Once again, I apologize for not being more active with this website. My Amazon business continues to do very well, so that has been my primary focus these days.
While the real impact on my business occurred in June 2013 when I launched a new product following the strategies of the Amazing Selling Machine (ASM), the real catalyst was just about a year ago in March 2013 when I first became aware of ASM. Even though I started out recommending against the course for being overpriced, I ultimately became a pretty staunch supporter after experiencing results myself. I was publicly sharing my results during this time, and every so often I still get people messaging me to find out if I’m still doing as well. So, since ASM is going to be made available again in a few weeks, I thought this would be a good time to give a public update on my business.
More than $95,000 in sales on Amazon over the last 30 days.
==== Update March 15th, 2014 ====
I hit $100k for the first time, almost one year to the day that ASM first launched in March 2013.
$100k feels pretty damn good!
==== End Update ====
Amazon wires payment to my bank account every two weeks. My last payment on February 28th was for more than $33,000.
Here’s a snapshot of my sales growth (click to enlarge) over the last year, totaling more than $620,000. About $587,000 (95%) was generated in the eight months since my ASM product launched in June 2013.
The last screenshot can be a little misleading because it includes shipping revenue, but I’m still on track to sell more than $1 million in 2014. Now, I’m not posting this to brag, but I think this is the best way to exhibit what’s possible. I’ll be upfront and tell you that my motivation is as an affiliate of the course, so I would make a commission anytime someone purchases through my affiliate link. However, that being said, I wouldn’t be recommending it if I didn’t also believe in the business model.
Now, I will be promoting the course again in April, but I intentionally didn’t include any affiliate links or any information about my bonuses in this post as a gesture of sincerity. My goal here is simply to make myself available as a resource for information.
I previously had a separate Facebook group where I welcomed unfiltered questions about the course, but I had to take it down because it was causing confusion as some people thought it was an official group for the course. But I’d like to continue welcoming all your questions.
The one advantage I have as an affiliate is I make a lot of money actually running an Amazon business, so I don’t need to bullshit people into buying Amazing Selling Machine just so I can receive a commission. It’s great to make money, but I don’t want to do it unless I really feel like I’m helping someone.
In fact, as much as I stand behind the course, I still don’t believe it’s right for everyone. You will need startup money in order to buy inventory and properly launch a product, and there is no guarantee your first product will be a success. If you don’t have enough capital to comfortably get started, I’d suggest you don’t buy the course (at least not through me).
One last thing – if you’re reading this post as part of your research stage, be wary of people’s motivations. It’s easy to understand why an affiliate will recommend the course, but there are also some people who will recommend against it, only to pitch another product. I saw this happen a few times during the last launch, most notably with Jordan Malik and Josh Belanger on the Warrior Forum (FYI – my username is “panorama”). Both of them used the launch as an opportunity to make money in other ways, so just be aware of any conflicts of interest while doing your research.
Anyway, that’s it for today. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.
Hi Dax,
What an awesome and very motivational post. Many thanks to you for writing it!
I’ve got some newbie questions, if you don’t mind:
1. The ASM promotional videos suggest a few metrics that we should watch out for from the Amazon best sellers list when deciding which product to sell. Most of the time there’s usually more than 1 product that fits the criteria (i.e.: can be sold for between $10 to $40, has less than 1000 reviews, etc). Once you’ve found potential candidates that satisfy the criteria, how do you pick ONE to sell? Do you just use your gut feeling and pick one that you think will do well?
2. Do you think it’s better to source products from the US or China? What have you done mostly?
3. Do you ever touch the products at all? If not, how do you ensure that what you’re selling are quality products?
4. How do you generate the initial product reviews? Do you give your products for free to friends and relatives and solicit their (positive) reviews?
Are there better ways to get initial reviews that don’t require one to bug friends and relatives? (they might get annoyed!)
5. What have been your best tactics to propel your products’ ranking to the top of Amazon?
Cheers,
Mike
Hi Mike,
I’m afraid I can’t answer all of your questions because some of it can’t be disclosed to non-ASM members, but I can answer the first three for you:
1) It’s partially gut, but a lot of it comes down to what you’re able to source the best. If you find 5 products that look good to you, try to source each of them. You’re likely to become more comfortable with a particular product during this process as you interact with suppliers, see pricing, minimums, etc.
