Clear the Shelf with Chris & Chris

► Work with me 1-on-1 on your Amazon business: https://cleartheshelf.com/apply

He can't write a line of code, but he built the software that runs his Amazon business. He also flips $2 Skechers into $45 sales and had an AI knock out his entire sales tax audit in 30 minutes.

Chad from The Buy Box has spent about five years turning online arbitrage, retail arbitrage, and Amazon-to-Amazon flips into a business that runs on tools he built himself. In this one we get into the exact plays: how A2A flips work, why he still refuses to touch wholesale, how he reads a deal by looking for reasons to say no, and how he taught AI to do the boring parts of sourcing, bookkeeping, and a tax audit. Plus the 3.8 million request mistake that got his home internet shut off.

If you do OA or RA and you want the intermediate-to-advanced version of this conversation, this is the one.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 The seller who builds software but can't code

02:02 From the West Texas oil field to reselling

08:14 The chlorine gold rush that hooked him on FBA

15:57 Why he still skips wholesale (OA vs A2A)

19:36 Used, refurb, and rebuilding after losing suppliers

28:32 Amazon to Amazon flips, explained

33:15 The $2 Skechers deal

36:40 Credit card rewards as untaxed money

40:40 Reading a deal: disqualify before you qualify

43:56 Building his own AI sourcing tools (without coding)

55:26 How AI did his sales tax audit in 30 minutes

59:49 A road trip for inventory (and a 3.8M-request mistake)

1:05:36 Should you trust AI agents? Plus his home setup

1:17:28 The Whatnot experiment that broke even

1:28:01 Advice for new sellers + lightning round

🔗 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Chad's Keepa skill (free on GitHub): [PASTE GITHUB LINK]

Keepa (the data behind every call in this episode)

SellerAmp: https://www.selleramp.com/oachallenge

Tactical Arbitrage, Keepa Product Finder, Inventory Lab

Business credit cards we talked about (5% cashback): https://www.cardratings.com/bestcards/business-credit-cards.php?src=704525

Claude Code + ChatGPT (the AI tools he builds with)

Whatnot, B-Stock

👤 FOLLOW CHAD

X: https://x.com/chadventures_

The Buy Box: https://thebuybox.io

Flip Alert: https://flipalert.co

🟠 FOLLOW CLEAR THE SHELF

Newsletter (5 Things Friday, 30,000+ Amazon sellers): https://cleartheshelf.com

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@cleartheshelf

Free Amazon sourcing training: https://rabbittrailchallenge.com

Free repricer training: https://repricerchallenge.com

Follow Chris Grant:X/Twitter/Instagram: @cleartheshelf Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletterFollow Chris Racic:X/Twitter: @ChrisRacicNewsletter: https://oaleads247.com

👉 Want help building this into your business? Apply to work 1-on-1 with Chris: https://cleartheshelf.com/apply

On this episode, Chris and Chris Racic sit down with Pete Nelson. Pete sold over $2M on Amazon doing online arbitrage, burned out on the grind, and pivoted into the Amazon Influencer Program while teaching himself AI from scratch. He now runs Claude with MCP connectors to fire off scheduled tasks that organize orders, enrich Keepa data, and post content for him. We get into where AI actually belongs in an Amazon business (and where it doesn't), the simple automations you can set up this week, and whether AIP still has runway in 2026.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 "The Easiest Money to Make Online"

02:06 $2M Seller, 10 Years In, Still Working a 9-5

05:03 The Account Health Strike That Broke Him

09:22 Why Most Sellers Use AI Completely Wrong

10:08 Pick One Tool. Start With One Annoying Task.

13:19 Agents and Connectors, in Plain English

15:00 "Everything Is a Workflow"

16:37 The 15-Minute Setup That Kills Inauthentic Claims

18:15 Where AI Doesn't Belong (Sourcing + Amazon's TOS)

21:31 Why Tool-Hopping Kills Your Progress

24:22 Is SaaS Dead? (and What Replaces It)

26:47 Why He Built Opsync Pro

31:50 Turn Your VAs From Cost Into Revenue

37:30 Inside AIP: $50K in Commissions, Part-Time

46:27 Lightning Round: Red Flags & His Best $15 Tool

FOLLOW PETE

- YouTube: @PeterNelson13

- X/Twitter: @PeterNelson

- Instagram: @PetesFlips

- Opsync Pro: https://opsyncpro.io/beta

Follow Chris Grant:

X/Twitter/Instagram: @cleartheshelf

Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletter

Follow Chris Racic:

X/Twitter: @ChrisRacic

Newsletter: https://oaleads247.com

Apply to work with me one-on-one: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/apply

He's done $6.5 million in Amazon sales. He quit a six-figure finance job in New York to do this full-time. And his thesis is that once you get to a certain point, an Amazon business becomes a logistics company. The margin isn't just in sourcing. It's in the supply chain.

