INSIDE THIS ISSUE
News from the Seller Community
The latest must-know info on Policy & Tactics, plus Review news you can use.
From the eCom Growth Show Podcast
Eye doctor Travis Zigler shares what Amazon sellers need to understand about business valuations, acquisition financing, due diligence, and building brands that buyers actually want.
Upcoming eCom Events
What not to miss; what’s coming next. Get your full update on the best industry events. And parties. Don’t forget the parties.
Black Hat Watch
A few bad reviews gone can still meaningfully move conversion, and that’s why it’s worth doing carefully. Here’s how to find and weed out the bad actors.
This Week’s Dad Joke
Oh boy. 😁
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News from the Seller Community
Policy & Tactics
Launch discounts buy time, reviews buy trust
This is an interesting approach to product launches I ran across.
A panel summarized in BDSN (Billion Dollar Seller Network) gives a launch pricing rule:
30 to 50% off until reviews catch up.
It says to get there with promotions rather than by cutting list price, because cutting list price leaves no strike-through anchor and conversion falls when you raise it later. The sequence matters:
- Promotions can run on day one
- Coupons need sales history
- Strike-through needs a real list price with five to ten full-price sales behind it.
Hope that helps with your next launch.
Reviews & Ranking
A tenth of a star is worth more than you think
I’ve made this point before, but it’s worth repeating: That gap between small changes to your star rating can have a big impact.
You’ve stared at the 4.2 next to your listing and told yourself one decimal can’t matter. It can. A case study we presented this week showed a rating moving from 4.2 to 4.3, with monthly units climbing from 200 to 1,000 and best seller rank improving from 5,170 to 824.
Small changes to your star rating matter. It never sells anything itself, but it decides how many shoppers actually go further. Conversion rate and sales velocity are two of the signals Amazon watches hardest, and rating feeds both.
A handful of unfair one-star reviews is a revenue leak, and fixing it is the cheapest lever most sellers never touch.
My company can help.
From the eCom Growth Show Podcast
Episode #91
Buy, Build, and Scale: The Amazon Acquisition Playbook with Dr. Travis Zigler
In this episode of The eCom Growth Show, Danan Coleman interviews Dr. Travis Zigler, CEO of Profitable Pineapple Ads and co-founder of Freedom Brands, to explore the strategies behind buying, scaling, and selling profitable Amazon businesses.
From building Eye Love into a multimillion-dollar brand to acquiring established ecommerce companies, Travis shares what Amazon sellers need to understand about business valuations, acquisition financing, due diligence, and building brands that buyers actually want.
Click the Play button above to watch.
For our full selection of episodes click here 👇
Upcoming eCom Events
Amazing Days Virtual Edition 2026 (Oct 29)
This one’s happening tomorrow, so hopefully you’re reading it today (the 28th). Amazing Days Virtual Edition 2026 is a free, live online event, and I, Danan, will be one of the guest speakers.
B2B eCommerce World Americas 2026 (Nov 2-3)
Hosted by Levanta under the theme “Human-Made,” this is a brand-led gathering for the people shaping product discovery and commerce strategy. Request your invite.
Cross Border Summit 2026 (Nov 3-5)
A three-day ecommerce conference for cross-border sellers, Amazon and multi-channel operators, DTC founders, agencies, and service providers looking to scale internationally.
Prosper Show 2027 (Mar 2-3)
Never too early to start thinking about this one. Prosper brings together marketplace sellers, ecommerce brands, operators, agencies, technology providers, and industry experts for two focused days.
For a full list of industry events (and great parties to attend) visit Ecom.Events:
[ Ecom.Events ]
Black Hat Watch
Amazon doesn’t read feelings, it reads claims
This week a tip for addressing the reviews left by black hats.
What I’m Noticing
Most review reports I see are written like complaints. “This review is unfair” is how you get a form letter back. What gets read is a claim: name the specific Community Guideline, explain how the review harms the customer experience, attach the review and reviewer URLs, and ask plainly for removal.
The Thing To Do
Sadly, Amazon doesn’t care how you feel, only whether you cited the policy and showed the damage.
Filter your reviews by most recent and critical (or pull the 1 to 3 star buckets one at a time, up to 100 each), print them to PDF, and capture the review URL and the reviewer’s profile URL by hand, because Amazon is touchy about automated scrapers.
Then name the specific Community Guideline the review breaks, explain how it harms the customer experience, and ask plainly for removal.
If you suspect a competitor is behind it, use the Report Abuse form under Account Health, reply on a prior case ID, or file through Brand Registry under “Other.”
It’s Worth It To Do It Right
A few bad reviews gone can still meaningfully move conversion, and that’s why it’s worth doing carefully.
Here at eCom Triage we take care of that process for you.
Check out our site, look at what we offer, set up a call and let’s see what we can do.
[ See Our Services ]
This Week’s Dad Joke 😁
What did George Washington say to his men before they crossed the Delaware?
Get in the boat.
