Selling Lego on Amazon.com

[Robb]

People keep saying Amazon "needs" us more than we "need" them. This is true but...

We both "want" each other.

Amazon likes being "the internet store". The place that everyone thinks has everything. They took this mantel from eBay recently and I don't think they want to give it up any time soon. They will squeeze as needed, but I don't think they'll give up the ground they've taken.

[Bold-Arrow]

2 minutes ago, Robb said:

People keep saying Amazon "needs" us more than we "need" them. This is true but...

We both "want" each other.

Amazon likes being "the internet store". The place that everyone thinks has everything. They took this mantel from eBay recently and I don't think they want to give it up any time soon. They will squeeze as needed, but I don't think they'll give up the ground they've taken.

Amazon won't do away with 3P , but they want their customers to have a smooth and pleasant experience with each and every single transaction. with counterfeit products and scamming issues on the rise, they will most likely come down hard on RA and OA in order to protect their image and their customers

[ravenb99]

17 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

Amazon won't do away with 3P , but they want their customers to have a smooth and pleasant experience with each and every single transaction. with counterfeit products and scamming issues on the rise, they will most likely come down hard on RA and OA in order to protect their image and their customers

problem goes much deeper than RA and OA.  Amazon themselves is on a lot of products having problems direct (Not LEGO or toys in general).  In fact they continue selling them and then have them on AWD as well.  For a company trying to protect there image so hard they fail pretty miserably at it.  

I see about 15 FC load manifests a week and tons of problem items ranging from all categories.  You start reading the reviews and and a lot say they got direct from Amazon and not 3P or FBA so makes one wonder.   Just disorganized from top to bottom.  

Was one load in particular that had 1500 Samsung Phone Chargers, just a cheap item $10 retail or so.  29% 1 star with most reveiws being for fake / counterfeit.  

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Adaptive-Micro-USB-Charger-Galaxy/dp/B00YWCDTF0

Always get a laugh out of the fact they then liquidate them instead of just destroying them and ending the problem.

 

 

[Migration]

problem goes much deeper than RA and OA.  Amazon themselves is on a lot of products having problems direct (Not LEGO or toys in general).  In fact they continue selling them and then have them on AWD as well.  For a company trying to protect there image so hard they fail pretty miserably at it.  
I see about 15 FC load manifests a week and tons of problem items ranging from all categories.  You start reading the reviews and and a lot say they got direct from Amazon and not 3P or FBA so makes one wonder.   Just disorganized from top to bottom.  
Was one load in particular that had 1500 Samsung Phone Chargers, just a cheap item $10 retail or so.  29% 1 star with most reveiws being for fake / counterfeit.  
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Adaptive-Micro-USB-Charger-Galaxy/dp/B00YWCDTF0
Always get a laugh out of the fact they then liquidate them instead of just destroying them and ending the problem.
 
 

Wonder if Amazon will suspend themselves for selling fake products?

[Bold-Arrow]

Another point worth mentioning , not all sellers are equal on Amazon . Those that sell at certain thresholds ( 500k, 1M /yr in sales ) are automatically ungates and allowed to sell certain products without having to produce any invoices that would have otherwise been required z 

[Robb]

8 minutes ago, Bold-Arrow said:

Another point worth mentioning , not all sellers are equal on Amazon . Those that sell at certain thresholds ( 500k, 1M /yr in sales ) are automatically ungates and allowed to sell certain products without having to produce any invoices that would have otherwise been required z 

I could be wrong, but if you are selling that much you probably are sourcing most of it properly.

[asharerin]

3 hours ago, Robb said:

I could be wrong, but if you are selling that much you probably are sourcing most of it properly.

$1M is the vanity number most shoot for doing RA. It is $10M that you really need private label and wholesale help to hit.

Last two brands Nintendo (in clothing) and Roommates we were instantly approved with no invoices required. If you see a brand gated does not hurt to try as alot are based on metrics and you can still get instantly approved if you have a good track record. They still grandfather as well so diversify before everything is closed off.

[Robb]

$1M is the vanity number most shoot for doing RA. It is $10M that you really need private label and wholesale help to hit.
Last two brands Nintendo (in clothing) and Roommates we were instantly approved with no invoices required. If you see a brand gated does not hurt to try as alot are based on metrics and you can still get instantly approved if you have a good track record. They still grandfather as well so diversify before everything is closed off.

Can you list anything that you feel is or will be as good as LEGO in the long run? And I know I'm asking for an opinion and noone knows what the future holds.

[Migration]

Can you list anything that you feel is or will be as good as LEGO in the long run? And I know I'm asking for an opinion and noone knows what the future holds.

Lego accounts for less than 20% of my sales. Just because this is a Lego website doesn't mean we all specialize in it.

[Bold-Arrow]

6 hours ago, asharerin said:

$1M is the vanity number most shoot for doing RA. It is $10M that you really need private label and wholesale help to hit.

