This Issue's TLDR...

• A super simple way to save you A LOT of money in January
• You might be getting ripped off by your UGC agency
• A step-by-step guide to optimizing for RUFUS

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SPONSOR Orange Klik ​ ​ Exciting news! I’ll be speaking at Seller Fest Online on November 18-20, where 20+ top experts and I will be talking all things Amazon FBA! My session, "Boost Sales and Rankings with External Traffic That Works" will take place on November 19th - Tuesday at 3 pm EST, 8 pm UK. Make sure you tune in! ​ Attend Seller Fest Online FOR FREE

I'm going to show you two images that should be nightmare fuel for you, if you're an Amazon seller:

In case you're not following, taken together, these two images imply one thing:

Costly return costs for your business after the holiday season.

Best case scenario, you deal with a normal amount of returns. Or, rather, an amount of returns that doesn't exceed the category thresholds above and, in turn, trigger Amazon's punitive Returns Processing Fees.

Worst case, and maybe more likely, scenario...your return rate spikes in January, as customers return unwanted holiday gifts. And, because Amazon's return rate thresholds were set based on "normal" shopping periods, this higher rate of returns tips you over the line.

Point is...Many of us are probably facing some significant penalties in January and February.

But what if...there was a (simple!) way to avoid Amazon's Returns Processing Fees?

I have good news for you:

1. I'm the type of person that reads the fine print; and
2. There *is* a way to avoid Returns Processing Fees.

And that way is...

​FBA Returnless Resolutions

You can go read the help page linked above, but here's the key excerpt:

So, if you're worried about high returns over the rest of the holiday season, toggle on FBA Returnless Resolutions. (You can turn it off after the holiday returns die down)

It will help you dodge a financial bullet in the new year.

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FRIENDS OF B@A Golden Seller Awards In case you missed it, the Golden Seller Awards opened up for voting earlier this month.If you read this newsletter and appreciate my content, head over to the Golden Seller Awards page and give me a vote! VOTE! (for me)

BEST from my Inbox

Momentum Commerce is a treasure trove of deeply technical, (big) data-driven research insights.

And I can't get enough of it.

Recently, they published research that found that there's a correlation between the number of distinct products in a category and the share of total search volume captured by the top 100 search terms in that category.

This is sort of intuitive, when you think about it, but nevertheless great to see that there's data that supports intuition here.

According to Momentum Commerce, the implications of this, if you're a brand, are:

Thanks, Momentum Commerce team, for this great research!

BEST from LinkedIn

I love a good HOT take.

And my new LinkedIn friend, Steve Rolle, just delivered, with this takedown of the User Generated Content industry.

I'll admit...I rely on UGC a lot. For my brands, and for client brands.

It's often one of the most economical ways to source above-average (and sometimes, great!) creative content.

I've never run into the problems that Steve describes, but that doesn't mean this kind of shadiness doesn't happen.

So, it's good to know that it exists.

Thanks, Steve, for this hot take!

BEST from YouTube

My good friend Vanessa Hung absolutely crushed it at the 7-Figure Seller AI Hacks Summit recently.

In case you don't follow her, she's definitely leading the conversation around how to succeed in an Amazon world increasingly moving toward by RUFUS-driven product discovery.

During her 5-minutes at the Summit, she gave a step-by-step walk-through of how to optimize for RUFUS.

You should all go watch (she starts at the 24-minute mark).

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Great thread here on comment DEAL KILLERS.

In my experience, here are the Top 3 reasons that I see Amazon FBA deals die:

1. Inventory issues. The business is going to stock-out prior to transaction closing, and the Seller is unwilling to adjust price or deal terms to account for that risk.
2. Inexperienced or "bad" attorneys. Many attorneys don't do a lot of deals in the SMB space. As a consequence, they try to apply BIG LAW practices to small transactions, which can lead to Buyers getting frustrated and walking away. (PRO TIP: If a Seller's attorney, or broker, draws a hard line in the beginning about minor things like NDAs, it's best to walk away)
3. Re-Trading. Some Buyers are Sharks, and they'll make an enticing offer to simply get a business under LOI, and then adjust, or "re-trade", on their offer during the due diligence process. These Buyers are engaging in psychological warfare, counting on Sunk Costs and Loss Aversion in the mind of the Seller to get the Seller to agree to the revised terms.

Bruce Marks, MBA, CM&AA @sbabmarks WSS: This past week, unfortunately another transaction for $7,500,000 fell apart after issuing a commitment letter. One can say "this is just part of the business" Although that is true, it still stings for all those involved so let's discuss here 👇 6:37 AM • Nov 9, 2024 5 Retweets 111 Likes Read 4 replies

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