Day 6: Sourcing (Part III)
Today’s goal is to show you how I read through a standard leads list, as a lot of people don’t know how to get the most out of it.
Many people write off lead lists for various reasons, but usually it boils down to a lack of creativity
I rarely get a lead list where every item on the list is something that I buy, but I have found a way to multiply every lead list so that I can turn a lead list of 10 ASINs into 30+ ASINs.
I do so using rabbit trails and variation sourcing!
Note: Do not buy any leads from this lead list. It is a sample that we are sharing with hundreds of other Challengers. However, you can feel free to use them as a starting point for sourcing.
What Do Lead Lists Have?
Lead Lists will vary, but they will usually include the following data points:
- Product name
- Store name
- Url
- Keepa link
- Store price
- Amazon price
- Net profit
- Roi
- Estimated sales count
- BB status
Note: You may hear a lot of people say no sipp bb, i beg to differ.
While the BB is suppressed, that doesn’t mean there is no sales opportunity, just that the sales velocity will be dampened. I have made sales on ASINs with a suppressed BB, it just took a little more w
- notes/coupons
- Shipping info
If you decide to join a lead list., first look at the store names. Are you familiar with any of them? The less familiar the store name it is, the more likely it is that you will be able to find a new source retailer that few know about
Next we will look at categories and keep an eye out for ones that interest us. The more categories that you are familiar with, the better.
Lead One: Keihl’s Body Cleanser
Let’s get started with this body cleanser from Kiehl’s and see just how many profitable ASINs we can source from just this one.
Now that we have an image, let’s open a new tab and go onto Amazon to see if we can find it.
Does It Sell?
We can see from the chart that it has had a good heartbeat since december. Why has it gotten better? I don’t know. What we do know is that sales have been consistent since then.
Is it profitable?
The price is really consistent, for the most part. I would say that it is a bit of an anomaly. The current price point seems to fluctuate very little.
Note: We care about price fluctuation because I like to know what the worst case scenario is. What is the lowest it’s ever been AND what’s the lowest it could probably hit within 60 days?
Also keep in mind that the price will shift between the release of the Lead List and when you see the ASIN.
Regional buy boxes exist for many ASINs, and it is likely that any price shift was also caused by their data being collected from a different region.
Next I will look at the subcategories and see how that's doing and I will look for who is competitive. You can do that by looking at the offers page. Again, remember that the seller with the BB will have the Buy Now button.
In reality, I am competing with 5 sellers, not 7 because only 5 out of the 7 are competing for the Buy Box.
Next I want to know how many people share this listing with me.
We need to make sure we also consider the fact that other people have also bought the same lead list in most cases, which can lead to penny drops and tanking.
I would go ahead and buy 6 units to test, but before I do that I will return to the chart and see if there are any discounts.
Look at this flowchart for your reference on how we analyze leads
Finding Variations Through Rabbit Trails
Now we are happy with this lead, we will find even more leads using rabbit trails
At the bottom of most retailer product detail pages, there will be a “You may also like” section
They won’t all be winners, but this is how we multiply leads. Let’s look at the first one.
Kiehl’s Original Musk Body Lotion
Looking at RevSeller, we can tell that this one is not profitable right off the bat, so we’ll ditch it.
Let’s look at the next one:
Creme de Corps Smoothing Oil to Foam Body Cleanser
Is it profitable?
Yes! We can tell by plugging the price into revseller that we can generate a profit from this ASIN (if it sells.)
Does it Sell? NO!
I know this item is no-good because there are a lot of sellers and a very low sales velocity, a bad combo.
Acqua Di Parma Colonia Bath Gel
Is it profitable?
I know this one is no good right away because the buy price is much higher than the listing price on Amazon; you don’t even need to run it through RevSeller in this situation, especially since you have no rebates or discounts?
Note: The important thing is to run rabbit trails on every lead. Even if you can’t sell it now, keep all potential leads saved somewhere and routinely source from that.
Next Lead: Bird Weekly Planner
One thing about planners, they sell a lot in December and January, but will sell longer than just those 2 months.
This one also hits the Bird Niche and Organization niche. NICHE = category rabbit trails. What else could have bird designs? Plates? Pillows? Etc.
First, make sure the site you got the lead from is legit, which is always a best practice.
Is it Profitable?
Yes, it is very profitable even without the coupons and discounts provided by the lead list!
