My Amazon Guy

Send us a textRob Stanley and Donald Henig join me from Accrue Me  to talk about better ways to raise capital to grow on Amazon. They also teach some great bestBefore we talk AccrueMe, let's talk your background.  Don I understand you have some Hollywood history and a Broadway play? Don helped finance Rock of Ages and worked with Tom Cruise, one of his funnest investment.Rob what business did you have in the past you sold and did I hear that you had 60+ million views on your YouTube channel? Rob - did the first take apart of an iphone on YouTube. Under company Direct Fix.What is 1 thing Amazon sellers can do today to grow their sales?Do your own research. Don't just jump into something you don't know. Learn the process, do a smaller investment when starting.Hustle - things are not simple.  Do 3 things before Noon.  Reference to "the ONE thing" Mistakes Amaozn Sellers make with financials:Competitors show up out of no where. Black Swan events. Not calculating profits correctly.  Gotta factor everything in.AccrueMe is an Amazon funding investor who shares in profits with you as your business succeeds. What makes AccrueMe different than other Amazon funding is the profit share vs monthly loay payments.Is Amazon becoming Alibab light?If doing a tech product, gotta invest in something new, newly invented.Support the show

Send us a textQuestion from Amazon Seller: I hope you have enjoyed the holidays and wish you all the best in 2021.  So as much as we tried, due to UPS's taking ONE week to deliver the goods from SLC to Phoenix by parking the goods in Cedar City Utah warehouse and Amazon not wanting to receive the goods until now. I got 7000 units delivered yet not received for over a week now. Which leads to 0 units in FBA. So I got FBM running which is obviously not converting as well and has shot my acos through the roof. I have 1700 units in FBA "transfer". But when you click on my fba it says goods in on Jan 11! which messes up conversion again. So my big question. Should I close my FBA listing for now and just run FBM until goods start showing up in FBA or have them both running even though it says expected Jan 11 when people click on FBA. #FBA #FBM #MFN #amazonselling #amazonseller #amazonfbaSupport the show

Send us a textHow to make an LTL Shipment, full guide: How to Create an LTL shipment on Amazon Seller Central. LTL Shipment to AmazonLTL (Less than truckload) shipments are useful when you need to send large or multiple units into Amazon’s warehouses. Below I’ll cover how to create an LTL shipment.First, you will need to select the product(s) you want to ship in. Do this by going into your inventory and checking the checkbox next to the product(s) you will be creating a pallet shipment for. Then navigate towards the action drop-down menu on the upper-lefthand side and click on “Send/replenish inventory”.#ltl #shipment #FBAThis will direct you to the shipment creation page.  On this page, you’ll want to select “Case-packed products” as the packaging type. This packaging type will help lower your chances of having your product(s) sent to multiple fulfillment centers.How to Create an LTL shipment on Amazon Seller Central 1Continue with the shipping plan and enter the box configurations. This means the number of units per box and the number of boxes for each product. Click continue. less than truckload shipment on amazonThe next page will ask you who preps the products. Some products are required by Amazon to be poly wrapped or bagged. If your products are required to be prepped then you have to either select “Merchant” or “Amazon” under who preps. If you choose “Merchant” then you are responsible for prepping your products. If you choose “Amazon” then Amazon will prep your products and charge 0.50 cent per unit. If your products are not required to be prepped then you can leave as is and continue to the next step in the shipment process.The next page is similar to the previous step. You will need to tell Amazon who will apply labels to the product. You have an option to apply the labels yourself or pay Amazon to apply the labels. If you choose Amazon, it will cost 0.20 cent per unit. If you choose to apply the labels yourself, click the print label button. This will download a pdf file with the number of product labels you need. In the example shipment, I have 40 units. This means I’ll be given 40 product labels, 1 product label per unit. Product labels need to be applied to the product itself. How to Create an LTL shipment on Amazon Seller Central 3The next step is a review of your shipment. Here it will tell you where your shipment is being sent. You also have the option to name your shipment. I recommend naming and dating the shipment for record purposes. After naming your shipment, click on “Approve & Continue”. Now you can work on your shipment!How to Create an LTL shipment on Amazon Seller Central 4How to Create an LTL shipment on Amazon Seller Central 5After clicking the “Work on shipment” button, you’ll be directed to the final step in the shipment process. In this step, you’ll need to tell Amazon if this shipment is an SPD (Small parcel delivery) or an LTL (Less than truckload). Since you are shipping as LTL you’ll also need to confirm the box configuration, give pallet dimensions, print labels, and schedule a pickup date.Select LTL and keep the shipping carrier as “Amazon-partnered Carrier”.How to Create an LTL shipment on Amazon Seller Central 6Under “how will the shipment be packed?”, select multiple boxes. Here you will need to confirm the box configuration by entering the shipment quantity again. Now click confirm and generate box labels.Support the show

