Amazon in the Spotlight
While many think Amazon stock is going to hit the $2k mark, others chime in with the opposite perspective. Meanwhile, it’s fair to take a look at some of the issues Amazon has to face as it continues to grow. I find it mind-boggling that Amazon is having some hiccups trying to fill its 50,000 position openings in its fulfillment centers. I use a VPN service whenever I work from Starbucks; therefore, it’s hard to imagine working without it like what’s happeningin China.
McDonald’s in Australia vs. America
A recent post by Andrew Cavanagh in the OfflineBiz.com Facebook group: “What every business can learn from McDonald’s Australia. Over the last year’s sales and profits in Australian McDonald’s stores have taken a huge rise mainly after introducing a new ‘make your own burger’ service. The service allows customers to choose every element they put on a burger. The burgers are then delivered to the customer’s table on a fancy looking wooden board. This turns a McDonald’s burger into literally anything you want. You can have triple meat, extra lettuce, any sauce, any filling, any bread…you can even have no bread and wrap your ‘burger’ in lettuce. Here’s the kicker. The minimum price for one of these burgers is $10…and they’re selling like crazy. The two principles here for business are ‘Can you deliver a better service to your clients filling their wants and needs?’ and ‘Can you charge a premium price for it?’ While most fast food franchises are trying to work out how to undercut their competition in a ‘race to the bottom’ price, McDonald’s Australia has headed in completely the opposite direction, and it’s dramatically improving profits. When you work with businesses, they’ll start talking about discounting to get more sales. Smart marketers go in the opposite direction…’Can I find a way to sell for more? Can I find a way to sell their products or services that have a higher net profit?'”
The Amazon FBA Sales Tax Amnesty: What You Need to Know
I am a TaxJar user, and I’m always impressed by its service and knowledge base on sales tax. I’ve met Jennifer from TaxJar at one of the CES conferences, and she has done a fantastic job in explaining what the subject is all about. I now have some homework to do to take advantage of the amnesty.
Amazon’s Shoe Business Sees Double-Digit Growth
Most of my FBA inventory is shoes, and the data presented in this article gets my blood pumping. I have a very good feeling about the future of my two sourcing services, GatedList and QikFlips. GatedList was launched two and a half years ago, focusing on sourcing profitable shoes from many online retailers. QikFlips, which was launched just three weeks ago, perfectly complements GatedList by effectively identifying profitable shoes sold by Amazon itself.
Jeff Bezos is No Longer the Richest Man in the World
I laughed when I read the last paragraph of this article. I have a hard time trying to figure out why the media is so into publishing who is the world’s richest man. The lesson here is that we, as Amazon sellers, should be reminded that being the happiest and most content person is much more important than being the richest person. We should pursue success in life as an overall thing, not relying on money alone to determine how successful we are.