This Issue's TLDR...

• Offense wins games, Defense wins championships (and Q4)
• BOOKMARK THIS: A Comprehensive Guide to Fixing Any Listing Error
• I argue that Quantity of Clicks > Quality of Clicks

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It's Q4. Again.

Which means...I sort of have to write about it.

But you all know me.

When everyone else in the Amazon space is writing or talking a topic, I tend to avoid it.

I'm not here to drone on about the same "Q4 Best Practices" that 99% of other blogs, newsletters, webinars, and experts talk about.

To the extent I write about something topical, I like to have an angle; a deep insight; a unique point-of-view.

So, for my "Q4 Edition" of Best@Amazon, I'm not going to write about advanced and/or uncommon tactics to grow your sales (unless a bunch of you reply to this email and say that you want that).

Instead, I'm going to write about how you can play defense against all of The Powers That Be that can tank your Q4.

Let's go!

Defensive Play #1: Set Unusual Quantity Limits

A common black hat tactic in Q4 is to tie up your inventory. The ways of doing this have evolved (and I'm not going ot get into them, because I don't like to propagate bad behavior), but suffice it to say, you can do a couple things to leave yourself less exposed.

First and foremost, be aware that there's a specific abuse reporting workflow for this.

And second...Set quantity limits on customer purchases.

There's a bit of art and psychology to this.

Because, on the one hand, you don't want to NOT have legitimate bulk orders!

But, also, if you keep the floodgates open, a competitor can repeatedly tie up your inventory, quite easily.

So, my approach here is to set moderately high, unusual quantity limits that are just above my historical bulk order that represents the 80th percentile in terms of order size.

Example: If, across all my YTD bulk orders, the order quantity at the 80th percentile was 25 units, I'm going to set my Q4 quantity limit at 27 units.

Why 27 units?

In part, because it ensures that my order limit is still high enough to capture 80% of my historical, legitimate bulk orders.

But, more importantly, because it's now a honeypot for black hats.

Any number of Chrome extensions will reveal a product's quantity limits. And, of course, the most likely attack involves a black hat creating an order at the full limit amount.

By setting an order quantity that is both statistically rare and unusual in amount (real bulk buyers are people, and people tend to think in round numbers ending in 0 or 5), I can immediately detect when something is amiss.

Defensive Play #2: Send E&O Inventory to Liquidations

In one of the Amazon communities that I'm in, someone recently asked: "Any tricks of the trade to prevent Q4 storage fees from adding up?"

Funny you should ask. I do indeed!

Now, there's one old-ish hack to avoid storage fees that involves making clever use of MCF orders.

I hesitate to fully endorse it because 1) I haven't tested it recently and 2) it could get you in trouble (Amazon's TOS is broad and vague in a lot of areas related to platform manipulation and, by some reads, this is platform manipulation).

But, if you want to test it out, here's the gist of it, from a previous newsletter issue:

What I would counsel instead, as a "defensive" measure against getting hit with a massive storage fees bill, is to send excess & obsolete (E&O) inventory to Liquidations.

First of all, this is E&O inventory so, almost by definition, recovering anything for it is a good outcome.

Now, if you Liquidate with Amazon, there's a possibility that you'll recover 5-7% of your selling price (if it gets picked up by liquidators).

Or, there's a possibility that, 60 days later, the units end up back in your inventory because no liquidators wanted the units.

But here's a little detail about the Liquidate option that people overlook...when you submit products for liquidation, the clock on Monthly Storage Fees and Aged Inventory Surcharges pauses.

So, with this option, you either recover 5-7% of your selling price, OR, you avoid storage fees on these units during the most expensive time of the year. (Yes, you might have to figure out what to do with these units in January, but that's a tomorrow problem).

Defensive Play #3: Secure (Strategic) Copyrights

If you have competitors copying some attribute from your listing -- e.g., a tagline that you associate with your brand; your sales copy; your images -- then you need to over to the US Copyright Office and spend $45 for a copyright.

Doing so gives you a number of serious weapons to fight back against competitors (whether they are white hat or black hat).

Of course, the first weapon to wield is Amazon Brand Registry and, once you have a copyright, you can report infringing ASINs.

The other weapon that you have at your disposal is...litigation.

I know, I know.

The thought of attorney fees and a protracted legal process doesn't sound particularly appealing.

But...there's actually a legal avenue here that 1) many people don't know about, 2) is highly streamlined, and 3) can lead to massive settlements.

I'm going to hold off revealing it here today, because it's something I try to only share with clients. Sorry.

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BEST from LinkedIn

Speaking of playing defense in Q4...

About 4 months ago, my good friend Vanessa Hung published a fantastic guide on common Amazon listing issues and how to solve them.

I saved the post, specifically with the intent to share it in my Q4 newsletter issue...because...

Your sh!t is going to break in Q4.

I can't tell you what or when, but it's a truism of selling on Amazon that something will go awry.

When that happens, consult this guide and/or send a smoke signal up to Vanessa and her team.

BEST from X

I've been experimenting A LOT with driving traffic to my Amazon listings from Meta.

I'll publish a deep dive on that in the coming weeks, but, I'll just say...

...I don't universally agree with this statement from Barry.

In a pure DTC world, sure, this is mostly right.

But, in an Amazon world, where outside traffic -- regardless of whether that traffic converts -- sends signals to the A9 algorithm, the quantity of clicks do matter.

Barry Hott ☄️ @binghott The 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙮 of ad clicks matters less than the 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 of the clicks. What really matters is the 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥—how it connects with people, which can't be easily measured. A simple product image of a unique-looking… https://x.com/i/web/status/1838265590563135552 12:14 PM • Sep 23, 2024 2 Retweets 34 Likes Read 5 replies

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I went under LOI on a "No Asking Price" business using this exact formula.

It works.

The deal didn't close due to some legal red flags uncovered in due diligence but, hey, that's M&A.

Clint Fiore 🦬 DM for Biz Deals @ClintFiore How to deal with a No Asking Price, "Make me an Offer" Seller: 🧵 (bookmark this. this will happen at some point if you're trying to buy an off-market business.) If a Seller wants you to "make me an offer" on their business, and they don't have an asking price and won't give… https://x.com/i/web/status/1804488137051128298 7:14 AM • Jun 22, 2024 6 Retweets 104 Likes Read 11 replies

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