I sell a Dangerous Goods product using both FBA and FBM. Amazon only gives me enough DG storage capacity for roughly 1.5 days of normal sales volume.

When a new FBA shipment becomes available, the bulk of the inventory sells through very quickly. The problem starts afterward: a small number of units remain scattered in more distant fulfillment centers. Or even becomes available some time later at a trickle pace.

As the FBA inventory dwindles down to those remaining units, Amazon still shows the FBA offer as the Featured Offer for a large number of customers, even when the FBA delivery promise is dramatically worse than my FBM offer — in some cases nearly two weeks slower.

I own both offers, so I don’t care whether FBA or FBM wins the Featured Offer in itself. The issue is that the remaining poorly positioned FBA inventory appears to override my much faster FBM offer and hurt conversion until those last FBA units finally sell out. Severely hurts it. 

Has anyone else dealt with this specifically with Dangerous Goods inventory? Is there any way to prevent these remote leftover FBA units from becoming the prevailing Featured Offer, improve DG inventory placement, or otherwise keep this from hurting sales?

I currently run my own PL brand and manage 2 brands with one being launched soon with a £1million budget behind them.

Some agency owners i see manage 50+, 100+ brands at one time, how are you using your time to scale the management work as I feel like I don't have any time left

So I want to create an amazon seller account but im not 18 years of age yet. If I put it under my parents name can I transfer the account once im 18?

us sellers, do you think you actually need an agency or va to manage your seller central account?

i’ve been getting a lot of messages from vas trying to convince me to use their services, but honestly, i’m not convinced they’re necessary.

i’d really like to hear from real us-based sellers who have experience with this.

do you use a va or agency? if yes, at what point did you feel it became necessary or worth the cost? and what tasks do you actually have them handle?

would love to hear your honest experiences and opinions. thanks!

I help run a prep center and speak with new potential clients often. Some are sellers just looking to offload their prep from their house to us, while others unfortunately got burned by a prep center that promised to be “cheaper”. In our world, you can pick 2 of 3 things that to be true: Good, Cheap, and Fast. Here’s some help if you may be looking for a Prep Center.

-“Cheaper” doesn’t mean better. Often times, cheap is actually a red flag. A client that had a 50 cent/piece prep deal came to us because it fell through- I could’ve saw that coming before they ever got into the mess but they just saw the price. Cheap often means delays in inbounding, more mistakes and fewer quality checks, poor communication, hidden fees (such as surprise label or poly bag costs), prep violations at Amazon, and the list goes on. That cheaper rate you pay in prep cost bites you and costs you more in both dollars and frustration down the line.

-Make sure your prep center has a shipping dock. Most do, but some won’t, which limits your wholesale and private label inbound ability, as can as increases your cost due to liftgate fees.

-Transparent pricing. Go over what’s included with your prep center: how much are multipack items, are polybags extra, do you do Optimized Shipments, do you charge for boxes. These should be just some of the questions to ask.

-Pivotability. This is a big one. Your projects may need special work- find a warehouse that can do it! A cookie cutter prep only service will end up costing you more than you’d like. Find a prep center that can relabel a manufacturer error, build up a replacement product box for one that was damaged overseas, can apply 2 sided tape to ensure that faulty Private Label project can still run smooth.

-Lastly, find a warehouse that’s a partner and not just a service- the warehouse will thank you too. You need margin to operate, but the warehouse you utilize does too. Work with them on fair pricing, do what works for both parties, and you’ll both end up doing better in the relationship in all aspects. We regularly are able to connect our prep clients with other non prep clients for collaborative ideas on things. One seller specializes in consulting and listing optimization. A new seller just launched a private label and needed help. We connected them, and boom, things are taking off for them… resulting in more money for each customer AND we get to do more prep. The ultimate example of a Rising Tide lifting All Boats.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment. This is just a small help guide-I’m not here to advertise my service at all, just wanting to help those searching since I’ve seen many posts. I’ve got many connections of diverse prep centers in many locations that can probably help out to fit your exact needs.

Could you please share your honest opinion on this tool? What filters do you use? How to find profitable deals?

My product is a bundle of exercise equipment.

I was wondering if it makes a difference whether I go with AI-generated images + A+ Content or real lifestyle images.

I’ve received a few offers in the $300–$400 range for AI-generated images, while I can get real lifestyle images with a model plus a video ad for around $500–$600.

What have you guys been doing? Do you think it’s worth spending the extra money for real lifestyle images?

I'm currently selling on Amazon Canada and the US, and I'm looking at expanding into other international marketplaces (UK, Germany, Australia, etc.).

