eCommerce Success - Three Years on the Fastlane Forum

[Jamie T]

Tomorrow I'll be making my second guest speaking appearance for a college class. As I wrote the outline for what I'm going to talk about, I realized that there are many lessons, good and bad, that others can learn from here at the forum too.

On October 25th, it'll be my three year anniversary here at the Fastlane forum. I've learned a lot over the years and am still learning every single day.

The Fastlane is a real thing and if you keep working at it, you'll get where you want to go.


Just over a year ago, I was standing on the pier of a beach in sunny in Florida. I looked out over the sea and had the vision of where my life is now. The next day, I'd start my drive across the US to relocate to, even sunnier, Phoenix, Arizona.

Back then, I could see where I'd be living, the view I'd have from my apartment (mountains), and the life I'd be living. All of which I decided.

It's been just over two years since my last 9-5 job. And no, there's no going back.


My primary income source is my eCommerce business that I started with $160 back in June 2015.

After following the advice given in the thread, "Addicted to Passive Income Deposits," on the Inside, I imported my first sample of 10 products from China. More than doubled my money. And, scaled from there.

Here's a quick list of some of the things I've already done:

• I built a brand.
• I currently have just under 70 active SKUs.
  
• I sell primarily through my website, eBay, and Amazon (US and CA)
• September was my best month in sales since I started. I even had a record day in sales while I was vacationing in Florida. The business runs no matter where I am.
  
• I outsource some of the workload to two freelancers I hired in the Philippines (combined weekly hours range from 40-60 hours a week).
  
• I just recently applied for a trademark in the US. It should be approved soon. I'm considering doing the same in Canada soon.
• I just accepted a $20,000 loan from Amazon lending to grow my business. This is the first time that I'm taking on debt to expand, but believe it is necessary at this point. Previously, growth was funded by business profits only.
  
• I just got accepted on Walmart.com (I submitted my application back in March. It took 7 months before getting approved) and Jet.com. I'm working on setting up a partner account to get my products uploaded to those two sites. I decided to go with GeekSeller.

I plan on posting my thoughts, accomplishments, and failures here in the thread. I'll probably jump around from past to present. There's a lot to cover.

If you have any questions, then feel free to ask. I'll do my best to explain things from my experience.

I'll definitely add different things I do in the business to give you an idea of what works for me...and what doesn't.

 

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[Jamie T]

I'm a huge fan of providing excellent customer service. I make it one of my highest priorities. I believe it is one of the reasons I've been able to grow my business so well.

• If someone buys a product from me and they're not happy, then they get their money back.
• If someone buys a product from me and, over a year later, they decide they're pissed off for some reason, then I'll send them another...or, give them a refund..or, try to see if there's anything I can do to help them out. Or, all of the above.
  
• If someone has questions about a product but I determine the product isn't best for them, then I'll recommend a competitor (if they have what the person actually needs). I'll even contact the competitor myself to make sure the customer is taken care of.
  
• If someone asks for a product or feature that I don't currently have available and I can't recommend a competitor, then I'll tell them that I'm going to find it. I've had customers offer suggestions which I immediately took action on. I have sent new products to the customers who've suggested improvements for free. And, I'll tell them it's for free because they helped me.
• If someone has questions about a product that I don't have the answers to, then I'll tell them that. And, I'll tell them that I'm going to find out and will get back to them as soon as possible.
• If someone sends me an email after business hours and I'm available, then I'll respond immediately. We live in a world where everyone is connected. Why not provide customer service any time you're checking your cell phone? People love super fast replies.

Those are just a few examples. In my business, I set the rules. It's convenient that the rules just happen to go above and beyond to help people out.

Some of my top go to books on customer service are:

• Delivering Happiness - Tony Hsieh
• Raving Fans - Ken Blanchard

 

[Jamie T]

Can you talk a little more about those initial samples you bought?

I'm a strong believer in "taking action."

In the beginning, I spent three months reading the threads about importing here on the forum, read a few books on import/export, and researched many different markets/products until I decided on the product to start with.

Here was what my original plan was:

• Get to my first sale as fast as possible.
  
• Find a large market.
• Niche down within that market.
• Find a product that I thought I could make a profit on or break even (after all the shipping, eBay/PayPal fees, etc.)
  • The product had to be small - the size of my fist or two fists combined. This would allow for shipping costs to not be much of a concern.
  • The total cost had to be under $200 for my sample order. I didn't have much to work with back then. So naturally, that limited choices.
    
  • The product had to have some kind of demand. I knew people were buying that particular product. I'll admit that the demand for that first product wasn't that high. There were only a few sellers actually selling that product. At the time, I did compete on price which I don't recommend for the long term, but to get things started...why not? It worked. And, yes, I more than doubled my money in about a month.
• I did start by selling on eBay only.
• If I could successfully sell all 10 units, then I could figure out what to do after that.

