All Episodes
We help Amazon Sellers protect (and save!) their Amazon business.
Featured Episode
Preparing for Black Hat Attacks with Norm Farrar
Season 1, Episode 82 Preparing for Black Hat Attacks with Norm Farrar Black hat attacks are rampant during Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Chris McCabe talks with Norman Farrar about ongoing brand struggles with abusive attacks, what to watch out for and how to prepare...
Category Approval Doesn’t Equal Proof of Authenticity
Season 1, Episode 81 Category Approval Doesn't Equal Proof of Authenticity Invoices previously accepted for ungating are getting rejected by Amazon for proof of authenticity, resulting in a withholding of funds, creating panic among many Amazon sellers. In this...
Suspected IP Complaints
Season 1, Episode 80 Suspected IP Complaints Potential IP infringement has become a hot button topic recently. In this episode Chris and Leah discuss what to do if your account is flagged for a potential IP infringement and how to move forward to fix this...
Too Many Amazon Sellers Don’t Take Safety Complaints Seriously
Season 1, Episode 79 Too Many Amazon Sellers Don't Take Safety Complaints Seriously We are in the thick of Q4 and resolving safety complaints are a high priority for Amazon right now. In this episode, Chris and Leah discuss why you need to take all safety...
Misusing Brand Registry
Season 1, Episode 78 Misusing Brand Registry Did you know brand registry doesn't mean that you get to decide who lists your product on Amazon? We've recently seen an uptick of sellers falsely accusing competitors of counterfeit, resulting in a suspension from...
The Right Way to Dropship
Season 1, Episode 77 The Right Way to Dropship The internet is flooded with bad information when it comes to dropshipping. As a part two of the previous episode, Chris and Leah discuss the right way to dropship and how to write an appeal if you already been...
You Need Better Sourcing
Season 1, Episode 76 You Need Better Sourcing Arbitrage and Dropshipping are becoming outdated on Amazon but sellers are still using these methods, inevitably getting their accounts suspended. In this episode, Chris & Leah discuss why these sellers need...
Insights from the Sell+Scale Summit by Helium 10
Season 1, Episode 75 Insights from the Sell+Scale Summit by Helium 10 At the recent Sell + Scale Summit by Helium 10 there was an abundance of relevant questions regarding brand protection and the ongoing struggle with contacting Amazon's teams. In this...
Poor Decisions will Cost you Money Later
Season 1, Episode 74 Poor Decisions Now Will Cost You Money Later When it comes to selling your business, the earlier you start doing your due-diligence the better. In this episode Chris & Leah spoke with Jamie Davidson of Northbound Group about the...
Don’t Misrepresent your Products
Season 1, Episode 73 Don't Misrepresent your Products Many sellers are adding popular keywords or content, trying to make their listing easier to find on Amazon. But sometimes these additions are a distortion of what the product is and it's uses. In this...
You Need More than a Sales Pitch
Season 1, Episode 72 You Need More than a Sales Pitch Your business's safety needs to be priority number one. That's why when hiring third party services, asking the right questions is key. In this episode Chris and Leah discuss how to vet "experts" and...
What You Need to Know about the Category Listing Report
Season 1, Episode 71 What You Need to Know about the Category Listing Report Category listing reports were once useful tools to check for abusive keywords placed on your listing by black hat vandals. This is no longer the case. In this episode Chris and Leah discuss...
Is Amazon flagging your GS1 UPCs?
Season 1, Episode 70 Is Amazon flagging your GS1 UPCs? Barcodes, GS1 & GTIN exemptions are complicated topics, especially with the conversation constantly being muddled with bad information from online forums. In this Episode Chris & Leah take a deep dive into...
Where is Your Money?
Season 1, Episode 69 Where is Your Money? Do you have money being held by Amazon without any idea on when or if it will be disbursed back to you? In this Episode, Chris & Leah discuss the murky & concerning world of mystery reserves holding Amazon seller's...
Who is the Unblock Team?
Season 1, Episode 68 Who is the Unblock Team? There is apparently a new Amazon team on the block, the obscure unblock team. In this episode Chris and Leah speculate on who they think the unblock team might be and if this means good news for Amazon sellers. Show...