Sean Kaupp (@Stacksonsr) co-founded ShipVision, uses $1 million in private capital instead of credit cards, and says AWD saves him $2,500 to $7,000 a month in placement fees. Today we get into why he thinks wholesale has the smallest moat, why OA sellers doing $14 million a month prove the model scales, how FTL shipping cuts check-in time from three weeks to under 24 hours, and the order cancellation prevention stack most sellers don't know about.

Chapters:

00:00 - $6.5M on Amazon and the Logistics Thesis

02:01 - COVID Masks to $180K Months on Shopify (Then $5K)

05:00 - Suspended Before His First Sale (How He Got Back In)

07:00 - Home Depot Gloves and the Amazon Lightbulb Moment

10:00 - What ShipVision Actually Does (And Why He Built It)

13:30 - $16K/Month for Unlimited Prep and Shipping

15:00 - Why He Threw Away Every Box in the Warehouse

18:56 - AWD: How He Skips $7K/Month in Placement Fees

21:00 - Buy 1,000 Units, Not 100 (The Buy Box Network Effect)

24:00 - $1M in Private Capital (Not Credit Cards, Not SBA)

27:29 - Fundraising Is a Core Entrepreneurial Skill

32:00 - "Wholesale Has the Smallest Moat"

35:49 - "The Real Money Is in the Hidden Prices"

41:08 - Why Walmart Is Not the Escape Hatch You Think

46:00 - The Order Cancellation Prevention Stack

48:00 - Stop Dreaming About Exiting. Start Compounding.

Follow Sean:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seankaupp/

Twitter: https://x.com/Stacksonsr

Follow Chris Grant:

X/Twitter/Instagram: @cleartheshelf

Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletter

Follow Chris Racic:

X/Twitter: @ChrisRacic

Newsletter: https://oaleads247.com

Apply to work with me one-on-one: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/apply

Apply for 0% interest credit cards here: https://www.cardratings.com/bestcards/business-credit-cards.php?src=704525

He was stuck at $30K a month for four months straight. Profitable, healthy sell-through, more leads than money to buy them. The problem wasn't sourcing. It was capital. So he got his first two credit cards, $110K combined, and within five months he hit his first $100K month. He's now done over $7M in Amazon sales in his early 20's.

Sadeq has built $385,000 in business credit lines across Chase, American Express, Capital One, and others. He walks us through the exact card stack, the application sequence, billing cycle optimization, the funding traps that cost sellers thousands, and why 0% APR credit cards are the single best scaling tool for OA sellers who've outgrown their cash.

Chapters:

00:00 - Stuck at $30K/Month With No More Cash to Spend

02:00 - Sneaker Restocks at 5AM for 18 Months Straight

05:31 - How to Know It's Capital, Not Sourcing

07:00 - What Separates the Best Arbitrage Sellers

09:00 - The Funding Traps That Sound Good Until You Do the Math

14:01 - Why 0% APR Cards Beat Everything Else

16:43 - The Guardrails You Need Before You Touch Credit

18:48 - The Chase Stack: How He Got $72K in One Day

21:10 - Pre-Application Checklist (Don't Skip This)

24:00 - The Heavy Spender Card Nobody Talks About

25:00 - Charge Cards vs Credit Cards: Which One Fits OA?