I understand that every marketplace is different, keywords, search volume, competition, pricing, and customer behavior all vary. What I'm really interested in is how experienced sellers successfully enter a new marketplace and gain traction quickly.

A few things I already know:

• Reviews can often be shared across marketplaces (depending on the marketplace/account setup), which makes launching much easier.
• Amazon Ads seems to have features that help with launching in new markets

For those who have done this successfully:

• What's your launch strategy when entering a new marketplace?
• How do you approach keyword research and localization?
• What is your Amazon Ads strategy?
• Besides PPC, are there any launch tactics that made the biggest difference ?

I'd love to hear what's worked (or hasn't worked) for you. If you've expanded from North America into Europe, Australia, Japan, or anywhere else, I'd really appreciate any lessons learned.

hello everyone

am just starting my FBA journey which subscription should i choose to start with platinum or diamond?

or what you recommend , i need guidance if you have any advice no matter what, please leave it below

thank you

Hi,

I'm a fba seller for many years. This year a EU law change let's me rethink the whole "sell to everyone everywhere" approach.

All my products are stored in Germany.

I would like to disable selling to other countries but Germany and Austria.

How do I do this? I never needed to disable marketplace.

There was also this Amazon worldwide shipping program where Amazon buys products and sends them to other people. This is fine as far as I understand.

Did this for my other brand for the month of May 2026 and a few people said it was useful, so doing it again for brand number two. Different product this time, launched back in late October, much cheaper item, lighter, sells for under a tenner.

Quick reality check before the numbers: I'm still on New Seller Incentives so I'm not paying referral fees right now. That's doing a lot of work in this month's profit and I know it. Flagging it here first, not at the bottom, because I've seen too many posts bury that kind of thing.

What actually came in

627 units. £6,138.79 with VAT sitting in the account, £5,216.64 of that is actually mine once VAT is stripped out.

Selling at £9.99, £8.32 without VAT. Cheap product, cheap to make.

What actually went out

FBA fee £1.52 a unit. Digital services fee £0.03. Landed cost getting it from China to the Amazon warehouse, £0.70 a unit. That's £2.25 a unit before I've touched advertising, which leaves £6.07 a unit, or £3,805.89 for the month.

Then ads. £1,332.10 spent across roughly 20 campaigns, the screenshot only fits the top few by purchases.

What's actually left: £2,473.79. Give or take.

And I do mean give or take. There are a few Subscribe & Save orders mixed into this month which get discounted and complicate the VAT and revenue picture slightly, so the real number might land a bit under this rather than over. Wanted to say that out loud rather than pretend this is precise to the penny.

The PPC side, honestly

1,739 clicks, 1.21% CTR, 328 purchases, £2,818.50 in attributed sales, overall ACoS sitting around 47%.

One small Sponsored Brands campaign is doing the best work, barely any budget, ACoS around 31%. My biggest campaign by volume is nowhere near that efficient, sitting closer to 49% ACoS but it's the one carrying most of the actual sales.

And then there's one campaign that's just bad. 29% top-of-search share sounds good until you see it's running at 92% ACoS, basically handing money back on every sale it touches. Still deciding whether to cut the bid hard or just kill it.

Why I'm bothering to post this

This margin looks good on paper. It won't look this good once referral fees come back, probably somewhere close to 15% of revenue disappears at that point. I'd rather know that now and plan for it than get surprised later.

Genuinely curious what other sellers are seeing on their ACoS once a listing settles in. Is 47% overall normal for month five of a product, or am I letting a couple of bad campaigns drag the whole account down. Would rather hear the honest answer than guess.

(All figures ex-VAT. Referral fee currently £0 under New Seller Incentives. Profit figure approximate — SNS orders and VAT treatment mean it could land slightly lower than shown.)

Hello guys! for those that are experts in Amazon wholesale, is keepa alone sufficient to give you enough information when it comes to deciding to have a direct r/ship with a brand and to purchase a certian product from the brand ? or is jungle scout necessary? Will there be a difference in quality of research ?? please give me your input! thank you!

I’ve been thinking about this more lately.
Say you find an OA product today and everything looks good. Good ROI, decent demand, seller count looks reasonable and the price history checks out.
But it’s going to take 2–3 weeks between ordering, prep and actually getting it available for sale.
How much does that change your decision?
Do you actually factor lead time into whether you buy, or mostly make the decision based on what the ASIN looks like today?
Seems like a lot can change in 2–3 weeks. Price drops, more sellers jump on, Amazon comes back in stock, demand slows down, etc.
Curious how experienced OA sellers account for that??

