Eugene Khayman, co-founder of Million Dollar Sellers (MDS), who leads the "Gimme Five" campaign aimed at pushing Amazon to give sellers some fee relief after years of rising costs.
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With changes to DD+7, Subscribe and Save, and the additional seller fees tacked on this year, third-party sellers on Amazon are quickly discovering that it might be more profitable to take their products elsewhere. And Amazon has noticed.
Eugene also talks about what he's noticed after years of being in MDS, like the shifts toward DTC and Tiktok Shop and how smaller operators have been the most creative in growing their business.
Timestamps
- 00:00 - Introduction
- 00:58 - Eugene Kaiman and the MDS seller community
- 06:34 - Eugene's 15-year e-commerce path from sneakers to brands
- 09:39 - Why MDS became a seller advocacy hub
- 10:09 - What the Gimme Five campaign is asking Amazon to do
- 11:31 - How SOS campaigns formed in response to fee pressure and policy changes
- 13:28 - Survey data: 52 cents of every dollar goes to Amazon fees
- 14:42 - Does Amazon actually have room to give some margin back?
- 16:16 - When fees make sense versus when they feel punitive
- 18:25 - Why higher fees can also hurt customer value and price competitiveness
- 20:25 - Which fee changes could realistically help sellers
- 22:43 - The Subscribe and Save top-up change and why it matters
- 23:32 - Return fees, removals, and launch risk
- 24:02 - MDS data: launches needed for growth have doubled
- 25:48 - Fees are only acceptable if growth is keeping pace
- 27:23 - Rising risk from competitor attacks, faster cloning, and shorter product life cycle
- 30:54 - Why many sellers are rethinking Amazon as their top channel
- 33:00 - The problem of not knowing the true cost to sell on Amazon
- 34:51 - Two asks for Amazon: centralized communication and a centralized fee committee
- 36:12 - DD plus 7, account reserves, and the hidden bookkeeping cost
- 38:59 - What MDS is, how big it has become, and where it's headed
- 42:57 - Why smaller operators often spot the best new growth ideas
- 43:27 - The rise of authority affiliates and in-person selling networks
- 46:37 - TikTok's promise, limits, and how DTC is becoming more predictable
- 48:19 - MDS, Millie, and the community's newest tools
Eugene, thanks for coming on the podcast. If you'd like to support Eugene and the Gimme Five campaign, here's a link to the X post.
If you'd like to find out more about MDS, you can book a free call here!
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, leave a comment down below if you're interested.
Don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content.
Thanks for listening!
Until next time, happy selling!
