TAS 315: Understanding and Limiting Your Storage Fees + Live Video and Questions

Does the recent news from Amazon regarding increased inventory storage fees have you worried? Are you scrambling to figure out what you are going to do about your shrinking profit margins? Don’t panic! Let Scott and Chris guide you through the information and give you some tips to understanding and dealing with storage costs. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, Scott and Chris will discuss tools that can help with inventory projection, how to plan ahead, and even take some questions from the Facebook Live session! Make sure to catch their helpful solutions.

Understanding the storage rate changes from Amazon

Whenever there is a sudden change or a change you didn't see coming, you’ll experience a bit of shell shock. It can leave you reeling and trying to make sense of what is going on. Many Amazon sellers are facing this situation with the current change to the Amazon inventory fees. Scott and Chris have the experience to walk through what all of this change means for you. Don’t let panic and fear set in. Take a deep breath and listen. The changes are simply Amazon’s way of expediting their sellers. They need to keep product moving so they are increasing long term storage rates. What this forces you as an Amazon seller to do is to think carefully about how much inventory you really need for the next three to four months at the Amazon storage location. If you think about it, this change can spur you on to be a more shrewd business owner. Listen to Scott and Chris break it all down on this episode of The Amazing Seller!

A helpful tool to project inventory needs

Information can be a helpful tool if you know how to use it. The wisdom to decipher and understand raw data comes often to those who have studied it and have spent a lot of time interacting with it. For most people, this seems completely out of reach and intimidating. Having one part to a two part solution isn’t only intimidating, it's frustrating. So when a tool, a tip, or person comes along to show you the way, you jump at the opportunity. That’s exactly what Scott did when he started using the online tool “Fetcher.” Scott knows a successful idea when he sees one and he has learned the value of using Fetcher. It’s tool that helps you makes sense of all the inventory data you have at your fingertips. To get ahead of the competition, Scott recommends checking out Fetcher.

A lesson with inventory learned the hard way

Some people have to learn the hard way. Scott has had his fair share of easy and hard lessons in life. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, Scott shares a lesson he learned from having some troublesome inventory that wasn’t selling quickly enough in Amazon’s storage. He took a great opportunity that Amazon was promoting which allowed him to pull most of this troublesome product at no cost. From that experience, Scott has learned some valuable lessons regarding packaging, inventory costs, and much more. To hear Scott expand on this lesson, make sure to catch this episode!

How should newcomers approach inventory costs and volume?

When you are just getting started on a new venture like selling on Amazon, unknown variables can be terrifying. That is a huge reason why Scott and Chris started their efforts toward coaching and helping people get the hang of this exciting industry! They are here to help break down the process and make it easier for entrepreneurial minded individuals to find success and financial independence. So when a new challenge like the rising costs of Amazon storage fees presents itself, Scott and Chris want to remove the fear and intimidation that might bring. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, Chris has some great advice he wants to share with sellers just starting out. If that’s you, make sure to listen in and find out how you can be smart with your inventory projections!

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [1:25] Scott welcome Chris to the show. [2:00] Chris and Scott jump into talking about storage fees. [5:15] Understanding how Amazon is setting its storage fee rates. [6:50] Scott talks about a tool he’s been using called “Fetcher.” [9:20] How billing for storage fees works with Amazon. [10:45] Scott and Chris start taking questions from Facebook Live. [10:55] Have you used the inventory age report or any of the inventory reports that are available inside of Amazon? [11:50] What Fetcher can do over Amazon’s inventory dashboard tool? [15:55] Scott talks about a time when he had to pull inventory from Amazon storage. [21:10] How to project how much inventory you should have stored with Amazon. [27:35] How long can you store inventory at Amazon before the costs start rising? [32:20] For someone just starting out, how should they think about these storage issues? [38:00] Know your numbers! RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Fetcher Jungle Scout