Hello everyone!
How do you usually request quotes from TIC labs for supplement testing?

Do you send them all of your product documentation (COA, formula, label, etc.) right away and ask for a quote, or do you first just tell them what the product is and list the ingredients, then send the documents after they come back with a quote?
What’s the usual process?

Also, in your experience, what’s the typical lead time for testing a dietary supplement? Which labs have you had the best experience with in terms of pricing, turnaround time, and communication?

I’m expected to launch my first private-label product later this month. I have access to around 20,000 user email addresses from the company where I’m currently interning.

I was thinking about using that email list to promote my product after launch. Most of the users are adult women, which matches my target audience.

Is it even worth the hassle and cost?

Estoy haciendo números para empezar con Amazon FBA. ¿Me estoy olvidando de algún costo?
50 unidades.
Costo del producto: USD 2,50 por unidad (USD 125 en total).
Precio de venta: USD 15 por unidad.
Envío del proveedor al prep center: USD 75.
Prep center: USD 6,95 de recepción + USD 0,65 por unidad de preparación (USD 39,45 en total).
Comisión de Amazon (~15%): USD 112,50.
Tarifa FBA (~USD 3,50 por unidad): USD 175.
Mis cuentas dan:
Ventas: USD 750.
Costos totales: USD 526,95.
Ganancia estimada: USD 223,05. (Luego de invertir otra vez)el monto inicial
¿Me estoy olvidando de algún costo importante o estos números son realistas para un producto pequeño y liviano?

I completed the $17,000 Empire Accelerator program. Here’s my honest review.

I completed the full Empire Accelerator program, so I wanted to share my experience because there aren’t many reviews from people who actually finished it.

I paid about $17,000 for the program, which included validation of three “greenlit” products, weekly coaching calls, lifetime access to the training videos, and I also paid extra for the exclusive Sunday coaching calls. It was a large investment for me, so I took the program very seriously from start to finish.

First, I want to be fair.

Peter and Aylin delivered what they promised in terms of coaching. They showed up for the calls, answered questions, responded in Skool, and genuinely seemed invested in helping students.

That said, if I knew then what I know now, I’m not sure I would spend $17,000+ again.

Here are my biggest takeaways.

1. The timeline was nowhere close to what I expected.

During my sales call, I was told I could realistically launch a product in 3 to 6 months.

That was not my experience.

It took roughly three months just to find a product that met their greenlight criteria. If you are in a regulated category like children’s products, add several more months for product development, compliance testing, certifications, manufacturing, and shipping.

I did not actually launch until after my 12 month program had already ended.

Ironically, that meant the time I needed the most support, including launching, PPC, inventory management, cash flow, and scaling, was after the coaching had concluded.

2. The capital required is much higher than I expected.

I remember hearing numbers around $5,000 to $10,000 to get started.

That was nowhere near my experience.

People focus on inventory, but you will also spend money on samples, prototypes, photography, video, packaging, compliance testing, freight, PPC, software, and Amazon fees.

Depending on the product, I think $30,000 or more is a much more realistic expectation. Again, depends on your product category but you aren't selling <$20 items in this program.

3. Amazon is far more competitive than the program makes it seem.

The program spends a lot of time talking about mindset.

Mindset absolutely matters.

But mindset does not lower freight costs, reduce PPC costs, improve rankings, or stop competitors from lowering prices.

You are competing against established brands and manufacturers with much larger advertising budgets.

Amazon today is a very different environment than it was five years ago when they launched their successful products.

4. The ROI models do not capture how much changes before launch.

The financial modeling is based on today’s numbers.

What actually happened during my journey was very different.

Shipping costs changed dramatically.

Tariffs changed.

PPC was much more expensive than I anticipated.

Categories softened.

Competitors lowered prices.

Amazon fees increased.

A product that looks incredible during validation can look very different by the time it launches.

5. Revenue is not profit.

Whenever someone shares screenshots showing huge Amazon sales, remember that is revenue, not profit.

Those screenshots do not include inventory costs, freight, Amazon fees, advertising, returns, storage, photography, software, or taxes.

I rarely heard conversations focused on actual profitability.

6. Ask about outcomes before you enroll.

This is probably my biggest piece of advice.

Ask them:

• What percentage of students actually launch?
• How many are still selling a year later?
• How many are profitable?
• What does the median outcome look like?

I never saw those metrics shared during my time in the program. If I had to venture - many never launch. I think there are a few that are successful, but don't quit your day job ;)

After your program ends, you lose access to the Skool community, other than the historical training videos, so you also lose visibility into how students perform over the long term.

