FBA Coaching with Chris Green CEO of FBAPower

1. FBA Coachingwith Chris GreenCEO of FBAPower Part 3:Retailer Secrets & HowTo Lower Your Costs

2. Already Gone Through PAC • How do I sell on Amazon? • What is FBA? • How do I use FBA? • What tools & programs do I use?

3. FBAPower & FBAScout Support • Support: email info@fbapower.com • Watch the Videoshttp://fbapower.com/home/fbapower-videos/ • FBAPower support staff happy to help

4. Lowering Your Costs • & • Retailer Secrets

5. Where Did I Learn All This Stuff? • I worked for Bosch Power Tools for five years • Vendor for Home Depot and Lowe’s • Started as a Sales Rep, then Territory Manager, then District Manager • Won Salesman Of The Year in 2006 • Saw product cycles, seasonal cycles, clearance items over and over again

6. Lowering Your Costs • Resellers don’t pay sales tax • Discounts, Coupons • Military, Senior, Student (if legit) • Rewards, Points, Credit Cards, Store Club • Special Buys, BOGO • CHOP SHOP • Rebates • Price Matches • Watch for Price Drops • Online tricks

7. How To Buy Tax Free • Comptroller’s Office (Google it) • Get a tax ID • Ask each store how they handle tax exempt purchases • Require tax ID certificate • Setup an internal account • Fill out state provided paperwork • Learn your state’s rules and each store’s rules

8. When To Pay Tax • Some stores don’t do this very often • Can take a long time • If the tax savings are not worth the time, pay and move on • You can request credit for sales tax later, but I see it as better to not pay than to pay and have to file to get it back

9. Implications of Not Paying Sales Tax • Items have to be for resale • You have to collect sales tax on items sold within your state and remit to the government • Items sold across state lines are tax exempt • KEEP TRACK: even if you don’t collect sales tax on Amazon sales within your state, you should still pay the sales tax on those purchases to the state • Sound complex? It’s really pretty easy • Find a CPA to help

10. Discounts • Volume DiscountsBuy in bulk, get better rate • Direct Purchase DiscountsSpecial Order – never on sales floor • Active Items – limited number on shelf, but store can order as many as they want to • Simply ask the manager

11. Coupons • Coupons can save you big bucks! • #1 Easy Coupon – Lowe’s 10% offIn USPS Mover’s Packet – just pick up at Post Office and look inside • 10% off entire purchase at Lowe’s • Accepted at Home Depot as well • Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s

12. Special Days • Military Discount – Lowe’s & Home Depot • Senior Citizen’s days – thrift stores • Student Discounts – computers

13. Rewards • Stores with Rewards Cards or Club Cards • Send you coupons in the mail or email • Points to redeem for cash or merchandise • Credit Cards points, miles, rebates • Home Depot Mastercard (no longer, booooo)

14. Special Buys/BOGO • Retailers will have ‘Special Buys’ that are in-and-out special deals • Usually advertised – can be ‘loss leaders’ • Once sold out, no more available • DeWalt radio with free 18 volt battery ($80) • BOGO – Buy One, Get One (free) • Grinder two-pack – split them up to sell online

15. CHOP SHOP • This is where we made a small fortune on eBay • Parts are worth more than the whole thing • Example: Power tool combo kits • We buy (with lowest cost using same strategies here) and then break it into all pieces • Sell to people who just want one piece at a higher price • You can do this with any product that has multiple, saleable pieces inside

16. Rebates • Mail in rebates • In-store instant rebates • Manufacturer rebates • Can be stacked, double-dipped, and exploited • Read the details: limit per household? • Email or call manufacturer to ask for exception • Ryobi deals example

17. Price Matches • Many stores will price match their competitors • Many stores will also BEAT their competitors on a price match • So one store wants to take a loss on an item, you then get another store to take the same loss plus an additional discount (+coupon?) • Read your local flyers and learn each stores’ policies – make a notebook for each store

18. Price Drops • Most stores have a price drop guarantee • If a price drops within 30 days (or whatever the store’s policy is) they will refund you the difference • Keep your receipts! • Near the end of the price drop window, call to verify prices. If lower, go get your refund!

19. Stack and Exploit • Try to stack rebates with in store discounts and coupons • Tell the store personnel what you want to do – they want to sell you a ton of stuff and will try to make it happen • Keep it related to the numbers – at a certain price, you’ll buy $XXXX. If not, then it’s not profitable for you. Don’t get ‘sold’

20. Online Tricks • Google ‘coupon code’ + website • Google ‘discount’ + website • Just ask! Ask for a discount (email or chat) • Homedepot.com – chat popupJust ask for 10% off code and you’ll get it • Can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars

21. Retailer Secrets • How, when, and why items are clearanced • How to get all the store’s inventory • How to hunt with radar at other stores • (Work smart while your competition works hard)

22. Retailer Secrets • How to get your hands on all of the inventory • Keep it simple – find great products (not just good) and get tons of them • Easy to list one item 100 times than 100 different items

23. Check the Computer • So simple, but even I forget to do this sometimes • Almost all stores have an in-store inventory system • Find an item you like? Ask someone if they have more (they WANT to sell you things) • Voila! They have more in the back or overhead • May be an ‘Active Item’ – order more!

24. Next Step: Check Other Stores • Most of the large retailers link their store inventories • Stores that are sold out can send customers to other stores for items • Use this to find what you want! • Home Depot Example – 60 stores with one hour drive. I went to the 15 stores with the most inventory. Don’t waste time going in ‘just to check’. Go with certainty!

25. Call Ahead - YES • Tie up inventory • Pay over the phone • Verify on-hand quantities • Verify in-store price

26. Call Ahead - NO • Deals that are TOO GOOD • Store employees may buy for themselves (even if not allowed) • Store employees may alert their friends • Store management may decide to not sell if price mistake • (Worry about this more with technology items)

27. Buy & Hold Strategy • Sometimes best to ‘buy & hold’ • Retail clearance deals can be picked up by many people • You may encounter some irrational competition • Let them cut price and margin, you focus on maintaining margins and profits

28. Example: Ryobi Auto Hammer • Bought 200 from HomeDepot.com for $20 each • Tax free, free shipping, $20 cost • Many other sellers did same thing (although I’d be surprised if they all got tax refunded) • So many sellers competing for the next sale that price was down at $27.95. • I held my 200 for about 4 months and sold them all for $84.95

29. Don’t ‘Chase the Next Sale’ • Amazon marketplace is dynamic • Items sell, sellers sell out • Prices rise and fall • Don’t get in pricing wars • Don’t try to see who can make the LEAST amount of money

30. Ultimate Backup Plan • Since you purchased items at retail, you have a receipt and a return policy • Learn the returns rules for each store • Evaluate inventory for acceptable profitability prior to expiration of return policy • ..but don’t make a habit of this. Stay in good graces with store personnel. Buy good stuff and you’ll never return anything. Just use as a safety net.

31. FBACoaching Parts 4 & 5 • Part 4: There is always gold, lazy scanners, advanced FBA • Part 5: Open questions. Send them in ahead of time. No time limit; I’ll answer them all!

32. Questions?