I am an Amazon seller, co-host of the Clear the Shelf with Chris & Chris podcast, and owner of OA Leads 24/7, among other entrepreneurial ventures. I write about things that I found interesting or helpful Amazon sellers and entrepreneurs. You can sign up for my newsletter below!
📈 Ecom Matters 7/9/24
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Hey there! For my long-time readers, no one is surprised that I missed a couple of weeks, right? 😅 One of the great things about this business is the location-independence. The ability to travel and keep your business running smoothly is an underrated perk. I finally had a chance to visit the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, or SPAC as it's more commonly referred to. Here's a taste of my weekend in Saratoga: But I'm back home and back at it now. Alright, let's explore the back pages of ecommerce news that you might have missed: ​ What's the Matter?​ 📰 School Supply & DemandParents are planning to spend nearly 22% more on back-to-school shopping this year, with an average of $475 per child.
Why it matters: In the survey of 1,000 parents, 35.4% said they plan on shopping at Amazon. Back-to-School season can be (and is) huge for Amazon sellers. It also unofficially ushers in a very spendy part of the calendar year starting with BTS, then giving us Labor Day sales to source, and then Q4 will be knocking on the door. ​ 📰 The UPC Officially Gets Its AARP CardThe barcode officially turned 50 years old.
Does it matter? It revolutionized retail efficiency when that first pack of Juicy Fruit went under the flashing red light in 1974, but faces threats to its relevance with the emergence of QR codes and 2D barcodes. *You might have heard me say it before, but it's worth repeating: if you're out doing retail arbitrage, don't rely solely on scanning barcodes to source inventory. UPCs can change over time, or a listing creator can fat-finger a digit, or numerous other possibilities can lead to an ASIN not having a matching UPC. There is extra profit to be made by getting in the habit of typing the product into your scanning app manually because most sellers won't make the extra effort. ​ 📰 The Wholesale Challenge is Back (Finally)!The only edition of The Wholesale Challenge for 2024 is now open for registration.
Why it matters: 1) Wholesale is the Cadillac of arbitrage models. It provides the opportunity to obtain the inventory quantities that will unlock the orange bars you fantasized about when you started at the prices that the big box retailers pay. It's the biggest, most effective moat you can build around your store. 2) The course rocks! I took it last year and loved it. Corey & Chris put together a no-nonsense, practical curriculum that provides everything you need to know to unlock the wholesale model. You get advice that you can use immediately to make progress and every question you have gets answered live. All at a fraction of what most courses try to charge. ​ 📰 Amazon Temu-ves to Direct-from-China ModelYou probably heard about Amazon's plans to open a low-cost, direct from China online store to rival Temu & Shein. This was probably the best article I read about it. I especially like the observation about consumer preferences.
Does it matter? I believe anything Amazon does to draw more people to the marketplace, and make Prime membership more valuable, is a positive for third party sellers. I'm also very interested any time Amazon makes reactive strategy decisions. It feels like most of their existence has been spent proactively building the massive kingdom we get to play in. What's the Latest on the Clear The Shelf with Chris & Chris Podcast?We're currently outlining the next several episodes of the podcast, so more concrete updates will be coming soon. In the meantime, the live Q&A show marches on every Wednesday at 5pm est. Catch it on YouTube and our socials. Follow the links below to get caught up on the pod:
Alpha Weekend Lead ListCurrently, as I write this, there is availability on the weekend list if you've been trying to secure a spot. You can check availability here. But the cart will close once the spots are filled. Sometimes I Think I'm FunnyI don't know what's going on in your neighborhood, but my neighbors must have spent the equivalent of a year of college on fireworks this year. My dogs are so over it... Poll Results (from the last issue): It was unanimous! 100% of the responses said audiobooks count as reading a book. Have a great week! Talk to you soon. Chris |
Chris Racic
I am an Amazon seller, co-host of the Clear the Shelf with Chris & Chris podcast, and owner of OA Leads 24/7, among other entrepreneurial ventures. I write about things that I found interesting or helpful Amazon sellers and entrepreneurs. You can sign up for my newsletter below!
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