You here the term thrown around, "take action," and I took the advice.

Why not narrow down your search to a small niche market, find a product (any product) that you think you can make a profit on or break even, and immediately find a supplier to get things moving?

There's lots of talk about making product improvements, avoiding "me-too" products, and being different in the market place. And, yes, I agree with all of those.

However, if you're starting out with only $200 and you want to start importing, then you're kind of stuck with either getting samples of a "me-too" product or finding a product in China that's not currently being marketed to the US (possible).

I figured that I'd rather just START importing and then figure out the rest later...product improvements, adding value, etc. *It's important to keep this in mind because you really do want your focus to be on value, not just money.

After you've already gone through the process of focusing on a specific market, determining a product to import, finding a supplier in China, communicating with the supplier, getting them to send you a small sample order after you pay them, receiving the order, taking pictures of the product, writing the copy for the product, listing the product on eBay, and ultimately...making your first sale...then, you just gained all of that experience for under $200.

Now, you already have some process in place. It'll be much easier to move forward whether you want to stay with importing small orders of very similar products already being sold in the market or if you're ready to place larger orders with product improvements, more value, and being unique.

And, who knows...maybe that first sample of products you import and sell will open a new door for you. Maybe you'll see the quality of the product and realize it can be so much better. Or, maybe you'll get feedback from customers telling you what they think.

Whatever happens, you'll at least gain a wealth of knowledge by getting the wheels turning. Much more than you can get with just reading about it.

 

[MidwestLandlord]

Because you're fully dependent from Amazon and your income depend of this website. But TBH Amazon is so useful to sell product, dropshipping is a great asset and that's what got me interested. But i think it's a short term way of making money and it's not solid at all, hope you got my point.

Yes, you give up control. Absolutely right, and people need to be aware of that.

But let's look at some figures:

Amazon accounts for 43% of ALL online revenue in the USA

Amazon accounts for 38% of holiday receipts in the USA (online or off, ALL holiday sales)

Amazon accounts for 53% of ALL online sales growth in the USA

Amazon accounts for 5% of ALL retail sales in the USA (online or off)

As many of the ecommerce guys and gals have stressed here many, many times...Amazon is a sales channel, nothing more.

The OP would be stupid to not sell on Amazon. Where else would he so easily get access to so much traffic??

Yes, the OP gives up control and it sounds like he's aware of that. But it's not an either/or proposition where Amazon should only be temporary because of lack of control.

You're right that he should exercise caution, but on the other hand having 100% control isn't possible with anything. Risk management and all that, ya know?

 

[Jamie T]

Every time i see Amazon resellers i'm afraid for them to have their account closed by Amazon, are you aware that this can happen ?

Very aware. However, I don't consider myself an Amazon reseller.

Are you selling your product principally from Amazon or your website ?

My sales come from Amazon, eBay, and my website (I utilize Google Shopping as well).

I'm fortunate that my industry allows for sales to be spread out pretty well across different sales channels. Of course, Amazon does generate the highest percentage of my sales, but that's expected due to the large amounts of traffic on Amazon and how easy it is to purchase almost everything you want all together in one order.

When it comes to customer service and the nature of my products, many people would rather go to my website because of the information I'm able to provide there. They can easily call my business phone number and get the exact answers they need. It's part of my customer service model.

I mentioned that I just recently got accepted to sell on Jet.com and Walmart.com. I'm working to expand my sales channels so a random account closure won't be the end. It'd be very annoying haha. But, you definitely bring up a good point and it is something that can be prevented with the right planning.

In the beginning, it makes sense to focus on where the traffic is. Start selling, generate profit, and grow your business. Take advantage of Amazon while you have it, but build your business to sustain itself even if Amazon gets shut off.

Do you focus on one market/industry or you're selling in different one at the same time ?

I only focus on one market/industry. I've built my brand around it.

I have attempted, several times, to sell in different markets at the same time. All of them failed because I didn't put enough time into them. It's much easier to focus on one market/industry and build a solid brand in it.

I'm constantly learning new things about my market/industry and I have a long term plan that could really change how some things are done in the market/industry.

If I kept spreading my focus to other markets/industries, then I wouldn't be able to gain a massive knowledge base and experience related to this one. It'd be very tough to balance and grow.

Check out: Chapter 44 in the Millionaite Fastlane - Choose Monogamy Over Polygamy

 

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[Jamie T]

Today I want to talk about creating a team for your business and how I use Upwork to expand my time.

There's a lot of threads talking about using Upwork to work for others, and that's great to earn some additional income. But, the flip side is using Upwork to have others work for you.

This allows more time spent "working ON" the business instead of "working IN" the business.


My Upwork team:

I just logged into my Upwork account to communicate with some of my team members. I currently have 8 people, around the world, who I hire for various tasks within my business.

