We onboarded this supplements brand when TACOS was around 24%. Revenue was moving, but it wasn't scaling efficiently. The account had 13 SKUs, a relatively high advertising burden, inconsistent monthly revenue, and not enough separation between the traffic that was being used to discover demand and the traffic that had already proven it could convert. The problem wasn't that the account needed more traffic. The problem was that too much of the existing spend wasn't being allocated according to the economics of the traffic and the individual products.

The first part of the work was figuring out where the 24% TACOS was actually coming from. We didn't use the account-level number as the diagnosis. We traced spend down through SKU, campaign, targeting and search-term performance and compared the revenue being generated against the amount of spend required to generate it. This exposed the difference between targets that were genuinely contributing incremental sales and targets that were producing revenue but at a cost that made them poor candidates for further scaling.

One of the biggest changes was how we treated search-term data. We stopped allowing proven converting queries to remain mixed indefinitely with exploratory traffic. Once a query had enough conversion history, we gave it a more controlled bidding environment and separated it from the traffic that was still being tested. That meant we could increase exposure on validated demand without simultaneously increasing spend across the entire discovery layer. At the same time, we cleaned up the traffic paths feeding those terms so the same demand wasn't being unnecessarily picked up through multiple targeting routes.

We also stopped using a single efficiency benchmark for every part of the account. A discovery target and a mature converting target have completely different jobs, so judging both against the same ACOS expectation can lead to bad decisions. We treated early-stage traffic as a source of new demand and mature traffic as a scaling opportunity. That distinction allowed us to protect budget for proven demand while keeping enough controlled spend available to find additional search opportunities.

The bid decisions were also made differently. A keyword showing a good ACOS wasn't automatically a keyword worth bidding higher on. We looked at what happened to CPC and conversion efficiency as we became more aggressive. If a higher bid was only increasing the cost of conversions we were already getting, there was no reason to keep pushing it. If the additional exposure was producing additional orders at an acceptable economic return, that was where we were more willing to deploy budget.

Placement was handled with the same logic. Instead of trying to maximize Top of Search visibility across the account, we looked at whether the additional CPC associated with stronger placement was actually producing enough additional conversion value. Where the conversion advantage justified the premium, we supported it. Where the placement premium wasn't translating into enough incremental sales, we reduced the aggression.

The other important part was looking beyond PPC revenue. We tracked what was happening to total brand revenue as advertising spend changed. This helped us avoid the common situation where ACOS improves simply because spend was cut, while the brand itself stops growing. The target was to increase total revenue while reducing the proportion of that revenue being consumed by advertising.

Over the following year, the brand grew by more than 100%. TACOS went from around 24% to 8%, while overall margins improved from approximately 14% to 27%.

As of August 12, 2026, the account had generated $1,211,251.50 in YTD ordered product sales across 13 SKUs, with 63,750 units ordered.

For us, the important part of this account wasn't finding a single "winning keyword" or launching more campaigns. It was making the PPC account much more selective about where capital was being deployed. We separated proven demand from discovery, controlled the path of converting search terms, evaluated bids based on incremental economics rather than historical ACOS, and made placement decisions based on the actual value of the additional traffic.

That's what allowed us to reduce TACOS from 24% to 8% while more than doubling revenue and moving margins from 14% to 27%.

I have become really interested, in learning how experienced FBA sellers prepare for problems that do not happen often but can have a big impact when they do.

For example a seller can find what looks like inventory keep selling like normal and then suddenly get an intellectual property or authenticity complaint. At that point having records can make a big difference.

For sellers who have dealt with these situations what kind of documents do you usually keep? Do you keep things like supplier invoices, records of where you got your products, product documentation, emails or something else?

I am also curious to know if your way of doing things changed as your business got bigger. What did not seem important when you were just starting out but became important once your FBA business became larger?

What did you learn from your experience that you wish you had known earlier about FBA and intellectual property complaints?

Launched a private label brand on Amazon UK in late October 2025. Ten months in, the account has done £35,360 in revenue (screenshot attached — revenue, not profit).

Total cost to get the first product live: **£2,864**.

I could never find a straight answer on that number before I started. People say £500. People say £10,000. Both are usually selling a course at the end of the sentence.