Amazon Mad Libs Their Template Responses
Season 1, Episode 67 Amazon Mad Libs Their Template Responses The Seller Performance teams on Amazon have shown their incompetency and disinterest in solving seller issues time and time again. In this episode Chris and Leah tackle this topic and discuss what needs to...
You’re Responsible for getting Compliance Info from your Suppliers
Season 1, Episode 66 You’re Responsible for getting Compliance Info from your Suppliers We've recently seen an uptick in sellers who's manufacturer is unwilling to give compliance documentation when requested. In this episode Chris & Leah discuss the importance of...
Is it “Black Hat” or is it Fraud?
Season 1, Episode 65 Is it "Black Hat" or is it Fraud? Amazon is suing thousands of Facebook admins for facilitating reviews abuse, an issue that has been ongoing for years. In this episode Chris and Leah discuss the ramifications of these black hat tactics not just...
Off-Amazon Strategy for Driving Amazon Sales
Season 1, Episode 64 Off-Amazon Strategy for Driving Amazon Sales Sometimes the most effective marketing strategy on Amazon is off-Amazon marketing. In this episode Chris and Leah talk with Andrew Maff from BlueTuskr about how to diversify your brand and the...
Don’t Give Amazon More Money than you Need to
Season 1, Episode 63 Don't Give Amazon More Money than you Need to Are you spending more money on Amazon than you need to? In this episode Chris and Leah talk to Yoni from Getida about how to check if your seller account is being overcharged, what to do if you are...
We Need More Emphasis on Product Safety
Season 1, Episode 62 We Need More Emphasis on Product Safety Amazon publicly prides itself on offering the best buyer experience. As a "consumer obsessed" company, why aren't they putting more emphasis on product safety? In this episode Chris and Leah discuss the...
What does Executive Seller Relations do?
Season 1, Episode 61 What does Executive Seller Relations do? Having your issue delegated to Executive Seller Relations for problem resolution can feel like a lost cause. In this episode Chris and Leah debate on the inefficiency of Executive Seller Relations and the...
Amazon Escalations: The Do’s & Don’ts
Season 1, Episode 60 Amazon Escalations: The Do's & Don'ts Spamming Amazon executives with begging & emotional language might feel gratifying in the moment, but it's also more than likely going to keep your appeal unresolved. In this episode Chris and Leah...
Protecting Your Account with the Correct Documentation
Season 1, Episode 59 Protecting Your Account with the Correct Documentation Amazon has been amping up their requirements for supply chain and product information in order to push back on counterfeit products and bad actors. In this episode Chris and Leah go over the...
Supplement Compliance on Amazon
Season 1, Episode 58 Supplement Compliance on Amazon Do you know what's in your supplements? In this episode we spoke with Keith Gregory of Highland Labs about the illusive world of supplements on Amazon, the uncertainty of product authenticity for consumers and why...
Efficiently Managing Advertising on Amazon
Season 1, Episode 57 Efficiently Managing Advertising on Amazon Selling on Amazon is becoming more and more of a pay-to-play endeavor. In this episode we talk with Priyanka from Seller App about how to get the most out of your pay-per-click ads & the rising...
Growth Optimization Using Low Hanging Fruit Strategies
Season 1, Episode 56 Growth Optimization Using Low Hanging Fruit Strategies For brand optimization, go for the low hanging fruit first. In this episode we spoke with Ankita from SellerX about deciphering your pain points and dividing your growth opportunities into...
Taking an Agnostic Approach to Your Online Business
Season 1, Episode 55 Taking an Agnostic Approach to Your Online Business Diversifying your revenue streams is paramount for your Amazon business. In this episode we talk with Justin Coats, a speaker at the recent Seller Velocity Conference, about the necessity of...
Scale Your Brand Series: Creating More Brand Visibility
Season 1, Episode 54 Scale Your Brand Series: Creating More Brand Visibility With cost-per-clicks rising and the over-saturation of ads, it's getting expensive and difficult to become visible on Amazon. In part of the Scale Your Brand Series we spoke with Ritu Java,...
