The "Made In USA" crackdown

Here's what we've got inside this week's newsletter:

• A 2+ hour SmartScout masterclass

• Interview with a top 10 Amazon seller

• FTC cracks down on "Made In USA" claims

• Amazon's Project Starfish

SmartScout Masterclass

I just posted a 2 hour 49 minute SmartScout Masterclass over on my YouTube channel.

This is the best video you can find on how to quickly and easily find brand direct wholesale accounts.

Check it out by clicking on the thumbnail below:

Interview With A Top 10 Amazon Seller

Scott Needham is founder/CEO of SmartScout AND a former top 10 Amazon seller.

His wholesale business, BuyBoxer, sold $60M per year on Amazon at their peak.

He now focuses primarily on running SmartScout and his 7-figure private label pickleball brand.

Sellers of all skill levels and business models will take away tons of gems from our interview.

Click here for the full interview with Scott Needham.

The "Made In USA" Crackdown

The FTC issued warning letters to Amazon (and Walmart) demanding tighter oversight of 3p sellers claiming “Made in USA.”

They found numerous violations of both federal regulations and Amazon/Walmart policies.

So far, there has been $15.8M in judgements across 11 cases for violations of the FTC's 2021 labeling rule.

Amazon has stayed quiet publicly while Walmart has claimed "zero tolerance" for offending sellers on their platform.

My take: The FTC is putting Amazon on notice: clean up your marketplace, or we’ll do it for you.

For sellers, this is yet another reminder that you’re building your business on rented land.

If you’re not actively auditing your listings, supply chain claims, and internal policies, you’re leaving yourself open to getting swept up in the next enforcement wave.

Click here for the full story.

Project Starfish

Amazon's latest AI venture (codenamed Project Starfish) aims to use generative AI to enrich product information.

In plain English, this means Amazon's AI bots will crawl thousands of websites to aggregate the most accurate product data.

Amazon claims the effort will boost gross merchandise sales by an estimated $7.5 billion in 2025.

My take: Project Starfish is Amazon’s attempt to control the product listing experience by using AI to automatically generate images, copy, and content.

If you’re a brand or seller, don’t rely on Amazon to tell your story for you.

Make sure your listing content is relevant and accurate based on your brand guidelines.

Click here for the full story.

Thanks for tuning in this week.

Be back next week with a new edition.

-Corey

PS: Be sure to check out the (free) SmartScout Masterclass video for the easiest way to find profitable brand direct wholesale accounts.