30:00 - What to Do When You Get Declined

32:46 - Billing Cycle Optimization (No Two Cards Due the Same Day)

38:01 - Signup Bonuses: The Money You're Leaving on the Table

40:21 - Lightning Round: One Card, One Mistake, One Tool

Follow Sadeq:

X/Twitter: https://x.com/sadeqwahab

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadeqwahabb/

Work with Sadeq: https://calendly.com/sadeq0905/business-funding-strategy-call

Follow Chris Grant:

X/Twitter/Instagram: @cleartheshelf

Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletter

Follow Chris Racic:

X/Twitter: @ChrisRacic

Newsletter: https://oaleads247.com

Apply to work with me one-on-one: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/apply

He bartended for 15 years. Then COVID hit, and he never went back. He flipped GPUs, then PS5s, then found Amazon. Now he's doing $200K months with online arbitrage at 15-16% net margins and pulling $36K a year in cashback on top of the profit.

Blake (@Blake_FBA) is a seven-figure Amazon OA seller who's survived brand reviews, lost entire categories, and still keeps running it up. Today we get into how he actually sources, why repricing separates good sellers from great sellers, the cashback that pays for his life, and why he says fees only hurt you when your sourcing is weak.

Chapters:

00:00 - Bartender for 15 Years. Then Everything Changed.

02:00 - GPU Flipping in a Discord and a Cash Deal With a Stranger

04:15 - The Walmart Pallet That Made $50K at 1800% ROI

08:00 - First OA Hire: Neither of Us Knew What We Were Doing

13:15 - Why OA Has a Higher Ceiling Than RA

16:00 - New Brands Nobody Heard of Two Years Ago

20:00 - How He Went Wide Before Going Deep

22:27 - Losing Brands and the Forced Pivot to Multi-Channel

27:00 - eBay, Walmart, and Cross-Listing as Insurance

30:45 - What a Sourcing Session Actually Looks Like

37:26 - Repricing: The Skill That Separates Good From Great

42:43 - $36K in Cash Back and a Backyard Bio Lab

47:55 - The Year He Ran It Fully Automated (And What He Missed)

51:21 - "There's a Biological Creature Running the Ship"

55:16 - "Fees Only Hurt When Your Sourcing Is Weak"

Follow Blake:

X/Twitter: https://x.com/blake_fba

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blake_fba/

Follow Chris Grant:

X/Twitter/Instagram: @cleartheshelf

Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletter

Follow Chris Racic:

X/Twitter: @ChrisRacic

Newsletter: https://oaleads247.com

Apply to work with me one-on-one: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/apply

Grab the FREE Amazon to Amazon Flips Playbook: https://cleartheshelf.gumroad.com/l/A2A-Playbook

He's sold over $1.7 million in inventory that he bought directly from Amazon and resold right back on Amazon. If that sounds insane, it is. But Amazon's pricing algorithms create errors, they clearance aged inventory, and their bots price match obscure websites. Ryan Otwell turned those inefficiencies into a full-time business.

Ryan runs the YouTube channel A2Amazing and has been doing Amazon to Amazon flips full-time for about two years. Today we break down every sourcing method (Keepa Deals, Flip Alert, debundles), why the offer tab is the most underrated Keepa feature, how to compete against Amazon on a listing, and more.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - $1.7M Buying and Selling on the Same Platform

04:52 - Amazon to Amazon Flips Explained in 10 Seconds

07:00 - Why Amazon Sells Below Cost (Your Opportunity)

09:42 - Is This Allowed? What Amazon's Own Policy Says

14:00 - The Pursuit of Flexibility Over Freedom

16:56 - How to Find A2A Deals With Just Keepa

20:40 - Handing A2A Sourcing to a VA

24:33 - What the Perfect A2A Flip Looks Like

27:16 - The Keepa Tab Nobody's Using

34:50 - Funding a $3M A2A Business

38:06 - $140K Stranded Overnight (The Nike Incident)

41:00 - Put 999 in the Box First

55:00 - Debundles: Where the 400% ROI Hides

59:00 - Competing Against Amazon Isn't What You Think

Follow Ryan:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@A2Amazin⁩

Follow Chris Grant:

X/Twitter/Instagram: @cleartheshelf

Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletter

Follow Chris Racic:

X/Twitter: @ChrisRacic

Newsletter: https://oaleads247.com

Apply to work with me one-on-one: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/apply

He did $7 million in Amazon sales last year. His goal for 2026 is $10 million. His entire operation runs with 12 people, mostly offshore. And his core work is done by Monday at lunchtime.

