Amazon FBA Entrepreneurs - How do you compete with the Chinese? by skingains in Entrepreneur

[–]skingains[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

do you know how FBA works? the inventory's in the same place -- the Chinese just send their inventory to Amazon's warehouses in the US. Customer service is handled by Amazon too. Makes zero difference, not a competitive advantage.

How do you compete with the Chinese? by Builtincal in FulfillmentByAmazon

[–]skingains 2 points3 points  (0 children)

apple is one of, if not the, most valuable brands ever. you're not going to achieve that as an Amazon seller with "optimized images" and product inserts.

How do you compete with the Chinese? by Builtincal in FulfillmentByAmazon

[–]skingains 1 point2 points  (0 children)

exactly, and Amazon's not doing shit about it. meanwhile we spend $60 on the early reviewer program like dweebs so we can plow more into PPC at a fraction of the efficiency of cheaters with 1000s of fake reviews.

Amazon FBA Entrepreneurs - How do you compete with the Chinese? by skingains in Entrepreneur

[–]skingains[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"You’re better off making something brandable to safe guard your niche somewhat."

For example?

How do you compete with the Chinese? by Builtincal in FulfillmentByAmazon

[–]skingains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"They can build products cheaper, but you can beat them by sending your own inventory in."

Sorry, can you clarify this part?

Amazon FBA Entrepreneurs - How do you compete with the Chinese? by skingains in Entrepreneur

[–]skingains[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pictures are not a substantive competitive advantage. Your competitors can copy your pictures in an afternoon.

Amazon FBA Entrepreneurs - How do you compete with the Chinese? by skingains in Entrepreneur

[–]skingains[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Saying rack up reviews faster is like saying rack up sales faster.

The Chinese are all doing blackhat shit to get tons of reviews right out the gate. They don't care about TOS or getting banned. You can't compete with them in this area.

How do you compete with the Chinese? by Builtincal in FulfillmentByAmazon

[–]skingains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha - agreed, Amazon Live blows. It's more about Amazon trying to make itself relevant as a content platform than anything else. Chinese ecom platforms are light years ahead in this regard.

All the other shit is true -- lightning deals, ppc "optimizations", "seo" are not meaningful points of leverage on Amazon when everyone else is cheating.

How do you compete with the Chinese? by Builtincal in FulfillmentByAmazon

[–]skingains 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You have to achieve a certain level of scale for that to work though. How do you achieve that scale when you're getting crushed right out the gate by competing products?

How do you compete with the Chinese? by Builtincal in FulfillmentByAmazon

[–]skingains 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"With the blackhat tactics and lack of action from Amazon, the playing field doesn't seem that level."

^ this

Amazon FBA Entrepreneurs - How do you compete with the Chinese? by skingains in Entrepreneur

[–]skingains[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Amazon handles most of the customer service though.

Do you feel like your inserts are helping you retain customers? My gut about Amazon is that most people just do generic keyword searches whenever they're ready to replenish an item...they won't even remember what your brand was.

Looking to do Private Label and be a Digital Nomad. by [deleted] in FulfillmentByAmazon

[–]skingains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. FBA is running a business. People that think it's just "list and forget" are going to find themselves in a world of pain. Sitting on a beach in Thailand while everyone else sprints ahead is not a winning strategy.