The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

Hello this is Grant Chen bringing you today’s episode. Today we talk with Chris McCabe of eCommerce Chris. Chris helps Amazon FBA sellers who have been suspended, blacklisted, or are under investigation by Amazon.

Amazon has created a complex system which is supposed to weed out the bad apples and protect the customers and reputable sellers. The problem is there are policy issues and Standard Operation Procedures that can keep a seller from using their account. 

This is Mike Jackness with Ecom Crew. On today's episode I'm going to tell you about my recent trip to China. I want to stress that these types of trips are essential if you are going to do business with Chinese manufacturers.

My trip consisted of 3 places; Shanghai, Pon, and Na-Jing. At all these places I visited some of my suppliers. During this visit I made some notes for future visits. So I'm going to share some of the tips and observations I made during this last visit to China.

The tips I cover today:

• How valuable the Canton Fair is to overseas trade
• China's great public rail system
• Why you should not go to China in the summer
• Why staying in American hotel chains is best
• The importance of knowing the culture of your hosts
• Bring gifts for your hosts
• Always think about the long term

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Our show today is titled Cash is King! We discuss the ups and downs of inventory and anticipating your market. When we got started, we relied on affiliate marketing so actually keeping an inventory is new for both of us.

Today, we tell you what guidelines we use for ourselves with inventory. Also, we talk about inventory practices on Amazon, so tune in for some practical tips.

The topics we covered today:

• An update on our shipping troubles.
• The 90 Day Rule
• When you can set terms with a manufacturer.
• Past issues we've seen with inventory.
• How to be a good buyer.
• How to optimize Amazon's inventory listings.
• Amazon's holiday storage fees.
• The benefits of owning your own warehouse.
• Knowing when to liquidate or hang in there.
• Why you should do your homework on a product before you order.
• The mistakes we've made in our inventories.

Resources:

Amazon

Stitch Labs

Skubana

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Today we talk about a topic we're kinda divided on, Luck. Some people think luck is essential in business; while others think that luck is made. We debate that conversation on today's podcast. There are some compelling points made on both sides. Give the episode a listen and see on what side you fall.

The points we discussed today:

• The role of luck in business.
• The importance of being in the right place at the right time.
• Being Lucky vs. Being Tenacious.
• Why you can't fight city hall.
• Having a high risk tolerance in business.
• How to turn lessons into luck.
• Amazon Nightmares.
• SEO Lessons.
• Focusing on good content and user experience.
• The importance of keeping on eye on your vendors.

Resources

Ecom Crew

Color It

Cuttingboard.com

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Today we welcome our guest Steve Chou to the podcast. Steve is the owner of Bumblebee Linens and the creator of My Wife Quit Her Job. Recently Steve has redesigned his linen site and has increased his conversion rate by 42%! Today we discuss what he believes made such an impressive conversion rate happen.

Steve's blog My Wife Quit Her Job is where he he discusses how he and his wife began their custom handkerchief and other linen web store. He even discusses how he increased his conversion in a blog post.

On today's episode we compare notes and offer advice on how to make the changes that will help your business grow.

The topics we discussed today are:

• Sellers Summit
• The usefulness of a Mastermind group.
• The rule of shipping, returns, and trust.
• The design changes Steve made to Bumblebee Linens' site.
• How color scheme changes play a part in conversion rate.
• Why user testing is important to design changes.
• Why IE is still important to include in a site design.
• Other tips Steve has to improve your site and brand perception.
• The benefits of self-coding and custom platforms.
• Steve's online training course.

To contact Steve you can fill out the contact form on mywifequitherjob.com or you can follow @mywifequit on Twitter.

Ecom also has a special promotion going on with Sellers Summit. If you follow the link on our page you will be able to purchase a virtual pass to the the recorded speaker sessions for 2016's event. You will be able to purchase the passes at a 33% discount. If you purchase the passes by July 15th you will get exclusive access to a Google Hangout where you can ask the speakers the questions you want answers too! So check out the link in the resources to take advantage of this deal.

Resources Mentioned on Today's Episode

My Wife Quit Her Job

The Exact Steps I Took To Increase Conversion Rates 42% For My Online Shop, by: Steve Chou

Bumblebee Linens

Profitable Online Store

Sellers Summit

ColorIt

Cuttingboard.com

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Our guest today is Chad Rubin, the co-founder and CEO of Skubana. Chad shares with us how he and his business partner developed Skubana. Skubana is an All-in-One E-Commerce Operation software. It allows Amazon sellers and other e-marketplace sellers to run their business from one central location without tons of employees or software costs.

