?? American Amazon sellers are losing big time

How To Fire Your PPC Agency (And Double Your Profit)

"I hired and fired 4 PPC agencies last year who bled me dry..." That confession came from an 8-figure Amazon seller... Before they discovered the system that changed everything. A mysterious PPC expert (known as "The Wizard of Ads") has developed a method so powerful:

• One brand scaled from $4.2M to $37M
• Another cut costs by 50% while maintaining sales
• Even top agencies come to him for training

On January 29th, he's revealing everything in a live-only training. Register Now (Show up Live - No Replay Available) You'll discover:

• Why agencies keep you dependent on them
• The complete system for managing PPC in-house
• Advanced automation strategies they don't want you to know

??? ADD YOUR PRODUCT to any IMAGE or AVATAR

Want to showcase your product in an AI video?

With HeyGen’s new Product Placement, you can upload your Amazon product (or paste a link to your product page) and bring it to life on any avatar!

Instantly create on-brand images for ads, product pages, and more.

?? Here's how:

• Log in to your HeyGen account
• Go to Photo Avatar on and navigate to the Generate Looks feature

• Input a prompt and specify the desired Orientation/Pose/Style.

- Ideally upload at least two images for product placement.

- Product Only: A clear image of product by itself

- Product in Use: An example of someone wearing, holding, or interacting with your product if you have it for context

• Add motions to your generated looks with a prompt.

- Add specific keywords to your prompts to control the motion, such as "zoom out slightly," "zoom in slightly," "walk slowly and naturally," "keep in the center," or "look at the camera." You can also include states to adjust the character's motion, like "enjoying music."

Watch the tutorial below for more details, and don’t forget to save the date: Sunday, March 2. That’s when the AI for E-commerce virtual workshop I am co-hosting is happening to show lots more cool things you can do with AI and e-commerce.

???? SOLD by CHINA - HOW AMERICAN SELLERS are LOSING

Foreign sellers—particularly from China—now make up over 50% of top Amazon sellers (per Marketplace Pulse).

While “Made in China” is nothing new, what is new is “Sold by China”—and many of these overseas sellers exploit loopholes to avoid U.S. taxes, customs duties, product safety rules, and liability.

As a result, they can undercut U.S. businesses on price and flood the market with copycats, counterfeit goods, fake reviews, and even unsafe products.

Shinghi Detlefsen recently wrote on Medium about the problem, summarized below.

Chinese Sellers Exceed 50% on Amazon

• According to Marketplace Pulse, over 50% of top Amazon sellers are now based in China—up from well under 50% just a few years ago.
• Walmart is in a similar boat at ~30% Chinese sellers, up from 20% a year ago.
• Shein and Temu—hyper-cheap online marketplaces—have also pushed Amazon to promote ultra-discounted products from Chinese suppliers, most notably via a new “Amazon Haul” section that sells nearly 100% China-based goods.

Why This Matters

• Intensified Competition: U.S. sellers face more price-pressured competition from overseas brands with lower operating costs and possible tariff/tax evasion.
• Marketplace Priorities: Amazon’s push for budget-friendly offerings (to keep pace with Shein/Temu) means heavy promotion of Chinese listings, potentially sidelining domestic sellers.

Unfair Advantages & Loopholes

Many overseas sellers, particularly those based in China, can undercut U.S. prices by:

1. Avoiding or underpaying import duties and misdeclaring shipments (e.g., via the De Minimis loophole).
2. Skipping U.S. taxes (income, state, sales, etc.) because enforcement is lax.
3. Using shell companies to evade accountability (no effective recourse for U.S. customers if products are defective or infringe IP).
4. Flooding products with fake reviews or attacking legitimate competitors through 1-star reviews.

Examples:

• Molson Hart’s FOIA attempts to expose a competitor’s tariff evasion hit dead ends.
• Nima’s 1-star review attack immediately after launching a new product.
• Cameron Walker’s copycat safety concerns where a Chinese knockoff replaced kid-safe glue with industrial adhesive.

Trump’s Return & Tariff Issues

• Potential Tariff Revival: Donald Trump’s return means revived or expanded tariffs on Chinese imports, removing the cost advantages that have fueled Chinese sellers’ rapid expansion.
• Amazon’s “Trump Problem”: The company could face political and regulatory pressure to reduce its reliance on foreign sellers—especially if U.S.-based businesses push for a more level playing field.
• Supply Chain Disruption: Sudden tariff hikes or stricter import rules could drive up costs for Chinese sellers—and by extension, for consumers and Amazon itself.
• Antagonistic History: Trump and Amazon (particularly Jeff Bezos) have clashed before, which may put the company under renewed scrutiny.

Bottom Line: If Amazon is forced to curb China-based sellers or enforce stricter tariff rules, it might open doors for U.S. sellers—but it could also cause short-term marketplace chaos.

Impact on U.S. Sellers

1) Lost Market Share & Tax Revenue

• Researchers estimate $4.75 billion is lost annually in taxes from foreign seller profits on Amazon’s U.S. marketplace alone.
• U.S. businesses that must comply fully (duties, federal/state taxes, product safety) struggle to match overseas pricing.

2) IP & Brand Damage

• Counterfeits and knockoffs can flood the market. Examples of copycat supplements show how brand equity and consumer safety are at risk.

3) Innovation & Job Loss

• As cost pressures drive margins down, many U.S. sellers reduce staff or cut R&D, hampering local innovation.

Ideas & Policy Solutions

Several sellers and experts propose ways to level the playing field:

1) Withholding Tax on Foreign Sellers

• Amazon/Walmart withhold a standard percentage (e.g. 25%) from foreign sellers’ payouts unless they file a U.S. tax return.

2) Close the De Minimis Loophole

• Prevent low-value imports from evading typical customs duties and taxes.

3) Liability Bonds

• Foreign entities must post a bond to cover product liability or IP infringement claims—similar to legal accountability U.S. companies face by default.

4) Tariffs

• Some argue for steeper tariffs on items sold directly by foreign companies, rather than penalizing U.S. companies’ imports.

5) Reciprocity

• Make it as complex for Chinese companies to sell in the U.S. as it is for U.S. companies to sell in China.

6) Audit Shell Companies

• Marketplaces hand over business registrations for foreign sellers claiming “no nexus”; freeze funds if they fail to comply.

7) Fast-Track IP Lawsuits

• Specialized courts or processes to quickly freeze assets from counterfeiters and resolve trademark/copyright claims.

We 10x’d this supplements brand in the last year with Amazon PPC profitably:

Profitable Amazon PPC management is not about AI tools, or more bid adjustment, or finding the perfect budget.

It is about taking the PPC data and consistently turning it into changes on the campaigns, thumbnails, and listings to increase profitability over and over again.

If your Amazon PPC is unprofitable we can fix that!

See if you apply to the Sophie Society Amazon PPC Partnership by tapping here.

~ Chris Rawlings

sophiesociety.com