Emanuel Ruiz says tariffs will push competitors to raise prices, but FBA sellers who negotiate hard with suppliers, freight forwarders, and manufacturers can keep margins intact and steal market share. He recommends sourcing from Mexico, Canada, or the US instead of China.
Tariffs are coming and Amazon FBA sellers are terrified right now, but this is exactly what you should do to get more market share. Because the first thing sellers are going to do is raise prices. And by them doing that and not basically using this tariff as a strategic play, you can come out on top and get their market share. So here are 3 things I suggest you doing right now to stay ahead of your competition and steal market share away from your competitors. The first thing is negotiate everything. Go to your supplier. If you've been working with them for a few years now, they will give you a cost reduction on your products. They make enough margin, you're able to go ahead and get your prices reduced. Or if not, try and see if there's different material where it doesn't affect the functionality of the actual product, but you're able to save costs right now and in the long run. Number 2 is speaking to your freight forwarder. They obviously need your business. They're also terrified. So if you continue to send shipments their way, tell them that it has to be at a discounted rate because you can go ahead and shop for other freight forwarders everywhere else. So this is your chance to try and negotiate hard with your freight forwarder. And number 3 might be the most obvious, is that China isn't the only place to manufacture your products. Mexico and Canada isn't either. But try and find different suppliers, even if that means coming to the US and trying to negotiate prices here, because that is going to be the way that you save and you save costs around all of these tariffs. And one thing that's for sure is that your competitors are going to raise prices the first sign that they can, because obviously they want to make more money. But if you do all of this, you are still able to be at the same profit margin or even higher by just going ahead and utilizing the entire process of the supply chain and trying to negotiate as hard as possible. And trust me, you're going to save costs and you're going to get way more market share from your actual competitors.
