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My 2017 Predictions for China, Private Labeling, Amazon, and More

We’ve just brought in 2017 (unless you’re Chinese in which case the New Year isn’t for a couple more weeks). And what would a new year be without resolutions and predictions?  So I’ve put together a list of some of my predictions for 2017 for private labelers and importers from China. In this post I’ll cover my predictions regarding product costs, increased competition on Amazon, and the new Trump administration.

More Competition On All Fronts Means Lower Margins

The private labeling fad is hot right now as evidenced by the number of blogs,

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Amazon Fees are Increasing A LOT in 2017 -How Will it Impact You?

In case you missed it,  Amazon is increasing FBA fees for 2017 in nearly all areas of billable fees, including shipping and storage fees.

It’s no surprise that Amazon is raising fees but the amount is more than inflationary – most fees are going up 10%+ and some are going up 50%+. Whenever a company announces fee increases they always like to paint their increases in the most rosy manner possible to hide the true extent of the increases. 

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Amazon Suspension: How to Appeal (and Win) an Amazon Account Suspension

Alien invasion. Hatchet wielding zombies. Donald Trump as president. None of these strike us much fear into most of us as the thought of having our Amazon account suspended. Yet each year many sellers, even exceptional sellers, go through this very thing.

In this article I’ll discuss the types of Amazon Suspensions you may face as a Seller and also how to have your suspension lifted.

Types of Amazon Suspensions

In my experience,

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Episode 45: Our Predictions for E-Commerce Amazon

We’re back for a new episode. Today we’re discussing part 2 of our last topic.  The last time we discussed our predictions we spoke about eCommerce in general. So today’s topic is Our Predictions for eCommerce: Amazon. The subject of Amazon is so in depth that its own episode.

On today’s episode we’ll talk about what Amazon is facing in the next few years, and what sort of reactions a seller might see to that market.

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Episode 44: The Evolution and Future of Ecommerce

On today’s episode we discuss the future of ecommerce. We talk about what we notice in the market right now. We also discuss our future plans for our businesses.

This will be a part one on this subject. Part two will focus on our predictions about business on Amazon.

The topics we discussed today:

  • Why Amazon’s trade deal with China will cause trouble for American manufacturers.
  • The things that Mike thinks will set China back in a “take over.”
  • Signs that retail stores are dying.
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Episode 43: BigCommerce vs Shopify

During today’s episode we talk about the common debate e-commerce founders have: Shopify or BigCommerce. In recent developments BigCommerce has made some polarizing changes to their services. The changes have alienated theme developers and price changes have alienated users. This has caused many users to move their business to Shopify.

We discuss this shift and compare Shopify and BigCommerce. We have both had experience with both sites so our conversation is more of a pro and con list.

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Episode 42: Cash is King Listener Questions

On today’s episode we are going to answer some listener questions again. Today’s questions have to do with credit. You guys asked us, “How do I build business credit?” and “Why should I use credit vs. cash?”

We answer these questions today and give you some insight into how interest rates and loans work for businesses.

The points for “How do I build business credit?”

  • Why it’s important to have good personal credit.
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Episode 41: Listener’s Questions Answered

Well we are both back from our Asia trips and we’re ready to get back into the swing of the podcast. We record these episodes in batches and we’re getting ready for a new one. We also plan on doing a follow up episode on “Cash is King.” So keep an eye out for that.

We’re simply going to be answering a listener’s questions today.

We received a two part question from Ryan.

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How to lose $500,000 in 6 months Importing from China

A couple months ago this post went up: The Chinese are Coming: More and More Chinese suppliers are Selling Direct to Consumers. It struck a chord with a lot of people and was shared across a number of websites.

Chinese suppliers cutting out private labelers is indeed a very real threat. However, factories selling direct to consumers aren’t necessarily the asteroids that are going to wipe out private labelers everywhere.

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Episode 40: How to Avoid Amazon Suspensions with Chris McCabe

Hello this is Grant Chen bringing you today’s episode. Today we talk with Chris McCabe of eCommerce Chris. Chris helps Amazon FBA sellers who have been suspended, blacklisted, or are under investigation by Amazon.

Amazon has created a complex system which is supposed to weed out the bad apples and protect the customers and reputable sellers. The problem is there are policy issues and Standard Operation Procedures that can keep a seller from using their account. 

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