June 24, 2024 Newsletter

Adapt or Die: COSMO is coming & we have the ammo you need

✅The Instant Value Section✅

How to See Your Competitor’s Back-End Listing Details

Ever wondered what the back end of your competitors look like?

Okay, that came out wrong.

Regardless…

All you need to do:

1) Add their ASIN to your inventory

2) Once added, click “Edit”

3) Choose “Suggest Changes to Product Information” It’s a small link near the top of the page

4) Navigate to “Product Details”

Let us know how this worked for you!

Max Sinclair of Ecomtent has made Selling From the Beach an exclusive GPT to help you optimize your listings for COSMO. 

If you’ve been living under a rock, COSMO is Amazon’s initiative to improve customer search and ranking with AI.

Loom video explainer here <<<

Basically, say bye bye to keyword stuffing.

The GPT is 100% Free. Get it here

Chess, Chess, Chess!

We found a local chess teacher who moved to the area a few months ago who has started trying to get a group of kids who are interested in getting better at chess and entering competitions.

The world of Online Chess has really changed the game compared to when I first started playing.  The internet has really opened up a new world for both of my kids and given something they can beat their Dad at easily 😂.

We were playing in a restaurant — okay, the kids were, i’m not good enough — and one of the owners mentioned he plays chess and the kids immediately asked what his ELO Score was to figure out how good he was. ELO is the new flex! 

It’s always a thrill when Selling from the Beach gets a shout-out from the legend, Kevin King! (This is our 6th shout-out!)

In case you missed it, download the first gigantic masterlist of 150 Amazon Hacks that Max has released so far this year.

Many people use Amazon’s fulfillment network to ship their products when they receive off-Amazon sales. This program is called Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF).

Now, MCF has become a LOT more expensive in recent years. Max has talked about it lots on his LinkedIn.

As a general rule, increase your prices by 25-35% in the off-Amazon marketplace to make up for MCF fees. For example, if your Amazon price is $20, increase the price elsewhere to at least $24. Many software programs can do this, let us know if you want a recommendation.

Walmart has ALWAYS blocked MCF from Amazon – which is annoying, because what seller wants to send inventory to two different places? It’s difficult, expensive, and complex. I went to Amazon Accelerate and have spoken to multiple Amazon reps and they all said Walmart is cool with you using MCF as long as you:

1) Block Amazon logistics as a carrier; and

2) Ship in unbranded boxes

(Walmart obviously does not want their customers receiving their Walmart orders in Amazon boxes).

The reps were wrong. Walmart does not allow it. Or do they?

A friend told me to try e-mailing the CEO for permission. Here’s the e-mail:

And here’s the e-mail I sent:

…At first they said no – but then sent another e-mail a couple days later and said I was good to go. Amazing.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes!

Another one from @Caspercapital. I love this kid.

TL;DR – Using Google Flights you can get extremely cheap flights by not putting in a destination.

With school out, numerous summer camps are now starting!

In the past, there was only one option in the area, but now there are many different choices. Our boys recently attended a soccer camp where the coaches spoke only Spanish, which was fantastic as it combined soccer training with Spanish language development. Jackson even received an award for “best attitude,” which was surprising given that he often talked about the ref’s missed calls after each day of camp!

If you’re planning a summer visit with kids, enrolling them in a summer camp can provide a great experience for the children and a nice break for the parents.🍸🍸🍸

Check out this camp hosted at our boys’ school.

Check out this post from resident genius Ecommerce Chris highlighting a “do as I say not as I do” kind of thing from Amazon. Variation sizes, as they’ve made abundantly clear, must be Small, Medium, or Large – not bundles.

…and last month I and others had lots of innacurate variations taken down. Not sure what reporting this listing would do…

Speak Up! Community Comments & Questions:

From Audrey: I know there was a bunch of new fees this year – is this one of them? I am not recognizing it…

SFTB: Yup. That’s the placement fee for shipment splits. Amazon removed the on/off “Inventory Placement” toggle and replaced it with a system where the more splits you allow the cheaper your shipment is. Around 5 splits is $0 in placement fees. No splits results in the highest fees.

You’ll see this when you’re in the shipment creation window. It sucks.

How was today’s newsletter? Love it? Hate it? Do you just want to rub some aloe-vera on that sunburn?

I loved it! 🧴🧴🧴

If you liked this newsletter, here’s where we share more stuff like it:

1. 🤓Just getting started? Check out the Free Amazon FBA Course

2. 🎙️ Listen to the latest episodes of The SFTB Podcast

3. 💸 Increase your income today with Online Arbitrage Training

4. 👔 Need an Accountant? Accounting Services

5. 📧 Want some 1-on-1 time? Rob & Max

All the best,

Rob & Max