Am i throwing in the towel?

[SeanLewis]

Some of you might have seen my progress thread.

In that thread i explained that i launched my first product on amazon back in december 2018, and i still havent launched another one.

I've really tried moving past this mental "block" i've ordered multiple product samples in different niches but i just can't take that jump and order again.

Why?

Because i don't believe in selling on amazon anymore.

I'm not providing any real value, i'm just trying to launch a "different" product among the thousands of others chasing money.

On one hand i want to continue because i don't want to give up, but on the other i want to close down my UK company and start something in my own country.

When is it ok to give up?

is this giving up?

 

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[Vigilante]

Give up. Go do something else.

 

[John D.]

I'm not providing any real value, i'm just trying to launch a "different" product among the thousands of others chasing money.

Try thinking about it not as simply being 'different' rather being 'more useful' than the rest.

Is there a way to validate the demand for your new product? It's usefulness? The scope and the intensity of the value you are providing?

I'm no expert but one thing I've learned is that you gotta listen to the market.

 

[Byakko]

When is it ok to give up?

This reminded me of a quote I read somewhere not long ago. And it went something like this:

"Give up when the prize you'll get if your endeavor succeeds, no longer has meaning to you. Keep going if you found a barrier that after having been overcome will get you closer to a goal that's meaningful to you"

 

[wade1mil]

While I do think there is opportunity selling on Amazon, I think you're on the right path. The "get a sample" route is well traveled. It's not likely that you find a product that tens of thousands of people haven't found yet. If I were to go down this path again, I'd research the market and find out what they like/dislike about the current offerings. I'd feel more confident going to market with an improved product tailored to my market's desires than a "me too" product with better copy and pictures. I wouldn't say you're giving up as much as you're adjusting based on your results. Trust your gut.

 

[StrikingViper69]

Have you read Unscripted and Biophases AMA thread? They both directly mention what sounds like your situation.

 

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[SeanLewis]

This reminded me of a quote I read somewhere not long ago. And it went something like this:

"Give up when the prize you'll get if your endeavor succeeds, no longer has meaning to you. Keep going if you found a barrier that after having been overcome will get you closer to a goal that's meaningful to you"

I like this quote.

While yes, my goal is money. My real goal is freedom for me and for my family. If i where to succeed on amazon i'd only be switching one boss for another.

 

[Byakko]

While yes, my goal is money. My real goal is freedom for me and for my family. If i where to succeed on amazon i'd only be switching one boss for another.

I think I get your point. In my opinion you'll always have some kind of boss. The degree in which he has control over your life and how much attention he needs is what's going to change. Even if you'd do e-commerce out of amazon, you would still have bosses. They're called clients. And they have a lot of power over anyone that has a business.

Regarding your search for freedom, I empathize with it. Personally, freedom is something that I'm also looking for. Freedom for me is about feeling I'm capable of taking ever growing responsibilities. Example: As of now, I wouldn't be able to take care of my parents if they needed money for some kind of expensive medical treatment. Therefore, if next year I'm able to do that, then I'd be freer than I am today.

Can you define what freedom is for you?

 

[Achieve_Bay]

personally speaking, I believe having a purpose behind the hustle is just as important as making the money. If you feel like you're not working up to your full potential there's nothing wrong with taking a moment to re-think new ways you can make money in a more valuable way.
I think any good entrepreneur has had to take breathers and re-evaluate what they're doing

 

[Monkeycom]

Some of you might have seen my progress thread.

In that thread i explained that i launched my first product on amazon back in december 2018, and i still havent launched another one.

I've really tried moving past this mental "block" i've ordered multiple product samples in different niches but i just can't take that jump and order again.

Why?

Because i don't believe in selling on amazon anymore.

I'm not providing any real value, i'm just trying to launch a "different" product among the thousands of others chasing money.

On one hand i want to continue because i don't want to give up, but on the other i want to close down my UK company and start something in my own country.

When is it ok to give up?

is this giving up?

I guess you've been lucky enough to never know what's like to be broke!

 

[Tourmaline]

Because i don't believe in selling on amazon anymore.

I'm not providing any real value, i'm just trying to launch a "different" product among the thousands of others chasing money.

I question why you need us to tell you to do what you already know you need to do.

If you need more motivation, look more into why sticking with Amazon is not in your interest. Then move on. You are not giving up as much as no longer seeing Amazon as the best option for you and your goals. You have grown. You have changed.

 

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[BellaPippin]

I feel giving up would be the right term if you were failing/didn't sell anything and you stop trying.

You just don't see purpose in this anymore. You're not giving up, you wanna move to better pastures/do something better/that you like more etc.

You can do that anytime you want.

 

[Paul David]

Some of you might have seen my progress thread.

In that thread i explained that i launched my first product on amazon back in december 2018, and i still havent launched another one.

I've really tried moving past this mental "block" i've ordered multiple product samples in different niches but i just can't take that jump and order again.

Why?

Because i don't believe in selling on amazon anymore.

I'm not providing any real value, i'm just trying to launch a "different" product among the thousands of others chasing money.

On one hand i want to continue because i don't want to give up, but on the other i want to close down my UK company and start something in my own country.

When is it ok to give up?

is this giving up?

I felt the exact same way hence I moved on. Just selling random products didn’t appeal and building a brand solely on amazon didn’t either.

I’ve had my account suspended on a couple of occasions for silly things out of my control and you can’t have that hanging over your company. Amazon is fine as part of an overall marketing strategy but this “I’m starting an fba business” is absolute bullshit these days.

 

[SeanLewis]

I felt the exact same way hence I moved on. Just selling random products didn’t appeal and building a brand solely on amazon didn’t either.

I’ve had my account suspended on a couple of occasions for silly things out of my control and you can’t have that hanging over your company. Amazon is fine as part of an overall marketing strategy but this “I’m starting an fba business” is absolute bullshit these days.

I'm not done with ecommerce but i'm done with amazon for now. Maybe I'll use amazon as one of my sales channels at a later stage but i don't want to depend on it.

 

[Walter Hay]

While I do think there is opportunity selling on Amazon, I think you're on the right path. The "get a sample" route is well traveled. It's not likely that you find a product that tens of thousands of people haven't found yet. If I were to go down this path again, I'd research the market and find out what they like/dislike about the current offerings. I'd feel more confident going to market with an improved product tailored to my market's desires than a "me too" product with better copy and pictures. I wouldn't say you're giving up as much as you're adjusting based on your results. Trust your gut.

It seems that @SeanLewis has followed the crowd on that "get a sample" route, without knowing any better. There are in fact better ways to go.

You can find products that tens of thousands of people haven't found. You just need to know where to look, and I can tell you unequivocally that it is not on Alibaba or similar.

Relying entirely on Amazon is a recipe for disaster. Start your own eCommerce site, and avoid Amazon's TOS restrictions on contacting your (their) customers, by incorporating your own URL in your label or as an integral part of the product.

Make sure your website will grab and hold their attention even if they only visit out of curiosity when they see the URL on the product they bought from you via Amazon. Ideally offer something relevant to them at a price they can't resist. You will then have their contact details.

You don't have to get your supplier to do the labeling or branding for you, provided you can ship the goods to your premises. It can be cheaper to arrange for the labeling or branding to be done in your home country than it would cost to have it done in China.

Problems are just solutions waiting to be found.

Walter