Want to get started but live in a cramped apartment with a roommate so not sure how feasible shipping a bunch of products will be with limited space and theft risk. If I want to go the prep center route, what price per unit should I aim for when comparing? And from the jist I got in earlier posts, is 30% ROI the greenlight to deem a product worth it after the Keepa analysis checks out?
- Average prep cost is around $1.50 - $2.00 per unit, but if you try hard enough you can find someone who charges less.
- 30% is a good benchmark but I like to adjust that number based on how many I think I can sell. If I can sell 50-100 unit, I'd gladly take 20-25% ROI.
I just learned about this last week- my dad sent me your post from Parrotfish and I've been diving into your content since. Assuming I have what's necessary to do so, would it make sense to physically drop off inventory at an amazon fulfillment center if one is close enough by? Instead of shipping?
I've never heard of anyone doing this so I'm not sure it's possible - Amazon requires you to pay for a shipping label when creating a shipment in Seller Central.
I'd say in the beginning you should do it yourself so you can save money and also just learn the process of how to create shipments and prep products. Once you start selling several hundred units a month, it might be worth considering a prep center. It's not required though, some people do 6 figures and enjoy hustling all day.
In general, you can get ungated in most brands and categories by just having a positive history of selling on the platform. This is why it's usually best to start with books, and then branch out once you've been doing that for a little bit.
As far as deciding which brands to actually pay to be ungated in, I'll usually do it once I start missing out on more than 2 or 3 deals from that brand / category (Burt's Bees, Lego, OTC medication, etc.)
Can I get a PO Box to use as my return address? Really don’t want to use my home address.
no idea, never tried
FYI, I asked bowtiedbroke and he said to get a UPS address to avoid using personal address for returns.
How do you get around needing to produce proof of invoices for when flagged/counterfeit claim?
Want to get started but live in a cramped apartment with a roommate so not sure how feasible shipping a bunch of products will be with limited space and theft risk. If I want to go the prep center route, what price per unit should I aim for when comparing? And from the jist I got in earlier posts, is 30% ROI the greenlight to deem a product worth it after the Keepa analysis checks out?
- Average prep cost is around $1.50 - $2.00 per unit, but if you try hard enough you can find someone who charges less.
- 30% is a good benchmark but I like to adjust that number based on how many I think I can sell. If I can sell 50-100 unit, I'd gladly take 20-25% ROI.
A bit late to this, not sure if you'll see this.
Do you know non US people doing this on the US market? Is it even viable and what are the specific problems they encounter?
I wrote a thread about this https://twitter.com/BowTiedMahi/status/1610304926772776961
Very intesting, thank you!
I just learned about this last week- my dad sent me your post from Parrotfish and I've been diving into your content since. Assuming I have what's necessary to do so, would it make sense to physically drop off inventory at an amazon fulfillment center if one is close enough by? Instead of shipping?
I've never heard of anyone doing this so I'm not sure it's possible - Amazon requires you to pay for a shipping label when creating a shipment in Seller Central.
A quick search showed they don't allow it. I just thought of it as I was reading through.
Thanks for your reply!
What is you preferred method of shipping products?
- Put as much stuff as I can in one box without going over 50 pounds, tape it up and repeat.
- As far as carriers go, use UPS because their rates with FBA are insanely good.
- For supplies, I go over that in my post from the beginning of this year.
Just starting. Figuring out FBA….say you have a few books to send to Amazon.
- Do you put them all in the same box to send to Amazon or use separate boxes?
- How best to save money on shipping books to Amazon? Media Mail? Struggling with shipping costs in the ROI.
Really appreciate you and this substack! Made my first $15 in WiFi $ this week, feels good :).
- Consolidate inventory in as few boxes as possible. More boxes = more expensive to ship.
- Amazon is partnered with UPS and offers insanely good rates for shipping FBA. Depending on where you live it can be as low as 20 cents per pound.
I am just starting, would it be easier/more efficient for me to use a prep center or to just to prepare the packages myself.
I'd say in the beginning you should do it yourself so you can save money and also just learn the process of how to create shipments and prep products. Once you start selling several hundred units a month, it might be worth considering a prep center. It's not required though, some people do 6 figures and enjoy hustling all day.
Do you have a good system for ungating replens?
In general, you can get ungated in most brands and categories by just having a positive history of selling on the platform. This is why it's usually best to start with books, and then branch out once you've been doing that for a little bit.
As far as deciding which brands to actually pay to be ungated in, I'll usually do it once I start missing out on more than 2 or 3 deals from that brand / category (Burt's Bees, Lego, OTC medication, etc.)