Scale Your Brand Series: Understanding Your Customer Journey
Season 1, Episode 53 Scale Your Brand Series: Understanding Your Customer Journey How do you build your brand off of Amazon? In part of our Scale Your Brand series we talked with Doug Hollinger about why direct to consumer marketing should be an integral part of your...
Scale Your Brand Series: Are You in a Red or Blue Ocean?
Season 1, Episode 52 Scale Your Brand Series: Are You in a Red or Blue Ocean? Is your brand swimming in a red or blue ocean? In part of the Scale your Brand series we talked with Krystel Abi Assi, one of our Seller Velocity speakers, about the perks of entering into...
Scale Your Brand Series: Do You Know who Your Customers Are?
Season 1, Episode 51 Scale Your Brand Series: Do You Know who Your Customers Are? How do you transform your brand audience into a community? Connection. In part of the Scale Your Brand series we spoke with Janelle Page on the significance of discovering exactly who...
Scale Your Brand Series: Bringing External Traffic to Amazon
Season 1, Episode 50 Scale Your Brand Series: Bringing External Traffic to Amazon When it comes to growing your ecommerce business, Helium 10 are experts in the field. In part of our Scale Your Brand series we talk to Carrie Miller about expanding your business to...
Scale Your Brand Series: Are All Your Bases Covered?
Season 1, Episode 49 Scale Your Brand: Are All Your Bases Covered? When it comes to insurance-- do you have all your bases covered? In this part of the Scale Your Brand Series we talk with our Seller Velocity sponsor, Well Insurance, about the importance of protecting...
Scale Your Brand Series: Optimizing Sales and Gaining New Customers
Season 1, Episode 48 Scale Your Brand Series: Optimizing Sales and Gaining New Customers Scaling Your Brand doesn't start with increasing your ad spend. You need to create a strong brand foundation, so you're not just throwing your money away on traffic that doesn't...
Scale Your Brand Series: Amazon Review Strategies
Season 1, Episode 47 Scale Your Brand Series: Amazon Review Strategies with EcomEngine Our Seller Velocity Sponsor— EcomEngine, are experts when it comes to gaining Amazon reviews the right way. The importance of recent vs old reviews cannot be overstated-- recent...
You Can’t Just Change the Product Detail Page
Season 1, Episode 46 You Can't Just Change the Product Detail Page We know it's tempting to update an ASIN to a new version of a product, especially when third party services promote it as a "hack." In this episode Chris & Leah discuss why this seemingly short...
There’s a Right Way to Escalate to Executive Seller Relations
Season 1, Episode 45 There's a Right Way to Escalate to Executive Seller Relations When it comes to escalating your appeal through the ranks of Amazon, persistence is key. In this episode Chris and Leah discuss the best ways to escalate to Executive Seller Relations...
You’re Responsible for Other People’s Behavior
Season 1, Episode 44 You're Responsible for Other People's Behavior We know maintaining documentation on your every move seems tedious, but for those in the Amazon selling & consulting sphere it is vital. In this episode Chris & Leah discuss why keeping...
Who Owns Your Copyright?
Season 1, Episode 43 Who Owns Your Copyright? Unethical Amazon sellers have been targeting their competitors with bogus copyright infringement reports. In this episode Chris & Leah discuss what to do to protect yourself from these black hat attackers & why...
Giving Amazon More Information when you Don’t Have More Information
Season 1, Episode 42 Giving Amazon More Information when you Don't Have More Information Contacting Account Health Service can feel discouraging. Their reps can be elusive about details making it unclear why your account or ASIN was suspended in the first place. In...
Investing in Your Business
Season 1, Episode 41 Investing in Your Business We know that as business owners you have a lot on your plate. Operating a successful business can be a juggling act but in certain situations the most efficient way to get a job done is by outsourcing to a professional....
End of Year Strategic Planning
Season 1, Episode 40 End of Year Strategic Planning Most sellers have come to understand that monitoring metrics and keeping your account healthy is a mandatory starting point when it comes to selling on Amazon, but due to the chaotic holiday season it is not uncommon...
