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[SFTB] 😇 Seller Support is Actually Good Now
Read Time: 8.5 minutes
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🌴Tropical Trivia🌴
(Scroll to the bottom to see the answer)
Over or Under $100B?
How much $$$ is managed by the reimbursement
market on Amazon?
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✅The Instant Value Section (IVS)✅
(aren’t you glad you opened the email now?)
A huge SFTB thank you to Private Label GOAT Jon Elder who wrote this week’s IVS:
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Hey SFTB! Selling your brand is something that 99% get wrong. After reading this simple yet effective game plan, you will be in the 1%.
Automate to the max
If you are working 40+ hours a week in your business, expect your buyer pool to be VERY small. You need to have the following tasks outsourced before exiting: Amazon advertising, social media management, customer service, inventory forecasting, design work, and all logistics.
Ultra clean bookkeeping
This one is simple but many forget to do it. When you are selling your brand, the buyer/bank will want to see the last two years of tax returns, 24 months of P%L statements, and clean bookkeeping. It should be seamless. If this made you sweat, you have work to do.
Create a “transition” plan for a new owner.
Offer a very specific training plan for the buyer. This can involve physical training in person or virtual training via Zoom. Calls can work too. Just come prepared for this and lead this conversation. Many buyers pull out of deals before the seller is simply unprepared for the transition.
Prepare to answer hardball questions.
“Uhhhh let me get back with you” won’t work.
Yes, you need to have an answer for everything, even the gritty stuff like listing suspensions. Don’t try to hide ANYTHING. Be honest and never look back.
Strong pipeline of new products.
The buyer wants to see a crystal clear 12 month plan of new products to launch. Do you really think buyers want to fly blind from Day 1? Absolutely not. 12 months is a pretty fair expectation. Past 12 months is on the buyer.
This is a basic framework BUT it gets you going in the right direction. I got into even greater detail in my weekly newsletter Amazon Insiders. You can sign up by clicking here.
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Today’s newsletter: More valuable then a level +2 Wand of Necromancy to a Wizard 🧙(trust me)
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Always read the Amazon description – what is this.. a facemask for ants?
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What’s Going on at the Beach?
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An Amazon Meet-up in Costa Rica
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Last week I was lucky to have my buddy Pedro come down for a visit and catch up. In today’s day and age with technology the ability to network online is huge and can be so important to your business and motivation.
While I love chatting with friends online, nothing can beat a real world meet up!
The good thing is I live in a nice location so convincing people we should meet up in Costa Rica isn’t too hard. 😂 He wouldn’t come on a real estate tour with me just yet, but seems to be getting really comfortable with the thought of spending more time down here!
A few years ago I was in the process of arranging a meet up down here, then the world went a little crazy for a few years and everyone canceled.
If I held a meet up/conference in Costa Rica would you be interested? Sun, fun and Amazon?
Send me a message at info@sellingfrom.co if interested!
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credit: DALL-E / Arrr matey, welcome to the beach
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Why NET Terms are So Damn Important
(For Amazon Sellers)
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Check out this video where Max explains not only how NET Terms work, but why they actually matter.
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The 1% Zone 👊 Actionable Amazon Tips
Have you read James Clear’s Atomic Habits? Little things add up.
Here’s something you can to TODAY to improve your business:
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The best thing Amazon Seller Support has done in a loooooooooooong time:
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I don’t know about you guys but I am absolutely loving this new button Amazon has added that allows you to immediately connect to a catalog specialist.
How it’s gone so far:
I had two different cases (one was a super fun 8541 error) – both solved in 45 minutes.
Multiple other cases actually getting heard and — here’s the important part — understood by the rep.
What you get: Reps that know what you’re saying. They also have access to more tools and features that the regular support reps have.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone make a positive post about Amazon Seller Support.
I guess this is the first.
(this is still in beta, so not all accounts have it)
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2/ Traveler’s Toolkit 🛩️The Latest Travel Hacks
Flights, hotels, packing, and everything in between.
8 places (in paradise) that will pay you to move there:
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I mean, I wouldn’t mind living in Presicce, Italy
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Here are 8 places that will actually pay you to move there. Why? They have an aging population and their towns are dying.
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3/ The Local Lowdown🌴
Things You Didn’t Know About Paradise
The good, the bad, the f***ing great.
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School is Back… For… Expats!
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(imagine Alice Cooper’s voice! 🎸🤘)
School’s back in session, and new families are flooding into the neighborhood. Many come for just a year, some only for a semester. They’re here for what Tim Ferris calls a “Mini Retirement.” A year abroad, taking a break from work or working remotely. Some stay longer, but there’s a trend of folks wanting a short-term adventure before heading home.
It’s straightforward: enroll in an international school, rent a place, get a car, pack your stuff, and you’re set. It’s not hard, and it could be a life-changing six months. But a word of caution: make sure your finances are in order before you make the leap.
Thinking about it? There’s still time to enroll for the second semester in January. With four fully accredited international schools in the area, you’ve got plenty of options.
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4/ SFTB Facebook Group – Stuff You May Have Missed
Value-packed community posts.
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5/ The Sand in my Swimming Trunks🤬
(What I’m Pissed About Lately)
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Buybox Suppressed due to External Price?
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The FTC is suing Amazon (the case has been going last year) because
of a number of antitrust reasons, but there was one that stuck out for me.
Amazon is actively suppressing buyboxes and forcing down an Amazon seller’s pricing when lower prices are found elsewhere. Basically, Amazon has a policy that punishes sellers whenever they lower their price anywhere other than Amazon.
I.E. You list something for $10 on your website and $20 on Amazon, Amazon will suppress your Buybox.
And at the same time, Amazon is steadily hiking the fees that a seller might pay.
Consequently, sellers have to raise their price not just on Amazon, but across their other off-Amazon listings.
In practice that means if you had another marketplace, say “Joe’s” that was more innovative or efficient, it would not actually be able to compete on price due to Amazon’s anti-discounting policy.
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Explain like i’m five years old:
Imagine there’s a big online lemonade market called Joe’s. This market is really good at selling lemonade and might even have better stands or cooler flavors than Amazon’s market. In a fair situation, if Joe’s was more efficient or innovative, they might be able to sell their lemonade for less money than Amazon’s market.
But because of Amazon’s rules, sellers can’t sell their lemonade for cheaper at Joe’s. If they do, Amazon will hide their stand at Amazon’s market so no one can buy from them there. So, even if Joe’s wants to sell lemonade for less, sellers won’t do it because they don’t want to get in trouble with Amazon.
(I.e. people won’t do it because Amazon is the biggest game in town and nobody wants to lose their Amazon sales over another retailer).
This means Joe’s can’t actually compete by offering lower prices, because Amazon’s policy forces everyone to keep their prices the same or higher, no matter where they sell. In the end, Amazon’s rules make it so that no other market can easily offer better deals to customers.
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Speak Up! Community Comments & Questions:
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Want to have your question answered in the newsletter? Want to give us a piece of your mind? Send us an email at info@sellingfrom.co
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“Here’s how to guarantee you have a good day:
Do Good Things.“
– Ryan Holiday
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How was today’s newsletter? Love it? Hate it? Just want to be a little bit crabby on the beach?
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Hey – Wanna hang out? Check us out on Facebook.
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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
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