During the show today Chad tells us about his background and how Skubana has changed the way e-commerce get done. He offers his insight on the future of Amazon and how the Chinese market is going to change things. There is a ton of great information on today's podcast.

Some of the topics we cover are:

• Chad's background on Wall Street and Crucial Vacuum
• How multiple softwares can get expensive and useless
• The ups and downs of running a warehouse
• Working with Wal-Mart.com and Jet.com
• How e-commerce is like Monopoly
• Chad's opinion on the future of marketplaces
• How ecommerce has embraced "Amazon-faction"

Also today Chad is offering to give a free copy of his book Cheaper, Easier, Direct to our listeners. Plus anyone needing referrals to 3PLs can e-mail Chad at [email protected].

Resources Mentioned Today:

Colorit

Cuttingboard.com

Skubana

Amazon

Cheaper, Easier, Direct, by: Chad Rubin and Frank Turner

Jet.com

Crucial Vacuum

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Our episode today is going to be a general update and resources episode. Mike has been doing tons of traveling and he would like to discuss some of the places and conferences he will be attending. Grant is dealing with some shipping issues, and has some insights on networking and attending events, like conferences.

The topics we covered today are:

• Mike's business update.
• Grant's business update.
• Upcoming Ecommerce Event: Sellers Summit
• Upcoming Ecommerce Event: Ecommerce All Stars
• Upcoming Ecommerce Event: Digital Marketing Guys
• Upcoming Ecommerce Event: Ecommercefuel Live
• Next week's special guest.
• Learning from the school of hard knocks.
• The benefits of attending events.
• The value of networking at these events.

We have a special offer for the upcoming Sellers Summit on July 15th. Click here for information.

Resources Mentioned this Episode:

Seller Summit

eCommerceFuel

Skubana

eCommerce All Stars

Digital Marketing Guys

EcommerceFuel Live

San Diego Mastermind

Ecom Crew

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Today we just give you an update episode on how our businesses are doing. Mike is dealing with quality issues with his Chinese manufacturers. Grant is working on sourcing for Cuttingboard.com. Along with these issues we also share some of the bright spots of the businesses.

We discuss our plans for growing the businesses and what's in the pipeline for both of us. There are a few challenges facing each of our businesses today, but with the holiday season right around the corner for online stores, it's time to get everything in order for the biggest time of the year.

The topics we covered today:

• Hiring the right virtual assistance.
• Dealing with customer service problems.
• Mike's upcoming promotion for Color-It.
• Grant's Chopping Blocks progress.
• Mike's new website purchase.
• Icewraps' move to Shopify.
• Grant and Mike's friendly competition.
• An exclusive deal with Amazon.

Resources from today's episode:

Cuttingboard.com

Chopping Blocks

The Digital Marketing Guys

Shopify

Hotjar

McAfee

Icewraps.com

Better Business Bureau

Colorit

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Our guest today is Greg Mercer, the founder of JungleScout. Jungle Scout is an application that pairs with a seller's Amazon account. The software offers a suite of tools for Amazon sellers to help them optimize their product and the product reputation.

Greg also has his hand in other software tools such as Fetcher, Spitly, and Review Kick. On today's episode, Greg tells us about how Jungle Scout got its start and how their products complies with Amazon's new system changes.

The topics we covered today are:

• Greg's digital nomadic lifestyle
• Jungle Scout's product database
• Jungle Scout's uses to Amazon sellers
• Greg's rules of thumb
• Why Jungle Scout was created
• The development of Spitly and its uses
• Beta testing with Fetcher
• Using Review Kick
• Greg's opinion of where Amazon will be in 3 years

Resources Mentioned Today:

JungleScout.com

Spitly.com

Fetcher.com

Review Kick

Amazon

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast, please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Our guest today is Greg Mercer, the founder of Jungle Scout. Jungle Scout is an application that pairs with a seller’s Amazon account. The software offers a suite of tools for Amazon sellers to help them optimize their product and the product reputation.

Greg also has his hand in other software tools such as Fetcher, Spitly, and Review Kick. On today’s episode, Greg tells us about how Jungle Scout got its start and how their products complies with Amazon’s new system changes.