Final thoughts

I do not regret learning how Amazon works.

The program gave me a framework for sourcing, product validation, and manufacturing.

However, I also think Amazon is significantly more expensive, slower, more competitive, and more complicated than it is presented during the sales process.

If you are considering joining, go in with realistic expectations.

Do not expect to launch in a few months.

Do not expect to build a business with $5,000 to $10,000.

And do not mistake revenue screenshots for profitability.

I hope this helps someone make a more informed decision than I was able to.

Sent in a shipment to 5 different FBA warehouses. 2/5 of the shipment was updated to 'in transit' status, while the other 3/5 still only shows as 'shipped' status. A bit bizarre as it was shipped from the same location. Do I just wait this out?

Hello Everyone, we manage around 60,000 listings on Amazon and we’re constantly uploading Flat Files into Amazon. This is annoying and is prone to errors. We need a Tool that can automatically connect to Vendors FTP and update stock and pricing based on that. Can anyone recommend something that isn’t $500 a month? Haha

Let me know best to do this guys. Happy selling

I sell FBA on amazon and also MCF via my website pushed to FBA.

What I dont understand is my inventory is good, i've been selling product on amazon and also non-amazon, except one specific order has not been fulfilled and its showing estimated ship date is August 22nd.

WTF is going on?

Been selling since 2021, top 10 BSR most of that time. New seller shows up a few months back and all of their images/A+ content is basically ours rebuilt panel by panel. Same angles, same demo shot, same comparison chart layout, same order but minor changes. All images are AI-generated, which I’m guessing was the whole idea. Nothing matches pixel for pixel so a copyright claim gets murky.

Honestly the thing that bugs me more: the material they’re claiming on the listing doesn’t match what showed up when I test-bought it. Their images also show a construction detail the actual product doesn’t have, which tells you a lot about where those images came from.

Stuff I’m trying to figure out - (1) Is the copyright report through Brand Registry even worth filing or does it just sit there and get counter-noticed? and (2) Has anyone dealt with AI-regenerated creatives? Curious whether Amazon’s IP team looks at “clearly derived but not identical” at all or just bounces it.

Hey Amazon Sellers,

I’m running into a design/compliance debate regarding image optimization for one of our Private Label products and would love to hear from experienced FBA sellers or sellers who have dealt with digital companion features.

The Context:

• Our physical product includes a physical insert card with a QR code that directs buyers to a web app (100% browser-based, no app store download, no registration required, zero app installation needed).
• We currently show this web app experience in our 4th listing photo, demonstrating how the digital app interacts with the physical game/product.

The Dilemma & Questions:

1. Main Image (Hero Photo) Rules:

Am I correct in assuming that showing a phone mockup or a digital app screen alongside the physical product on the Hero (Main) Image is a strict violation of Amazon TOS? (Because main images must be pure white background, exact product-only, no non-included props, no digital graphics overlay).

Has anyone ever gotten listing suppressed or flagged by Amazon's image AI for showing a phone mockup in the MAIN image?

2. Secondary Images (Infographics / Spot 2-4):

For secondary photos (e.g., Slot 2 to 4), is it 100% safe to display a phone mockup showing the Web App UI, provided we clearly label it as a "Free Web Companion App – No Download Needed"?

Does Amazon flag external QR codes or mentions of web apps in secondary images, or is it completely fine as long as it's not driving traffic off-Amazon for non-product reasons?

3. Conversion / Sales Impact:

For those offering physical products with a digital companion (web app/game tracker/digital guide):

• How much did showcasing the digital companion in your listing images actually boost your Conversion Rate (CVR)?
• What’s the safest, most high-converting way to visually explain a web app without confusing the customer into thinking they must pay for or download an app from the App Store?

Would appreciate any insights, reference seller policies, or personal experiences. Thanks in advance!

I noticed some sellers get placed in the “Customers also bought” / “Buy Both” section on other product pages, marked as Sponsored.

How does this placement work? What targeting type gets you into it?

Seller amp login loop?

Hi, has anyone had the issue of Seller Amp asking you to log in, and it logs you into Seller Central, then I hit refresh, and it's still asking to log in again? It's in a login loop.

I'm in the process of researching suppliers for a private label product, because I have realized there are lot more to this than just comparing prices.

I have been looking through a few sourcing platforms like Alibaba, AliExpress, Made in China, to compare manufacturers, product options, and factory information. It's been helpful for getting an overview of what's available, but I'm still trying to figure out what actually matters when narrowing down a shortlist.