• 3/8 people work 20-30 hours each every week.
  • One is dedicated to my website's SEO.
    
  • One is dedicated to data entry and online research.
    
  • One is an all around personal assistant who helps with various tasks that I can easily provide instructions to complete.
• 5/8 people are on standby for specific short-term projects based on what I need done. Below is a list of different projects.
  • Photo edits and enhancements before launching a new product. Also, to make sure the photo requirements meet the standards of each sales channel.
  • Custom database/software needs.
  • Bookkeeping/QuickBooks maintenance.
  • SEO consultant/advice.
  • Graphic designs for more advanced graphics, such as product packaging, logos, website graphics.
  • Pretty much anything else that I find isn't the best use of my own time, but can be hired out to someone skilled in that area.

I'm constantly looking for ways to free up my own time so I can focus on what really matters: increasing sales.


Hiring on Upwork:

Whenever I post a job on Upwork, I always take the time to "invite" freelancers to my job. I use the filter system to start with a good base of freelancers. Here is a screenshot with some info on it showing the filters I use:



This makes it pretty easy to go through, look at some of the freelancer's profiles, and decide whether or not you want to hire them for your job.

I then wait a day or two, then I'll go through the proposals to see who I'd like to interview. I always send a message to each of the candidates who I think are a good fit for the job. After going back and forth with them to determine if I think they're good enough, I'll narrow my selection and hire the one I think is best.


Provide Instructions:

After I hire someone, I usually create a video where I explain the process of the job so the freelancer's learning curve doesn't take too long.

I use the software, OBS to record my computer's screen while I talk through my headset's microphone.

I'll show the freelancer what documents they need to use, the recommended process on getting the job done, and the end result of what I need (usually this is an example if I don't already have a final result).

I like to go into detail too and explain "why" they are doing the job. Sometimes that helps them connect the reasoning for doing certain things during the process to the end result.

After they watch the video, I'll have them ask any questions so I can explain it better to them. Then, I'll have them start.

In Upwork there's a "work diary" (hourly jobs only) which allows you to see screenshots of what they're doing as they work. I monitor the work diary in the beginning to make sure they're moving in the right direction.

Or, I'll have them send me parts of the task along the way before it's done so I can confirm that they are doing everything correctly. It just depends.


Expanding Your Time to Grow Your Business:

I look at the time spent on growing the business as a collective whole. So, if I personally work 60 hours this week on my business and three freelancers are working 30 hours each, then that's 150 hours of work that just went into growing my business during a single week.

The more time put toward growing the business, the faster I can reach my business goals. *Of course, the time put forth needs to be used on tasks that actually move the business in a positive forward moving direction.

I like what Elon Musk talks about here and how putting more time per week in will help you get things done in a shorter amount of time compared to someone else doing the same things, but putting in less time per week. 1:20 into the video is his explanation.

Start Hiring ASAP:

If you guys have any specific questions about hiring on Upwork or using it to build your team, then I'll do my best to answer them. I recommend hiring out tasks sooner than later. This will help open your mind to the possibilities of stuff you don't have to spend time doing.

When I first started out, it took me over an hour to edit each one of my product photos myself. I decided that it was taking too much time, so I went to Elance (at the time) and posted a job to do the edits. I hired someone years ago, who still does all of my photo edits, and he charges $0.50 for basic white background edits and $3.00 for more advanced edits per photo.

If I send him 100 photos at $0.50 a photo, then that's $50.00. But, more importantly, I just saved 100 hours of time for myself because it would take me about an hour per photo. My time is worth more than $0.50 an hour. I could probably learn to do it faster, but I'd rather pay someone else.

**Later on I'll post about how I've been creating documented processes for all of the tasks within my business. I'm working on having a binder with all the details because this will make hiring these tasks out easier in the long run.

I want to be able to hire someone and already have a clear "step-by-step" document/video that he/she can reference as he/she works. Plus, it'll add more to the asset value of the business if everything is well documented.

 

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[Jamie T]

thanks man i was stressing at work and school lately and getting distressed and seeing this thread motivates me to keep doing what i am doing and get to my goal of an unscripted life

That's great to hear that it's motivating!

It took me several years to figure out what works. I graduated college in 2012. And, it wasn't until June/July 2015 that I started seeing positive results.

Those three years after graduating were very tough. I took a bunch of odd jobs that I could have had right out of high school. I kept learning and believing during that time. Very dark times, but I was one of the people crazy enough to believe what MJ says in his books was possible.

The math in the millionaire fastlane is hard to argue. Keep working on getting in the fastlane math equation: net profit + asset value

That equation is how to get unscripted .

 

[Jamie T]

Because you're fully dependent from Amazon and your income depend of this website. But TBH Amazon is so useful to sell product, dropshipping is a great asset and that's what got me interested. But i think it's a short term way of making money and it's not solid at all, hope you got my point.

