Here is your midweek jetpack of Amazon seller news, updates, and other useful clicks for your e-commerce business…

Happy New Year. We took a little break, but let’s get back on the pony….

20,000 OA Leads

Our team finds 20,000 buyable online arbitrage leads per year. We do this mainly through reverse manual sourcing. No scraping tools or website scanners.

We have 28 people on our sourcing team, and we’ve been finding leads for over 10 years now. We find leads in places where others cannot.

If you study lead lists, you can uncover unlimited rabbit holes through seller storefronts, sales, and listed retail websites.

The value isn’t just in the daily leads, it’s in all of the other leads that are hiding under the curtains.

Notice the types of products and learn how to hunt more. When you find honey holes that nobody else has, you can establish solid replens that can fuel you long term. You’ll thank yourself in three years.

We have a few spots open if you want to kick your year off by studying and getting better.

If you aspire to have a VA sourcing for you, the best way to get started is by learning how to source yourself and documenting the journey for them.

Our team started with just Jason and I, and we expanded one by one until we got to where we are.

If we bought just 1 of each of our leads per year, and they average $5 profit each (and believe me… many are higher), we would profit around $120k on those alone.

Yes, some leads turn to shit and tank—but consistency kills the outliers.

There is great power in learning how to source.

Don’t depend on lead lists to make you millions—use them to make millions yourself.

If the button is open, the spots are still open. Click to join.

Happy sourcing.



Amazon Releases New Flat File Format

Amazon just released updated flat files in BETA.

It’s a complete transformation of the backend’s structure.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on downloading the new beta-category-specific flat files.

Note- the BETA is yet available for all accounts or product types.


Demystifying the ACoS Metric in Amazon Ads

If you are mainly reselling with RA or OA, chances are you don’t run many Amazon product ads because you are joining listings that are already selling.

However, it doesn’t hurt to take a glimpse into one of the tools that can rocket sales for private label, wholesale controlled listings, and other brands.

The Advertising Cost of Sale (ACoS) metric is an indicator of effective advertising spend. A lower ACoS score indicates efficient advertising spend relative to sales.

To get your ACoS:

Ad Spend/Ad Revenue x 100

So, what’s a good ACoS on Amazon?

In the chart below, you’ll see guideposts illustrating Amazon’s average ACoS benchmarks for different product categories.

Category Top 25% Typical Bottom 25%
Appliances 12% 16% 17%
Arts, Crafts, & Sewing 12% 17% 20%
Automotive 20% 28% 39%
Baby 23% 35% 55%
Beauty & Personal Care 18% 29% 50%
Clothing, Shoes, and Jewelry 15% 20% 30%
Electronics 10% 16% 25%
Grocery & Gourmet Food 20% 29% 46%
Grocery Store 18% 25% 35%
Health & Household 20% 30% 45%
Health & Personal Care 15% 25% 44%
Home & Garden 15% 20% 30%
Home & Kitchen 18% 25% 35%
Industrial & Scientific 25% 35% 45%
Musical Instruments 13% 19% 29%
Office Products 20% 35% 45%
Patio, Lawn, & Garden 13% 19% 28%
Sports & Outdoors 12% 22% 34%
Tools & Home Improvement 16% 25% 35%
Toys & Games 11% 16% 26%

(Data from Amazon Brand Metric reports. Numbers can vary daily.)

Take note that the low ACoA for one product category will differ from the high ACoS of another. Therefore, your target ACoS should be defined relative to your business objectives and category/categories you are in.

Learn more about ACoS here.


Illegal Baby Products “Exploding” on Amazon

Despite pronouncements from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), illegal baby products are somehow still exploding onto the Amazon marketplace.

If you sell in the baby category, give your inventory a quick rundown and make sure you aren’t selling anything that will get you punched in the suspension dong.


TikTok Craze or Bust?

TikTok is planning an aggressive expansion in the US market this year as it aims to grow TikTok Shop, its U.S. ecommerce business, to $17.5 billion this year. While the details of the North American expansion is mostly under wraps, it’s been reported that the video-hosting service and ecommerce site is planning to utilize its highly engaged user base and viral videos to boost merchandise sales in the U.S.

With 83% of its users making purchasing decisions on its platform, TikTok presents a new way to drive sales and growth to products. Before taking the TikTok plunge, however, take note that TikTok recently increased its U.S. seller fees from 2% to 8% this year and they might be watching you when you run around your house in your birthday suit.

