🧭 Most Sellers Are Flying Blind This Q4

Welcome back to Seller Snacks, your weekly buffet of ecommerce goodness.

This week, we zoom in on what Amazon’s October Prime Days reveal, how to spot Q4 trends and patterns, why progress always beats perfection, and how a sleek, powerful sourcing tool can deliver your next winning buy. 

Also, Q4 is heating up fast, and FBA Lead List subscribers are already stacking profitable leads (including our Flip of the Week) for November. Spots are almost gone – lock yours in before all our lists close.

Whether you’re flipping, sourcing, or binge-scrolling Keepa: grab a plate, we don’t judge.

On Today's Menu:

• 🥨 What Amazon's October Prime Days Reveal

• 🍪 How to Spot Q4 Trends and Patterns

• 🍄 Why Progress Always Beats Perfection

• 🍿 The Tool that Will Give You Your Next Winning Buy

• 🥣 Repricer, Outsourcing, and Prep Center Tips

• 🎭 Happy Halloween, Everyone!

  • 🔥 Flip of the Week

Let’s eat!

🥨 Crisp Intel

Bite-sized insights to help you sell smarter.

📆 What’s Happening: Prime Day 2.0 = Shopper Reset

Amazon’s October “Prime Big Deal Days” underwhelmed headlines but revealed something valuable: shoppers aren’t gone; they’re getting smarter. While spending dipped vs. July’s event, essentials, home goods, apparel and other categories held strong. Consumers leaned into practical buys, hinting at a more intentional, value-driven Q4.

📈 Why It Matters

This wasn’t a dud, it was a temperature check before the real rush. Buyers are pacing themselves, saving for peak-season deals, and prioritizing useful gifts over impulse splurges.

For online arbitrage sellers, that means:

• Everyday value = steady flips. Items in the “practical + affordable” range (think small home goods, accessories, personal care) are moving consistently.

• Early data = category signals. Categories like apparel & shoes, household essentials, beauty, and cosmetics, health & wellness, and home goods performed best (likely to keep trending as gifting ramps up).

• Less hype, more opportunity. Fewer mega-deals mean less race-to-the-bottom pricing, giving strategic sellers room to profit.

📋 What to Do

✅ Use Prime Day data to spot repeat winners before Black Friday.
✅ Stock up on mid-price gifts that fit “practical luxury” (under $50 sweet spot).
✅ Keep your sourcing nimble: target replenishable goods with proven year-round velocity.
✅ Watch Amazon restocks closely — slow rollouts now often signal strong holiday demand later.

Last week, FBA Lead List subscribers sourced 50+ OA leads averaging 84.07%  ROI ($12.98 avg profit) across categories including apparel & shoes, household essentials, beauty & cosmetics, health & wellness and home goods.

Get 10+ vetted OA leads from M-F, including leads under the “practical luxury” $50 sweet spot with restock/velocity signals so you can flip fast before we get deeper into Q4.

Start getting fast-moving, high-profit OA leads by tomorrow morning. Limited spots left. Try it out for 7 days – if you don’t love it, you don’t pay.

🍪 OA Munch

Bite-sized tips to boost your flips.

⚡ Q4 Isn’t Chaos — It’s a Pattern
Top OA sellers don’t guess what’ll sell; they read the rhythm. This thread breaks down how to spot Q4 trends and patterns with Keepa, tag your leads by holiday behavior, and move fast when signals flash green. Learn how to predict demand surges, avoid panic repricers, and make Q4 feel less like a gamble and more like a system.

📦 FBM + FBA: The Hybrid Q4 Advantage
In this blog post, Brian and Robin Joy Olson break down why relying solely on FBA can sink profits during peak season and how adding FBM to your mix keeps sales flowing when warehouses jam up. From missed receiving windows to rising surcharges, they show how a simple hybrid strategy protects margins, speeds up listings, and builds resilience for every major sales event.

