STUMP BEZOS

How much is expected to be lost in e-commerce fraud in 2023 (stolen credit cards, return fraud, etc)?

[ Answer at bottom of email ]

Great holiday gift for the person who has everything except a yodeling pickle

Welcome Jeff Cohen to the Billion Dollar Dream 100

Every Thursday I announce a new member of the Billion Dollar Dream 100. These are the people you should follow and get to know in our industry. They are announced in no particular order.

Jeff Cohen is today’s inductee into the Billion Dollar Dream 100.

“We’re just a bunch of tools!” I’ll never forget how Jeff jokingly described himself and a few other early software creators in the Amazon space. They were imbibing in more than a few adult koolaids one night at an Amazing.com Summit (now called Sellercon) back in 2016 in Austin.

Jeff is widely regarded as an industry expert. He regularly shares actionable intelligence on Amazon selling strategies and how sellers can improve their business.

Jeff got his start in e-commerce in 2005 when he founded a website called textbooks.com, and later campusbooks.com. Ebay and Amazon accounted for nearly 50% of his sales in the beginning. But he noticed the Amazon bit was growing fast, so he dove deep into the Bezos ecosystem.

In 2014, he joined Seller Labs, one of the early third party software pioneers to develop tools for Amazon seller. He had developed tech for his book companies, and he and the Seller Labs founders used that as the base blueprint.

Jeff speaks at a lot of events, and back in his Seller labs days you’d never catch him not wearing a “Famous on Amazon” shirt, with 5-stars of course.

Amazon recognized his unique skills, and in 2022 hired him to be one of its principal community evangelists for the Amazon advertising API.

He makes sure industry influencers, brands and third party services and tools keep abreast of the latest opportunities when it comes to maximizing Amazon’s ad platform.

Jeff also often shares his perspective, summarizes of key events and findings, and breaks the latest announcements on LinkedIn.

Welcome Jeff to the Billion Dollar Dream 100.

? CURATED LIST of CONTENT MARKETING TOOLS

Frase.io
Fast and easy way to create content that ranks on Google

BuzzSumo.com
Find viral content that works to model

AnswerThePublic.com
Turn keywords into questions for content & Amazon Q&A

Snip.ly
Share other people’s content with your link embedded

Prowly.com
Find the right journalist to share your story (1 million + contacts)

HelpAReporter.com
Answer reporters looking to you for content (gift guides, etc.)

Crowdfireapp.com
Find articles and content your audience will love

Justreachout.io
Reach out to journalists directly

Quuu.co
Secret weapon that curates the best content on auto pilot

?? ANIMATE ANYONE with ALIBABA’S NEW AI TOOL

AI-generated video is advancing quickly.

After Pika revealed its lifelike text-to-video generator last week (see last Thursday’s BDSN), Alibaba announced a Character Animation project called Animate Anyone. It’s a new AI tool that turns images into videos.

You can make human models from a still photo pose, dance, and more.

The ability to create a multitude of your own influencer videos for example, from a single still image, is coming soon.

? BANK BUILT for E-COMMERCE COMPANIES

Highbeam is a fairly new bank specifically built for e-commerce companies.

They have native integration with Shopify, pay you 3% yield on your operating account and 4%+ in their high-yield account.

They can also give you credit on terms that your bank won’t, with a speed that your bank can’t.

? CHAT GPT PROMPTING CHEAT SHEET

Click to download

?  AMAZON MONKEYING AROUND with SELLER FEES

On Tuesday, Amazon announced a smorgasbord of new seller fees. 

Average Fee Increase: Sellers will see an average increase of $0.15 in fees per unit sold.

Inbound Placement Service Fee (Effective March 1, 2024):

For standard-sized products: $0.27 per unit.

For Large Bulky-sized products: $1.58 per unit.

Options for reduced or no fees based on shipment to single or multiple locations.

Decrease in FBA Fulfillment Fee Rates (Effective April 15, 2024):

Standard-sized products: Decrease by $0.20 per unit.

