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Ask me anything about eCommerce (Ongoing)

biophase

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Hey Kenric,

Question regarding the Amazon UPC label, do you ever print the UPC as part of the product label, or do you stick it on to the final product?

I get it printed onto the product packaging.
 
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biophase

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Bio - great thread.

Quick question on your product selection mindset. Are you still working with some products that you are simply importing and re-selling via Amazon without much value add / modification? I.E. finding a product with a good margin, low competitive niche, listing these with good photos and trying to gain some market share with a few top sellers?

I'm currently reading everything on importing and reselling on Amazon and it seems there is a split between people who spend their time doing the above vs. people who are only putting an investment in a value add product.

I am looking to do my first sample order btw, so I am wondering which you would recommend for someone just getting on the bandwagon now.

Thanks for your help!

Yes, I import products with no value add now. But the reason that I can now is because I've built a brand. So I can slap a brand name onto something and it gets a slight value add perception. However, that's not my main focus, but if I find something that I can sell that way, I will do it.
 

biophase

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@biophase i believe i have finally found a product i can improve, but its from a purely cosmetic standpoint. From reading the reviews everyone seems to be happy on the functionality.

The ways i feel i could add value is make it look cooler, more aero dynamic, waterproof, offer more resistance settings to name a few. However there is one brand already selling this at 100 reviews which is the highest review rating on page 1, but their model is basically the same generic model everyone else is selling except theirs is branded a bit better.

I believe their is a big market for this product and the competitors are under utilizing marketing/social media. Do you think i should choose this product even though i cant really improve the functionality but only the shape and design and are going against one brand in this niche? kind of hard to explain, would be better if i could pm you a screen shot of the product on amazon and let me know what you think?

any help would be amazing, thanks.

It really depends on if the value or change can be conveyed on a listing. Will your photos be different or the title be different enough to differentiate yourself?

For example, I have a product that I'm selling using a 100D thickness material. Everyone else is also selling the 100D thickness. I am thinking of upgrading my material to 200D, which would effectively double the thickness and weight. This would make the product more durable and stronger.

However, in photos, the product would look exactly like everyone else's product. People scrolling down would see the same types of photos and just see my listing at 10% higher price or even the same price. In this case, I don't think my value added will get me more sales from a casual scroller. But anyone who will click on my listing and reads will see why my product is better than the rest.

This is a current dilemma I have with upgrading this one product.
 

biophase

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I want to get un gated for grocery on Amazon. I have a single product in mind with high sales, but heavy competition as well. It is a product without a really clear brand leader. My landed cost on this item is 14/lt, Amazon sellers hover around 50-60+ a liter. My cost is almost assuredly lower than even the large scale importers due to me leveraging a sourcing connection in a different country of origin.

Reading through Amazon requirements, I'm a little confused about the commercial invoice requirements. I was told I need 3 invoices with several items in grocery above standard personal usage amounts. I really only intend on selling a single item, in one size. I already purchase this item in multi skid quantity from the sole manufacturing company of this product. Should I add an additional size to satisfy their requirements or would I be okay? I was told you only ever get one chance to get ungated and if you fail you are done. I would really like to do this properly the first time. I add my own label onto the product , branding it myself.

I can't answer this because I don't list in any gated categories. I've never gone through this process.
 
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Niptuck MD

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Do you have a set strategy for sourcing products? I sell in the power products niche and find myself waking up and looking for new laptop charger models then I'll venture onto power tool batteries, camera chargers etc with no set routine.

I think it would be easier if I set up a specific strategy sourcing by product category or supplier maybe. Then maybe have a set day or time period for looking at competitors products.

If you don't sell in a specific niche I'd assume it would be even more difficult to decide where to start with no specific strategy.

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk


good insight thank you
 

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So I am building a website and I want to add a feature that customers can pick out parts, but I want that when a part1 is chosen to filter the remaining parts based on compatibility with part1.

Example

Customer is building a computer based on parts

he picks an intel CPU

the motherboard get filtered for the CPU based on compatibility

Could you guys give me an idea on how I could achieve this, i just need a general idea because i have never done anything remotely similar.
 

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So I am building a website and I want to add a feature that customers can pick out parts, but I want that when a part1 is chosen to filter the remaining parts based on compatibility with part1.

Example

Customer is building a computer based on parts

he picks an intel CPU

the motherboard get filtered for the CPU based on compatibility

Could you guys give me an idea on how I could achieve this, i just need a general idea because i have never done anything remotely similar.
Custom forms. User selects "A" > show "A-compatible". Once he submits his list > display actual products.
 
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biophase

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Custom forms. User selects "A" > show "A-compatible". Once he submits his list > display actual products.

