Why Prime Day Probably Doesn’t Matter to your Business - a podcast by Michael Veazey

If you’re listening to this in 2020 and it’s October 13 or 14 2020, you’re in the middle of Prime Day. I’ve got a question for you - do you think Prime Day matters anyway?
We’ll explore this question in this show. First a little history... 
Amazon Prime Day started on July 15, 2015, as a celebration of Amazon's 20th anniversary. 

For 24 hours, Amazon offered Prime members exclusive deals on a wide range of products. The day was such a success that Amazon made Prime Day an annual tradition and has expanded the holiday to numerous countries including Spain, Japan, Austria, Mexico, and more. Amazon has also expanded the duration of Prime Day.

 In 2017, Amazon Prime Day lasted for 30 hours, whereas in 2018 Prime Day lasted for 36 hours. In 2019, Prime Day ran from July 15 through the end of July 16 making the 48-hour sale the longest in its history. Prime Day 2020 will mimic last year's run time, offering two days of deals, beginning October 13. 
Prime Day Stats (from Statista)Number of Items purchased by Amazon Prime members during Amazon Prime Day 2018: 100M; 2019: 175M

Do you plan to purchase anything during Amazon Prime Day 2020?Y, know what want 6%

Y, don’t know what want 48%N, 47%

But is this all relevant? Does it mean anything to YOU? Let’s find out...
Reason no 1 why Prime Day DOESN’T matter: You’re not selling on Amazon yet (or you sell online eg via Shopify or eBay but not on Amazon) This is the case - but the point is that watching how much money people make on a peak day may be exciting - but it’s only meaningful if it gets you off the fence one way or another. It’s either when you REALLY decide to start selling or stop fantasising and actually do something else that your life moves forward... 
REASON No 2 Prime Day doesn’t matter: You’re selling to the wrong kind of buyers. (symptom: poor gross profits) Now, on Amazon, buyers are the ghosts in the machine. We know they’re there as every so often, they besmirch out listings with 1-star reviews or they email us to complain about something. 

But we don’t know anything about them. Doesn’t mean they’re not there. It means we have to infer things about them from their buying (and communication) behaviours. 

But there IS still such a thing as attracting the wrong kind of customer. People who expect a lot for a little; overfussy consumers; people who don’t value quality and just want a low price - these may make our sales, but none of these help make us profits. 

That shows up in poor pricing power; low gross profit margins. REASON No 3 Prime Day doesn't matter: Your Business is broken (symptom:  Company/ Business is making a pitiful profit) 
Everyone talks about Revenue. At least, that’s my experience in public in the forums and in private in the mm groups I run and others I’m a member of. Newbies bandy about averages they’ve heard from others in other FB groups. Professional sellers will talk about actual gross profit margin in the confines of a mastermind.

 But it’s the rare seller who knows and is willing to share their operating profit (aka pre-tax profit or even EBITDA if you will). Btw yes I know those are not the same thing. 

But honestly, if your EBITDA is 4%, you’re rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.So does Prime Day matter at all?
Why yes - if you have an Amazon business, you have profitable products; which attract quality buyers AND you’re keeping your overhead in check such that your BUSINESS is making a profit (operating profit). Certainly, it matters as a wave matters to a surfer. If you miss the big wave, you’ll have to wait a while to make up for it. 

You need to ride the wave and you need the tactics and execution logistics in place.  I’ll talk about that in a few minutes. 

First I want to talk about The real meaning of Prime Day?
There are many interpretations. Here are a few: You can use anything as an excuse for a special sales day.

Further episodes of Amazing FBA Amazon and ECommerce Podcast, for Amazon Private Label Sellers, Shopify, Magento or Woocommerce business owners, and other e-commerce sellers and digital entrepreneurs.

Further podcasts by Michael Veazey

Website of Michael Veazey