Last two brands Nintendo (in clothing) and Roommates we were instantly approved with no invoices required. If you see a brand gated does not hurt to try as alot are based on metrics and you can still get instantly approved if you have a good track record. They still grandfather as well so diversify before everything is closed off.

A year or so ago Amazon was accepting application solely based on a questionnaire and We got ungated to sell shoes , clothing , luggage, beauty watches , and jewelry among other categories . I know a few sellers here also were ungated and they just got started . That was a good day . 

[Guest TabbyBoy]

27 minutes ago, Migration said:

Lego accounts for less than 20% of my sales. Just because this is a Lego website doesn't mean we all specialize in it.

Nor me, it's a fraction of what I get up to ;-)

[Robb]

Lego accounts for less than 20% of my sales. Just because this is a Lego website doesn't mean we all specialize in it.

I didn't say I didn't believe you. I am asking for a list to see if I'm interested in any. I would like to diversify into other items that work as good as LEGO. I can't think of much that takes up as much of the stores as LEGO. When my wife has picked up other things at deep discounts I do ok but nothing special in the long hold category.

[cladner]

14 minutes ago, Robb said:

I didn't say I didn't believe you. I am asking for a list to see if I'm interested in any. I would like to diversify into other items that work as good as LEGO. I can't think of much that takes up as much of the stores as LEGO. When my wife has picked up other things at deep discounts I do ok but nothing special in the long hold category.

lol - on a sliver platter too?  would you like your butter melted in the microwave before it's spread on the bread?  don't be surprised that no one is giving you the ingredients to their secret sauce.  nothing ruins a good thing more than a rising seller count.

just go to amazon, look up various categories of toys and see what the top ranking toys are, then for each toy check camelcamelcamel.com to see what the price action is over the course of a year to see if there are shortages and price spikes on the 3rd party seller market. to the point where your buyin will net you a profit.  for a dummy like me, i need to see potential sale price 3x my buyin to make it worth my time and risk.  

Edited February 11, 2017 by cladner

[Robb]

lol - on a sliver platter too?  would you like your butter melted in the microwave before it's spread on the bread?  don't be surprised that no one is giving you the ingredients to their secret sauce.  nothing ruins a good thing more than a rising seller count.

just go to amazon, look up various categories of toys and see what the top ranking toys are, then for each toy check camelcamelcamel.com to see what the price action is over the course of a year to see if there are shortages and price spikes on the 3rd party seller market. to the point where your buyin will net you a profit.  for a dummy like me, i need to see potential sale price 3x my buyin to make it worth my time and risk.  

I don't really think that asking for the category or brand is a silver platter. I just don't really think there is one. Maybe the shoe guys? Or TCG guys?

 

When you give the camelcamelcamel methodology all I can think is that probably leads to many different products that don't easily fall into a category or brand, which is fine but different than all the support that LEGO has. LEGO has tons of resources to help with choices.

[asharerin]

7 hours ago, Robb said:

Can you list anything that you feel is or will be as good as LEGO in the long run? And I know I'm asking for an opinion and noone knows what the future holds.

What do you mean by long run? Most retail products don't appreciate over time like Lego and other limited run items.

If you mean good short term flip material then almost everything beats Lego. Difference is you have to source and sell it continually to make money whereas with Lego you just sit on it and sell much less frequently. Lego is much more passive than regular household items which means far better hourly pay. Walk into any chain store in the country and you will find lots of household items with great ranks that make 30% ROI within a month. Do some research on getting discounts to buy online and you will find 100-300% ROI within a month.

We do 10% Lego and 90% other toys and household items (home and kitchen, tools, health and personal care, beauty, grocery etc). Started with Lego but branched out 2 years ago. Like Lego start with another niche, learn the ropes, send in product, master it and then move into the next niche. For each niche you will learn the best items to buy, when the good sales are, ideas to create your own bundles, best keywords for your PPC campaigns etc. With Lego you don't have to do any of that, but the returns are far less as well because it is such low hanging fruit. Obviously the big revenue is in private label and wholesale but profit margins are much less (around 10%).

IMO Lego still gives the best hourly rate if you can store it at home and sit on it for 3-4 years. OA and RA gives good hourly rate with good consistent cash flow. Wholesale and private label gives the best cash flow but much less hourly rate after all expenses. Lots like to mix RA, wholesale and private label. Plenty of opportunities and the sky is the limit. Like anything simply takes an initial investment of time and capital and you will take your fair share of failures along the way.

[Robb]

What do you mean by long run? Most retail products don't appreciate over time like Lego and other limited run items.

If you mean good short term flip material then almost everything beats Lego. Difference is you have to source and sell it continually to make money whereas with Lego you just sit on it and sell much less frequently. Lego is much more passive than regular household items which means far better hourly pay. Walk into any chain store in the country and you will find lots of household items with great ranks that make 30% ROI within a month. Do some research on getting discounts to buy online and you will find 100-300% ROI within a month.