Matt Hassler started selling on Amazon in July 2022 with $5,000. He ran the business from a camper while traveling the country with his wife. Today he runs an almost entirely wholesale operation using just 3 Keepa Product Finder filters and a team of sourcers, admins, and an ops manager. This episode breaks down his sourcing system, how he opens and evaluates wholesale accounts, the 3 constraints that limit growth, how he built a team, and the restocking software he built from his own process.

Chapters:

00:00 - $7M in Sales, Done by Monday at Noon

01:37 - Chemical Engineer to Amazon Seller

04:00 - The Capital Deployment System

08:00 - What Opening a Wholesale Account Actually Looks Like

14:56 - 3 Keepa Product Finder Filters

20:04 - Could This Wholesale Model Work for OA and RA?

22:05 - Three Constraints: Suppliers, Sourcers, or Capital

26:19 - The Lead Approval Process

31:02 - Amazon Seller Market Outlook

34:49 - Building a Team of 12

38:00 - How He Incentivizes Sourcers

41:00 - Culture and Integrity

45:44 - Top 3 KPIs: Revenue, Spend, and Inventory Age

48:00 - Why He Still Does His Own Repricing

51:10 - AI Distributor Scraper: 30 Distributors in 15 Minutes

54:00 - ReplenPulse

58:45 - Lightning Round

Follow Matt:

Website: https://matthewhassler.com/

Software: https://www.replenpulse.com/

Follow Chris Grant:

X/Twitter/Instagram: @cleartheshelf

Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletter

Follow Chris Racic:

X/Twitter: @ChrisRacic

Newsletter: https://oaleads247.com

Apply to work with me one-on-one: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/apply

Harry's an HR Director with a 10-year corporate career, a wife, kids, and a barn full of a million worms. In January 2026, he wrote a post to himself: "365 days from now you freaking did it, bro." Less than two months later, he replaced his W2 salary with Amazon income.

Harry (@SellFlipDad) is building everything at once: a full-time career, an Amazon OA business, Whatnot live selling shows with his wife, and a Claude AI bot that messages potential customers 24/7 while he sleeps. This episode covers how he went from worm farming to salary replacement in 6 months, why he calls himself a "reseller" instead of an Amazon seller, the AI bot that runs his Whatnot chat (and accidentally bought him a Carhartt hat), and how he balances all of it without losing his family or his mind.

Chapters:

00:00 - The HR Director Who Replaced His Salary With Amazon

02:00 - "Our Son's Twin Passed Away. We Needed Our Why."

03:49 - From Worm Farming to Amazon (The Unlikely Pipeline)

05:23 - "365 Days From Now You Freaking Did It, Bro"

07:00 - What Amazon Revenue vs. Profit Actually Looks Like Early On

10:00 - Getting Your Spouse On Board (She Said "You're Crazy")

15:02 - Wife Goes From Teacher to Fashion Business Owner on Whatnot

18:18 - "I Am a Reseller." Why Identity Matters

23:00 - Daily Prioritization: W2 First, Then Where's the Money?

27:07 - Whatnot Live Selling: $1 Starts on Goodwill Kids' Clothes

33:00 - The AI Bot That Runs His Whatnot Shows (Claude Cowork)

36:00 - How Claude Messages Thousands of Potential Buyers While He Sleeps

39:24 - Claude Automated His Entire HR Paperwork Too

40:00 - Going Deep: The Magic Number Is 700 Monthly Sold Batch

44:00 - Paying to Play: Using Losses to Build Sales History

46:57 - Ungating: "Keep Asking. Gamify It. Try Number 60 Is Coming."

51:36 - Claude for Amazon Sellers: Where to Start

55:00 - Balancing Work, Family, and the Grind (The Honest Take)

59:00 - What Does Freedom Actually Look Like?

01:01:00 - Lightning Round: Bidet, Lawn Service, and a Million Worms

Follow Harry:X/Twitter: @SellFlipDadWhatnot: Outgrow Kids

Follow Chris Grant:

X/Twitter/Instagram: @cleartheshelf

Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletter

Follow Chris Racic:

X/Twitter: @ChrisRacic

Newsletter: https://oaleads247.com

Apply to work with me one-on-one: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/apply

Ryan set a goal of $600,000 in Amazon sales, then he tripled it. He did $1.8 million in his first full year of doing online arbitrage. He did this while graduating from college and turning down every corporate job offer. He's 23 years old, and this year he's targeting $5,000,000 in revenue.