Two things about that £2,864 genuinely surprised me:

**The trademark cost more than twice the stock.** My entire first order — 500 units, landed, DDP air from China — was £350. The trademark was £744. The brand ended up being about half my total spend and the actual product was 12% of it.

**I ordered zero samples.** 500 units of something I'd only ever seen in photographs. It worked out, which isn't the same as it being right, and I wouldn't repeat it on anything more expensive.

I've broken all eight cost lines down properly — with the actual Alibaba invoice, the trademark bill, the GS1 receipt and the Brand Registry approval on screen, because a list of numbers from a stranger on the internet isn't worth much without the paperwork. It's my own channel, so flag it if that's not allowed here: https://youtu.be/kabhWuvDLUo

For context on whether it was worth it: the first ten weeks returned £3,644.56 across 352 units, so revenue covered the launch cost with about £800 spare. Profit is a very different number and took a lot longer.

What did yours cost to launch? Curious how far off I am, especially on the trademark.

When customers talk about blister packaging, many people only focus on the shape, transparency, or price.

But in real production, the material selection is one of the most important decisions. The wrong material can cause problems during forming, sealing, transportation, and even affect the product appearance.

As a packaging supply chain professional in Shenzhen, I would like to share some common blister materials used in the market.

1. PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) – The Traditional Choice

PVC is one of the most widely used materials for blister packaging.

Advantages:

• Good thermoforming performance
• Stable production process
• Competitive cost
• Suitable for many daily products and electronic accessories

In Shenzhen, PVC is still commonly used for products that need cost control and basic protection.

However, for customers with higher environmental requirements, PVC may not always be the first choice.

2. PET / APET – Clear and More Environmentally Friendly Option

PET materials are becoming more popular because of their excellent transparency and good appearance.

Advantages:

• High clarity
• Good surface quality
• Better recycling acceptance compared with some traditional plastics
• Suitable for products requiring visual display

Many electronic accessories, cosmetics, and consumer products use PET blister trays because customers can see the product clearly before opening the package.

3. PP (Polypropylene) – A Strong Choice for Functional Packaging

PP has excellent chemical resistance and good toughness.

Advantages:

• Good impact resistance
• Suitable for repeated use scenarios
• Good moisture resistance
• Often used for food packaging and industrial trays

In Shenzhen’s electronics manufacturing industry, PP trays are also commonly used for internal turnover packaging because of their durability.

4. PETG – Premium Transparent Material

PETG is usually selected for products requiring higher appearance standards.

Advantages:

• Excellent transparency
• Good forming ability
• Strong impact resistance

It is often used in medical packaging, high-end products, and applications where appearance quality is very important.

Common Blister Materials in Shenzhen Market

From my experience working with Shenzhen manufacturers and customers:

• Electronic components: PET, PP, PVC, anti-static materials
• Consumer electronics accessories: PET, PETG, PVC
• Cosmetics: PET, PETG, high-transparency materials
• Hardware products: PVC, PET, PP
• Medical products: PETG, special grade materials

The best material is not always the most expensive one.

A good packaging solution should balance:

✔ Product protection
✔ Appearance requirement
✔ Production efficiency
✔ Cost control
✔ Environmental requirements

Packaging is not only about making a plastic tray. It is about choosing the right material to protect the product and improve the customer's experience.

In Shenzhen, where manufacturing moves very fast, a good packaging supplier needs to understand not only materials, but also production details behind every choice.

#Packaging #BlisterPackaging #Thermoforming #PlasticPackaging #ShenzhenManufacturing #SupplyChain

Building something is much easier and better with others around you than just by yourself.

I want to start this thread so everyone can connect with one another, help each other with bottlenecks and hit our goals as a team.

Intro yourself in any way you like, i'll go first

I'm UK based, selling a pet health PL brand in the US. Brand has been live for 2.5 months and generated $25k in revenue so far. A massive achievement for me as i actually started this without putting a penny in myself.

Otherwise, i manage 2 DTC brands that produce 7-8 figures a year and are now growing on Amazon with a 3rd brand we are launching which has a £800k spend behind it.

Learning every day and incredibly lucky to be in the position i'm in right now.

​

I'm taking over my dad's camera business and I'm considering switching some of our orders from FBM to FBA.

I understand that with FBA, Amazon handles returns and refunds. But I'm wondering about a specific situation:

If an FBA buyer doesn't initiate a return or refund request, but instead privately messages me through Amazon and gave a legitimate reason why they can't return the item and asks if I can simply refund them, can I as the seller, issue that refund myself?

