TAS 307 : Ask Scott Session #93 - Inventory Money - Defective Products - Bundles - RA to PL Seller

Establishing and running a successful eCommerce business is a challenge for anyone - no matter how experienced or talented you are. There are so many blind spots and unknowns, it’s helpful to have some experienced advice going in. That’s what the Friday “Ask Scott” episodes are about - Scott’s answers to YOUR questions. You’ll hear him deal with all kinds of issues - from getting started to pivoting into bigger and better ideas outside of Amazon. You’ve got to hear this one, it’s got some great questions and good answers. Cash flow for a new eCommerce business: How do you do it well? Getting started with private label sales is not an easy thing, especially if cash is tight. But even if you have a lump of cash to start with you have to be able to stimulate sales in a way that keeps your cash flow consistent. If you can’t do that you’re going to run into all kinds of problems keeping inventory available, which in turn causes your search engine rankings to be inconsistent. If you want to hear Scott’s advice about managing cash flow, including some cool software or app ideas, be sure you take the time to listen. I got damaged custom merchandise from my supplier, should I return it? A listener called in to ask a very interesting question on this episode. He received some customized products from his supplier but they are damaged. He’s not typically shy about returning defective or damaged products but in this case, since they have his logo on them, he’s concerned about returning them. Why? Because he can envision the supplier fixing them, then selling them on Amazon themselves, bringing disrepute to his brand. What can he do? Find out how Scott suggests he avoid that possibility, on this episode. How to optimize a product bundle effectively. You’ve heard Scott talk a lot about creating product bundles to build a second listing on Amazon that can generate cash flow. There are all kinds of benefits to it, including the ability to rank for a different set of keywords than your original product. But that won’t happen if you don’t optimize the bundle listing well. On this episode, Scott answers a question about bundling complementary products and optimizing that new listing, and there are all kinds of tips he gives to help you do it right. You’ll want to hear this one. What are the best ways to move from retail arbitrage into private label sales? If you’ve ever sold products using the retail arbitrage model you know that it’s not a model that you can scale very well, simply because your product supply is inconsistent. You can’t expect to build a business on somebody else’s brand. So how can you make the switch from retail arb to private label sales? A caller asks for Scott’s advice about that very thing on this episode and Scott gives 3 free resources he can tap into to teach him the step by step process to get it done. Are you interested? You can use the same free resources too, so be sure you listen to find out what they are. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:40] What does it mean to think in terms of “abundance?” [9:59] QUESTION ONE: How did you handle the issue of cash investment in your business and ongoing cash flow? [18:15] QUESTION TWO: What would you do if you received customized merchandise from your vendor that’s damaged? Would you send it back? [23:00] QUESTION THREE: Two complementary products that I’m considering bundling - how would you optimize the listing (bullets, etc.) [28:31] QUESTION FOUR: I’m thinking of moving from retail arb to private label sales. What is my best approach? RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.The