💰 Peak FBA Fees = Profit Pressure Test
Amazon’s holiday peak fees are live through Jan 14, adding extra cost to every FBA sale. But smart OA sellers aren’t sweating it; they’re tightening their buy boxes, speeding up turnover, and trimming slow stock. This thread breaks down how to protect ROI, manage pricing pressure, and finish Q4 lean, fast, and profitable.

🍄Mental Snacks

Quick Bites. Better Mindset.

Repeat after us: Progress beats perfection. All the time.

If you’ve ever felt like your OA business is one big work-in-progress, congratulations, you’re doing it right.

In this Silent Sales Machine Radio episode, veteran Amazon coaches Brian and Robin Joy Olson remind us that every seller starts in the mess. The spreadsheets are clunky, the sourcing is uncertain, and nothing feels “ready.” But waiting for perfect systems before taking action is just another form of hesitation. You learn by testing, not polishing.

Their framework – viable, testable, replenishable — isn’t just about ASINs. It’s also about mindset. Each product, each small move forward, is data. Some tests will flop. Others will quietly become the backbone of your business. Progress is what happens when you stop needing every move to be flawless and start letting the imperfect reps teach you.

So this week, trade “perfect” for “consistent”. Build your structure in motion. Let things get a little messy, learn, adjust, and keep sending those tests in. Because as Brian says, “Lack of perfection doesn’t prohibit profit.”

Watch the full episode here.

🍿 Snacktacular Spotlight

Each week, we shine a light on something (or someone) that’s helping Amazon sellers snack smarter.

This week’s spotlight is on….

📊 SellerAmp: Smarter, Faster, Profit-First Sourcing for Amazon Sellers

When it comes to sourcing, confidence beats guesswork every time. And that’s exactly what SellerAmp gives you — clear, instant answers to the three questions that define every winning buy:

✅ Can I sell it? – Instantly check restrictions, hazmat flags, and category approval so you don’t waste time on gated products.
✅ Does it sell? – View live sales rank, competition stats, and Keepa charts to see if demand actually exists.
✅ Is it profitable? – Get automatic, real-time ROI and fee calculations before you ever hit “Add to Cart.”

Built by resellers, for resellers, SellerAmp replaces guesswork with data that moves as fast as you do. It’s everything you need to find, analyze, and buy smarter — all in one sleek tool.

Here’s why sellers swear by it:

1️⃣ Instant product analysis across browser, mobile, and web.
2️⃣ Real-time profit breakdowns that factor in every FBA fee.
3️⃣ Built-in Keepa integration for instant trend insights.
4️⃣ Storefront and reverse search tools for sourcing gold.
5️⃣ AI-powered image search for finding hidden matches.
6️⃣ Clean, intuitive design that keeps your workflow fast.

In Q4, when every second counts, SellerAmp turns data into speed, and speed into profit.

Start FREE. No guesswork – just instant sellability, demand, and profit clarity.

Then, analyze your next lead in under 60 seconds – see if you can sell it, if it sells, and if it’s profitable.

🥣The Dip Bowl

Click-Worthy Finds Served Fresh

• Set up your repricer the right way: avoid repricer setup errors that can cripple your Q4 repricing

• When you should outsource: hiring admin/sourcing VAs and prep centers can accelerate growth –  if you do it right

• 11 Amazon experts share prep center advice: avoid prep centers that can cost you time, cash, and customers

🎭 Meme of the Week

Because Amazon selling is serious business… but not too serious.

Want more sourcing memes, weekly drops, and a few laughs between IP claims?

👉 Follow us on X (@FBALeadList)

🤝 Let's Partner Up

Are you an influencer, content creator, or Amazon expert with value to share? We’re always looking for new ways to grow together.

Here’s what we’re excited to explore:

• Sharing your content in our newsletter or socials

• Offering exclusive deals to our subscribers

• Co-creating content that helps sellers scale smarter

To profitable sourcing,
Caitlin and Brian