My Amazon Guy

Send us a text*According to the US Census Bureau there are approximately 122.8 million households in the US.*Pre-Covid, 51% of American households had an Amazon Prime account (62.6 Million homes)*As of December 82% of American households have an Amazon prime account (100,696,000 homes...)Support the show

Send us a textCheck out George Reid's archived information on everything he learns.DECEMBER 9th🚀The Biggest Success Factor on Amazon + Seasonal PPC Tips1) Creating an Amazon ad campaign with just 1 keyword in it?Utter madness? Perhaps not. The theory boils down to being granular with your campaign structure, and also being well organised. My good friend Florian believes that chucking your top-performing/high-focus keywords into their own campaign allows you to:🚀 Set placement bid adjustments for each individual keyword🚀 Have full control of your budgets on a granular level🚀 Always have the performance data in mind when opening the advertising console (campaign data = keyword data)2) 81% of people in my network get most of their Amazon and eCommerce knowledge from LinkedIn.Ok, this is a skewed survey because it took place on LinkedIn, but I still find the insights interesting. I utilise the platform heavily as I’m connected with other industry experts, where I’ve built up relationships and ultimately trust their opinions. On the flipside you have something like a Facebook group, sure you get a plethora of ideas, but for me there is just so much noise and not really any validation. If you missed the survey but still want to share an opinion, add a comment on the poll here.3) According to 99designs, there has been a shift in 2020 in the efforts brands are going to to create an enhanced, unique experience on their website.And so there should be! You can’t have a single point of failure in eCommerce today. By that I mean you can’t overly rely on one single revenue source, this principle can apply to multiple facets. With the surge in online spending though, you’ve got to be focusing even more on how to differentiate, and more importantly, how to create an EXPERIENCE. The 99d blog post linked above gives some great examples.5) In case you hadn’t realised, your products main image is potentially the biggest success factor on Amazon. It’s just become more important though.Ok, why does this matter to you? Well, touchpoints. It’s the first touchpoint a prospect has with your brand. Whether that be within the search results, or as part of a PPC campaign. The first image, is ultimately, what generates the click! Now that the first image can be engaged within the search, there is even more pressure for it to be sublime. My tip, include some form of overlay (make it crafty though, so the algorithm doesn’t notice) that highlights your key feature/USP, so when someone clocks that one image, all of their problems are solved and they click through to buy!7) Here is a very clean listing from Belkin.There is nothing fancy about this, but it works so well.9) Amazon Advertising revenue was up 51% this year.Google was up 6.5% YoY, Facebook up 20%. eMarketer estimates that the triopoly will account for nearly two-thirds of total US digital ad spending this year.10) 7 quick tips on seasonal Amazon Advertising.Destaney Wishon is one of my selected trusty resource for content on this topic, it’s why I’m hosting her on the podcast again this week. These aren’t even overly complicated.🚀 Diversify your ad spend!!!🚀 PRODUCT TARGETING everywhere🚀 Creating landing pages for your deals🚀 Budget adjustments and bid optimization🚀 Holiday specific imagery where allowed🚀 Adjust copy for your deals and promotions🚀 Run DSP or re-marketing to take advantage of your ad spend11) Reimbursement services are a sound investment for every seller.Check out www.myrefundSupport the show

