Hey there!

You know how stories can be told in three acts? The first act is basically a table setter, then sh*t gets real in act two, before wrapping up the loose ends in the final act.

Well, we're reaching the end of Act 1 in this Q4. Buckle up.

In the meantime, here's another round of non-breaking news, memes, quotes, and updates for you in the most inconsistent "weekly" newsletter around.

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💬 Quote of the Week

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Ok, more of a testimonial, but it was great to hear some results-oriented feedback on the sourcing sessions I do every week.

This is just a small piece of what's included with an OAC+ membership. And, of course, there are more details below if you're curious.

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Now let's see what we missed on the back pages of e-commerce news. ⬇️

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What's the Matter?

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📰 Cloudy With A Chance of Downtime

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Earlier this week, Amazon Web Services (AWS) reported a major outage.

It's estimated that up to 30% of the world wide web relies on AWS. Amazon stated the issue was a combination of internal automation & DNS failures.

Businesses relying on AWS lost between $5,000 and $9,000 per minute of downtime.

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Why it matters:

• Many of our tools, apps, supplier sites, and shipping integrations went dark. An outage like this can (and likely did) brick our entire operation.

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📰 Robot Rules

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According to internal documents reported by Amazon and cited by The New York Times, Amazon plans to automate up to 75% of its operations and may replace 600,000 U.S. jobs by 2033.

The leaked plan shows the company expects to sell twice as many products without the need to hire hundreds of thousands of employees that volume would require.

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Why it matters:

• More automation = faster fulfillment. With more automation, the speed and economics of delivery improve.
• Reduced labor costs could delay fee increases for sellers.
• Reduced dependence on the labor market could reduce employee turnover. We've talked about areas like Phoenix where Amazon is only a few years away from completely exhausting the labor pool. Not to mention, onboarding & training new employees is both expensive and inefficient for operations.

We talked about this on the most recent News and Q&A show. You can catch the replay here.

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📰 The Premier Online Seller Community

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The OAC+ is pushing almost 200 members in the community now.

You have a chance to make one of the best business decisions you can make by clicking this button. 👇

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Why it matters:

The OAC+ is THE premier community for sellers who want or need more than just YouTube videos and social media.

It's everything you need to get your business to where you want it to be.

What's included?

• A dedicated FlipAlert channel feeding you A2A flips 24/7
• Free access to Storefront Stalker Pro and a massive discount if you want a bigger plan
• Access to a $3000+ education in the course vault
• Live over-the-shoulder sourcing sessions weekly
• Live coaching calls weekly
• An active community inside Discord
• Free entry to every future OA Challenge
• Suspension support if things go sideways with your account
• Confidential ASIN Reviews if you want expert eyes on a product you aren't sure about
• Exclusive special guest interviews

And that's just the beginning. I've seen the roadmap of what's ahead and you won't want to miss out.

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📰 Double Trouble

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Almost every seller that I've talked to has their fair share of Google Sheets. Old leads, new leads, buy sheets, storefront lists, brand lists, etc.

So many of my sheets have duplicates in them. I'm guessing yours do too.

Here's an article on how to quickly remove duplicate entries in Sheets:

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Why it matters:

• Dirty Data: Duplicate rows waste time and resources. They can distort ROI, stock levels, and calculations.
• Good digital hygiene: As our sheets grow, data maintenance helps us stay efficient by not having to chase errors.

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🎧 What's the Latest on the Clear The Shelf with Chris & Chris Podcast?

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It's not a podcast episode, but Chris Grant dropped a video on an exciting new Keepa feature.

The Historical Price Filter will make seasonal product sourcing so much easier.

Check it out here.

🎥 Remember, we're live on YouTube, Facebook, & Twitter twice a week answering your questions and talking breaking news.

• Wednesdays at 5:30 pm est
• Sunday at 5:30 pm est

Be sure to stop by with any questions or just hang out and talk shop with us.

​ Listen to Clear the Shelf with Chris & Chris on your favorite podcast player: ​YouTube​ ​Apple​ ​Spotify​

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💰 Weekend Lead Lists

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📢 As I write this, there is at least one spot available on each list (Alpha & Gamma).

Build a DIY Q4 strategy by adding a weekend list to your sourcing stack.

Alpha has a cap of 20 sellers. Gamma will give you even more exclusivity with a 15 seller cap.

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📚 The Most Successful People I Know Are Readers

If this was a warehouse club, Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit would be Sam's Club to Atomic Habits by James Clear's Costco. Not as highly regarded, but gets the job done.

I like that Duhigg explains how bad habits are formed instead of just being an instruction manual on building good ones.

The Kindle version is matching its lowest price of the year.

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🤣 Sometimes I Think I'm Funny

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Find me on social media and share this week's meme below and I might shout you out in the next newsletter.

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Some of us are just out here flipping stuff blindfolded.

Have a great week! Talk to you soon.

Chris

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