I understand your point. However, please try to understand my point when I say I'm not fully dependent on Amazon.

As I mentioned, my sales are spread across multiple sales channels. And, I'm actively working to spread them across even more sales channels.

 

[Jamie T]

Got some more shipments in today. I'm posting this to show what "taking action" really is.

I had the FedEx driver meet me at my garage to drop them off. Then, I carried them up to the third floor (two boxes at a time). Sometimes you have to put a little sweat into your business.



Here's after I got them up to my apartment.

A few more shipments should arrive tomorrow or the next day too.

Keep grinding!

 

[Jamie T]

I found a mother lode of gold!

Thanks man!

This thread definitely needs an update too. A lot has happened over the past few months.

I'll start with:

• January was my best month ever in sales.
• The Fastlane Summit was AMAZING!
• I started using hotjar and realized the freelancer I hired for some SEO work was using a script to log time on Upwork.
• I'm almost done launching some more SKUs.
• Walmart/GeekSeller are going well (not sure about Jet yet).
• I've been creating much more efficient processes.
• I partnered with two other Fastlaner's in a new business (more on this at a later date).
• And more.

A more in depth update will be coming soon..

 

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[Ethanhoward35]

thanks man i was stressing at work and school lately and getting distressed and seeing this thread motivates me to keep doing what i am doing and get to my goal of an unscripted life

 

[Jamie T]

Are you using a kind of dropshipping method for Ebay/G.Shopping/Walmart or you get your product deliver to your home and send them to your customers when you got the order ?

I do fulfill orders myself when I'm at home for eBay and my website. If I'm traveling, then I have Amazon FBA ship them for me.

So yes, I do keep inventory on hand and at Amazon. If I run out of inventory at home, then I'll have Amazon ship the orders. And, if I run out of inventory at Amazon, then I can still fulfill orders from home.

Walmart.com doesn't allow you to ship using Amazon FBA, so I'll have to see if there's a way to put Walmart on "vacation mode" when I'm traveling or hire someone to fulfill the orders when I'm away. I'm not too concerned with this right now because I'm planning to stay put for the next 3-6 months as I focus on growing the business even more. I'll figure it out later.

Plus, I think it's fun to drop all the packages off. It's a great reminder that each individual product is improving others' lives. I can physically hold the packages and know that the customers who ordered them are allowing me to live unscripted .

I've been getting pretty good at forecasting inventory, I actually use the software forecast.ly to help with that, and having out of stock products are less often. Even now I'm out of stock of about 4 or 5 SKUs. Part of the Amazon loan is to place larger orders of products to prevent this from happening.

I notice that there are trends, or sales spikes, on some of my products sometimes. So, the forecasting will look like everything is good and then all of the sudden sales start picking up at a rate that causes an out of stock event. It's annoying, but a good problem to have. It'll be nice once I get everything in full stock all the time.

So 'basically' you've build customized products with your brand/colour reference and build a brand around your 'field' so then people would see your brand on the product and automatically recognized it as a trusted brand ?

Yes, I'd say that's pretty accurate.

E-comm' got me very interested but i don't like the fact that i would not have CONTROL with Amazon and Ebay...

In the beginning, I'd focus on getting sales as fast as possible. Even if you give up control it's okay. You gotta start somewhere and Amazon/eBay/etc. just happens to allow you to sell on their platforms. They also have tons of traffic 24/7, 365. Why not take advantage of it in the beginning? Then, with lots of sales/profit, you can work your plan to be fully in control of your own website.

If Walmart said that I could sell my products in every one of their stores, I wouldn't pass that up just because Walmart controls the stores. I'd jump at the opportunity and generate massive sales numbers. I could then use the profits to build something I fully control.

Here's another example: My sister sells clothing through a multi-level marketing (MLM) company.

It's easy to sit there and say...she doesn't own the brand, she doesn't have any control, and she's just a sales person for someone else. Which is all true.

However, when you look closely, you'll see that she makes $30,000-$60,000 per month (depends on the season) selling the clothing. Hmm...

Her and I have spoken about this and she's fully aware of the MLM situation. She has an end game plan to eventually own her own brand of products. She's doing this now because she's very successful at what she's does and she is banking all the profits in order to free herself of having to struggle and work a 9-5 job while she builds her own brand of products.

Yes, she's giving up control in the short term...but she's been hitting those numbers consistently for almost two years now.

I'm just saying, it's okay to give up a bit of control if it's going to help you get to where you want to go faster. And especially if you're selling products that really do make a difference in others' lives. Why prevent others (and yourself) from having a better life just because you don't want to give up control?

Thanks for your time,
Alessio.

Awesome questions! No problem.

 

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[All_In52]

Since I moved to Phoenix two months ago it is without a doubt that @Jamie T has had the biggest influence on me and my Fastlane journey. He reached out to me and took 4 hours out of his day to tell me about his story and how to get started in E-commerce. Since then I have imported my first samples of products and posted them on Ebay and have answered any questions I've had about the process. Although I haven't made as much progress as I'd like I'm grateful to have met someone as selfless as him. It is no surprise that he is where he is at today.