Send us a textA subscriber messaged us on our contact form at our website and writes: I have 3 products and Im new to market /amazon, already listed my products at amazon via add product but it is inactive because I will have the product available in USA within couple of weeks, already hired one of amazon IP lawyer to start my brand registry. as far as amazon concerns when a seller do that they consider your brand approved and give you access to brand registry benefits. my issue for example is when I tried to edit the brand name to my current listings it doent work. Per amazon advice I deleted one of my listing and tried to re list it with my brand name but still getting the same problem, as per amazon advice I should re enter the listing via down load and give them the batch # for them to figure out what the problem is. I prefer some one who knows amazon and familiar to all their requirements to deal with this process of bringing my products to the market through amazon seller account and set up my amazon store A-content as so forThis video is a direcdt response to this question and why we believe brand name changes are locked until January 2nd.#brandname #amazonseller #amazonfba✅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 textWe respond to comments with specific questions on how to handle your inventory management under duress. Should you hold, ship to 3PL, ship small amounts? We cover these questions in today's video.Great video!! Could really use your advice on my current problem revolving around this max inventory limit. Not sure which approach I should take: I have 1200 units manufactured and ready to be shipped from China to Amazon. Recently my max inventory limit took a major hit. I can now only send about 500 units. Unfortunately when I informed my supplier of this my shipping cost increases significantly. I now have a few options I am weighing out - 1.) have my supplier hold all 1200 units free of charge and PRAY Amazon lifts the max inventory limits Jan. 2021 (who knows if this will ever happen).2.) ship entire shipment to a near-by 3PL and drip units into Amazon. (Relatively expensive and effects my already slim margins).3.) send smaller quantity shipments into Amazon directly from China. (problem here is I’ll run out of inventory between every shipment and will have to pay more to re-rank with PPC + pay higher shipping costs from China due to smaller shipments) Sorry this is so long!! Waiting seems like a dangerous game to me since there seems to be no insight on if max inventory limits will be lifted. THANK YOU SO MUCH for any advice.1) holding is a risk. China shuts down in Feb too. It's a 50/50 that Jan is when restrictions ease. If I was Amazon I would wait until Feb and use January to do long overdue maintenance. 2) This is probably the correct choice. It has the most flexibility. And is the best one to count on.3) This is likely more expensive than option 2) and has less reliance.Waiting is not a good option right now - Supply chain woes, China politics are HOT mess rihgt now, and you need to be in control of your destiny as much as possible right now.Harry Joiner's coverage:SOURCING FROM CHINA? You *need* to watch this interview between Steven Pope and Sajag Agarwal. https://youtu.be/hoaoRi0MIaALittle known fact:I was a seafood importer in the 1990s. (FCLs.) I toured many seafood plants in Northern China.After seeing several plants produce our proprietary product, we adjusted our product cost models to reflect the fact that our suppliers were deliberately adding sodium tripolyphosphate to our IQF pollock fillet portions to make the product retain water and weigh more, thereby increasing our cost.Initially we thought we were paying $1.50 for 1 lb of fish. In reality, we were paying $1.50 for 13 oz. of fish and 3 oz of water.For folks who don’t know what it’s like to source from China, here’s an analogy:“Put your hand in a bucket of water. Now take your hand out of the bucket of water.”Very often, that’s what happens when you leave a supplier’s plant. Things snap back to the way they were before you got there.Seven years (‘92-‘99) of international trade involving 14 countries taught me two things:1/ New overseas suppliers won’t do what you expect. They’ll do what you INSPECT. Trust but verify!2/ Eventually, you can manage your suppliers less aggressively to the extent that you have a *personal* relationship with them. (IRL!)Support the show

Send us a textArticle link. Great article by Annie Palmer who writes for CNBC on all things marketplaces and Amazon: Amazon sellers worry they can’t meet holiday demand as company limits warehouse space.Steven Pope, who sells wine glasses on Amazon, expressed frustration over how the company determined the quantity limits. Pope and other sellers who spoke to CNBC said Amazon calculates how many units they can send in by looking at the last 90 days of sales for a particular product. For new products, it’s even more strict, since there’s a “hard cap” of 200 units, Pope said.Pope said one of the top wine glasses sold by his business, Momstir, is now very close to stocking out, at a time when he typically sees a 400% spike in sales between Black Friday and Christmas. It means he’ll likely lose out on a significant chunk of holiday sales this year.“I was projecting I was going to probably do half a million just in December and now, realistically, I’m going to tap out at $310,000,” Pope said. “It’s depressing.”Support the show