Related Account Suspensions
Season 1, Episode 39 Related Account Suspensions We've seen a ton of related account suspensions this year! Otherwise unproblematic accounts have been shut down over a slight relation to a suspended account. In this episode Chris & Leah discuss the different...
Black Hat Attacks in Q4
Season 1, Episode 38 Black Hat Attacks in Q4 Sabotage is running wild on Amazon, especially during Q4. In this episode Chris McCabe & Leah McHugh discuss different types of black hat attacks and how to prepare yourself before it's too late. Show Notes[00:00:07]...
Brand Registry Issues
Season 1, Episode 37 Brand Registry Issues If you’re a brand owner selling on Amazon then you know that protecting your brand can be a full-time job. In this Episode Chris McCabe & Leah McHugh discuss the complexity of brand registry and the challenges it can...
Amazon Advertising with Destaney Wishon
Season 1, Episode 36 Amazon Advertising with Destaney Wishon Advertising in the Amazon space is more important than ever as it is one of the most fundamental ways to drive white hat traffic to your page. In this Podcast we talk with Destaney Wishon of BetterAMS about...
Q4 Quick Wins with Norm Farrar
Season 1, Episode 35 Q4 Quick Wins with Norm Farrar We all know Q4 is a crazy time of year. It's difficult to decide where to hone in and devote your attention, money or time. In this Episode we speak with Norm Farrar of Private Label Legion about the advantageous...
Amazon’s New Appeal Forms
Season 1, Episode 33 Amazon's New Appeal Forms Amazon has been "simplifying" the appeal process for some policy violations, in order to lighten the caseload for their investigators. Chris and Leah discuss this change, and what sellers need to know before you submit...
Building Your Brand Off of Amazon with Drew Himel
Season 1, Episode 33 Building Your Brand Off of Amazon with Drew Himel Marketing your brand off of Amazon, not only grows your brand, it can also grow your Amazon account. We talk to Drew Himel from Consult PCR about best practices for communicating with your...
Simplifying International Freight with Rael Lowethal from Zee
Season 1, Episode 32 Simplifying International Freight with Rael Lowethal from Zee International logistics can be complicated at the best of times. Add global supply chain disruptions and an increased demand for ecommerce, and you're likely facing delayed shipments...
Managing Expectations in Q4 on Amazon
Season 1, Episode 31 Managing Expectations in Q4 on Amazon As we swiftly head into the deep end of Q4, we're all getting busier. And Amazon isn't exempt from that. But how should you manage things on your end, as Amazon response times get longer and longer? Leah and...
Get Your Brand Omni-channel Ready with Kunal Chopra
Season 1, Episode 30 Get Your Brand Omni-channel Ready with Kunal Chopra 2020 accelerated the adoption of online shopping by as much as 10 years, but successfully expanding into onmi-channel ecommerce takes a lot more than simply listing your products everywhere. In...
Expanding Your Sales Channels – Sell Your Products Wholesale with Amy Wees
Season 1, Episode 29 Expanding Your Sales Channels – Sell Your Products Wholesale with Amy Wees Get your products on the shelves of 1000’s stores all over the USA. You already know who your online consumer is, but who is your B2B retail customer? Get expert tricks and...
Using the Firehose Of Traffic on Amazon To Grow Your Brand
Season 1, Episode 28 Using the Firehose Of Traffic on Amazon To Grow Your Brand with Jason Boyce Optimize everything, relentlessly. The everything store has the shoppers, but it also puts your product next to EVERYTHING. Without a strong brand strategy, it’s easy to...
Driving over $500 million in sales with video- with Theron Harmon
What do ClickFunnels, Purple Mattresses, Squatty Potty and Poo-Pouri have in common? Viral videos by the Harmon Brothers! With over 1.4 BILLION views, Harmon Brothers are masters at creating great marketing videos. Chris speaks to Theron Harmon about the process they use to create entertaining and informative ads that brand and sell.
Advertising Best Practices for Growing Brands
Season 1, Episode 26 Advertising Best Practices for Growing Brands Andrew Waber of Teikametrics joins us to discuss the best practices for advertising your growing brand. We discuss the importance behind key word use and having a solid campaign structure ready to go...