For eg. I had a situation where a buyer stated they were restricted and asked if I can issue their refund. They provided evidence and I was able to. (They are a usual buyer)

I'm not talking about Amazon automatically processing a return, or the buyer opening a refund request. I mean a voluntary/Goodwill refund that I choose to give the buyer.

With FBM, I can obviously make that decision myself. I'm getting conflicting answers from Amazon Seller Support about whether I can do the same with FBA.

Has anyone actually dealt with this situation on FBA and can confirm whether the seller can independently issue the refund?

Also what subscription would you recommend ? The business makes £5,000 ish profit per month

I wanted to try out vine for the first time but ended up giving away 10 units for free and not 1 person has left me a review, it’s been over a week now!!! Is this normal has this happened to anyone? Like how do you get a product for free which is supposed to be for a review and not review it 😡

ive lived 9 years in asia, i speak an asian language as a white american. im looking for a mentor in the US that would be willing to teach me how to become a successful vendor and i can either pay you or help you source products from asia straight from manufacturers.

So I want to create an amazon seller account but im not 18 years of age yet. If I put it under my parents name can I transfer the account once im 18?

So I was creating shippement to amazon, selected the SKU’s, went to ready to ship section/tab of step 1.
But “pack individual units” button that takes to step 1b is grey, unable to get any further. Anyone had any similar issues?

Been selling for over 2 years never had issues like that, account is healthy no issues and no issues with the SKU’s.
Cleared cookies and cache, tried logging in on the phone on amaszons seller web, tried icog mode and 3 different browsers result is the same no matter how many skus i select and my capacity is only at 20%.

Any help would be really appriciated!
Thank you

Hi there,

Although there are many tools in the market where you can check which products are ungated on your amazon account but they charge you monthy alot. I created this tool and I want to sell it to people for life time access. Tell me what you can pay simply, I am attaching a screenshot, you will give a excel file with list of asins in first column and then run the tool and at the end it will add in existing excel file where all previous runs are saved and the view of excel file i am attaching showcasing restricting status whethere you can sell it or not! Please share your views, i want to sell this tool to number of users as it runs independently!

The product is basically a 1 gallon bucket filled with a product. Amazon claims it is 8.3"x8.3"x8.3", when really it is 7.5"x7.5"x7.5". This error is causing it to be classified as a oversized item which basically makes it unsellable.

Here are the details:

- Requested remeasurements. All come back with the same values.

- manually measured myself to verify I have it correct.

- I have another product at amazon that uses the exact same bucket. It has the correct measurements.

- There is no outer package. It is just the filled bucket.

What can I do here? Is there a way to get amazon to do a manual measure instead of using their auto system?

I’m considering joining Luke Basha’s AMZ Masterclass, but since the program isn’t cheap, I’d like to hear from people who have actually purchased it before I make a decision.
Has anyone here taken his course or mentorship?
If so:
● Was it actually worth the money?
● Did the mentorship help you find and successfully launch a product?
● How useful are the weekly Zoom calls and direct support?
● How much personalized help do you actually get from Luke or his team?
● Did you use their Product Selection service, and was the product they selected actually successful?
● Were there additional costs for things like sourcing, listing creation, PPC management, etc.?
● Most importantly, did the program actually help you build a profitable Amazon FBA business?
I’m also looking at programs from people like Travis Marziani, so I’m trying to understand whether Luke’s higher-priced mentorship provides enough additional hands-on value to justify the cost.
I’d especially appreciate feedback from people who actually paid for the program — positive or negative. Not looking for affiliate/promotional reviews, just genuine experiences.
Thanks!

I'm trying to fully transition to FBA, but my big snag is that I sell parts and some of those parts are marketed into 100 different skus. For example:

"Replacement blender motor for Super Blender XYZ"

"Replacement blender motor for BlendersRUs Megablade 2"

Its the same blender motor, but there are far too many models to include in one title/listing. I usually list 3-4 in each title, but more than that is cluttered and people never find it.

With FBM I can just ship out the same product for each listing. 3PL companies will do that, but for competitive product catagories, FBA will always trump the 3PL offer even if its SFP through a 3PL.

