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1 Email Turns 13 Years on Amazon Into Nothing

jpanarra

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I actually have a few private label products, that's what got me into the Amazon world to begin with. However, I've simply found my current way of sourcing to be far more explosive in terms of growth. My private label products do around $2000 in sales each month while the other products I sell, which have big brand names, do over half a million in sales each month. My time spent on private labeling simply hasn't been as productive, and I do have to take some responsibility because I probably could have done better if I spent my time more wisely, but it still would not have been nearly as efficient


Ok, now think how you can scale it, is there any similar or associated products along with it you could private label as well, with that you can transition into a website store and build an audience.
 
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amazon joe

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Ok, now think how you can scale it, is there any similar or associated products along with it you could private label as well, with that you can transition into a website store and build an audience.
At my core, I'm an incredibly lazy person, which is why I dropped out of school and wasn't able to hold down a 9-5 job. I was basically forced into the world of Amazon because I could set my own hours and private labeling seemed like a way to bust my a$$ for a few months and be able to reap the benefits for a long time. However, it seems that private labeling is going to be a full-time job since the shelf life of many private label products is only 1-2 years, especially with the changes Amazon is making.

At the moment, I'm wondering if it would be more efficient to simply acquire existing FBA businesses on empireflippers.com than try to build them from the ground up myself. Of course, that comes with a whole slew of other problems as well.

The other thing is, I got into private labeling for the money, and now that money's not too much of a concern, I'm looking to pursue passion projects like environmental business.
 

jpanarra

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At my core, I'm an incredibly lazy person,

that ain't gnna cut here... you want to succeed or not... lazy is a mindset that you give yourself as an excuse to NOT do things...



At the moment, I'm wondering if it would be more efficient to simply acquire existing FBA businesses on empireflippers.com than try to build them from the ground up myself. Of course, that comes with a whole slew of other problems as well.

but why, you already have consumers on amazon, find a way to keep them and give them more products...
 

amazon joe

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that ain't gnna cut here... you want to succeed or not... lazy is a mindset that you give yourself as an excuse to NOT do things...

I'm lazy as in I hate having to adhere to a set schedule and I don't like working on things I don't view as productive. It's forced me to become extremely efficient and automate my business as much as possible now so that I can sit back and relax later. I actually do work very hard when I can see the impact my work is making, I just hated working for other people.


but why, you already have consumers on amazon, find a way to keep them and give them more products...

It's getting really hard to launch private label products on Amazon with the removal of incentivized reviews. I am hoping this will encourage people to produce high quality products that generate organic reviews, maybe I will look into that.
 
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TKDTyler

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I don't think it would work very well for the products I'm selling.

Change your perspective from how it wont work well to how you can make it work. Pivot and add more value perhaps? Looks at brands that are successful off Amazon and study how they are successfully running their own pages. Where are their sales channels and how do they promote them.

There is always a way to build and expand a business past Amazon. The role of an entrepreneur is to problem solve. You have found the problem with your current business. Once you figure out how to push past the Amazon barrier into other markets, you have an advantage over your competition.

NECTS

Entry. The harder and more off putting an idea is to execute, the less competition there will be. Be the one that executes better than the rest of your competition.


It's getting really hard to launch private label products on Amazon with the removal of incentivized reviews. I am hoping this will encourage people to produce high quality products that generate organic reviews, maybe I will look into that.

Read this thread:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-to-do-it-the-easy-way-or-the-hard-way.64808/
 
Last edited:

Evil_Jester

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It seems like there is more uncertainty and lack of control with Ecommerce than with affiliate marketing, in general.
What do you guys think?
 

TKDTyler

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It seems like there is more uncertainty and lack of control with Ecommerce than with affiliate marketing, in general.
What do you guys think?

I feel the opposite.

Affiliate marketing, while requiring less capital, still hinges on external companies to provide a quality customer experience and product. You become dependent on their brand name, their ability to create a following, and customer policies in order for products to continue to sell through your affiliate marketing. Take affiliate marketers that were pushing the Samsung Galaxy line for example. I wouldn't be surprised if those sales plummeted over the last year due to the battery defects.

On the otherhand, Ecommerce (Private Labeling and brand building specifically) creates ownership of the brand, direction, vision, distribution, and pricing. It is true that selling on various platforms always presents an inherent risk and uncertainty, but because you own the products in their entirety, there is a million paths to achieving sales that can be explored.

Why do you feel otherwise?
 
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Evil_Jester

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I feel the opposite.

Affiliate marketing, while requiring less capital, still hinges on external companies to provide a quality customer experience and product. You become dependent on their brand name, their ability to create a following, and customer policies in order for products to continue to sell through your affiliate marketing. Take affiliate marketers that were pushing the Samsung Galaxy line for example. I wouldn't be surprised if those sales plummeted over the last year due to the battery defects.