Frankly, Walmart is feeling a lot like Amazon was about 8-10 years ago. If there’s a place to focus on establishing a presence and riding it into the stars, it’s probably there.


AI Caramba! This Week in AI + Ecomm

  • Amazon Fashion is now using four new AI innovations – personalized size recommendations, review highlights, reimagined size charts, and fit insights – to help customers find the perfect fit.
  • eBay recently launched an AI-powered social caption generator to help sellers draft a caption for their social posts at the click of a button.
  • According to Salesforce, artificial intelligence accounted for $194 billion in online holiday sales, mainly through predictive recommendations. Read about the most significant AI trends among online retailers in 2023 here.

Important Amazon Updates for Yo’ Bad Seller Self

New Minimum Inventory Level Metric

Amazon has just launched the new Minimum Inventory Level metric to help you avoid paying the low inventory fee which will start to apply on April 1, 2024. Take note that the low inventory fee will apply “when both the long-term historical days of supply (last 90 days) and short-term historical days of supply (last 30 days) are below 28 days (4 weeks).

Go to FBA Inventory to view your Minimum Inventory Level metric. Make sure that you maintain inventory levels above the minimum to ensure that you meet customer demand and are able to offer the fastest delivery speeds.

Learn more about managing your FBA Inventory level here.

Check Subscribe and Save Eligibility of Your FBA Products in an Instant

Amazon has just launched a new self-service feature that will enable you to quickly and easily check the Subscribe and Save eligibility of your FBA product in Seller Central. The new feature removes the need to contact Seller Support for eligibility checks and provides you 24/7 access so you can check for eligibility whenever you need to.

Follow these steps to check your FBA products eligibility:

  1. Sign in to Amazon Subscribe and Save.
  2. Go to Check Subscribe & Save eligibility for FBA products.
  3. Enter product details and confirm eligibility status.

New Buyer Auto-Cancellation Window Feature

Amazon just launched the Buyer Auto-Cancellation Window feature which allows you to set a time frame in which buyers can create cancellation requests for seller-fulfilled orders which you can auto-approve. Cancellation requests from customers outside the set time frame will need to be manually approved. Take note that once you have confirmed shipment, the order can not be canceled anymore.

Go to General shipping settings to set the Buyer Auto-Cancellation window.

Learn more about cancellations here.

Brand Tailored Promotions Now Available in Seven More International Marketplaces

Brand Tailored Promotions, the marketing feature which allows brand owners to send customized promotional codes to incentivize high-intent customers, is now available in the following international marketplaces: UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Mexico, and Canada.

Learn more about Brand Tailored Promotions here

Partnered Carrier Program Shipping Updates

The following improvements can now be experienced by sellers who use Amazon-partnered carriers to send FBA shipments to Amazon:

  • When entering “Ship-from” address, you may now enter the operating hours of your warehouse as well as select special pickup equipment requirements.
  • The latest shipment pickup date information when you ship less-than-truckload, full-truckload, and intermodal shipments can now be viewed. Pickup date information now also includes shipment updates that result from disruption or delays.
  • You can now view detailed information and expectations when you create and send a shipment with an Amazon-partnered carrier in this guide.

This Week in Seller School

Here is a roundup of learning resources for this week:

Blog Posts

Podcasts


Upcoming Seller Events 📍

Here are a few upcoming industry events that you might be interested in. Slick that hair back and start mingling, playa!

Online Seller Cruise (January 21 – January 28, 2024) -Port Miami, FL

Learn about the tools you’ll need for today and tomorrow’s market, connect with other sellers and relax!

Ecom Powwow Miami 2024 (January 30, 2024), Miami, FL

Sellers and vendors from around the globe will meet in-person to network, exhibit, and hear from leading experts in the Amazon and eCommerce space.

Ecommerce Experience Evolution (February 22 – 24, 2024) – Miami, FL

The most inspiring ecommerce event in Miami.

eTail 25 Years (February 26 – 29, 2024) – Palm Springs, FL

Experience the transformation from leading retailers into actionable how-to’s that breathe life into your omnichannel business.

The Prosper Show (March 4-6, 2024) – Las Vegas, NV

Where established Amazon, Walmart and other sellers network, connect, and learn how to make businesses more profitable.

ASD Market Week (March 10 – 13, 2024) – Las Vegas, NV

Considered to be the most comprehensive trade show for consumer merchandise in US retailers and distributors of all sizes.


Other Quick Clicks

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, comments or violent reactions, just hit “reply.

Let’s make kajillions!

The Seller Spaceship Astronauts