2) The US is always preferred, but isn’t possible for all products. I’ve done both, but I started in the US.
3) Yes, I usually get samples.
Hi Dax,
You mentioned that anyone who starts should have enough capital. My question is how much is enough? I understand the course will cost around $3,500 but what about inventory and Amazon fees? In your previous post you mentioned your start up sum was $1,500. Did you spend all this on just one product or few? Is it possible to start with less than than?
Hi Ania,
There’s no magic number. I know people that have started with $100 in inventory and others who have started with thousands. Obviously, the more you have to invest in inventory, the easier it will be to find a supplier. My startup costs were for one product.
Amazon fees are mostly tied to your sales, so you would only be paying as you sell and it doesn’t require an upfront investment. The only exception is the $40 monthly fee for your selling account with them.
Hi Dax,
What percentage of people really make it in this ASM system?
Do you have any stats on that?
Thanks,
Irsh
I don’t have any stats on how many people “make it”. I’m not even sure how you would define that.
I do know that my results are above average, but I’ve also seen many many members post sales numbers of more than $10k per month.
Hi Dax,
I posed some questions to you last year about selling through Amazon FBA from Singapore. Do you still give coaching to any new student of ASM?
Regards,
Richard
Hi Richard,
My bonus for the April 2014 launch is private coaching in the form of six half-hour one-on-one sessions (phone or Skype).
Hello Dax!
I’ve been taking notes during the live webinars, you’ve shared some great information so far. The course is not something I can afford just yet, so i’m planning on taking action on all the information I’ve been given so far.
Do you think the course is necessary?
Can I still pick a great product studying what I can from ASM?
Have you, personally. Ever had a failing product following the guide lines?
Many thanks!
Maria
Hi Maria,
Thanks for your feedback. I can’t answer the question about whether or not it’s “necessary”. I truly believe it made a big difference in my own business, but every one will have a different experience. If it helps you avoid mistakes, that can save you time and money, but it doesn’t mean you wouldn’t eventually figure things out on your own. So, again, it’s hard to say the course is “necessary”. I hope that makes sense.
I’ve tried launching a couple of products at this point and have made money on each one that followed the guidelines. A couple still didn’t meet my expectations, so I didn’t reorder inventory once I sold out of my initial order. In both cases, I didn’t get stuck with any unsold inventory.
I hope that helps. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions.
Regards,
Dax
Thanks for your reply!
Is it okay to sell a very similar product to some one else cheaper and better with my own private label?
Don’t I have to have my products delivered to my home if I want to take professional different looking photos to my competitors?
Kindest Regards,
Maria
If you are competing with some one who has a better quality product than yours and who is also less expensive, then it could be tough. It’s OK to be more expensive if you offer better quality (and vice versa), but I wouldn’t recommend entering a market where you have a lower quality product that is more expensive.
You don’t necessarily have to have products sent directly to your home to get images done. There are a few different options, including having one unit sent directly to the photographer.
Haha!
I didn’t mean that, I meant the complete other way around.
Sorry to confuse you! I meant if I was personally providing a better quality product that was cheaper than someone else’s.
Thanks a lot for your reply!
Kindest Regards
Maria
Haha…sorry about that! Yes, it’s absolutely OK to sell a similar, but better quality product at a cheaper price.
Hello Dax, your progress is impressive!
I want to buy the ASM program through your aff link, but the thing that worries me is that I’m from EU (Bulgaria) and I don’t have a US banking account, credit card and etc. I tried to talk to the ASM live chat about that, but the person there didn’t give me any exact answers. So can you please tell me, are you guys really helping with that issue? Like helping me to open a bank acc and so on?
Thanks in advance,
Svetoslav
Hi Svetoslav,
Thanks for your comment. Since I’m based in the USA, I didn’t personally have to go through the setup issues as you. I do know that there are many international sellers, and they were provided with helpful instructions on how to get set up.
Unfortunately, I don’t know much more than that, however, Amazon has started to issue payments in other local currencies.
I hope that helps.
Best,
Dax