This Issue's TLDR...

• 30 days in...the fallout from Amazon's devastating policy change to FBA inventory reimbursements
• Is "Made in China" now a risk?
• My conversation with Scott Needham

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SPONSOR TrueOps Why are you paying more than a 10% commission to your FBA reimbursements provider? Especially now that Amazon only reimburses based on manufacturing costs. Seriously, I want to know. Are you sticking with your provider because they claim to recover more $? Are you sticking with your provider because some well-known "Amazon expert" (that might not even sell on Amazon anymore) is always recommending that provider? Look, man, you do you. But, for me, I'm going to pocket the extra cash from only paying 10% vs 25%. ​ Pay Just 10% with TrueOps Today

Today, I continue The Insider Series. If you missed the previous issues, you can find them ​here​.

For this next installment of The Insider Series, I'm sitting down with Joel MacPherson, Cofounder of TrueOps.

TrueOps is one of the leaders in the FBA Reimbursements space which, as many of you know, has been up-ended by Amazon's shocking policy change that went into effect on March 31.

Many people predicted an end to this "industry".

I predicted fewer event sponsorships and parties from these companies, but continued existence as leaner organizations.

Well, I checked in with Joel to get the REAL story from an Insider, now that we're ~30 days in to the massive policy change.

So, without further ado, here's my chat with Joel!

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So, Joel, let's start with the basics. What's happening right now with FBA reimbursements after Amazon’s big policy change on March 31?

Here's the short version: If you opened a reimbursement claim before April 1, Amazon is supposed to reimburse you at the original, retail-based rates.

But, and it's a big BUT, the way they're crediting those reimbursements is messy. We're seeing tons of errors. Sometimes we have to escalate and basically fight to get sellers the full amounts they're owed under the old system.

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Okay, messy. Got it. What about claims filed after April 1? What's the hit sellers are taking?

On average, reimbursement values have dropped by about 40%.

Which is significant, but nowhere near the predictions of many in the industry, including us. We were bracing for a 70–80% haircut across the board, but that hasn't played out.

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Only 40%? Why didn't it fall as much as you thought?

Good question. I think it's because Amazon's systems are still buggy right now

In a lot of cases, we're seeing sellers aren't even getting reimbursed the correct manufacturing costs.

We're talking wild misses. We had one seller whose true manufacturing cost in Seller Central was $180 per unit...but Amazon reimbursed them just $2.

This will probably adjust over time as Amazon's systems catch up. But, for now, we're happy that it wasn't the worst case scenario that we all anticipated.

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That's wild. So what's the real takeaway for brands and sellers right now?

Here's my 3 recommendations (some of which are basically the same as before this policy change):

1. Old claims: Fight like hell to make sure you're getting reimbursed properly at the old rates. Don't assume Amazon’s calculation is right.
2. New claims: Reset your expectations. You're now getting reimbursed based on manufacturing cost, not retail.
3. Audit everything: Especially if you sell high-ticket items. Those mistakes (like the $2 reimbursement) can destroy your margins if you're not on top of it.

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Thanks, Joel, for being part of the Insider Series.

Best@Amazon readers...reach out to Joel and sign up with TrueOps if you want your FBA Reimbursements handled at industry-leading rates.

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BEST from X

Should we add "Made in China" to this list?
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Jake Martin | Amazon Marketing 🛠 @jake_rm_ Signs of a high risk Amazon FBA product: - Large % of total capital needed to launch - High sales velocity - Long lead time - Competitors index/rank for broad set of KWs - Search volume comes through small number of KWs - Chinese control niche - Top 5 sellers w/ big review moats 11:35 AM • Jun 9, 2022 4 Retweets 15 Likes Read 2 replies

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BEST from YouTube

A few weeks back, I sat down with Scott Needham, founder and CEO of SmartScout, to talk shop. In case you don't want to watch or listen to the full episode, here are some sound bites from me:

• "It's truly a business superpower to be able to say no."
• "If you're just reporting the news [in the Amazon space], you're a weatherman -- and you're a commodity."
• "There's power in going through one-way doors."
• "US-based sellers are structurally disadvantaged...and it's not just about price."
• "Duty drawbacks are like finding coins under the couch cushion, but those coins matter when you're lean."
• "Insight matters more than information. Sellers want to know 'so what,' not just 'what happened.'"

Hope you enjoy the episode!

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Confession time...

I'm not proud of this, but back in my Finance days, I used to utter the phrase "parri passu" ALL THE TIME.

As you can imagine, I was a *hit* as social events.

Matthias Smith, CEO - Pioneer Capital Advisory LLC @SBA_Matthias Parri Passu Financing: Unlocking Larger Acquisition Opportunities In the world of business acquisitions, many buyers quickly find that most SBA lenders cap their financing at $5 million — the maximum loan amount allowed under the SBA 7(a) program. However, for larger 8:35 PM • Apr 26, 2025 0 Retweets 3 Likes Read 3 replies

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