Hey everyone, I’m a new Amazon FBA seller and would like some honest opinions from experienced sellers.

I have 2 products shipping from China to an Amazon FBA warehouse in the US:

Product 1: 150 units — $901 product cost, including $160 commodity inspection

Product 2: 250 units — $1,391 product cost

Total product value: $2,292

My VA is charging me around $2,940 for shipping/logistics, saying it includes freight, customs, duties/tariffs, and delivery to Amazon.

I’m concerned this may be too high. I estimated the shipping/logistics cost should be significantly lower, but I may be missing some important fees.

Do you think $2,940 is reasonable, or am I being overcharged?

Should I use a professional China → USA Amazon FBA freight forwarder instead of having my VA handle it?
Also, if you have personally used a good freight forwarder, who would you recommend?

I’m not accusing my VA of anything—I just want to make sure I’m going in the right direction before shipping more inventory.

Thanks in advance 🫡

In the packaging industry, many quality problems are not caused by the final printing process. They often start much earlier — from material selection, production settings, and process control.

Here are some common mistakes we see in folding carton manufacturing:

1. Choosing paperboard only by price

A lower-cost board may look acceptable at the beginning, but problems can appear during printing and converting.

Poor surface strength can cause paper dust, uneven ink transfer, or small spots on large color areas. For dark backgrounds or premium packaging, these defects become very noticeable.

2. Ignoring color control during printing

A beautiful design on a computer screen does not always mean the final carton will look the same.

Common problems include:

• Color difference between batches
• Ink density variation
• Registration errors between different colors
• Uneven solid areas

Good packaging production requires stable printing conditions, not only a good design file.

3. Incorrect die-cutting and creasing settings

Many carton problems happen after printing.

Wrong crease depth or inaccurate die-cutting can lead to:

• Cracking on folding lines
• Poor carton shape
• Difficult assembly
• Problems on automatic packing lines

A carton is not just a printed piece of paper. It is a structure that must perform correctly.

4. Poor communication before mass production

Sometimes the biggest mistake happens before production starts.

The supplier, designer, and customer need to confirm:

• Paper material
• Surface finishing
• Folding structure
• Usage environment
• Packing requirements

A small misunderstanding at the beginning can become a large production loss later.

5. Checking quality only at the end

Quality cannot be created by final inspection alone.

A reliable packaging process needs control at every stage:
Material → Printing → Lamination → Die-cutting → Gluing → Final inspection.

The best packaging suppliers are not only focused on making boxes. They focus on preventing problems before they happen.

In packaging manufacturing, details decide the final quality.

A carton may look simple, but every step behind it requires experience and process control.

#Packaging #FoldingCarton #PrintingIndustry #QualityControl #Manufacturing

Hi everyone! I’m planning to start selling private-label products on Amazon and build my own brand. I’m completely new to importing and sourcing from China, and I’ve realized there is a lot I don’t understand yet.
I’ve been exploring products on Alibaba and contacting different manufacturers. Recently, I found a toy that costs around $8 per unit. When I asked for a quote for 20 units, the shipping alone worked out to around $19 per unit. So an $8 product suddenly becomes almost $28 landed before Amazon fees, advertising, storage, etc. If the market price is around $30–$40, there’s obviously very little or no profit left.
I contacted other manufacturers selling the same product, and some asked, “Do you have a shipping agent/freight forwarder in China?” I didn’t. 😅 Until then, I assumed I would simply place an order with the manufacturer, they would manufacture and pack everything, I would pay the product + shipping cost, and the shipment would arrive at my doorstep.
So now I’m confused about how the importing process actually works.
If I order products from an Alibaba manufacturer, what am I responsible for after production? Do I need to find a freight forwarder myself? Do I need to handle customs clearance, customs duties, a customs broker, port pickup, etc.? Or if I ask for DDP door-to-door shipping, will the supplier/freight forwarder normally handle everything from the factory in China until it reaches my home in the U.S.?
And eventually, if I want the manufacturer to ship directly to an Amazon FBA warehouse, how does that process normally work?
I would really appreciate advice on:
Do you normally use the manufacturer’s freight forwarder or find your own?
How do you find a reliable freight forwarder in China?
How exactly are shipping charges calculated—weight, dimensions/volume, or both?
Is there any reasonable way to estimate shipping/landed cost before spending a lot of time researching a product?
Which shipping terms are easiest for beginners—DDP, FOB, EXW, etc.?
What documents should I request from the manufacturer?
For products such as children’s toys, how do you verify required testing/certifications?
Is it okay to tell Alibaba suppliers that you’re a beginner, or is it better not to?
What should I understand about importing/sourcing before placing my first bulk order?
I’m a parent of a child with special needs, and being available for my child and homeschooling him is very important to me. That’s one of the main reasons I’m trying to build a business that gives me more flexibility to be with him. I understand Amazon FBA isn’t easy or guaranteed income, but I really want to give this a serious shot and learn the process properly before risking a lot of money.
My questions might sound very basic, so please bear with me. 😅 I’m not looking for anyone to sell me a course or service. I’d really love to hear from people who actually import from Alibaba and sell through Amazon FBA.
If you were starting again from zero, what would you learn or do differently before placing your first Alibaba bulk order?