In this podcast, we learn about his journey, find out what got him started, and he shares what he's done to scale his business.

Chapters:

00:00 - Video Game Currency to $1.8M on Amazon (Origin Story)

05:23 - "Burned the Boats" While Barely Profitable

07:00 - What Walmart Corporate Taught Him About 3P Selling

10:00 - Why People Quit Before the Inflection Point

14:00 - The FAFO Moment: $600K Goal, $1.8M Finish

18:52 - Turning $1 Into $400 in Sales on a Single Deal

20:04 - Order Cancellations: The Full Checklist

22:04 - Replenishables and Stalking Your Own Storefront on Keepa

26:00 - Why He Took an $85K Loan to Scale (The Math)

29:00 - Cash Conversion Cycle Explained (60-70 Days)

34:00 - Team of Five: Hiring VAs With a 3% Pass Rate

39:00 - The Trick Questions That Eliminate 97% of Applicants

42:01 - Teaching VAs to Solve Problems (Not Just Report Them)

45:00 - Culture Building: Chemistry, Character, Competence

49:08 - VA Incentives: 5% of Cashback + Tiered Lead Bonuses

52:15 - The Custom Credit Card Dashboard (SimpleFin API + Float Scores)

55:00 - Invoice Compilation Tool Built in One Day With Claude Code

59:00 - P&L Management: The Weekly Reconciliation Process

01:03:00 - Why He's Never Been More Bullish on Amazon

01:06:00 - Fuel Surcharge and Delivery Date +7: "What Does Complaining Do?"

01:07:00 - Diversify Within Your Catalog, Not Across Platforms

01:11:37 - AI-Generated Fake Return Photos (His VA Caught Them)

01:15:00 - Scaling to $5M: The Reverse-Engineered Framework

01:20:00 - "What Got Me to 1.8M Won't Get Me to 5M"

01:24:00 - Lightning Round: Bet on Yourself

Follow Ryan:

X/Twitter: @CookingCashflow

Instagram: @CookingCashflow

Follow Chris Grant:

X/Twitter/Instagram: ⁨@cleartheshelf⁩

Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletter

Follow Chris Racic:

X/Twitter: @ChrisRacic

Newsletter: https://oaleads247.com

Apply to work with me one-on-one: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/apply

$30,000 in legal fees. Just to get dismissed from a lawsuit. The seller didn't make the product, didn't ship it, didn't fulfill it. The customer tripped over the FBA box on their doorstep and sued everyone.

Ashlin Hadden has insured more than 5,000 e-commerce businesses. She processes 50-100 insurance applications a week for Amazon sellers. Today she breaks down what Amazon actually requires, what your LLC doesn't protect you from, why your homeowner's insurance won't cover your inventory, and the seven product categories you should never sell without a policy.

Chapters:

00:00 - Ashlin's Origin Story

04:57 - What Amazon Actually Requires

06:14 - General Liability vs. Product Liability

07:10 - You Jumped on Someone's Listing. You're Responsible for It.

08:10 - "Your LLC Can't Pick Up the Phone and Defend You"

10:46 - What Happens When You Get Sued (The Claims Process)

12:12 - How Much Coverage Do You Actually Need?

14:13 - Umbrella Policies and Excess Coverage Explained

16:33 - The $30,000 Lawsuit Over a Box on a Doorstep

19:00 - 7 Products You Should NEVER Sell Without Insurance

22:12 - A Resistance Band Hit a Surgeon in the Face (Horror Story)

26:00 - Your Homeowner's Insurance Won't Cover Your Inventory

28:06 - Prep Center Risk: Only a Handful Actually Have Coverage

30:05 - Prop 65: California's Ambulance Chaser Problem

32:34 - Cease & Desist: Is Legal Defense Covered?

34:00 - What Does Insurance Actually Cost? ($600 to $150K)

37:37 - How to Get Started (Application to COI in a Day)

38:52 - Lightning Round: One Thing Every Seller Must Know

Follow Ashlin:

Website: ecom.insure

Email: [email protected]

Social: @ashlinhadden everywhere

Follow Chris Grant:

X/Twitter: @cleartheshelf

Newsletter: https://cleartheshelf.com/newsletter

Follow Chris Racic:

X/Twitter: @ChrisRacic

Newsletter: https://oaleads247.com