Send us a text"Consumers are 2.4x more likely to trust content createdby other people like them than content created by brandsthemselves (Stackla). This need for authenticity is whyRatings & Reviews are so critically important to youreCommerce strategy and why 97% of shoppers consultthem before making a purchase online. In fact, onlineproduct reviews are 3.5x more important to shoppers ininfluencing purchasing decisions than are the opinions oftheir own family and friends (CheckoutSmart)." Link to the report: Grow your Amaozn sales with My Amazon Guy.Support the show

Send us a textDue to a supposed new COVID-19 strain, Chinese New Year shut down will come early this year, at around January 8th. Normally this happens around January 20.  The biggest celebrations occur shortly before Friday, February 12, 2021. Sources tell us they're seeing manufacturers shut down early, leaving early, to get their travel in early to avoid missing out on Chinese New Year celebrations this year. This means if you don't have an order ready to leave your manufacturer this week, it's probably not going to leave until the ned of February or into March.Last year Chinese New Year celebrations were massively impacted by COVID-19. The Chinese virus left millions of Chinese stranded unable to return to manufacturing plants following celebrations. This led to a strain on the supply chain for months well into 2021. I read data China released that there's no current COVID cases in China but the boots on the ground so to speak, the actual manufacturers, are clearly reacting to what they think their own government will do this year. They predict more shut downs. Just like what is happening in most of Europe.Personally, I think shut downs cause more problems than the pandemic. I think we should fight against the shut downs. As you compare states like Florida, which is completely open, and has no mask mandate even, it has the same COVID stats as does California who has been massively shut down, and has mask mandates. I don't know how people are surviving in California when millions can't even work or have a job. Rant aside - we are going to clearly see world wide impacts going into 2021. Whether from the virus itself, or governments reacting. The concept of just in time supply chain management is dead. I declared it's death time last year. And today you need to have up to a year of supply of your goods or you will absolutley face stock outs.Support the show

Send us a textToday is a good day to check your Inventory replenishments report. Then go adjust advertising, unpausing ads, lowering bids, and set your January strategy up. Your competitors may be out of stock right now, so good time to beef up inventory more than you did last year.✅Get 50% off First Month with Helium 10 https://crushtrk.com/?a=427&c=188&p=r&s1=Or Promo Code MyAmazonGuy50✅Get Amazon Consulting at https://myamazonguy.com/Support the show