Yes, forms with conditional logic would work well. Or BC and Shopify can do this with variations.
 

rsj

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Yes, forms with conditional logic would work well. Or BC and Shopify can do this with variations.
do you have any examples on what shopify can do
 

biophase

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Denim Chicken

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https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/abpto3jt7fhb5oc

Interesting how today amazon said they are getting rid of incentivized reviews. Only Amazon Vine is allowed.

I'm glad its gone but I'm sure there will be products and groups that change to work around it. instead of a discount code you paypal them money or something.
 

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https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/abpto3jt7fhb5oc

Interesting how today amazon said they are getting rid of incentivized reviews. Only Amazon Vine is allowed.

I'm glad its gone but I'm sure there will be products and groups that change to work around it. instead of a discount code you paypal them money or something.
This is exactly what will happen. Although AZ review groups routinely get caught anyways.
 

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https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/abpto3jt7fhb5oc

Interesting how today amazon said they are getting rid of incentivized reviews. Only Amazon Vine is allowed.

I'm glad its gone but I'm sure there will be products and groups that change to work around it. instead of a discount code you paypal them money or something.

Even though there will be work arounds, I think this is great news! It will discourage some of the "guru" following, get rich quick zombies who don't want to treat Amazon like a real business. I've followed @biophase 's advice on just growing things organically and found that my product sales easily exceed my capital supply and are completely stable.
 
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exclusives88

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Do you think on average, sales in October tends to speed up in comparison to January - September? Assuming not a seasonal product
 

samuraijack

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Question for @biophase or any other experienced amazon sellers.

Lets say a product has a label and/or space for writing on it, for example, lotion, shampoo, soap, etc... and you were going for a strikingly simple eye catching design...

On the front panel you have the logo, the most important ingredients and what the product does. Lets say its a dandruff shampoo:

( i just made this up)

LOGO

Dandruff Shampoo

-zinc 5%
-blahblah 10%
-ph 3.2

It is a really simple and clean design, gaurunteed to catch peoples eyes.

But lets say a big group of people don't know what zinc does for dandruff, or the importance of the pH. Or that the combination of these 3 make it a superior product.

Would you just leave the front panel like this for the sake of the design and put the explanation/copy on the back panel,

or would you complicate it and put more details on the front?

I know on amazon, you have the product title, bullet points, description, keywords, to help you target your customer, but how important is this first glance at your product on amazon, and will most people click secondary photos to read more?

How much copy is too much copy on your product? Should this just be left for the listing itself?

Much appreciated, thanks!
 

biophase

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I've followed @biophase 's advice on just growing things organically and found that my product sales easily exceed my capital supply and are completely stable.

I keep telling everyone, this is the easiest way to do it. List on Amazon and it sells it self. No worry about reviews or anything. If your product is good, it will get good reviews without you having to basically beg for them.
 
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biophase

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Do you think on average, sales in October tends to speed up in comparison to January - September? Assuming not a seasonal product

I have a product that has a better October due to Halloween than December so I really can't answer that based on experience. For me, Oct is like 3x Sep.

With that said, I don't hear anyone ever saying that October is better than another month. Most people just say that Nov and Dec are better than other months.
 

biophase

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Question for @biophase or any other experienced amazon sellers.

Lets say a product has a label and/or space for writing on it, for example, lotion, shampoo, soap, etc... and you were going for a strikingly simple eye catching design...

On the front panel you have the logo, the most important ingredients and what the product does. Lets say its a dandruff shampoo:

( i just made this up)

LOGO

Dandruff Shampoo

-zinc 5%
-blahblah 10%
-ph 3.2

It is a really simple and clean design, gaurunteed to catch peoples eyes.

But lets say a big group of people don't know what zinc does for dandruff, or the importance of the pH. Or that the combination of these 3 make it a superior product.

Would you just leave the front panel like this for the sake of the design and put the explanation/copy on the back panel,

or would you complicate it and put more details on the front?

I know on amazon, you have the product title, bullet points, description, keywords, to help you target your customer, but how important is this first glance at your product on amazon, and will most people click secondary photos to read more?

How much copy is too much copy on your product? Should this just be left for the listing itself?

Much appreciated, thanks!

If you are selling online, I don't think having the actual info on the front of the label is that important. I would think that your description and bullets should outline your benefits. Being an ingredient based value add you must use text to show it. If your value add is design, materials, or size/quantity based, then you should convey it in your photos.
 

BlakeIC

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If you are selling online, I don't think having the actual info on the front of the label is that important. I would think that your description and bullets should outline your benefits. Being an ingredient based value add you must use text to show it. If your value add is design, materials, or size/quantity based, then you should convey it in your photos.
Question for @biophase or any other experienced amazon sellers.