Send us a text#Tenacity noun, the quality of being tenacious, or of holding fast; persistence: the amazing tenacity of rumors.the quality of retaining something:the tenacity of memory.the quality or property of holding together firmly:testing the tenacity of the old book's binding.tenacity (n.)early 15c., from Middle French ténacité (14c.) and directly from Latin tenacitas "an act of holding fast," from tenax (genitive tenacis) "holding fast, gripping, clingy; firm, steadfast," from tenere "to hold," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch."#amazonselling #amazonseller #amazonfba#EntrepneuerInspiration✅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 textTribute to Adam Heist for his #mentalgamemonday series. It invigorated me to make this content today. I go through my historical failures and how I got through it to be a succesful Amaozn seller and Amazon agency owner that I am today. It's okay to fail. Get back up, you can do it! If this content inspired you please leave a comment!✅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/“life shrinks and expands on the proportion of your willingness to take risks and try new things.”“It took thirty-eight years before 50 million people gained access to radios. It took television thirteen years to earn an audience that size. It took Instagram a year and a half.”― Gary Vaynerchuk, #AskGaryVee#entrepreneurship #amazonselling #amazonseller #amazonfba #inspirationSupport the show

Send us a text✅Get 50% off First Month with Helium 10 Or Promo Code MyAmazonGuy50 ✅Get Amazon Consulting at https://myamazonguy.com/IPI storage-limit update to come in mid-DecemberThis Prime Day, small- and medium-size businesses saw record-breaking sales: more than $3.5 billion across 19 countries, nearly 60% more than last year. For the holiday shopping season, we are hiring over 145,000 seasonal employees worldwide to pick, pack, and ship your products. By January, our fulfillment center storage capacity will have increased by nearly 50 million cubic feet globally for standard-size items.In addition to these network improvements, we will continue managing inventory performance to ensure that all products have space available for the holidays. ASIN-quantity limits remain in effect, and we will continue to evaluate our capacity and make adjustments to allow for more of your products when possible.While our immediate focus is to help you have a successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday, some of you have asked about Inventory Performance Index (IPI) volume-based storage limits. We continue to review customer demand and our supply chain in light of COVID-19, and we will update you with further guidance in mid-December. FBA inventory storaghttps://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/XLRKWL8L5BMSHWB?ref=nslp_at_G5XYYJJTP9NAPN22_nslnk_1_XLRKWL8L5BMSHWB limitsNote: Effective August 16, 2020, the IPI threshold for storage limits is 500 (previously 400).To better manage fulfillment center storage space, so that products are received and shipped to buyers more quickly, inventory storage limits can be applied. Storage limits are based on volume (measured in cubic feet) and are set for each storage type. Your current and potential storage limits and usage are shown when you expand Storage Volume, which you can view in your Inventory performance dashboard and Shipping QueueStorage limits criteriaIndividual selling accounts have a set storage limit of 10 cubic feet; this value does not change. Individual selling accounts are not subject to storage limit increases.Professional selling accounts may or may not have storage limits, depending on the following criteria:    Sellers who maintain an Inventory Performance Index (IPI) of the required threshold or above on either of two score checkpoints will not be subject to storage volume limits for standard-size, oversize, clothing, and footwear items. (See the checkpoints in the storage limits schedule below.)    New sellers that have been active for less than 26 weeks, or sellers without enough sales data to generate an IPI score during both of the two score check weeks, will not receive storage limits.Professional accounts that do have storage limits will still have a minimum of 25 cubic feet for standard, over-size, clothing, or footwear inventory.Professional account holders can track their Inventory Performance Index in the Inventory performance dashboard and learn about IPI on the IPI Help page. The dashboard provides a hub for optimizing your FBA business, including customized recommendations to grow your sales and reduce costs. Your IPI score is updated weekly based on your ongoing inventory management.Storage limits are calculated using several factors including:    Your sales volume (including your sales' seasonality periods)    Your historical IPI scores    Available fulfillment center capacity https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/XLRKWL8L5BMSHWB?ref=nslp_at_G5XYYJJTP9NAPN22_nslnk_1_XLRKWL8L5BMSHWB#amazonselling #amazonseller #amazonfbaSupport the show