Does it Sell?
As we can see from the data, it does well and very well seasonally. I am not gonna go deep with this one and buy maybe 6-7 units
The review count is going up, which is also a very good sign. While it doesn’t directly equal sales, it is a very good indicator of climbing sales velocity.
Finding Variations
Now let’s find variations in a different way: through reverse sourcing with Keepa on Amazon. We can use keepa to look up variations.
It looks like the mushroom one does the best.
Next, I want to go back to the original site and do a quick search. If it’s not there, that's ok because we can source it anywhere online, but you may miss out on any coupons or discounts you got from the Lead List.
Note: Usually stay away from clearance sections at major retailers, but I would be ok with it if the retailer is smaller/ less known.
Find Variations With Amazon
Since we know that the planner is profitable, we can also use amazon to find lead lists.
Lead lists are great not because of what they give you, but where they lead you. If you're willing to run down every variation.
I believe that anyone who says “lead lists are bad” are quite frankly not used to thinking outside the box.
Closing Tip: Taking Advantage of Sitewide Sales With Keepa
Let's say you found a site with a storewide sale. We can run a basic brand search on the keepa product finder and use that to find the sale items with the highest profit
This is one of the easiest ways to find the on-sale items that will make you the most money. I would recommend that you don’t fly too close to the sun and try to clean out a retailer like Target since they really hate when resellers come for their “loss leaders”: The discounted items that they are trying to market as a way to bring more customers in the store.
It may take a while to get through all of these leads in Keepa, but it is definitely worth the time it takes to scan them all.
Day 6 Live Q+A
Is OA Hunt oahunt.com?
Yes. Derek runs a great business, but don't flood it all at once. He has a smaller operation.
How much do you trust sales estimators?
Not alot, but I won't stick my nose up at more data. However, I am a test buyer by nature, and I find that more reliable than estimators.
How do you join a lead list?
You find one you like, pay them for it, and that’s all there is to it.
Do you think Khiel's could end up like Lancome?
Yes, that is absolutely true. That is also why I don’t make my whole catalog on one brand because you just never really know.
What is your criteria when you determine if there are too many sellers?
I look at the number of FBA sellers, since those are who I am competing against. Then I will find the sellers with higher stock since they are more likely to be the ones to get the BB.
Do Lead Lists have some for new sellers?
Yeah, some do.
What is the best repricer?
I really like Aura, but it really is a question of what you need out of your repricer. Some people like PPP, BeCool, and SellerSnap. If you are like me and you want a real human doing the repricing for you, I'd get Aura, though that comes at a larger cost.
How long should it take to make a buying decision from a lead list?
Usually 1-2 minutes, but that’s only because I have a lot of practice and my processes are already in place. We need to allow ourselves to read the necessary data without being paralyzed by indecision.
What is the extension that you are using on the top of the product detail page?
RevSeller. We’ll look at it more on extensions day.
Do rank drops = sales?
No. When there is a drop, there is no concrete way to tell how many sales triggered that drop. If it is a flat line, we need to find out why.
Are you judging demand using review count?
Yes, that is a factor.
Do you track the price of all your leads on Keepa?
No, but I will occasionally just throw it into a google sheet.
Should I manually source old lead lists or just run it through TA?
I like to manually source them.
What are your thoughts on FBM vs FBA?
As long as you can make a profit, there is no problem with FBM. The big question mark is how many of your competitors are really in FBM or are just dropshippers trying to make a quick buck.
Do you match the BB?
Yes. I want to optimize my profit however I also want to optimize my speed. I want to sell as many units as I can for as much as I can as fast as I can. As long as I'm still within my minimum margins, I am gonna churn that inventory like butter.
Should we be concerned about legal ramifications of multipack changes?
Not legal trouble, but Amazon may rain on your parade a little more often.
How many units do you typically test buy?
Usually somewhere between 5-10 units, depending on how much capital I am willing to invest and how confident/apprehensive I am about the product.
How often do you scan your old lead lists?
60 days later and then every 30 days after that.
Is it wise to use 90 day BSR, 30 day, or current?
I would say all of them, honestly. You want a well rounded view of the sales rank.
Do you stay away from listings that the Same brand sells on?
I would make sure they aren’t an IP-claim-happy kind of brand.
What do you know about OA Cheddar?
I really like the team there, however, there are too many sellers