 

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[Jamie T]

I've been looking at launching some new SKUs recently.

I thought of some different products that'd go well with my current ones. The kinds of products that customers might buy them at the same time as buying the other products I currently sell.

I decided on some and contacted around a dozen manufacturers asking for their catalogs.

I ordered samples from five different manufacturers.

A few days ago, the first box of samples arrived!



The others will probably get here throughout the week.

Now I'll be able to: test a few, sell a few, decide what changes could be done on them, and then what manufacture seemed the best (product quality, shipping time, ease of communication, and if their company seems legit or not).

Then, I'll contact the "winning" manufacture to see if they can make the changes I want.

Assuming they can, I'll work out my first purchase order with them.

 

[Jamie T]

Thanks for your answer, and yes for sure Amazon is a great plateform to sell and i would propably do it too, but the videos saying that Amazon can close your account for no reason (that's what i saw) is what afraid me, and when it's your principal selling plateform, you're losing everything if it happen, but yeah i know risk management.

You're welcome

This reminded me of a quote by Gary Halbert: "You're either going to be afraid and frozen, or, you're going to be scared and moving."

Personally, I'd rather be moving.

 

[Jamie T]

Since I moved to Phoenix two months ago it is without a doubt that @Jamie T has had the biggest influence on me and my Fastlane journey. He reached out to me and took 4 hours out of his day to tell me about his story and how to get started in E-commerce.

Thanks man. I'm glad you took something away from that convo haha.

I enjoy having meetups and talking with people in person. It's great to be around like minded people.

Since then I have imported my first samples of products and posted them on Ebay and have answered any questions I've had about the process.

Many people seem to be "interested" in starting a business, but once in a while someone actually takes action and starts!

It's awesome to see your progress in such a short time.

To let everyone else know. After we met up in Scottsdale, Alden had his product samples from China the next week. There wasn't any hesitation. He simply decided on a market, narrowed down to a product, and then found a supplier in China within a few days.

Pretty straight forward.

 

[Esoteric Wealth]

I'm a huge fan of providing excellent customer service. I make it one of my highest priorities. I believe it is one of the reasons I've been able to grow my business so well.

• If someone buys a product from me and they're not happy, then they get their money back.
• If someone buys a product from me and, over a year later, they decide they're pissed off for some reason, then I'll send them another...or, give them a refund..or, try to see if there's anything I can do to help them out. Or, all of the above.
  
• If someone has questions about a product but I determine the product isn't best for them, then I'll recommend a competitor (if they have what the person actually needs). I'll even contact the competitor myself to make sure the customer is taken care of.
  
• If someone asks for a product or feature that I don't currently have available and I can't recommend a competitor, then I'll tell them that I'm going to find it. I've had customers offer suggestions which I immediately took action on. I have sent new products to the customers who've suggested improvements for free. And, I'll tell them it's for free because they helped me.
• If someone has questions about a product that I don't have the answers to, then I'll tell them that. And, I'll tell them that I'm going to find out and will get back to them as soon as possible.
• If someone sends me an email after business hours and I'm available, then I'll respond immediately. We live in a world where everyone is connected. Why not provide customer service any time you're checking your cell phone? People love super fast replies.

Those are just a few examples. In my business, I set the rules. It's convenient that the rules just happen to go above and beyond to help people out.

Some of my top go to books on customer service are:

• Delivering Happiness - Tony Hsieh
• Raving Fans - Ken Blanchard

Hell yeah dude. I don't know how people who sell CAN'T think this way. Just making the customer satisfied is such a great feeling. It's actually kind of fun and rewarding to respond to customers in a super short time frame, strangely. I just imagine it from the perspective of me being the consumer, and go from there

I've always been confused at some of the past jobs I worked at, where they will talk shit about or screw the customer somehow. Never made any sense to me, they're why you're in business. I mean, we all have some hard a$$ customers, but still.

 

[IGP]

So, I got accepted into the Walmart program... Reading through their contract and this looks like a nightmare.

Basically, any "offers" I make to my existing customers via email or to new customers on the site I also have to make to Walmart customers.

That's ludicrous... I can't even email my current list with a customer appreciation 50% off email or BOGO without offering on the Walmart site as well to people I have no relationship with.

Thinking about bailing on this altogether.

 

[Jamie T]

Reading through their contract and this looks like a nightmare.

Basically, any "offers" I make to my existing customers via email or to new customers on the site I also have to make to Walmart customers.

That's ludicrous... I can't even email my current list with a customer appreciation 50% off email or BOGO without offering on the Walmart site as well to people I have no relationship with.

Yes, some of their terms seem extreme / annoying.

