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My attempt at creating a brand by selling on Amazon

JDx

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Excellent write up, very interesting, and great job on taking action and getting the sales!
You're doing exactly what I want to be doing, so this is inspiring for me to take action.
Looking forward to updates
 
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UrbanLegend

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Or you could do a comparison table or chart without mentioning specifically your competitors (Your Brand Name vs Competitor 1 or Others). Use those clean line vector drawings if you don't want to post your competitors' product photos.

This is exactly what I had in mind! Will implement this for sure. :)
 
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UrbanLegend

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Excellent write up, very interesting, and great job on taking action and getting the sales!
You're doing exactly what I want to be doing, so this is inspiring for me to take action.
Looking forward to updates

Thank you so much! Glad it helps.

Just get going and start doing it one step at a time. Just focus on the next task ahead and before you know it your first product is live.

I will post another update next week.
 

Ascension

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This is exactly what I had in mind! Will implement this for sure. :)

Make sure you read the laws regarding "vergleichende Werbung" real carefully. It is a slippery slope in Germany and can get you sued even if you don't name your competitor.
 
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UrbanLegend

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Make sure you read the laws regarding "vergleichende Werbung" real carefully. It is a slippery slope in Germany and can get you sued even if you don't name your competitor.

Thanks for letting me know! Will defenitely look into this. My plan was to just point out what advantages my product has over the "conventional" one.
 

JDx

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One thing i noticed in your write up @UrbanLegend is that you mention you have all the items shipped to your own address first, inspect the product, then ship it to Amazon.
Isn't this a very expensive way of getting the product to Amazon? Wouldn't it be easier to ship it directly to them?
Just wondering!

Also, do/did you use an app like junglescout or amazeowl to find a product?
Cheers
 

UrbanLegend

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One thing i noticed in your write up @UrbanLegend is that you mention you have all the items shipped to your own address first, inspect the product, then ship it to Amazon.
Isn't this a very expensive way of getting the product to Amazon? Wouldn't it be easier to ship it directly to them?
Just wondering!

Also, do/did you use an app like junglescout or amazeowl to find a product?
Cheers

It's not really more expensive. It's just more work. For my entire order I paid around 12€ to send it to Amazon. They have a deal with the big couriers like DHL which sellers can benefit from when sending their inventory to the Amazon warehouse. Don't know if this is the same for other countries but we have these conditions in germany. It is worth it to me to check the quality of the products myself for the first few orders just to make sure. I am planning to let the shipments be sent to Amazon directly though for the next orders.

I used the free trial of marketplace analytics which is now called sellics to track sales of competitors. But most of my research was done without any tools.
 
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ALC

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It's not really more expensive. It's just more work. For my entire order I paid around 12€ to send it to Amazon. They have a deal with the big couriers like DHL which sellers can benefit from when sending their inventory to the Amazon warehouse. Don't know if this is the same for other countries but we have these conditions in germany. It is worth it to me to check the quality of the products myself for the first few orders just to make sure. I am planning to let the shipments be sent to Amazon directly though for the next orders.

I used the free trial of marketplace analytics which is now called sellics to track sales of competitors. But most of my research was done without any tools.
You've just answered a question i had for a long time, i always thought that it would be so expensive to have the delivery at your house, check the order then ship it to Amazon.
I think we have this too in France.

You could have an agent to check it for you before being shipped, it may be better for the first order.
 

UrbanLegend

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You've just answered a question i had for a long time, i always thought that it would be so expensive to have the delivery at your house, check the order then ship it to Amazon.
I think we have this too in France.

You could have an agent to check it for you before being shipped, it may be better for the first order.

I think this depends on how much risk you wanna take. For my first order I checked every piece single handedly. I really wanted to know what I was working with. But I guess everyone is different. Arranging for an agent to inspect the quality of the order will be a lot more expensive though than letting it come to your adress first and check it yourself.
 

