Hey there!

Well, how about that? Another issue of the newsletter exactly a week later. I'm probably just as surprised as you are.

Off topic questions:

1) Why are there 3 days in between each NBA Finals game when we already had to wait a full week for it to start?? Doesn't next season's summer league start soon? Let's get things moving, Adam Silver.

2) How good is Shogun?! Have you seen this show? I'm 8 episodes in and loving it so far.

Alright, let's talk about what's going on:

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What's the Matter?

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📰 Capital Gains?

The Small Business Administration plans to launch a new pilot program offering government-backed credit lines up to $5 million for small businesses.

The lines will have a higher guaranty than the existing programs, which will make them more attractive to lenders, and possibly more widely available.

Why it matters: Because it's easier to get an SBA line of credit than you probably think. And this likely makes it even easier.

I got mine while I was still selling part-time after a year's worth of sales numbers. The terms are good and the paperwork was reasonable.

Unless you're selling a significant amount of your inventory FBM or you started with a healthy sum invested, it's very difficult to scale without carrying some debt.

Apologies to the accountants and bookkeepers out there that read that last sentence and shuddered. Paying interest on debt is a big strain on profits, so if you have to do it, you need a plan to pay as little as possible for the shortest time possible.

These lines have a fairly small margin over the prime rate which should land in the 10% interest region. Compare that to your credit card rates. It's likely less than half of all but the very best credit card interest rates.

If you could use more capital, ask your current banks if they offer SBA lines. I have my business bank accounts through Huntington and they were able to handle everything for me.

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📰 Porch Pirates' Vest-ed Interests

Thieves have started disguising themselves as Amazon employees in order to steal packages off of porches.

Amazon vests, or reasonable imitations, can be purchased online (including on Amazon). Porch pirates will wear the vest and carry a fake package up to the porch and swap it for an actual package that was already delivered.

Why it matters: Not only is it Amazon-specific, but it's always good to stay alert to current trends that any of us can be susceptible to.

📢 We covered this on last week's News and Q&A show. You can catch the replay here.

Also, be sure to tune in live every Wednesday at 5pm est. We're really starting to hit our groove with the dad joke of the week.

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📰 You Can't Spell Quality Control Without AI

Amazon is using AI-enhanced technology, named Project P.I., to scan for defective items before they are sent to the customer.

Millions of products pass through these imagining tunnels. The two primary goals for the project are to improve customer satisfaction and reduce waste.

Why it matters: If done effectively, this should reduce returns before items leave fulfillment centers.

This would produce cost savings for both Amazon and third party sellers. (As long as there is no drastic rise in "distributor damaged" determinations.)

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📰 USPS Having First Class Growing Pains

The US Postal Service has invested $40 billion into a plan to try to turn their balance sheet around. Part of those funds went to a one million square foot sorting center in Atlanta that opened in February (which is already having issues).

This is no easy task considering the USPS has lost $98 billion over the last 17 years and the overall volume of mail is declining.

The USPS has shifted its focus to packages. Parcel delivery accounted for 40% of last year's $78 billion in revenue, despite only being 6% of volume.

Does it matter? If you sell your fair share of FBM, it's worth monitoring.

It's a competitive market (that Amazon just took the lead in over FedEx & UPS), but having another option is a positive. Especially if they try to win on cost. We certainly can't balk at the USPS' infrastructure.

What's the Latest on the Clear The Shelf with Chris & Chris Podcast?

I've typed this a couple of times now and I have to pause and manually count the digits each time because it's such a staggering number: We interviewed a NINE-FIGURE arbitrage seller on the pod.

Jasim is on pace to sell $100,000,000 (so many zeroes...) this year.

He was generous enough to give us over 90 minutes of his time and Chris & I peppered him with as many questions as we could.

We released the episode yesterday and I think it's definitely worth a listen.

Follow the links below to get caught up on the pod:

​ Listen to Clear the Shelf with Chris & Chris on your favorite podcast player: ​YouTube​ ​Apple​ ​Spotify​

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Sometimes I Think I'm Funny

I blame the decline in birth rates on hustle culture.

Have a great week! Talk to you soon.

Chris