Not recommending this, but I question how often will Walmart actually monitor everything a seller is doing on their website vs on Walmart?

Is there a certain amount of sales that you'd have to generate to make the extra effort of matching your "offers" worth it?

If being on Walmart adds 10%, 20%, or more to your overall sales, then that could justify the inconvenience. It's tough because no one really knows how it'll work until after you get your products up there and selling.

*I mention the adding to your overall sales because when I launched only 20 of my products on Amazon.ca, it added between 10%-15% to my overall sales per month. The extra work put into getting my products over to Canada is definitely worth it.


In my case, I wouldn't have much of an issue with this because I rarely do promotional offers.

Thinking about bailing on this altogether.

I think it might be worth getting some of your top selling products on Walmart.com. You'll know within a short time if it's worth the trouble.


I'm currently working with GeekSeller to get all of my products submitted to Walmart & Jet at the same time. I imported all of my products into their software and now I'm editing them in bulk in a spreadsheet. After that, I'll import them into Walmart/Jet.

I've been super busy with tons of other things in my business too. The walmart/jet has been pushed to the side a bit, but each day I'm doing a little bit to keep the progress moving. I'll keep you guys updated whenever my products are live.

 

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[biophase]

Jumping in late on this thread.

First of all.. to be afraid to sell on Amazon because they might close your account down is to me an excuse to not start. Yes it could happen. Just deal with it.

Second, selling on Walmart is a nightmare. First, they have no notification method to tell you that you got an order. You have to literally log into your account everyday to see if you got an order. I use Shipstation and it pulls orders from Walmart.

BTW, I don't know how you even confirm an order. I've never done that for Walmart. I just see the order and ship it the next day. No complaints.

They keep shutting down my listings due to price. They want your price to be the lowest possible. They expect you to compete against yourself on Amazon and your website. So if you sell a product for $40 on your website and Amazon, it must be $40 on Walmart. However, they don't seem to understand that they are taking 15% and providing absolutely no service at all.

With Amazon they provide the box and shipping for let's say $8. With Walmart, I need to provide the box and labor and pay $8 shipping. So why should I be the same price as Amazon?

Also, the onboarding on Walmart is so bad, you have to make 2 samples orders to make sure that your account works. Then you cancel them. Guess what, a month later I get my report and the 2 cancelled orders went against my account. WTF?

I don't get many sales on Walmart, but I don't even try. I'm going to stop selling on there after the holidays.

 

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[Guest06196]

I found a mother lode of gold!

A small finder's fee of 100 Rep is due upon the marking of this thread.
Thank you

@MJ DeMarco @Vigilante @AllenCrawley @Andy Black

 

[Jamie T]

Yes, you give up control. Absolutely right, and people need to be aware of that.

But let's look at some figures:

Amazon accounts for 43% of ALL online revenue in the USA

Amazon accounts for 38% of holiday receipts in the USA (online or off, ALL holiday sales)

Amazon accounts for 53% of ALL online sales growth in the USA

Amazon accounts for 5% of ALL retail sales in the USA (online or off)

As many of the ecommerce guys and gals have stressed here many, many times...Amazon is a sales channel, nothing more.

The OP would be stupid to not sell on Amazon. Where else would he so easily get access to so much traffic??

Yes, the OP gives up control and it sounds like he's aware of that. But it's not an either/or proposition where Amazon should only be temporary because of lack of control.

You're right that he should exercise caution, but on the other hand having 100% control isn't possible with anything. Risk management and all that, ya know?

Thanks for providing more detail on this.

I think it's important for people to understand that Amazon is only a sales channel. And, it just happens to get massive traffic so that's why people buy/sell on there.

It doesn't make sense to avoid Amazon.

 

[Jamie T]

I've been invited to sell my products in Walmart/Jet marketplace... Do you anticipate a a lot of sales from them?

I'm honestly not sure what to expect from selling on Walmart and Jet. It's a situation where I could see 0 sales and it wasn't worth it. Or, I could get some sales and added a new stream of revenue. No one really knows until the products are up and for sale.

I did take a look at other products in my categories that are selling on jet/Walmart. They do have reviews on them. That's at least an indicator that some people are out there buying on those sales channels.


I'll tell you this. I'm technically "selling" on newegg.com too. I created that account and got my products on there probably in March or April of this year. And...I've had 0 sales there.

I still think it was worth going through the process on newegg because who knows, it could have taken off and added an additional stream of income. But, it didn't haha.

It might depend on the type of products/market you're trying to reach. Some sales channels work better for others. I think MJ talks about this in Unscripted . If not, he definitely spoke about it at the last Fastlane Summit.

Example: I wanted to buy a made in the USA hand made pen, so I went to Etsy to buy it. I don't think I'd go to newegg to buy one, at least not as one of my top three options.

One thing I don't like is that I try to position my brand as "not sold in stores" ie. more upscale and unique.