Lets say a product has a label and/or space for writing on it, for example, lotion, shampoo, soap, etc... and you were going for a strikingly simple eye catching design...

On the front panel you have the logo, the most important ingredients and what the product does. Lets say its a dandruff shampoo:

( i just made this up)

LOGO

Dandruff Shampoo

-zinc 5%
-blahblah 10%
-ph 3.2

It is a really simple and clean design, gaurunteed to catch peoples eyes.

But lets say a big group of people don't know what zinc does for dandruff, or the importance of the pH. Or that the combination of these 3 make it a superior product.

Would you just leave the front panel like this for the sake of the design and put the explanation/copy on the back panel,

or would you complicate it and put more details on the front?

I know on amazon, you have the product title, bullet points, description, keywords, to help you target your customer, but how important is this first glance at your product on amazon, and will most people click secondary photos to read more?

How much copy is too much copy on your product? Should this just be left for the listing itself?

Much appreciated, thanks!


"Consumers buy based on what the product will do for them, not on what ingredients it has."

From a book I am reading^
 
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Mr_Maravish

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Hey Kenric,

Do you have any recommendations for product label printing companies?
 

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I keep telling everyone, this is the easiest way to do it. List on Amazon and it sells it self. No worry about reviews or anything. If your product is good, it will get good reviews without you having to basically beg for them.
+1 to this. Launched my first product on amazon and sold out within the first month organically at a higher price than a majority of my competitors.

That holiday shipment can't get in fast enough :banghead:
 
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I got a question.. Would there be any problem if I print my own branding labels be it a sticker or bags, hang tags etc and put it on a generic product from Alibaba?

This is for my own website versus on Amazon.

The specific scenario is some of the stuff on alibaba have weird nonsensical chinese brands on it. I want to cover it up with my own brand at least until I can finish my testing then I will OEM it. But for now it will not ruin the product in any way. I'm ordering a few at higher prices before I commit to a high MOQ and OEM pricing.
 
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Mr_Maravish

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Hey Kenric,

I forgot to ask you in the last post. When you set up a store through big commerce or shopify do you purchase a premium theme to allow you more customizability or do you set it up with a free theme first to validate and then purchase a premium theme once profitable? I'm working on a new product and I am debating this because most shopify premium themes are $180, but they are the only ones that might allow me the type of customizability that I want.
 

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I'd appreciate any advice or shared experience people might have.

I'm about to submit my first order from China. I don't have exact shipping weights/dimensions yet but I need to starting looking into shipping options. Does anyone have suggestions on carriers/forwarders/brokers in Canada?

Product will be shipping from Quanzhou and I hope to land it in the port of Toronto so that I can transport the last mile. Otherwise I'll need to look at land freight options if it arrives elsewhere.

The product is really light and dimensions are ~12" x 4" x 2"; 3000 units.

Thanks!
 

Andyc2288

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I'd appreciate any advice or shared experience people might have.

I'm about to submit my first order from China. I don't have exact shipping weights/dimensions yet but I need to starting looking into shipping options. Does anyone have suggestions on carriers/forwarders/brokers in Canada?

Product will be shipping from Quanzhou and I hope to land it in the port of Toronto so that I can transport the last mile. Otherwise I'll need to look at land freight options if it arrives elsewhere.

The product is really light and dimensions are ~12" x 4" x 2"; 3000 units.

Thanks!


I use flexport , they just make it so easy
 

biophase

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I got a question.. Would there be any problem if I print my own branding labels be it a sticker or bags, hang tags etc and put it on a generic product from Alibaba?

This is for my own website versus on Amazon.

The specific scenario is some of the stuff on alibaba have weird nonsensical chinese brands on it. I want to cover it up with my own brand at least until I can finish my testing then I will OEM it. But for now it will not ruin the product in any way. I'm ordering a few at higher prices before I commit to a high MOQ and OEM pricing.

I don't think this will be an issue at all. Even on Amazon, this is what most people do anyway.
 

biophase

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Hey Kenric,

I forgot to ask you in the last post. When you set up a store through big commerce or shopify do you purchase a premium theme to allow you more customizability or do you set it up with a free theme first to validate and then purchase a premium theme once profitable? I'm working on a new product and I am debating this because most shopify premium themes are $180, but they are the only ones that might allow me the type of customizability that I want.

Weird, I thought I answered these a few weeks ago. Maybe my response never got post.

I personally don't pay for themes as I just change them a little bit. I change the front page and colors. I leave the product and category pages the same usually.

I find myself messing alot less with the actual website vs. getting better products onto the site.

Lastly, shelling out $180 should not be that big of a deal for you. If you don't think you can make it back, there's something else wrong. If $180 is alot for you, just go with a free theme until you feel comfortable upgrading.
 

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