The hoax of the “new FBA seller invasion”

Uncovering timeless FBA seller paranoia about swarms of new FBA sellers that don’t exist.

In this article:

• A perpetual FBA myth/hoax/rumor that should die a quick death.
• My weird experiment (that will probably fail).

(It always looks a little narcissistic when people start articles by apologizing for the time lapse since their last one. But for what it’s worth, I’ve spent the last month in complete isolation, composing and recording six video courses coming in at over 40 hours. These are going to be good.)

Last week I was on a video call discussion with 100 or so other Amazon sellers, and someone said something I’ve heard at least once a week in the six years I’ve been selling via Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

It is stated endlessly on every forum.

It is repeated as fact in many blog comments.

It is propagated everywhere Amazon sellers congregate.

People are obsessed shouting to the heavens that we are in the midst of “a FBA seller invasion”… and we’re all doomed.

Here’s a few variations of this weird myth/hoax/rumor:

“Have you noticed all the new FBA sellers flooding the market with cheap books?”

“With all the lowball sellers who have jumped into Amazon the last few months…”

“Now that all the new sellers have taken over recently…”

I heard it in 2011.

I heard it in 2012.

I heard it in 2013.

I heard it in 2014.

I heard it in 2015.

And I heard it 3 days ago.

In its many forms, the common demominators of this sentiment are as follows:

• Tons of new sellers have magically appeared.
• This invasion has occurred abruptly, usually about 90 days ago (propagators of this have a weird fixation on “the last 3 months.”)
• These new sellers are flooding the market with cheap product.
• The consequence of these phantom sellers is that there’s dramatically less room for profit (or none at all).
• Our days as Amazon sellers are numbered and we should all run for cover.

The truth of this rumor is never questioned. The only thing discussed is what the best approach to this crisis is, and how much longer we have before we’re all out of business.

Where did all these new sellers come from?

Nowhere, because they don’t exist.

(And even if they did, it wouldn’t matter.)

I’ve heard this at least several times a month for six years. And guess what? We’re still here, making money.

Yet the people who are stricken with this bizarre belief probably aren’t so lucky, having frightened themselves right out of business.

The irony of this belief (“a tidal wave of new FBA sellers has stormed the gates and our days are numbered“) is that it only serves to scare sellers away. Not a bad side effect.

So from that angle, it’s a pretty cool rumor. Maybe I should spend more time spreading it and less time here debunking it. But moving on…

Is the “new FBA seller invasion” totally groundless?

There is a noticeable influx of new FBA sellers in the 6 years since I started.

Six years, not three months. Not 12 months. Years.

Consider what it would take for there to be such a massive surge of new FBA sellers that it was noticeable within a 3 month – even a 12 month – period.

• A new reality show about FBA sellers called “American Library Sale Pickers“.
• A huge mega-bestselling book on why everyone should sell on Amazon titled “The Four Hour FBA Work Week“.
• Beyonce charting with her new hit “Crazy in Love with Fulfillment by Amazon.”

I don’t think any of these have happened. And I think this belief is total delusion.

What is happening here?

It would be pretty easy to float some theories about the psychological roots of this.

The big one being: It’s easier to blame a phantom force than address why you’re not making much money on Amazon.

This isn’t a sweeping indictment of anyone who feels this way. Like I said, over a five-year period, I’ve noticed more lowball FBA sellers coming on board. But it’s not over a 12-month period. And it’s definitely not over 90 days.

Whatever its roots, the “collective Amazon seller subconscious” has given birth to this weird belief. And it seems here to stay.

The reality

90% of our business is simple and easy to explain.

Yet all the money is made in that last 10%. The part that everyone looking to “turn a quick buck” will fail to learn. The part that everyone hunting for a new internet profit scheme will never get.

Especially if we’re talking about selling books, I’m not worried about the masses “getting it.” There will be no invasion.

There will be a lot of tire-kickers, half-steppers and part-timers. And we won’t even notice them.

-Peter Valley

Endnote: Announcing my weird experiment.

If I’ve done my part in contributing to some sort of “new FBA seller invasion” with this website and my books, I’m now going to do my part in thinning the heard.

So here’s the deal…

As many FBA sellers are aware, Amazon is offering free removal of all inventory (all shipping fees waived) until April 30th (that’s 3 more days).

That means this is the best time in history to get out of the FBA business.

You can have all your inventory returned and walk away clean – with no four-figure return shipping fees.

So are you interested in getting out of the Amazon business?

I’m going to help you.

As soon as you can (we only have 3 days), get me any and all info about your inventory and asking price, and I’ll post it here tomorrow with your contact info. Info that would be helpful: A link to a spreadsheet with all of your inventory, a phone number, and anything else that will find you a buyer fast.

For the next three days, you’re in a unique position to be able to have all of your inventory shipped from Amazon to the buyer, and exit the business with a little money and zero hassle.

If you want to seize this opportunity, send all the info you have to peter -at- fbamastery.com and I will post it publicly here.

Interested in buying another sellers business? Check back and see what’s for sale.

There’s a 95% chance this experiment will fail

Is anyone reading this actually wanting to sell their business? Probably not. But we’ll see.

If I get some good submissions, you’ll find them here tomorrow. And from there, you’ll have two days to work out a deal with the seller.

Check back. This could be fun.