Send us a textAmazon seller turned inspection company Movley.  Why do inspections make financial sense? - I can walk through the calculation, how just $3k of defective products can pay for 7 years worth of inspections!  How does fraud & bribery work when it comes to inspections? - Common misconception is that this is a zero-sum game. Inspectors routinely commit fraud with or without bribes. Great chance to talk about how to prevent it.Take aways:Make sure you test your products. Sell a paper cup? Put water in it.Inspections are not a one off thing.Supply chain comes down to the human element. Inspectors can often be "honest thieves."Bio: Sajag Agarwal previously lived in China, is a former 7-figure Amazon seller, and the current founder of Movley. In 2015, he founded and grew his first e-commerce brand to $2M/yr in less than 2 years. Plagued with quality control problems, Sajag moved to China for 6 months, opened an office in Shenzhen, and spent most of his time on the factory floor. While there, he watched his inspectors fraudulently pass his bad production orders and did his own inspections. Out of frustration, in 2018 he founded Movley to make manufacturing overseas easier and more controllable. Movley brings tech, data analytics, and better process to do inspections better & more efficiently. Sajag loves to share his knowledge with the community on everything manufacturing, with a side of entrepreneurship.Entrepreneurship & LifeMy story: from Minecraft and flipping electronics on eBay, to a $2M/yr e-commerce brand, moving to China, to starting MovleyWhat was it like to live in China? Funniest story? What was it like to meet factory owners in real life?What’s your motivation for being an entrepreneur? Has it changed since you started?What were some of the challenges you faced as an entrepreneur? (Failures & Growth)Product InspectionsWhy are inspections so important? Do you need to do them every order? Different types?Is it better to inspect products at the port, or at the factory?What makes an inspection effective? Product tests? Setup sample size? AQL?Is an inspection necessary if the supplier says they do their own inspections?What do you do when an inspection fails? What if the supplier refuses to work with you?MovleyHow do Movley’s inspection reports differ? What insights does Movley’s tech platform provide?The average cost of an inspection is $300/day, how do companies offer them for $100?How does Movley price inspections? Do your quotes improve with time?Movley has a back-office in the PhilippinesManufacturing in ChinaWhat do you see as the future of manufacturing in China? COVID? Trade war?What are some things to look for when vetting suppliers? When should I do a factory audit?Would you recommend listeners to visit China? How do you plan a trip like this?How can you negotiate better pricing and trade terms with your suppliers?Are supplier contracts enforceable or effective? What contracts do you use?What are the common mistakes you see people make when sourcing in China?Support the show

Send us a textAdam Heist runs a great YouTube channel for Amazon sellers. So today we bring him on to talk about his Amazon journey.  Adam owns 3 Amazon brands. "Amazon is not hard, it's just a lot of moving parts, graphics, copywriting, logistics. I was surprised how many papercuts had to be had."Mental game Mondays. "The game is 100% mental because it is a gauntlet." SHTF"Amazon has made sellers lazy. Because Amazon (solved) the fundamentals." Adam used a California data request to get 22 zip folders of data from his personal Amazon account. Amazon tracks your IP address, searches, purchases. They track and tag your searches that originate off Amazon.Fan of Google, Facebook, Pinterest ads, especially at launch.Do all the things B2C brands do off Amazon. List building, content generation, you name it.Have your "Amazon degree." Evaluations of Amazon businesses are undervalued. "I predict evaluations are going to go 3.5-6x earnins." 10 major players int he aggregators. 3 busineses have raises more than 100 mil each to buy Amazon brands. Adam helped a large  Fortune 300 Energy Company buy electrical companies across 13 states. He runs his Amazon businesses in similar fashion. Spreads his Amazon portfolio across both building and buying.  30% building, 70% acquire. For Adam it's all about unique deal flow.Professional Era.Support the show