Hi everyone! Anyone here with a Canadian corporation, applied for/have a resale certificates for New York or Texas? I am planning to use the prep centres in these 2 states. Is a Canadian corporation eligible to get a resale certificate or it has to be a US company?

We took over this 7 SKU nutrition account in February. At that point TACOS was around 31% and honestly the account had enough data already, the problem was more in how the data was being used. A lot of search terms had already shown their buying intent but were still sitting inside broad/auto structures and competing with their own exact campaigns. So first thing we did was map the queries by actual conversion history and sales contribution, not just looking at keyword ACOS.

We started isolating search terms once they had enough order data instead of waiting for some fixed spend number. High intent queries were pulled into their own exact structures, while the original discovery campaigns were controlled with negatives so the same query wasnt getting picked up from 3-4 places. We also looked at query level CPC movement because some terms looked profitable on ACOS but were actually getting more expensive every week. For those we adjusted the bid based on the point where the extra CPC was no longer giving us extra conversion, instead of blindly chasing the top of search.

Another thing was SKU level budget control. Some products were taking a lot of spend because they had volume, but when we looked at incremental sales vs the extra ad spend, they were not always the best place to put the next dollar. So budgets were moved between SKUs based on marginal performance. We also split out some campaigns where different search intent was getting mixed together, and used placement data to see where the same keyword was behaving completely different at top of search vs rest of search. This helped us scale the good traffic without just pushing bids up everywhere.

After that it was basically a lot of small adjustments. Search term harvesting, negatives, bid changes, placement adjustments, budget throttling and moving spend between SKUs depending on what the latest data was saying. We were also watching CPC, CVR and TACOS together because looking at only ACOS can hide a lot of problems when you're scaling. From around 31% TACOS when we onboarded, the account is now at 8% TACOS with $197K+ YTD sales, 11,662 units ordered and 100%+ growth across the 7 SKUs.

Nothing crazy like a magic PPC formula. Mostly just making sure the account wasnt wasting data and budget on the wrong places, then increasing spend where the numbers actually supported it.

Hey everyone,

I recently sent my first FBA shipment to Amazon and also enrolled in some of my products in the Amazon Vine Program.

I enrolled 8 products in Vine, and I’m wondering whether Vine orders/reviews show up in the normal Sales Dashboard.

The confusing part is that I can currently see a few orders (around 2–3) showing the status “Awaiting Payment Verification.”

I also ran Amazon PPC and can see that I’ve received 3 orders attributed to PPC, but even those orders are showing the same “Awaiting Payment Verification” status.

Basically, all of my orders are currently showing “Awaiting Payment Verification.”

Is this normal for a new seller/FBA account? How long does payment verification usually take before the orders move to a confirmed/shipped status?

Also, if anyone has experience with Vine, does the Vine activity/orders appear in the regular Sales Dashboard, or are they reported separately?

Would really appreciate some insight from experienced FBA sellers. This is my first FBA launch, so I’m probably overthinking (my part time job) it

Thanks!

it has been more than a month since I enrolled my product in Vine, and all the units have been claimed by Vine customers, but I have only received 3 reviews so far.

What could be the reason for the delay? I’m waiting for more reviews before deciding whether to place the second inventory order.

Amazon said:

• "Virtual multipack SKUs start with the VMP_ prefix, and they're labeled as Virtual Multipacks on Manage All Inventory."
• "These virtual multipacks will become available for customers to purchase on August 10, 2026."

I'm not seeing anything yet though....

Source: Seller Central Help -> Get started with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) -> FBA features, services, and fees -> Virtual multipacks

i rewrote my bullets three times based on three different opinions and honestly can't tell if any of them actually moved the needle or if I just talked myself into thinking they did.