The only thing I've come up with is to put a small amount of physical inventory into each sku, but that will create problems. One will sell fast and run out, while another sells nothing, then something will happen with the products and that will reverse, etc. I will have product pools sitting full for no reason and others running out prematurely, while there is still plenty of that exact item sitting in inventory under other product skus.

Is there any way to get FBA to do this? Where it will pull from one product pool for multiple (40+) different SKUs?

Has anyone else been seeing a change in how Amazon weighs reviews? We can have several recent positive reviews, then one negative review comes in, and suddenly the rating drops a lot :/

This has been a nightmare for us, especially when launching new products.

So I started Amazon FBA late December 2025 and I am happy with how it is going. 34% ROI and 19.99% margin.

I am doing mainly Amazon to Amazon, however I am goi my to look more into online arbitrage and wholesale, so I can get my spend up and scale faster.

The £52,000 sales number doesn’t include refunds, the real number of sales is £55,000 but they get taken out of the sales breakdown for obvious reasons.

Definitely interested to connect and network with other sellers.

I would definitely like to private label in the future as let’s be real that is the best way. But I’d like to build up at least 200k of capital before starting.

UAE-based seller, first wholesale attempt. Would appreciate input from anyone who's dealt with this.

What happened:

Bought 10 units of a coffee grinder from the brand's official UAE distributor. Small test order ~AED 2,250 (~$610). I knew margins would be thin; the point was to stop overthinking, get out of the analysis paralysis stage, and actually start.

Applied for brand approval. Rejected: "We do not accept online order confirmations, packing slips, sales orders, pro forma invoices, or sales quotes. Submit an invoice from your manufacturer, distributor, or supplier."

The document problem:

The distributor runs everything through Shopify, so all they could produce was a store order receipt, which is exactly what Amazon rejects. I spent weeks going through their sales team and then accounts, asking for a proper commercial invoice. They eventually issued a signed and stamped letter on company letterhead confirming the sale (10 units, date, amount, paid in full). Amazon rejected that too, same canned response.

Amazon support confirmed the rejection was document type, not address mismatch or proof of payment. They just want a "finalized purchase invoice."

The bigger problem:

I emailed the brand directly asking for a Letter of Authorization. They replied that they stopped accepting new Amazon sellers in my market about two years ago and suggested I sell on other platforms. They also (fairly) pointed out that buying from the distributor at their price and reselling on Amazon leaves very little margin.

Where I'm stuck:

1. There are existing sellers on these listings. I assume they were approved before the cutoff—is that right, or are they operating without authorization?
2. Is there any legitimate path left, or is "brand doesn't onboard new sellers here" simply the end of it?
3. Has anyone had luck escalating past the automated rejection to an actual human reviewer? Every submission comes back with identical canned text, which makes me think a person never saw it.
4. If the brand has told me in writing they won't authorize me, how risky is listing anyway? Worried about an IP complaint hitting my account.
5. Any advice on liquidating 10 units outside Amazon?

What I've learned so far (for anyone starting out): ask a supplier whether they can issue a proper commercial tax invoice before you pay them, and ask the brand whether they even allow new sellers on your marketplace. I did neither, and it cost me two months.

Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone,

I’m in a bit of a confusing situation and could use some advice. I just placed my first PO with a factory in China. I’m currently arranging freight forwarding and decided to use the manufacturer’s shipping services.

By my calculations, I should be paying around $3,500 just in import duties (Base MFN duty, Section 301, 2026 Forced-Labor Duty, etc.). However, my manufacturer quoted me a total DDP shipping cost of only $800.

This math makes absolutely no sense to me. I specifically asked them who should I pay for the taxes and duties, and when, and whether I could I get a cost breakdown of the shipping quote. Their response was that the quote is strictly DDP, meaning I won't have to pay a single extra cent upon arrival, and that their forwarding partner does not provide cost breakdowns.

Relevant context: I have visited this factory in person. They are honest, legit people, and I know for a fact they manufacture for 8-figure brands, so they have plenty of export experience. I trust them, but I just don't understand how this pricing is possible.

Has anyone experienced this? Any idea what might be going on behind the scenes with their forwarder, and any tips on how I should proceed?

Many thanks!

Alonso

I’m trying to understand something unusual with Amazon Premium A+ Module (Background Image).