Preventing Returns and Negative Feedback with Sajag Agarwal
Season 1, Episode 25 Preventing Returns and Negative Feedback with Sajag AgarwalThe quality control process can be a black hole. Even with inspections, issues can easily slip through the cracks. We talk to Sajag Agarwal about how to create a quality control process...
Efficiently Growing Your Business with Carlos Alvarez
Season 1, Episode 24 Efficiently Growing Your Business with Carlos AlvarezA lot of Amazon sellers tell us it's all they can do to keep their heads above water. As soon as one problem is resolved, another one pops up. Sound familiar? There are so many things that can...
Listings that sell, and are TOS Compliant
Season 1, Episode 23 Listings that sell, and are TOS CompliantEmma Schermer Tamir, a listing optimization expert, joins us to discuss tips and advice for Amazon Seller's navigating the Amazon space. It can be very easy to pay attention and follow suit of what your...
Variation Warnings
In our experience the ASIN variation policy is one of the least understood areas by Amazon sellers. Unfortunately, the way Amazon words their policy warning ASIN Variation Misuse, leads a lot of sellers to believe that no action is required by them. We discuss the steps that sellers should take to protect their listings and account.
Fake Documentation
We’ve seen it all on Amazon, from fake reviews to faking brand approvals. Recently we’re spotting more sellers using third-party services to provide fake documentation, not realizing that they are committing fraud. Ultimately, Amazon will hold you the Seller responsible for the conduct on your account, regardless of whether it was you or someone faking the documents on your behalf.
No Money, No Products
If you’re flagged for an authenticity investigation and aren’t able to get documentation deemed acceptable by Amazon, you’ll likely find yourself unable to get your inventory out of FBA OR get your funds disbursed. This leaves you stuck, with no product, no cash, and Amazon threatening to dispose of your inventory. Then what?
Category Listing Report
Category Listing Reports are one of the more useful tools available to sellers, and most don’t know what it is! We use these reports to vet cases, identify abuse, all the way through to strengthening plans of action. Sellers should be using these to protect their accounts. BONUS: they can simplify your listing management.
Fool Me Once
Dealing with an account suspension is difficult for most sellers. Even more difficult is getting suspended for the same reason twice. Amazon only gives you so many changes, and that second reinstatement is hard to achieve. How do you prove to Amazon that you’ve REALLY implemented a plan of action to prevent future issues when you already failed to follow through on your previous appeal?
Amazon’s Preferred Payment Provider Program
Working capital issues can shut down your business. As we see the costs of selling on Amazon increase and the speed at which Amazon disburses your funds decrease, it’s more important than ever to have additional funds available. Often the times you need funds the most are the times that you have the least access to them. Plan ahead to make sure your business can stay afloat in an emergency.
Antitrust
We discuss the District of Columbia filing for an anti-trust based lawsuit against Amazon and why we think seller’s aren’t necessarily talking about this. Chris and Leah share what they find the most interesting about this on going case and whether it will spark a reaction in which other state’s follow in the District of Columbia’s footsteps.
Amazon doesn’t want to have a conversation with you
Many sellers confuse the appeal button with an ongoing email thread between them and Amazon. We go over the correct steps during the appeal process so sellers don’t waste attempts and can solve their issue quicker.
Are you dropshipping the wrong way?
Dropshipping is a common business model used among sellers. We go over the best way to use dropshipping as a selling method on Amazon and what to avoid to ensure your account doesn’t become at risk.
Stop Making Excuses
New sellers on Amazon tend to use their newness as an excuse for issues they run into with their account or in hopes of earning some sort of leniency from Amazon. We discuss the correct approach new sellers should be taking rather than using excuses and essentially admitting to being too new to fully understand the correct plan of action in order to reinstate their account and listings.
Abuse Reporting
More and more of the cases we’re working on are due to abuse- where another seller is attacking the account. In these cases, just fixing the listings, or responding with a POA isn’t enough. You need to report the abuse, to hopefully get Amazon to put an end to it (or at least create a paper trail for the next time it happens).
