first thing I’ll ever suggest is that you know what you’re going to be using that money with, and that you have a very well thought out plan: you know your profit-margins, you know the interest you’re going to be paying on it for the term of that loan, and that the ROI that you’re going to be getting, because of that loan, is higher than that.” 11:12 https://apply.fundwise.com/smartestseller Social https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/ https://www.buyboxer.com/

In today’s episode, we talk with the founder of Junglescout.com, Greg Mercer. Jungle Scout is the #1 Amazon product finder and research tool. Greg gives us his perspective about the challenges of starting a SAS business and he talks about how he planned and built the particular facets of his product. We also discuss the various features of Jungle Scout within the context of Amazon's inner mechanics; such as keyword optimization, promotions/launching, rank tracking, alerts, and inventory management. Today, we also go into Jungle Scout and Buyboxer’s efforts to help educate and enable E-Commerce professionals. Finally, a SPECIAL DEAL FOR LISTENERS OF THIS PODCAST is offered, just follow the link https://junglescout.grsm.io/SmartestSeller -Greg’s Advice for Getting Your SAS Business Going 2:16 -Mechanics of Jungle Scout’s Features: Keywords, Promotions/Launching, Rank Tracker, Alerts, and -Inventory Managers 8:23 -How Jungle Scout approaches Inventory Management 23:38 -Jungle Scout’s Academy 28:50 -Jungle Scout and Amazon in 2020 35:01 Greg on Jungle Scout’s Inventory Management Feature: “What I’m really excited about with it is our data science team has built some really, really accurate seasonality algorithms that are going to be incorporated in the tool, so it’s seasonality with forecasting.” 24:47 Social https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/ https://www.buyboxer.com/

In today’s episode, we do an interview with Yohan Wong, Merchant Service Sales Manager at Ping Pong Payments, a foreign-exchange virtual bank account. We talk about what Ping Pong Payments does and what the advantages are of using their service over their competitors. These advantages include greater profits from better exchange rates and a 1% instead of 1.5% foreign exchange fee (EXCLUSIVE FOR LISTENERS OF THIS PODCAST). We also discuss the benefits of the Supplier Payment Product of Ping Pong Payments, as well as HOW TO CLAIM YOUR FREE YEAR OF SUPPLIER PAYMENTS (another exclusive offer to listeners of this podcast). -What Does Ping Pong Payments Do? 1:36 -Saving Money with Ping Pong’s Competitive Rates 4:46 -Where Ping Pong is Growing and Other Services 10:32 -How To Claim The Smartest Seller Listener’s Exclusive Rate 14:02 -How To Reach Out to Yohann/Claim Your Free Year of Supplier Payments 16:02 “You know, maybe one transaction, the foreign exchange fee doesn’t feel that big, but over the course of a year, it will add up to some serious numbers, and getting the rate better from Ping Pong Payments for us represents about 4 to 5000 dollars in a year.” Scott, 6:11 www.pingpongpayments.com Social https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/ https://www.buyboxer.com/

In today’s episode, we speak with James Thomson from Prosper, an Amazon-specific conference. He was Amazon’s first FBA account manager and then ran Amazon Services, the group that is responsible for recruiting almost all 3rd party sellers to the platform. We discuss how Prosper is different from other conferences in that its main focus is education and providing networking opportunities without bias. While some conferences may try to promote certain methods, Prosper aims to help sellers get a better perspective on Amazon's current circumstances. What Sets Prosper Apart From Other Conferences? 2:14 Keeping Ahead of the Curve With Content 11:35 How Prosper Has Developed 14:11 The Show Is Only As Good As the Attendees 19:45 Choosing Speakers and Topics 23:16 “Prosper’s meant to be that place where you go and say, ‘Listen, not only are we going to learn from lots of different folks who are living in this space every single day, but we’re going to get different perspectives, and we’re going to try to strip away as much of the bias as possible.’” 7:31 Social https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/ https://www.buyboxer.com/

In today’s episode, we do a phone interview with Danny Carlson, E-Commerce professional and founder of the Amazon FBA Agency, Kenji ROI. Danny also hosts the podcasts, Actualize Freedom Podcast and The Danny Carlson Podcast. In this interview, we get into the details of product page optimization and discuss the best approaches to structuring product descriptions. We also talk to Danny about indexing, getting Amazon’s search algorithm to work for you, and the best ways to incentivize customers to leave reviews. What is “Lamplighting?” 2:55 Prioritizing The Different Aspects of Product Description 6:15 Indexing -- Prioritizing Fields 16:30 Getting Reviews -- What’s Allowed and What’s Not 20:28 How Danny Learned About Product Page Optimization 26:20 “I think copywriting is one of the most important skills that a small business owner should learn, because it’s going to increase the effectiveness of all of your emails, all of your Facebook ads, all of your Amazon listings -- just anywhere that there’s written copy, if you can make that more effective, it’s going to make pretty much everything you do more effective.” 4:05 Social https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/ https://www.buyboxer.com/