So, I am hesitant to be lumped in with Walmart and the "lowest price possible" that they want you to push.

I'm not sure about positioning your brand on Walmart because I'm not familiar with marketing more upscale products. Mine are kind of in the middle. Not the cheapest, but definitely not on the high end. I'm in a sweet spot in the middle.

@AllenCrawley might have better thoughts on positioning more upscale products and potentially using Jet/Walmart.

Here are my thoughts on Jet/Walmart: I think Walmart is a realistic player to take on Amazon. I'm preparing now in the event that more people start gravitating toward them in the future. And yes, there's a chance to generate sales immediately. Won't know until I get my products live (should have them up and running soon).

If my thoughts are wrong and jet/walmart fade away, then at least I tried.

 

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[IGP]

Thanks for your answer, and yes for sure Amazon is a great plateform to sell and i would propably do it too, but the videos saying that Amazon can close your account for no reason (that's what i saw) is what afraid me, and when it's your principal selling plateform, you're losing everything if it happen, but yeah i know risk management.

If he's aware of that, i don't have anything to say, i needed just some infomations and his opinion on Amazon as i'm interested by FBA here in France, because not a lot of people are interested by this, so a lot of work can be done.

That can happen with any platform... Happened with Google with Panda & Penguin... Happens on FB all the time where people have their accounts banned. Happens on Amazon... Happens on eBay...

That's the point.... Spread your risk!

 

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[Jamie T]

Second, selling on Walmart is a nightmare. First, they have no notification method to tell you that you got an order. You have to literally log into your account everyday to see if you got an order. I use Shipstation and it pulls orders from Walmart.

BTW, I don't know how you even confirm an order. I've never done that for Walmart. I just see the order and ship it the next day. No complaints.

They keep shutting down my listings due to price. They want your price to be the lowest possible. They expect you to compete against yourself on Amazon and your website. So if you sell a product for $40 on your website and Amazon, it must be $40 on Walmart. However, they don't seem to understand that they are taking 15% and providing absolutely no service at all.

With Amazon they provide the box and shipping for let's say $8. With Walmart, I need to provide the box and labor and pay $8 shipping. So why should I be the same price as Amazon?

Thank you for your insights!

Everything you said makes a lot of sense. I wouldn't have known any of that.

That sucks. I really thought Walmart had potential.

Also, the onboarding on Walmart is so bad, you have to make 2 samples orders to make sure that your account works. Then you cancel them. Guess what, a month later I get my report and the 2 cancelled orders went against my account. WTF?

I agree from my own experience onboarding. I haven't done the 2 sample orders.

But, there was an unnecessarily long back and forth just to get them to confirm my business's street address before being allowed to open an account.

I literally sent them my sales tax certificate, multiple bank statements, and invoices with all of my business info for them to confirm that I'm a real business. After 3 months of that, they decided that they needed some outside company call my business during hours so they could confirm a bunch of information related to my business.

It did take about 7 months from the time I submitted my application to the time I was able to register my online account.

So yes, it's definitely a headache dealing with them.

@biophase Do you have any experience with selling on Jet.com?

 

[Jamie T]

Congrats on your accomplishments, friend! I was wondering if you could assist me in siphering through some things. I am looking to create my eCommerce website through square space and was wondering if you could give me some pointers or a rundown of how proccessing payments works. I understand that I need a shopping cart, a paypal account, but what else? This is somewhat stunting my development at the moment and need all the help I can get.

I'm not too familiar with Square Space, but it's possible that they already have payment processing built into it.

I use Shopify and it has everything already built into it. All I have to do is add the products, then people can add to shopping cart and check out whenever they want. It's pretty straight forward.

I think you'll find that it's not that big of a deal. You'll pay a few per transaction and the company (shopify in my case, maybe square space if they have this feature in your case) will transfer the money to your bank account.

These platforms make it pretty easy to get started in eCommerce these days.

 

[ddzc]

Tomorrow I'll be making my second guest speaking appearance for a college class. As I wrote the outline for what I'm going to talk about, I realized that there are many lessons, good and bad, that others can learn from here at the forum too.

On October 25th, it'll be my three year anniversary here at the Fastlane forum. I've learned a lot over the years and am still learning every single day.

The Fastlane is a real thing and if you keep working at it, you'll get where you want to go.


Just over a year ago, I was standing on the pier of a beach in sunny in Florida. I looked out over the sea and had the vision of where my life is now. The next day, I'd start my drive across the US to relocate to, even sunnier, Phoenix, Arizona.

Back then, I could see where I'd be living, the view I'd have from my apartment (mountains), and the life I'd be living. All of which I decided.

It's been just over two years since my last 9-5 job. And no, there's no going back.


My primary income source is my eCommerce business that I started with $160 back in June 2015.