UrbanLegend

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UPDATE

So things have been going pretty good for the last weeks. My sales were stable averaging about 9 sales a day. I thought I was ready to try and raise the price again (only a 1€ increase). The day after I only had 1 sale. I panicked and dropped the price again. After the decrease sales were stable again. The thing I noticed though, was that my competitors also didn't sell well that day (Noticed from their BSR). So I checked my stats and saw that my listing didn't get a lot of traffic that day compared to other days. So right now I am running the higher price again to check for a longer period. Today is the first full day running the higher again and I already made 5 sales. I hope it stays that way. Fingers crossed!

Also my second order arrived two days ago:

07bfac73-d7cb-4cce-8725-6f59e154b0dc.JPG

I checked all boxes yesterday and sent everything off to Amazon. For this order I paid zero customs duty, due to a trade deal Germany has with Pakistan. For certain products this is possible, if the supplier can certify the origin of the products. My supplier is registered in the REX system (This is the new system that regulates this) so it was no problem to get the preferred 0% customs duty. The usual duty to be paid would be 12%. So I saved a substantial amount and my margin also got bigger.

For my next order I am planning to order 1000pcs. Right now I am getting quotes from logistics companies to see if I can save on the freight costs. Also I want the next order to be delivered to the Amazon warehouse directly without me actually touching the product. This is a big step to automate the whole process.
 
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ALC

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Arranging for an agent to inspect the quality of the order will be a lot more expensive though than letting it come to your adress first and check it yourself.
Maybe, but if you buy expensive stuff, it might save you some cash from being scammed by the company..
It depend on the thing you order.
 

UrbanLegend

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Maybe, but if you buy expensive stuff, it might save you some cash from being scammed by the company..
It depend on the thing you order.

A high price doesn't necessarily equal good quality. And there is always something that can go wrong.
 

WorldImperator

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@UrbanLegend,

Just four questions, as I am just before product research stage:
- which tools did you used to find a proper product to sale?
- Do you have any personal interest in the niche/ products that you are selling (for example that you are selling fishing rods and you are amateur fisherman, or you do not do it at all)
- how did you found Pakistani supplier? Is there any site like alibaba for Pakistan?
- while researching for a niche, did you set up a minimal price for the product like for example 15 EUR/piece?
- when you will start selling in USA.? I assume that this market would bring you much more money, however during my research between markets I realized that customers are really different in US and EU
 

UrbanLegend

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@UrbanLegend,

Just four questions, as I am just before product research stage:
- which tools did you used to find a proper product to sale?
- Do you have any personal interest in the niche/ products that you are selling (for example that you are selling fishing rods and you are amateur fisherman, or you do not do it at all)
- how did you found Pakistani supplier? Is there any site like alibaba for Pakistan?
- while researching for a niche, did you set up a minimal price for the product like for example 15 EUR/piece?
- when you will start selling in USA.? I assume that this market would bring you much more money, however during my research between markets I realized that customers are really different in US and EU

1. I didn't use any tools to find a product. Only to track sales of competitors.

2. I didn't have any personal interest in the niche before I started selling. I don't use the product I sell.

3. I found my supplier on Alibaba.

4. Price depends on the margin and volume you can push. I wouldn't look at it too rigid. If you have a product where your margin is only 1$ but you can sell 100 pieces a day that's also 3000$ a month.

5. Right now I am focusing only on the german market. After that I will expand in europe. Eventually I will look into the US. But for now this is still in the far future.
 
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NaPal

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Great thread and great action! Looking forward to future updates. :clap::
 

UrbanLegend

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I think it's time to update this thread as I haven't posted in a while.

To get right to it: My product failed!

I wasn't able to make it profitable.

These are the main mistakes I made:

  • Didn't spend enough time looking for suppliers and sourced the product too expensive
  • I thought this product with improved quality would sell at a higher price point - It doesn't
  • The margin was too small to begin with (<5€)
  • Totally underestimated PPC costs which were the main killer of my margin
  • Too many products of competitors available already and a lot more coming since I launched (They are also doomed!)
  • Not enough improvement of the product
  • Focused too much on design and brand too early
Right now I am selling off the inventory and won't be reordering with my supplier.

I am not giving up yet though. I will try to learn from the mistakes I made and try to find a product which fullfills my new criteria.

I hope to have another update for you soon with newly made progress.
 

