Selling on Amazon is a marathon, not a sprint. However, many sellers trip right at the starting line. After auditing hundreds of accounts, we’ve noticed that most “failures” aren’t due to bad products, but avoidable strategic errors.
1. Treating Amazon Like a “Set and Forget” Store Many sellers believe once the listing is live, the sales will roll in. The Reality: Amazon is a living ecosystem. If you aren’t optimizing your keywords, updating your images, and monitoring your competitors weekly, your ranking will slip.
- The Fix: Audit your listings every 15 days. Use A/B testing for your main images to see what actually stops the scroll.
2. Ignoring the “Real” Profit (The Unit Economics) It’s easy to get excited about high revenue. But after FBA fees, referral fees, advertising spend, and returns, are you actually in the green?
- The Fix: Use a profitability calculator. Know your “Break-even ACoS” for every single SKU. If a product isn’t profitable after 3 months of ads, it might be time to pivot.
3. Poor Inventory Management Running out of stock is the fastest way to kill your organic ranking. On the flip side, overstocking leads to high storage fees that eat your margins.
- The Fix: Use data-driven forecasting. Factor in a 15% “safety buffer” for sale events like Prime Day to ensure you never lose that “Buy Box.”
4. Not Using Brand Registry Tools If you have a trademark but aren’t enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry, you’re leaving money on the table. You’re missing out on A+ Content, Brand Stores, and Sponsored Brand Videos.
- The Fix: Enroll immediately. A+ Content alone can increase conversion rates by up to 10-15%.
5. Running “Blind” PPC Campaigns Throwing money at Broad Match keywords without a negative keyword strategy is like pouring water into a leaky bucket.
- The Fix: Move from “Discovery” to “Performance.” Regularly harvest winning search terms from your Auto campaigns and move them to Exact Match for better control.