Send us a text"For me, it all comes down to trying to measure annual return on working capital. Measuring profit (either via Post Advertising Gross Profit OR via Return on Inventory Investment) and then measuring velocity are the two key variables: I'm equally happy with either of the following two scenarios depending on my strategy:✅ Get Amazon Accounting and CFO services https://www.selleraccountant.com/Product A has an after advertising margin (PAG) of 20% and a 50% ROII but I can turn inventory 4 times per year. Annual ROII = 50%*4 = 200%. In other words, I get my working capital back plus 2 dollars of profit for each invested dollar each year. Product B has a PAG of 40% and an ROII of 100% but I can only turn inventory twice per year. Annual ROII = 100%*2 = 200%. I would prefer option A if my greatest strength was improving advertising performance because I could generate better Annualized ROII by getting better at ads. I would prefer option B if my greatest strength was supply chain management because I could use my vendor negotiation skills or my ability to forecast demand better in order to improve Annual ROII. But as they currently stand they are equally profitable. The other really critical consideration is what is my competitive advantage and what is my vision for my company? If I have the ability to generate lasting relationships with customers where repeat purchases justify a higher customer acquisition cost then I pay to get my brand out there in order to harvest later.  On the other hand, if strategy is primarily a cash flow play then should zealously work to protect that Annualized ROII metric described above but I am not sure if they have a clear handle of how the products are performing in that regard. Meaning if lowering the ad budget is causing them to carry more inventory then even though margins appear to be higher than fact that your cash is tied up longer may make you sadder that you made the change. Not sure if that makes any sense. In other words, understanding the impact of velocity on his working capital, debt load, etc... matters big time in this decision. Obviously if we had the crystal ball and could optimize perfectly for profit relative to working capital we would but most sellers have to prioritize their strategies based on their strengths. "How do you start creating vision?If you add more money into a problem, the problem can get worse.RefinanceLiquidate trash to cashCut expensesClean the mud on the windshield.  Where is the money go? 2021 great year to be an Amazon Seller. Track all expenses, look at financials daily.Businesses going to gain 30% value YoY from being sold EBITDA.Support the show

Send us a textLesley Demond LinkedIn Post:  Warning! If you're an #Amazon #PrivateLabel seller, this is URGENT news for you! It just got a lot riskier to put inserts into packaging asking for positive reviews, offering free products, etc.If Amazon detects language that asks for a #ProductReview in an unapproved manner, they are demanding that all units be removed from the #FBA warehouse. Removal orders must be placed in 3 days, or the seller's account will be suspended.Here's the language from #SellerPerformance: "We will investigate when we learn that sellers, vendors, or others have attempted to manipulate reviews. This includes inserts, flyers, coupons, brochures, or similar materials included inside the product packaging requesting a favorable review or offering incentives to post a review."And here's the really bad part you knew was coming, #AmazonSellers. In at least some cases, these are #FalsePositives. The seller is not offering an incentive for a review, but is under threat of suspension nevertheless.The party is over, y'all. If you've been putting these incentives into packaging, stop today. You don't want to pay to remove all of your inventory from the FC, while also having no units to fill orders. Watching your #BSR drop like a stone for weeks? Not where you want to be.You may recall the September CNBC story on fake reviews: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/06/amazon-reviews-thousands-are-fake-heres-how-to-spot-them.html#fakereviews #productinsertsSupport the show

Send us a textMichael of Ecom Crew has built content sites that rank for organic keywords and pushes traffic into Amazon. Writing great content, because content is king, and push sustainable traffic into Amazon.I like that "I control the dial. At any point I can switch it to another store or platform."Book reference: Who Moved My CheeseHardest part is writing content. The 2nd hardest part is to keep going.Use SEO tools like AHREF0 or MOZ or SEM Rush. Go for long tail keywords first.Build a long term plan. Mistake made a long the way: Wrote about too broadly, vs what tracked.Michael buys and does real reviews about the products and write real good content. Then develop the product later.Amazon favors external earned media traffic. Which can not be gamed. Link building still works.Build top 1% content.Support the show

Send us a textJoe started his journey on Amaozn with retail arbritrage.  https://adadvance.com/ He's a musician at heart, who got an engineering degree. After doing private label, and working on his advertising journey, he struggled to find a good tool to manage ads.Ad Advance started with Macros. Built a protoype then hired 3 full time developers.What are some overall strategies that you implement for your clients using the different ad types?Piece meal advertising when you're first getting started.Healthy friction between top line and bottom line. Can't do both at same time easily.Every PPC sale generates 3 SEO sales over time.Learn from one ad campaign type and transfer that knowledge into the others. Any key features in Amazon Advertising that you're excited about?At what point do you feel that sellers should consider going with a full service agency versus using self-service tools or optimizing ads manually?2021 is going to increase complexity and bring more control. Support the show