We do 10% Lego and 90% other toys and household items (home and kitchen, tools, health and personal care, beauty, grocery etc). Started with Lego but branched out 2 years ago. Like Lego start with another niche, learn the ropes, send in product, master it and then move into the next niche. For each niche you will learn the best items to buy, when the good sales are, ideas to create your own bundles, best keywords for your PPC campaigns etc. With Lego you don't have to do any of that, but the returns are far less as well because it is such low hanging fruit. Obviously the big revenue is in private label and wholesale but profit margins are much less (around 10%).

IMO Lego still gives the best hourly rate if you can store it at home and sit on it for 3-4 years. OA and RA gives good hourly rate with good consistent cash flow. Wholesale and private label gives the best cash flow but much less hourly rate after all expenses. Lots like to mix RA, wholesale and private label. Plenty of opportunities and the sky is the limit. Like anything simply takes an initial investment of time and capital and you will take your fair share of failures along the way.

Thank you, that's the conclusion I have come to too.

 

With LEGO I do so little work, and make "some" money. Keep the things like that coming.

[Migration]

I didn't say I didn't believe you. I am asking for a list to see if I'm interested in any. I would like to diversify into other items that work as good as LEGO. I can't think of much that takes up as much of the stores as LEGO. When my wife has picked up other things at deep discounts I do ok but nothing special in the long hold category.

No.

[Robb]

No.

No, because you don't have one or no because you think you have a great one but you want to keep it a secret?

I don't think you have a brand that works like LEGO or even a simple category.

I buy throughout the year when I have free time and I send my stuff to Amazon 2 to 3 times a year and I make some extra money. I think you guys buy and sell quickly all throughout the year. I don't want to deal with selling any more often, I really don't have the time.

[Migration]

No, because you don't have one or no because you think you have a great one but you want to keep it a secret?

I don't think you have a brand that works like LEGO or even a simple category.

I buy throughout the year when I have free time and I send my stuff to Amazon 2 to 3 times a year and I make some extra money. I think you guys buy and sell quickly all throughout the year. I don't want to deal with selling any more often, I really don't have the time.

No because I put forth my own effort, you should do the same. If you don't have the time you should find another hobby.

[Robb]

No because I put forth my own effort, you should do the same. If you don't have the time you should find another hobby.

You don't have one.

[Migration]

You don't have one.

Nope. Currently I have 57 different items listed between eBay and Amazon. Roughly 1/3 are Lego (higher than normal but I'm in the process of clearing old stuff out I've been putting off for a while). The rest is spread across multiple categories, none of this is really difficult once you get a system in place. There are literally 100's of viable products that are profitable. Some here like to hold 10's of 1000's of dollars in Lego for multiple years...I, for the most part, do not. And from a business standpoint it would be stupid of me to drop any of my go to products to someone to lazy to do a simple top 100 search on Amazon. I'm not worried about added competition as much as I am about someone freaking out and tanking the price of an otherwise viable item. Again it's not hard. Do the work or don't.

[Robb]

Nope. Currently I have 57 different items listed between eBay and Amazon. Roughly 1/3 are Lego (higher than normal but I'm in the process of clearing old stuff out I've been putting off for a while). The rest is spread across multiple categories, none of this is really difficult once you get a system in place. There are literally 100's of viable products that are profitable. Some here like to hold 10's of 1000's of dollars in Lego for multiple years...I, for the most part, do not. And from a business standpoint it would be stupid of me to drop any of my go to products to someone to lazy to do a simple top 100 search on Amazon. I'm not worried about added competition as much as I am about someone freaking out and tanking the price of an otherwise viable item. Again it's not hard. Do the work or don't.

Are these things in the collectible entertainment category? If not, I'm not really interested.

I'll do the research you speak of again when I get time but in the past nothing else really interested me. We'll see.

[Migration]

Star Showers and page flags.

[Robb]

Star Showers and page flags.

I assume these are jokes? These are comparable to LEGO? In what way, other than they make money? Do they have a huge network of people creating supplemental content online for their product? Or, do they have community run events all around the globe every month or week?

The only similar product communities I can think of are sneaker heads and MTG/Pokémon. I guess you could include video games, but I don't see the long hold potential in much of their recent products. They are going to keep offering their back catalogue digitally forever.

[Voltron]

11 minutes ago, Robb said:

I assume these are jokes? These are comparable to LEGO? In what way, other than they make money? Do they have a huge network of people creating supplemental content online for their product? Or, do they have community run events all around the globe every month or week?

The only similar product communities I can think of are sneaker heads and MTG/Pokémon. I guess you could include video games, but I don't see the long hold potential in much of their recent products. They are going to keep offering their back catalogue digitally forever.

There are alot of great people on BP who give great advice on what are good sets / latest deals / what set to avoid etc.

But noone is just going to handout their golden goose items that they most likely spent countless hours researching / trial and error / learning the hard way etc. This is not them being rude, but they worked hard to get to where they are. Would you give up your hard earned business secrets which would kill your livelihood? 

If you do want to get rich quick... I hear some Nigerian Princes can help you out if you send them some dollars to help their long lost cousin.