This Issue's TLDR...

• Myth-busting regarding the "Frequently Returned Item" badge
• The Open Source Excel Library for Amazon
• Why "Made in USA" is harder than it seems

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I'm still recovering from an amazing trip to Prague last week, where I spoke at Orange Klik's European Seller Conference.

And, more importantly...I'm still synthesizing everything that I learned, so that I can bring some killer content to all of you.

In the mean time, I thought I'd borrow James Clear's fantastic 3-2-1 email format and share 3 Resources, 2 Charts, 1 Reader Question, all of which are based on conversations and help that I've offered to folks over the past two weeks.

Enjoy!

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3 Resources You Should Check Out

​Brand24​

• What it is: A social media monitoring tool that tracks brand mentions across the web.
• Why it's useful: Helps businesses manage reputation, respond to mentions, track competitors, and measure marketing impact.

​Pacdora​

• What it is: An AI-powered packaging design tool with 3D mockups and ready-to-print templates.
• Why it's useful: Speeds up packaging design, reduces costs, and eliminates the need for complex software.

​Tango AI​

• What it is: An AI-driven training platform that facilitates easy SOP creation.
• Why it's useful: Automates sales tasks, provides AI coaching, and improves deal conversion rates.

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2 Charts You Should Internalize

I will never stop talking about Retail Math. I talked about it on stage last week at the European Seller Conference in Prague, and I just mentioned it on podcast earlier this week.

Anyway, here's a VERY robust expansion of the Retail Math framework from Pattern (in case you didn't know, they are the #1 3P seller on Amazon).

Here's another framework -- or, rather, mathematical relationship -- related to Advertising, which you should internalize (or provide to your newer team members for training):

1 Reader Question

Q: Hey Jon, do you know if participating in the FBA Returnless Resolutions program influences the "Frequently Returned Item" badge? Someone in a community that I'm in said that it does.

ME: It doesn't help with the "Frequently Returned Item" badge, but it WILL help you avoid Returns Processing Fees. Here's the relevant policy language:

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BEST from the B@A Community

The B@A reader who shared this has asked to remain anonymous because this upcoming change hasn't been made public yet.

TLDR -- Coupons will now impact your "reference price" for purposes of running deals.

Here are the deets, straight from my inbox:

Amazon is now taking into account coupons into the deal prices. This applies to all deal types (TD/BD/LD) and all promotions (coupon, brand tailored, possibly SnS although I haven't tested it). Errors started showing this Monday.

This is the final big move of Amazon in tackling fake promotions and fake strikethrough pricing after being pressured by the government

This has two significant effects:

• D-2-D operations: for years we have leveraged coupons as an effective way of improving conversions, pushing overstock, re-ranking while protecting the buy box price, allowing massive upside when we run best deals with great margins
• Big Events (PD/FPD/BFCM): as you know, ranking ahead of PD is KEY, and coupons were a nice way to invest in that while allowing a massively profitable deal price. Not anymore as we have to protect buy box prices.

Thank you to the B@A reader who shared this.

BEST from LinkedIn

Incredible deep dive from my good friend James McConnell on the hidden costs of Amazon placement fees.

And, importantly, how to dodge them.

Go read it, today.

Thanks, James!

BEST from X

Many people categorically ignore Twitter/X.

Some have tried it, but have been turned off by the political content, trolls, etc. (Curate your feed, dude!)

Others choose not to give it a chance.

I'm here to tell you that there is a TON of value and free education on X, if you are thoughtful in who you follow.

Take, for instance, this open source Excel library that my good friend George Reid shared.

This is a must-have, whether you are an agency owner, solo seller, or seller with an in-house team.

More operating leverage = More growth for the same amount of costs.

Thanks, George!

George Reid @_GeorgeReid_ Excel for Amazon. An open source library of excel and sheets files for brands and agencies on Amazon. Completely free. Our ads team are incredibly good at building out bespoke excel tools to help us utilise new Amazon advertising features and reports. So I figured we’d just… https://x.com/i/web/status/1898984260129959943 1:28 AM • Mar 10, 2025 0 Retweets 3 Likes Read 1 replies

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BEST from X [BONUS]

I'm tossing in this Bonus tweet this week because, as seductive as the idea of building a "Made in USA" brand can be...it...is...hard.

Truth is, the US manufacturing industry has been steadily eroding over the past 60+ years.

We simply don't build (most) things in America anymore and, arguably, don't know how to do so even if we wanted to.

Or, even if we could make something in America, we wouldn't be cost competitive.

Thanks, Mike, for this first-hand account.

Michael Patrón @michaelpatron0 Trying to manufacture in the US: So here are some details of when I tried to manufacture in the US before. I used to sell a memory foam seat cushion similar to below. Here is how the processed worked/didn't work. First thing I did is find polyurethane factories in the... 11:30 AM • Mar 12, 2025 2 Retweets 36 Likes Read 4 replies

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I'm obviously passionate about Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition.

And, I'm going to keep writing about it regardless.

But I'm curious...how do you all feel about Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition?

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