NaPal

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Keep in mind that when challenges come up, it's a barrier to entry, figure it out and keep moving forward. DO NOT throw in the towel how I've done way too many times when the going gets tough.

I had a few products I imported about 4 years ago that were not profitable with my current numbers. I moved on at the first sign of a road block. Where would I be now if I found a way to cut shipping costs in half? Or moved to a new manufacture that had a 30% lower cost? We will never know....

My point is, keep grinding at different angles to solve the problem. I'm not saying your product is a home run or not, but make sure you're not just walking away at the first sight of a barrier.

Keep looking, keep taking aciton, keep batting, eventually you'll hit the home run :)
 

AllanB

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These are the main mistakes I made:
  • Didn't spend enough time looking for suppliers and sourced the product too expensive
  • I thought this product with improved quality would sell at a higher price point - It doesn't
  • The margin was too small to begin with (<5€)
  • Totally underestimated PPC costs which were the main killer of my margin
  • Too many products of competitors available already and a lot more coming since I launched (They are also doomed!)
  • Not enough improvement of the product
  • Focused too much on design and brand too early

Maybe my question is stupid... but why do you think it will be different next time?

- any entrepreneur have access to the same alibaba (or similar) suppliers with basically same buying conditions
- any entrepreneur have access to the amazon (or similar) platform
- any entrepreneur have access to the PPC ads
- any entrepreneur can customize the product and/or create a brand

What is the real value you bring to your customers?
 
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UrbanLegend

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Keep in mind that when challenges come up, it's a barrier to entry, figure it out and keep moving forward. DO NOT throw in the towel how I've done way too many times when the going gets tough.

I had a few products I imported about 4 years ago that were not profitable with my current numbers. I moved on at the first sign of a road block. Where would I be now if I found a way to cut shipping costs in half? Or moved to a new manufacture that had a 30% lower cost? We will never know....

My point is, keep grinding at different angles to solve the problem. I'm not saying your product is a home run or not, but make sure you're not just walking away at the first sight of a barrier.

Keep looking, keep taking aciton, keep batting, eventually you'll hit the home run :)

I thought exactly the same thing when first challenges came up. The big problem is that it is not only not profitable, but I am operating at a loss. So i have no money to reinvest which makes it impossible to grow the business. I've been selling this product for half a year now and the market is getting worse with more competitors (with way more capital) arising almost every day. Even if the purchasing costs of the product were cut in half it wouldn't solve the problem.
 

UrbanLegend

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Maybe my question is stupid... but why do you think it will be different next time?

- any entrepreneur have access to the same alibaba (or similar) suppliers with basically same buying conditions
- any entrepreneur have access to the amazon (or similar) platform
- any entrepreneur have access to the PPC ads
- any entrepreneur can customize the product and/or create a brand

What is the real value you bring to your customers?

Your question is not stupid at all!

If I am not able to find a product which fullfills the criteria I will not do it.

If I can't add any value offering the product I won't source it.

I think it would be stupid not to put what I learned into action. If I fail again I will move on.
 

UrbanLegend

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Can you disclose your criteria?

The main criteria is as follows:

1. I have to be able to add real value (Not just list the same product in a different color)

2. The profit has to be 10€ / sale (This leaves more room for PPC)

3. The niche cannot be too crowded.

Point No. 1 is the most important and I will spend as much time as I need this time to find the product and really work out the USPs.
 

NaPal

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sell something that is already being sold to the market but give it a USP. The herd will then flock in your direction.
 

AllanB

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I think you have this edge:
You live in a country with a very famous industry --> the "Deutsche Qualität"
Why don't you search locally for a high quality product, add value in order to have the best available product on the market, and then sell it with high margins? Don't you think it's more sustainable?
 
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UrbanLegend

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I think you have this edge:
You live in a country with a very famous industry --> the "Deutsche Qualität"
Why don't you search locally for a high quality product, add value in order to have the best available product on the market, and then sell it with high margins? Don't you think it's more sustainable?

Depending on the product I will try to source it locally for sure. But from what I have seen on Amazon a lot of people will go for the cheap stuff. So this would be a big gamble in my opinion as I would again have to ask for a higher price. But it really depends on the product.
 

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