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Q4 Countdown: 25 days away.

Quote of the Week

This quote is from Carl Von Clauswitz via Ryan Holiday's excellent book Conspiracy:

Whether we're talking about war or business, one thing is true: fear will hold you back.

Being overly cautious will lead to missed opportunities and lack of progress.

Taking action is what leads to success, even if you have to correct miscalculations along the way.

Now let's see what we might have missed on the back pages of Amazon news:

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What's the Matter?

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📰 Holiday Shopping Season Stretched to 3 Months

Amazon is kicking off the holiday shopping season with the return of Prime Big Deal Days this October.

Prime members will have access to early holiday deals from top brands across multiple categories.

Does it matter? It's an event that drives increased traffic to the marketplace, which is always good.

We talked about it yesterday during our live News and Q&A show. Chris reported that 88% of Prime members made a purchase during last year's event.

You can watch the replay here.

You should come hang out with us every Wednesday at 5 pm est.

We talk Amazon, we answer questions, and have a few laughs. It's a good time.

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📰 Store Origin Stories

Many major retailers started with very different products than what they sell today.

Did you know Kohl's was originally a supermarket?

How about Eddie Bauer originally selling tennis racquets out of a kiosk?

Does it matter? Nope.

There's probably a lesson about adaptability in there somewhere, but I just thought it was cool trivia.

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📰 eBay Consolidates Support

eBay has moved its seller support from the eBay for Business Facebook page to its main social media accounts.

Why it matters: I can't tell you how many times I saw the answer "contact eBay for Business, they'll help you" in groups anytime someone posted about having issues with their eBay seller account.

I didn't have any personal experience with them, but it seemed like a highly regarded resource to get problems resolved.

I share the same concern as the seller that said they didn't like the idea of their issues being exposed to buyers.

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📰 The "Maybe You Shouldn't Cancel My Orders" of the Week: Ulta

While reporting second quarter earnings, Ulta CEO Dave Kimbell cited escalating competition as a challenge to the company's market share.

Despite a slight increase in overall sales, Ulta lost market share in the prestige beauty category.

Why it matters: The beauty category has been a downer for many Amazon sellers recently.

The article cites 3% growth for the category.

Also, this quote captures a recurring theme among recent consumer news:

“[C]onsumer behavior is starting to shift as consumers increasingly focus on value and become more cautious with their spending,”

A shift from prestige beauty items to more value-based products could be a positive for sellers. Increased demand for more widely available (i.e. easily sourced) beauty items might be profitable.

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

Any minute now, our conversation with Saul should be going live.

Saul is a master of Amazon-to-Amazon flips, has some killer software products, and is a good friend of the show.

We sourced some audience questions in advance and dug a little deeper on some things we were curious about since the last time he was on the show.

He's one of our most popular guests, so be on the lookout for when it drops.

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

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Sometimes I Think I'm Funny

Have a great week! Talk to you soon.

Chris