Large Bulky-sized products: Decrease by $0.61 per unit.

Additional $0.77 discount for products priced below $10.

Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP) Discount (Effective February 5, 2024): Fee discount ranging from $0.04 to $1.32, depending on size and weight.

Low-Inventory-Level Fee (Effective April 1, 2024): Applies to standard-sized products with consistently low inventory relative to sales; avoidable by maintaining more than four weeks of inventory.

Reduction in Non-Peak Monthly Storage Fees (Effective April 1, 2024): Average reduction of $0.09 per cubic foot, from $0.87 to $0.78, for standard-sized products from January through September.

Click to enlarge

?  START. SCALE. EXIT. REPEAT.

Colin Campbell is one of the speakers at BDSS Level Up in Kauai, Hawaii May 23-26. Level Up is an intimate event immediately following BDSS 10 for serious entrepreneurs who want to up their game, massively increase their bank account balances and live their best life.

Colin has started, scaled and exited a dozen companies worth almost $1 billion including Tucows, Hostopia, .CLUB Domains, GeeksforLess and Paw.com. Colin also runs Startup Club with 1 million members.

Now he’s a best selling author with Start Scale Exit Repeat. The book goes inside the minds of 30+ seasoned entrepreneurs so you can learn from their hard-earned lessons. Colin shares his and their winning patterns that you can apply to your business.

Don't just dream of success, make it a reality. Order Start Scale Exit Repeat.

? TO TRAVEL IS TO LIVE 
? here’s looking at you kid

My “why” has led me to visit 94 countries and all 7 continents. I create my life and work around my life. Not my life around my business.

I hope to inspire you in your journey of business and life.

Sleeping in the Ice Hotel

1 minute visit to the Ice Hotel

The Ice Hotel is one of my favorite destination experiences in the world.

Located in Jukkasjärvi, Swedish Lapland, the Ice Hotel uniquely blends art, adventure, and architecture.

It’s a grand ice palace showcasing the talents of world-class artists and designers, creating an ever-changing winter wonderland. Its location inside the Arctic Circle offers a rare chance to experience polar nights and Arctic wilderness.

The hotel's construction is a marvel in itself, crafted each year from scratch using massive ice blocks from the nearby Torne River. Artists from around the world compete to sculpt each of the 60+ rooms.

Guests are kept comfortable with reindeer hides, thermal sleeping bags, and a warm, spa-like facility nearby for necessities. The experience is complemented by the Ice Hotel's communal spaces, like the Ice Bar, where drinks are served in glasses made of ice.

Most rooms just have a sliding curtain entrance. You don't take your suitcase into your room, and there is no bathroom in the Ice Hotel.

Ice is a great insulator, so the temperature inside the hotel stays pretty close to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (negative five Celsius). The night I stayed it was 7 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 C) and snowing outside.

You really do sleep on a bed made of ice. On top of the ice is a thin mattress, and on top of that are reindeer skin hides. The hotel gives you a thermal sleeping bag. They have double wide ones for couples to share if they wish.

You crawl in to bed whenever you are ready (usually after a few drinks in the Hotel's Ice Bar), and at 7:30 the next morning they wake you with a delicious cup of warm Lingonberry juice.

Not everybody makes it through the night - some opt instead to move into one of the nearby warm cabins.

Beyond the hotel, the Lapland region presents a plethora of activities for adventure seekers. Engage in dog sledding, witness the Northern Lights, explore Sami culture, or enjoy exhilarating snowmobile rides and reindeer sledding.

The journey to the Ice Hotel begins with a flight to Kiruna from Stockholm, followed by a dog sled ride to the hotel.

A stay at the Ice Hotel is not just a night's lodging; it's an unforgettable journey into an icy, magical realm in the heart of the Arctic.

Watch this short one minute video I filmed to see it come to life.

?? Enjoy your weekend. See you again on Monday.

P.S.

Don’t forget the free Billion Dollar Newsletter Secrets webinar happens today (register if can’t make it live so you get replay).

The answer to today’s STUMP BEZOS is
$48 billion