Aggregators
The hot new thing in the Amazon space is Aggregators. About 55, venture-backed aggregators have popped into the Amazon space, looking to buy up Seller accounts. We’re huge advocates of doing your due diligence, and in this episode we’re talking about why that’s so important on both sides of buying and selling Amazon Seller Accounts
Studying Amazon Sellers
Moira Weigel, Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center/ Harvard Law School and Harvard Data and Society researcher, joined us for a far-reaching discussion of technology’s impact on behavior, and in our case, how Amazon’s expanding influence is taking over the lives of so many business owners, globally. She’s looking to talk to sellers about their Amazon experiences, both with their competitors and with Amazon itself. That may mean you! We discussed her writing project in-depth and the various kinds of seller situations she’s already pored over in the course of her work. She’s covering a lot of ground, as we discovered, in this conversation. Looking forward to having her back!
Who is working on your account?
Season 1, Episode 9 Who is working on your account? In this episode, Leah and I cover one of the more worrisome trends in the consulting space. Using the concept of “White labeling” services, a company contracts out the work that you’ve just hired them for, without...
Troubleshooting GTIN Issues
We’ve been fielding UPC questions from Sellers ever since Amazon changed their GTIN policy in 2016. What do you do if Amazon tells you your GTIN has already been used? How do you add a GS1 GTIN to an old listing? What if Amazon won’t recognize your prefix as matching your brand? We spoke to Michelle Covey of GS1 US to get the best troubleshooting steps for these common issues.
What is “Suspected” IP Infringement?
ASINs are getting suspended left and right for “potential” (read: often imaginary) Intellectual property infringement violations, and sellers are searching for answers. You need strategies to defend yourself against this automation and human error combo! Opening cases with Support or sending emails to Seller Performance won’t get you anywhere, unless you enjoy copy and paste generic “responses.” Every kind of seller, both private label and resellers, need to learn up on these to resolve appeals properly. Mistakes cost time, energy, effort, and make you frustrated! We discuss all manner of cases and reinforce the methods for identifying true fixes for this.
Why You Need Liability Insurance
Product liability insurance isn’t just something to think about, or a ”nice to have” if you’re a private label brand owner on Amazon. You need to have it! We spoke with Matt Lovell of WELL Insurance in this episode to go through the main questions and confusion he sees from Amazon sellers pushed to provide copies of their liability coverage by certain dates. Final reminders were recently sent, too, and most dates suggested deadlines in the near future if not already passed. Matt spoke with us about every seller’s best practices and what their next steps should be.
Product Compliance
Season 1, Episode 5 Product ComplianceAmazon finally put measures into place in the past several months and executed the kinds of things you’d expect them to, in order to sure a safe buyer experience. Leah and I have worked on numerous cases with sellers who didn’t...
Account Health Services vs. Seller Performance
In this episode, Leah and I cover the key differences between Amazon’s “Account Health Services” team and the “Seller Performance” team. They may sound like they’d cover the same ground, but if your account or listings get suspended, you quickly understand that they are far from the same thing. We dig into what these teams are there for, who staffs them, and how their work influences (and sometimes undermines) the reinstatement appeal process. We also cover how much you can trust the information they provide, and how to know if it’s accurate.
Why are Sellers Still Committing Review Abuse?
Amazon takes more enforcement actions these days to prevent fake reviews because they face external pressure to do so. In this episode, Leah and I walk through the sources of those policy suspensions, and why we believe sellers think they can get use giveaways, rebates, and other incentives to “game the system.” Old shortcuts to success may be mentioned in groups, classes or videos, but they have a big cost.
Used Sold As New Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means
We receive nearly daily reports from Amazon sellers who have been hit with a listing suspension due to “Used Sold as New” complaints from their buyers. In this episode we delve into the main seller confusion around what Amazon really means by “used sold as new”. Amazon’s misleading jargon often sends sellers down the wrong appeals path.
Seller Psychology: Amazon Teams are Inconsistent
Amazon is inconsistent in its enforcement of policies. Looking at other sellers’ behavior isn’t an accurate measure of what’s allowed, or what isn’t. Seller mindset is an important factor in what determines whether an account is successful, or gets into trouble for unknowingly breaking the rules. We discuss what you need to do to cultivate a winning seller’s mindset.
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