After following the advice given in the thread, "Addicted to Passive Income Deposits," on the Inside, I imported my first sample of 10 products from China. More than doubled my money. And, scaled from there.

Here's a quick list of some of the things I've already done:

• I built a brand.
• I currently have just under 70 active SKUs.
  
• I sell primarily through my website, eBay, and Amazon (US and CA)
• September was my best month in sales since I started. I even had a record day in sales while I was vacationing in Florida. The business runs no matter where I am.
  
• I outsource some of the workload to two freelancers I hired in the Philippines (combined weekly hours range from 40-60 hours a week).
  
• I just recently applied for a trademark in the US. It should be approved soon. I'm considering doing the same in Canada soon.
• I just accepted a $20,000 loan from Amazon lending to grow my business. This is the first time that I'm taking on debt to expand, but believe it is necessary at this point. Previously, growth was funded by business profits only.
  
• I just got accepted on Walmart.com (I submitted my application back in March. It took 7 months before getting approved) and Jet.com. I'm working on setting up a partner account to get my products uploaded to those two sites. I decided to go with GeekSeller.

I plan on posting my thoughts, accomplishments, and failures here in the thread. I'll probably jump around from past to present. There's a lot to cover.

If you have any questions, then feel free to ask. I'll do my best to explain things from my experience.

I'll definitely add different things I do in the business to give you an idea of what works for me...and what doesn't.

You're a true grinder, keep up the awesome work bud!

 

[ALC]

Very aware. However, I don't consider myself an Amazon reseller.


My sales come from Amazon, eBay, and my website (I utilize Google Shopping as well).

I'm fortunate that my industry allows for sales to be spread out pretty well across different sales channels. Of course, Amazon does generate the highest percentage of my sales, but that's expected due to the large amounts of traffic on Amazon and how easy it is to purchase almost everything you want all together in one order.

When it comes to customer service and the nature of my products, many people would rather go to my website because of the information I'm able to provide there. They can easily call my business phone number and get the exact answers they need. It's part of my customer service model.

I mentioned that I just recently got accepted to sell on Jet.com and Walmart.com. I'm working to expand my sales channels so a random account closure won't be the end. It'd be very annoying haha. But, you definitely bring up a good point and it is something that can be prevented with the right planning.

In the beginning, it makes sense to focus on where the traffic is. Start selling, generate profit, and grow your business. Take advantage of Amazon while you have it, but build your business to sustain itself even if Amazon gets shut off.


I only focus on one market/industry. I've built my brand around it.

I have attempted, several times, to sell in different markets at the same time. All of them failed because I didn't put enough time into them. It's much easier to focus on one market/industry and build a solid brand in it.

I'm constantly learning new things about my market/industry and I have a long term plan that could really change how some things are done in the market/industry.

If I kept spreading my focus to other markets/industries, then I wouldn't be able to gain a massive knowledge base and experience related to this one. It'd be very tough to balance and grow.

Check out: Chapter 44 in the Millionaite Fastlane - Choose Monogamy Over Polygamy

Thanks for this answer,
Are you using a kind of dropshipping method for Ebay/G.Shopping/Walmart or you get your product deliver to your home and send them to your customers when you got the order ?

I remember that chapter from the book, and it's true.
So 'basically' you've build customized products with your brand/colour reference and build a brand around your 'field' so then people would see your brand on the product and automatically recognized it as a trusted brand ?

E-comm' got me very interested but i don't like the fact that i would not have CONTROL with Amazon and Ebay...

Thanks for your time,
Alessio.

 

[Jamie T]

there are other fulfillment centers you can look into.

You're right!

That completely slipped my mind earlier. Thanks for bringing that up.

That'll be a fun project to figure out the details of using another fulfillment center.

In the coming months, I'll look into other fulfillment options. I plan to do some traveling this coming summer/fall.

 

[IGP]

Couple of other gems:

Retailer will within one (1) hour of receipt on a 24/7 basis, confirm every Order file received by Walmart.com

Retailer shall answer at least 60% of all Customer calls within sixty (60) seconds of the end of Retailer’s customer service interactive voice response (the “IVR”). For purposes of clarification, time spent by the Customer on hold waiting for a customer service representative shall not be considered part of the IVR and shall be included as part of the sixty-second period described above.

No more than four percent (4%) of all Customer calls received by Retailer shall be
Abandoned Calls. “Abandoned Calls” means the number of Customer calls offered to Retailer’s customer service representatives after the IVR ends, less the number of calls picked up and completed by Retailer’s customer service representatives; provided that if a Customer hangs up before the Customer leaves the IVR, the call shall not be considered an Abandoned Call. For purposes of clarification, if a Customer hangs up after leaving the IVR and
while on hold waiting for a customer service representative, such call shall be considered an Abandoned Call;

Ninety percent (90%) of emails received from Customers shall be answered by Retailerwithin twenty four (24) hours of receipt.