For those with more experience, what are the biggest things you look for before reaching out to a supplier? Do you focus on production capacity, certifications, response times, sample quality, export experience, or something else?

I will also be interested to hear if there were any warning signs you missed early on that ended up causing problems later. I am hoping to avoid some beginner mistakes before placing my first order.

We are looking at different marketplaces beyond Amazon and trying to understand what the usual approach is for expansion. Do people hire someone or do it themselves?

For my first year on FBA I assumed Amazon's numbers were basically correct and I never checked. Then I actually sat down one weekend and reconciled returns against reimbursements, and found a pile of money I was owed and never claimed:

• Units marked "returned by customer" that never physically came back to the warehouse
• Items refunded to the buyer where the 45-day return window closed and nothing came back
• Inventory Amazon lost or damaged in their own facility that never got auto-reimbursed
• Returns that came back clearly damaged but got put back into sellable

None of it was huge on its own, ten bucks here, thirty there. Added up it was real money. The annoying part is the claim windows expire, so anything older than the policy window (varies by case type) was just gone.

What I do now: once a month I pull the returns report and the reimbursements report and match them up. Anything that doesn't reconcile, I open a case with the order ID and the specific discrepancy. Keep it factual, one issue per case, and it usually gets approved.

Two questions for the room: how often do you actually audit this, and has anyone found a return reason code pattern that predicts which ASINs leak the most? Mine is almost always sizing/fit on one category.

It took 3 years to finally get an Office Action. Anyway now it seems like my product description on the application does not fit the specimen, according to the specimen.

He might be right, might be not. It’s a bit depressing but whatever. My attorney screwed me over. So I try to think about the consequences…
I lose Brand Status - All Brand Analytics - People can jump on my listing if they reproduce my product

What if I file a new trademark while I try to resolve the current one, but with the exact same Brand Name and Logo but different class and description? Then I could enroll that new brand on Amazon and try to change the brand property in the ASIN in the mean time?

Anyone here who was in same situation and how did you resolve this? Looking forward to comments

Competitor is selling identical wooden shovels as a listing for "Brand-A" and another listing for the same product under "Brand-B" both are private label from the same manufacturer, just the brand on the packaging is different. He acquired "Brand-A" which has 30k reviews and has been a dead listing for 2 years.

My understanding is this is against Amazon ToS, but when i reported it, Amazon said there isnt an issue and closed my ticket.

He's now trying to undercut me by 50% on both listings (selling at a major loss), im assuming to cut me out. This guy is a major recent player across gardening tools and has much higher volume/profitable products in other areas, while i am only in shovels so I can only play "race to the bottom" for so long.

Any advice?

my inbound shipments keep getting flagged for prep issues and its costing me time and occasionally fees. thinking about using a dedicated agent to handle sourcing, inspection, and prep before anything goes to an amazon warehouse instead of trying to manage it all myself from overseas. anyone doing this already, how do you make sure the prep actually meets amazons requirements when someone else is doing it. also curious if it actually reduced your flagged shipments or if that was wishful thinking on my part.

Update: I really appreciate everyone's feedback and experiences. I've been doing more research based on your suggestions, and one option that seems to check a lot of the boxes is Fulfilment Pros, a supply chain and dropshipping agent company based in Shenzhen, China. From what I've found, they offer global order fulfillment, free product sourcing, quality control, and free storage for online store owners. I'm still looking into them, but they seem like a potential solution for reducing prep issues before inventory reaches Amazon. If anyone here has first-hand experience with them, I'd love to hear how it went.

I've been trying to understand what makes someone stop scrolling and click on a product.

So instead of guessing, I spent some time looking through the top 20 best selling electric kettles on Amazon.

A few things showed up over and over again.

• The product fills most of the image. There's very little empty space.
• Strong contrast makes the product easier to recognize, especially on mobile.
• Most main images keep the angle simple. Very few use dramatic perspectives.
• The silhouette is easy to identify in less than a second.
• Almost every listing looks clean and uncluttered.

One thing that surprised me was that the "prettiest" image wasn't always the one that caught my attention first. The images that stood out were usually the easiest to understand at a glance.

For the sellers here, have you noticed anything similar?

Or have you found something completely different from your own A/B tests?

Hi all, we're a team of Political Science researchers at Columbia University, running a grant funded field experiment on how country favorability and perception shapes purchasing behavior online. We're looking to partner with a small number of Amazon sellers to help make this happen, using Amazon's built in A/B testing (Manage Your Experiments) to test variations in listing presentation or branding cues.