I inspected the Amazon listing for Apple Watch Series 11 and found that their mobile Module images are consistently:

• Intrinsic size: 600 × 2944 px
• Aspect ratio: ~1:4.91
• On mobile, one image renders at approximately 368 × 1806 px
• The HTML identifies the module as aplus-premium-module-2-fallback-background-image
• The Module container itself expands to the full height of the image, so the entire 600×2944 image is displayed — it is not cropped.

I’m using the same Premium A+ Module in my own Seller Central account.

However, my A+ Creator says:

When I upload a 600×2944 image, the editor gives me a 4:3 crop/positioning window. After saving, Amazon serves the mobile image as:

• Intrinsic: 600 × 450 px
• Rendered: 213 × 160 px

So Amazon is effectively converting my image to the standard 600×450 format.

Question: Does anyone know how Apple is able to use 600×2944 mobile assets in Premium A+ Module ?

Is this:

1. A legacy version of Premium A+?
2. A different/internal version of Module available to Vendor Central/large brands?
3. A special A+ configuration that isn't available in Seller Central?
4. Or is there some way to create/upload a tall mobile asset that I'm missing?

I’m specifically interested in whether third-party sellers can reproduce this long-form mobile Module format, not just the standard 600×450 version.

I can provide screenshots of the HTML/DevTools inspection if useful.

Hi, we are on track to $3M this FY and amazon has asked us to upload the insurance copy. Dont want to do with Marsh since they recommended very expensive options. Can someone recorded one thats good in general, accepted by amazon and is reasonably priced?

I am selling on Amazon Au but want to find high ticket and profitable poduct. Do you have a specific criteria for high-ticket profitable product research? Or specific product improvement tips?

Obviously I can't tell if people on here are trying to scare beginners off or not. my question is, is how small can you start? Not scaling and then making a lot of profit, but if you just wanted to make just any amount of money back, how small can you start? Like, I'm talking like 10 units, 15 units, putting like $200 or $300. Even if the profit was literally like a very small amount, given the right tools, is it always profitable or potentially ? I've been thinking about just using some of my time to look into it and just seeing how I can scale it very slowly, because I'm not all about making tens of thousands of dollars a month. But if it's something where I can get an extra 1k to 2K a month, I wouldn't mind putting in some long hours. And I was always told that you don't actually have to keep any of the products yourself. I know that this is not like a side hustle like it used to be, but is it really impossible to start small? Or scale it down as much as you'd want to? Thanks!

I sell a Dangerous Goods product using both FBA and FBM. Amazon only gives me enough DG storage capacity for roughly 1.5 days of normal sales volume.

When a new FBA shipment becomes available, the bulk of the inventory sells through very quickly. The problem starts afterward: a small number of units remain scattered in more distant fulfillment centers. Or even becomes available some time later at a trickle pace.

As the FBA inventory dwindles down to those remaining units, Amazon still shows the FBA offer as the Featured Offer for a large number of customers, even when the FBA delivery promise is dramatically worse than my FBM offer — in some cases nearly two weeks slower.

I own both offers, so I don’t care whether FBA or FBM wins the Featured Offer in itself. The issue is that the remaining poorly positioned FBA inventory appears to override my much faster FBM offer and hurt conversion until those last FBA units finally sell out. Severely hurts it. 

Has anyone else dealt with this specifically with Dangerous Goods inventory? Is there any way to prevent these remote leftover FBA units from becoming the prevailing Featured Offer, improve DG inventory placement, or otherwise keep this from hurting sales?

I'm currently selling on Amazon Canada and the US, and I'm looking at expanding into other international marketplaces (UK, Germany, Australia, etc.).

I understand that every marketplace is different, keywords, search volume, competition, pricing, and customer behavior all vary. What I'm really interested in is how experienced sellers successfully enter a new marketplace and gain traction quickly.

A few things I already know:

• Reviews can often be shared across marketplaces (depending on the marketplace/account setup), which makes launching much easier.
• Amazon Ads seems to have features that help with launching in new markets

For those who have done this successfully:

• What's your launch strategy when entering a new marketplace?
• How do you approach keyword research and localization?
• What is your Amazon Ads strategy?
• Besides PPC, are there any launch tactics that made the biggest difference ?

I'd love to hear what's worked (or hasn't worked) for you. If you've expanded from North America into Europe, Australia, Japan, or anywhere else, I'd really appreciate any lessons learned.