(Part 2) Top products from r/FulfillmentByAmazon

We built our own inventory management system to help us track productivity.

• We track productivity by the team since we want them to function as a team. We have 12-15 on the inventory team which includes warehouse staff and inventory receivers. We just take the total number items sent to Amazon for the week (since we're almost 100% FBA) and divide by the number hours worked on that team.
  
  • You can do this without fancy software since you can get a count of how many items are shipped to Amazon from shipping plan and time tracking software will tell you hours.
    
• As far as motivation, this year we've started doing a book study with our team leaders on The 4 Disciplines of Execution and started implementing it and we have seen huge gains (like 30-50%) in productivity. It has also allowed our team to focus and our staff making the productivity steps much more efficient. It was one of the best things we've done as a company since I've started as an entrepreneur in 2005. I can't recommend it highly enough.
  
• As far as money, I have found that money is not a good long term motivator. It does motivate for a short time, but it's like drugs, you need more and more of it overtime to get the same effect. Instead of having goals and tracking productivity has really helped us much more.
  
  • We have found that you do need to be competitive with your pay in order to attract the candidates with the right skills, but doubling their pay is not going to get double their work as far as warehouse staff.
    
  • We do give out $30 gift cards when the team accomplishes their goals for the quarter.
    
  • We do also have have a team cash bonus for reaching growth goals, but nothing major, just a couple of hundred dollars for the year if we grow.
    
  • We also use the book Traction to create a 2 page strategic plan that details what our core values are and who fits those.
    
    • This has also allowed our team to know what the company focus is and what is expected of them.
      
    • This has allowed us to hire slow and fire fast to find the right people faster.

This is a very good example but what if the example was you buy Sony controllers from a distributor and you sell on the listing. You buy 50K of controllers to sell on the listing and you are then blocked from the listing. Your product is legit but Amazon decides that since you are selling at 39.99 and they are selling at 44.99 they don't want you on the listing so they gate you. Doesn't that also seem like BS? We have had similar situations happen to us where we are then stuck with inventory. We don't even get notifications when we are gated anymore. I of course have pivoted and am doing more of our own branded items but that seems like BS. Take this listing for example. We sent 100 units into FBA and sold them all good at 60 USD. We went back and purchased 200 more units to send in and we got gated. The reason being "Their had been reports of counterfeits". Did we have a single return on 100 sales? Nope. Were our items legit with invoices provided from distributors? Yes. So why were we gated? Because we undercut Amazon pricing. This is where the issue is. Amazon is choosing who to gate not because of authenticity issues but because of undercutting their price on items they also sell. This is just anti competitive. My example is different than yours but I do understand where you are coming from in your situation.

Check out the book Arbitrage by Chris Green, and Online Arbitrage - both are good sources for introductions. Advanced techniques don't have quite as strong a centralized source.

Arbitrage

Online Arbitrage

Don't know if it's on audible but the last book that inspired me is this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1885167776/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1885167776&linkCode=as2&tag=fba457-20&linkId=AFSFTP4WYCQDLCFZ

http://www.amazon.com/dp/149379163X


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009B3UYEO <---- Kind of Scnapower ad Heavy


Both are reliant starter books and I own both.

Probably a variation. You can make a listing with different variations, depending on the category, such as quantity, or size, or color. All the variations share the same "parent" and share all the reviews (which can get confusing). There still should be something different about each variation, and on each page you can click the other varations.

For example this tea company has 105 flavors all on one page as variations... https://www.amazon.com/Davidsons-Tea-Organic-African-16-Ounce/dp/B000SATIG4

You don't need a label printer, you can buy labels like these (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004Z5SM/) and print them with a regular printer (you should try to get a laser printer though, Amazon prefers laser printers because inkjet smudge and fade over time

Small, sealed, and with bad reviews.

Amazon does not care for your plant.

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200339730
  
  Ever wondered how they FBA tuscan milk?
  
  They have some great reviews on these ;-)

https://www.amazon.com/Athletics-Portable-Premium-Paddles-Compact/dp/B07V3N1G38/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=ping+pong+set+a%2B+athletics&qid=1566183802&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Here's my listing. I actually do have a bag. But from what your saying, I should probably make the bag more visible. I should also have better descriptions. If you look at one of the reviews, I think the reviewer included a pic of the bag

I'm very new to FBA -- preparing my first shipment now.

I bought a wooden train whistle (on clearance) at CVS; it sells for about $6 on Amazon and I got the last two for $1.25.

They don't have a UPC. They are similar in appearance (but not identical -- the graphics are slightly different) to this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000067PWV


Can I list mine with that listing, even though there are some minuscule differences? (I really don't want to have to take pictures of it.)

Here's the item

I am also open to an offer from someone who can sell in that category.

check this : https://www.amazon.com/Autopsy-America-Nation-Seph-Lawless/dp/1908211490

Start with this book and you’ll be ahead of the game. Small Time Operator.

Also familiarize yourself with the IRS publications for starting a business.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/starting-a-business


https://www.amazon.com/Small-Time-Operator-Business-Yourbooks/dp/158979799X

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1566766885?condition=used

26 available: 1 FBA seller,
343,759 in Books

http://www.amazon.com/dp/097899972X

same general rank in books, around 400,000

How about this one?

If you want to remove the labels quickly and cleanly, run a heat gun over them for a few seconds and they peel right off. I usually either remove any sticker with a bar code or redact with a big-ass Magnum Sharpie. https://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Magnum-Permanent-Marker-1-Count/dp/B0005KC7A6

There's a few on this page (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_15?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=fisher+price+phone+toy&sprefix=fisher+price+ph%2Ctoys-and-games%2C147) that could be the one that he was talking about. All of the low, low prices are used - collectible, but it was probably this one (based on # of sellers) with new starting at $12.50: https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Brilliant-Basics-Chatter-Telephone/dp/B00000IZOR/ref=sr_1_5?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1468980668&sr=1-5&keywords=fisher+price+phone+toy

Hope this is the right place. I am not a newb per se I’ve been playing the retail arbitrage game for last 18 months, but decided to try flipping books which I am most definitely a newb at so thought I would throw this here. I just sent in 20 books and was looking for feedback on pricing. I won’t list all 20 here, this is just a sample of three but I think fairly representative.

Total Fishing Manual, paid $1, I’m listing for $15. Rank is 85K and lowest FBA price is $10.

Practical Research Methods, paid $2, I’m listing at $100. Book is 743K and lowest FBA is $199. New price is listed at 288. I am too low aren’t I?

Setting us Free, paid $1.5, I’m listing at $16.25. Rank is 1.9mm and lowest FBA is $80, but non FBA is $16.25 with free shipping.

I guess I will toss in a bonus one because I have no clue what to do with this. Paid $.50. Lowest price is $214. I was thinking of listing at $40. I saw it for sale online at Powell’s for that much. Figure they know what they are doing.

I just use this stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Shipping-Packaging-6-Rolls-3850-6/dp/B000087KUA/ref=sr_1_13?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1482992689&sr=1-13&keywords=packing+tape

$15 for 6 rolls and its very quiet. Its hardly more expensive. I also dont use a low-noise tape gun because I HATE tape guns. Theyre bulky, difficult to use, slow, and cutting the tape at the end is just difficult. I use this and I'd bet I can tape a box faster than anyone else on this subreddit:
https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Packaging-Tape-Dispenser-DP300-RD/dp/B0000AQOJB/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1482992775&sr=8-9&keywords=packing+tape+dispenser

Give it a try, you wont regret it. I dont understand why anyone uses those silly tape guns