🤔 Are You Scaling Revenue or Just Guessing?

Q4 is the easiest time of year to feel like you’re crushing it.

Sales spike, payouts look bigger, and it’s tempting to think:

“Wow… I’m up this month.”

But Q4 is also the easiest time to get tricked.

Because while revenue climbs, your profit per unit can quietly shrink from very OA-specific stuff like:

• Tighter Buy Box swings (more sellers jumping on the same ASINs)

• Faster price drops as new sellers race to cash out

• Higher inbound + prep costs (peak-season surcharges, longer lead times, more mistakes)

• More customer returns (gifting season + “changed my mind” orders)

• Storage/aged inventory risk from overbuying seasonal items

• “Panic buys” you only make in Q4 because everything is selling and you don’t want to miss out

So if you’re looking at bigger numbers right now and saying, “I think I’m profitable”… that’s exactly why you’re getting this email today.

Revenue Is a Vanity Metric in OA

Revenue feels good. Screenshots look impressive.

But revenue doesn’t pay for:

• credit card balances

• prep

• storage

• replens

• taxes

Profit does.

This is the line between sellers who stall and sellers who scale.

What Amateurs Track vs. What Scalers Track

Most rookie sellers focus on:

• monthly revenue

• total sales

• account balance

Professionals don’t ignore those; they just don’t stop there.

They track profit at the SKU level.

And sellers who scale efficiently go even deeper.

The Metrics That Actually Matter in Online Arbitrage

If you want your OA business to grow without cash flow stress, these are the numbers that matter:

1. Net Profit per Unit

After:

• FBA fees

• shipping

• prep

• storage

• returns

2. ROI by ASIN

Not averages. Not “overall.”

Individual ASINs.

This tells you where your capital works hardest, and where it’s being wasted.

3. Sell-Through Rate

How fast does inventory move?

A 20% ROI SKU that sells out in 30 days beats a 40% ROI SKU that takes 6 months.

Speed matters.

4. Cash Flow Cycle

How long between:

• buying inventory

• getting paid

• rebuying

Long cycles choke growth even when margins look fine.

5. True Cost per Unit

Most sellers miss this.

If you’re not factoring in:

• storage creep

• return rates

• inbound errors

• prep inefficiencies

Your “profit” isn’t real.

You Can’t Scale What You Don’t Measure

Here’s the truth:

Most OA sellers don’t fail because they source badly.

They fail because they don’t know what’s actually working.

That’s why serious sellers use tools that force clarity.

The Tool That Makes This Simple

Inventory Lab makes all of these easy to track.

Aside from making listing, prep, and shipment to Amazon FBA easy, it also automatically tracks:

• true profit per unit

• ROI by ASIN

• sell-through speed

• real costs (not estimates)

Instead of guessing at month-end, you can see:

• what to reorder

• what to cut

• what to scale

• what’s quietly killing cash flow

If you’re serious about scaling OA, this isn’t optional;  it’s foundational.

👉 Check out InventoryLab here

One More Thing: Inventory Still Matters

Even with perfect tracking, you still need good inventory.

If you want SKUs that:

• move quickly

• can absorb fees

• make sense in a profit-first strategy

Check out our lead lists.

Our lists provide you with 10+ manually vetted OA opportunities built for sellers who care about:

• net profit

• velocity

• capital efficiency

Start stacking wins like Ken, one of our long-time subscribers:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“My experience with lead lists always turned into a dumpster fire until I subscribed to FBA Lead Lists. I have more than tripled my revenue and profits!” - Ken

• Instant access. 10+ fast-moving, high-profit OA leads every morning

• 85% avg ROI, $14+ avg profit/unit. Lists capped to prevent saturation

• One flip can cover your month’s subscription. No lock-in periods.

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