On the otherhand, Ecommerce (Private Labeling and brand building specifically) creates ownership of the brand, direction, vision, distribution, and pricing. It is true that selling on various platforms always presents an inherent risk and uncertainty, but because you own the products in their entirety, there is a million paths to achieving sales that can be explored.

Why do you feel otherwise?
There are a ton of variables with both. Ecommerce would be great if you sourced from your own country and sold from your own platform such as shopify. But sourcing from china alone requires tons of capital to make a good profit. You are usually reliant upon a good 1 or 2 manufacturers that are located thousands of miles away.
With affiliate marketing you can establish a brand and switch over to new products in a short period of time. It's more automated, no shipping headaches. Faster scalability.
I've explored both options this year with trial and error as a noobie. Now I'm looking to double down on one business model next year.
 

TKDTyler

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With affiliate marketing you can establish a brand and switch over to new products in a short period of time. It's more automated, no shipping headaches. Faster scalability.

Why not use your experience with affiliate marketing to build your own brand instead of other peoples?

In the end, it's just another form of marketing entrepreneurs use to expand their channels similar to hiring someone a freelancer to manage your Facebook/Google ads.

If you were to have your own ecommerce business, why not compliment it with your affiliate marketing skills (brand visibility, copywrite, direct sales, paid traffic, etc) to scale YOUR brand faster instead of somebody else's?
 

Evil_Jester

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Actually I have more experience with ecommerce now if anything. I'm looking for a new good job again to fund myself. I've lost a lot of money on various ventures this year, but I'll laugh it off and treat it as a learning experience.
I'm working on a new website now that will be it's own brand. I would call it 'fun, exciting, addicting, engaging.' I want to get good traffic before I try to make money off it.
 
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amazon joe

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Change your perspective from how it wont work well to how you can make it work. Pivot and add more value perhaps? Looks at brands that are successful off Amazon and study how they are successfully running their own pages. Where are their sales channels and how do they promote them.

There is always a way to build and expand a business past Amazon. The role of an entrepreneur is to problem solve. You have found the problem with your current business. Once you figure out how to push past the Amazon barrier into other markets, you have an advantage over your competition.

NECTS

Entry. The harder and more off putting an idea is to execute, the less competition there will be. Be the one that executes better than the rest of your competition.




Read this thread:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-to-do-it-the-easy-way-or-the-hard-way.64808/
I appreciate all the advice. I'm now at the point where I have more money to invest and not enough time to work on a private label brand. If you were to invest $1 million dollars today, how would you do it? I'm thinking I'd be able to get a higher ROI buying existing businesses than start my own private label brand, especially since private labeling isn't something I'm particularly passionate about. My dream is to do something disruptive in the environmental arena.
 

TKDTyler

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I appreciate all the advice. I'm now at the point where I have more money to invest and not enough time to work on a private label brand. If you were to invest $1 million dollars today, how would you do it? I'm thinking I'd be able to get a higher ROI buying existing businesses than start my own private label brand, especially since private labeling isn't something I'm particularly passionate about. My dream is to do something disruptive in the environmental arena.

I think a million dollars would buy you around 75,000 copies of The Millionaire Fastlane ;)
 

amp0193

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This story is one I need to check out sounds interesting.

Read more in Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, by Phil Knight.

It was a compelling autobiography that I read this week. I couldn't put it down, and knocked it out in a day. Very cool read for importers.
 
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TinyTim

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I started off by selling on E-bay. I was only making a few hundred a week, but I was so buzzing that I had "made it myself". Suddenly one morning it all came crashing down as I received an email stating that my account had been restricted and that I was banned from selling.

My only income had stopped and I was left with a load of stock. I was actually advised to start my own website a month earlier. A few months later I had an e-commerce store up and running. Luckily I was only 17 and had no dependents. A great lesson in diversity and not believe it will always run smoothly.
 

biophase

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My dream is to do something disruptive in the environmental arena.

Then go do it! I don't understand what all these excuses are about. You've got seed money and a dream and the internet. What else do you want?

Also private label doesn't have to mean supplements or skin care. Why do I feel like that's all you have in your head when it comes to private label?
 

Arrived2015

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Seems account is back

UPDATE: 26th November 2016 – Account Reinstatement

Yesterday, 25th November 2016, at 14:20, I received an e-mail from Amazon. It said:

“Good news!

You can now sell on Amazon.

We will get in touch with you if we need more information. Happy Selling!

Amazon Payments Europe”

This short and sweet e-mail came through to me less than 48 hours after this blog went live and over 10,000 people had read it.


He continues with:

"Something needs to change".

Shouldnt that be:

"I need to change and diversify?" :meh:
 
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TKDTyler

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Read more in Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, by Phil Knight.

It was a compelling autobiography that I read this week. I couldn't put it down, and knocked it out in a day. Very cool read for importers.


thanks for the rec. picked up a copy today!
 

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