How can you recover £150k for your Vendor Business?
Did you make our recent expert webinar? Designed for Amazon Vendors who want to take proactive steps to plug revenue leaks and recover substantial amounts on chargebacks and shortages, this is definitely an hour that’s well worth your time.
Our internal dream team of Andrew Banks, Jonathan Newton and Matt Briggs were joined by Vendor Rocket’s Ant Finch for this 60-minute deep dive, in which they offered their expert take and advice on dispute resolution and dynamic measures that will help Vendors secure their financial future and boost their profitability on Amazon.
What did we cover?
- We talked long and hard about revenue leaks, with tips to uncover why your revenues might be slipping away and how to assess if your brand is affected.
- We shared real-life success stories, full of insights into how we’ve helped clients recover substantial amounts.
- And we opened the floor to webinar attendees with a Q&A session, so our experts could answer your most pressing questions right then and there.
Nearly £500k back in our clients’ bank accounts…
We launched our cashback service in Beta just 6 months ago, and already we’ve recovered close to half a million GBP in lost revenues – 1 client alone has had over £150,000 identified as a potential cashback opportunity!
Our service and expertise in this field are second to none, and the exceptional results we’ve gained in such a short space of time just prove that this “no win, no fee – no tricks, no surprises” service is solid.
If you’re an Amazon Vendor generating £2m+ in sales to Amazon per annum, there’s a very good chance we could put £100k+ back in your bank account.
Want to learn more? Speak to our team today.
Here’s why stopping your Amazon Ads will never boost your profits
Recently, our CEO Andrew Banks spoke with a brand who were thinking of cutting their Amazon Ads to see whether it would generate more profit.
While the entrepreneur in him admitted the idea of testing and stopping advertising might appear intriguing, Andrew was the first to point out that Venture Forge’s vast Amazon expertise meant he actually felt very differently.
While stopping advertising might save money in the short-term, the longer-term impacts are pretty terrifying – and worse of all, will take even more investment to recover from.
But why do we say this? We just need to revisit the 3 undeniable benefits of Amazon Ads.
Amazon Ads are critical to… boost your visibility
An effective Amazon Ads strategy doesn’t just drive sales, it also significantly elevates your product’s visibility – which in turn leads to better organic rankings.
Creating what Andrew calls a “virtuous cycle of growth”, removing any element that’s contributing to your sales velocity will – quite simply – have a compound impact on your overall sales.
Amazon Ads are critical to… long-term Sales Growth
Various studies (and our own extensive first-hand knowledge!) have shown that brands who invest consistently in Amazon Ads see sustained sales growth over time – growth which then far outweighs their initial outlay.
Amazon Ads are critical to… growing and protecting your Market Share
As Andrew says, any good advertising strategy should contain defensive and offensive elements that are designed to protect your own sales, while taking sales away from your competition.
Stopping all your advertising spend means you’re pulling your attempts to both protect and grow your brand’s market share.
(Do we even need to say that this is a terrible idea?)
TLDR: Don’t pull the plug on your growth and market presence
In short , stopping your Amazon Ads is a move that can jeopardise your visibility, stifle your long-term sales growth and relinquish your hard-earned market share to competitors.
As Andrew has aptly highlighted, the costs and efforts required to recover from such a decision are substantial and often outweigh any perceived short-term savings.
So, before you consider cutting your Amazon Ads, remember the three critical benefits they bring to your brand’s success.
In the competitive landscape of Amazon, continuous investment in advertising is not just a strategy; it’s necessary to secure sustained growth and Amazon dominance for your brand.
What next? Speak to our award-winning experts to revitalise your Amazon Ads strategy and boost your ROI to all-new heights.
Meet the brands chosen for the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator programme in 2024
We’ve explained our admiration for the Amazon Accelerator programme before, loving how it gives a fantastic boost to sustainable start-ups on an equity-free basis.
For this year’s programme, Amazon partnered with Europe’s leading climate hub, EIT Climate-KIC, and innovation strategy consultants Founders Intelligence to give 15 new brands from across Europe the specialist tools, bespoke training and mentorships they need to hone their skills, build their contacts and scale their businesses.
This year, the brands selected operate in one of three categories; circular economy, energy in buildings and packaging.
And for the first time, they will also get the opportunity to pitch for a trial within Amazon’s European operations, with earnings of up to £2m on the table as well as plenty of potential for implementation across international markets and future partnerships.
In the past, the initiative has given a leg-up to brilliant brands like eco-toothbrush company Suri and innovative, insect-based pet food makers Grub Club.
For those thinking of applying next year (entries usually open in March), we thought we’d offer a little inspo by sharing some of the brands chosen to participate in 2024.
ACS Clothing (Circular Economy)
With a mission to minimise landfill waste and turn the clothing industry away from a take-make-dispose model, ACS Clothing is already the UK’s leading circular and sustainable fashion enabler, working with the likes of Chloé, The North Face, LK Bennett and Timberland.
Based in Glasgow, the clothing renewal brand processes more than 6 million pieces of clothing every year for return, rental, subscription and resale through its cleaning and repairs service.
Cheesecake Energy (Energy in Buildings)
Created at the University of Nottingham, Cheesecake Energy’s core technology is billed as the “world’s greenest battery”, storing surplus electricity and turning renewable energy sources (like surplus solar and wind power) into reliable power that can be drawn upon on-demand.
With cost savings of up to 30-40% against the cheapest batteries currently available, their circular economy approach sees them repurpose long-life industrial components from the automotive, oil and gas industries, further enhancing their green credentials and helping users to increase their energy resilience in the most sustainable way possible.
Breathe Batteries (Energy in Buildings)
London-based Breathe Batteries have developed software that can enhance the performance of any lithium-ion battery, improving both its charging time and lifecycle.
Recently partnering with Volvo (to help reduce the charging time of their electric cars by 30%), the brand is playing a key role in the clean energy transition, making electric mobility more efficient and accessible.
Interested in signing up for the 2025 ClimateTech cohort?
Amazon postpones the upcoming FBA Fee Changes – here are the new dates for your diaries
In December, Amazon announced they were changing Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) fees, with a Pan-EU oversize surcharge and Returns Processing Fees on high-return rate products. But, reacting to feedback from FBA users, Amazon decided to tweak the timing of these changes to give brands a bit more breathing room.
What are the new dates for the 2024 FBA fee changes?
- Pan-EU Oversize Surcharge – 1 Sept 2024
- Returns Processing Fee – 1 Jan 2025
More on the Pan-EU Oversize Surcharge
Good news! The Pan-EU oversize surcharge update has been delayed by 3 months, from 1 July to 1 September.
Even better, this surcharge won’t apply to the France, Italy, and Spain stores if you’re shipping and selling within the same country – but, it does apply to the Germany store if your shipping and selling countries are different.
For more details, check out the 2024 Pan-EU oversize surcharge changes page.
More on the Returns Processing Fee
The returns processing fee is now set to kick in on 1 January 2025, instead of 1 October this year.
Targeting high-return-rate products across all categories (except clothing and shoes), the first charge will be between 7 and 15 April 2025, and will cover returns from January to March 2025.
Amazon says the fee is designed to help manage the costs of returns and cut down on waste.
For more info, visit the 2024 Returns Processing Fee changes page.
And check the Storage Utilisation surcharges for oversized products again…
… because Amazon has confirmed that rates they advised for the period October to December were wrong.
They apologise for any confusion caused.