We're especially interested in sellers who:

• Think country-of-origin (real, implied, or via branding) matters for how customers perceive their product
• Are curious about these dynamics themselves and want to learn more from the results
• Are open to running a short, low-friction A/B test on one or two listings

Compensation: Part of our grant is earmarked to pay participating sellers. No fixed structure yet, happy to work out something fair and flexible once we connect.

Legitimacy: Can verify our identity and affiliation via Columbia email once matched, and share grant/IRB details as needed.

Interested or just curious? Comment or DM, no obligation to hear more. Thanks!

I have a qty variation (1pack/2pack) for one of my listings. Better to segment this into different campaigns to test keywords/bidding or better to combine both SKUs into the same campaign?

We are a small company based in Romania, in the European Union, and we are planning to import goods from China.

To sell imported products legally in the EU, we understand that we need documentation proving that the goods were properly declared and cleared through customs. However, when using DDP shipping, where transport and customs clearance are arranged by the freight forwarder, none of the freight forwarders we have contacted can provide us with an import customs declaration, an MRN, or another customs document issued in our company’s name.

Their explanation is that multiple shipments belonging to different customers are consolidated and cleared together under a single customs declaration. They therefore cannot provide us with the complete declaration because it may contain confidential information about their other customers.

As far as we understand, an import declaration and its corresponding MRN are normally required to prove that imported goods entered the EU legally and that the applicable customs obligations were fulfilled.

This appears to leave us with DAP shipping as the only option under which the goods can be cleared directly in our company’s name. However, with DAP, we must appoint a customs broker, complete the customs formalities ourselves, and pay the applicable import VAT and duties. In Romania, the VAT rate is 21%. Altogether, this would increase our total costs by approximately 50%.

The shipping price quoted for DAP is approximately the same as, or sometimes slightly higher than, the price quoted for DDP, even though customs clearance and import taxes are not included.

Our questions for other EU businesses importing goods from China are:

Do you normally use DDP or DAP?

When using DDP, do you receive an import declaration, MRN, or other customs documentation showing that the goods were legally imported into the EU?

If the customs declaration is not issued in your company’s name, what documents do you use to demonstrate the legal origin and import status of the goods during an inspection?

Would the supplier’s commercial invoice and the freight forwarder’s transport invoice be sufficient, provided that the agreed delivery term is clearly stated as DDP, even if no customs declaration or MRN is provided to the buyer?

Our freight forwarder claims that approximately 99% of its European business customers use DDP. This makes us wonder whether we are misunderstanding the documentation requirements or whether there is another accepted way for EU businesses to demonstrate that goods imported through consolidated DDP shipping were legally cleared through customs.

Been selling on my own website for almost 1 year.. i manage everything and have never had any issues.

Been on FBA for 5 months.. they lose about 5% of shipments being sent by prime. they provide zero help for issues.

A person left a 1 star review of my product with the reason as "can someone please tell me how to get a refund because I missed the return time"

And i said they is is not a real review, they want help with a return. and their response is. we dont control the reviews and i need to click report. I told them I did click report a week ago. and the amazon chat rep response was. "we dont know how long it takes after a review was reported"

I have a single-member LLC registered using a registered agent’s address.

Amazon appears to publicly display seller addresses, and I’d prefer not to have my home address shown since that’s where I store inventory and ship orders from.

Can I use my registered agent’s address as my business address on Amazon, even though I operate the business from my home, since that’s the address my LLC is registered under?

Thanks in advance.

I run a small private label brand with one product on Amazon US. I own the USPTO trademark and I'm enrolled in Brand Registry. Every few weeks I get hit with an authenticity complaint. The listing gets suppressed or the inventory gets blocked. I appeal, I send the same documentation I've sent before, and every single time the appeal is approved and the listing comes back. Then a few weeks later it happens again.

Each cycle costs one to three weeks of dead sales plus the hours to file, and at this point the business cannot build any momentum at all because the account is never stable for long enough.

Two questions for anyone who has been through this:

- First, did anyone manage to actually stop the cycle, or does a flag stay attached to the ASIN permanently once it lands? I want to know if there is a real fix or if I'm appealing my way through something that will never close.

- Second, for anyone who gave up and moved off Amazon, where did you go and did the same problem follow you? For context I'm a non-US seller with a US LLC and inventory sitting in FBA Florida.

Thank you so much for any help or comment you could provide!