#23 - Robert Weisberg: ​​Getting More Out of Ecommerce With Your Own Customers

Robert and his brother, Tom, started a mail-order business in their basement while in high school. They sold baseball cards and advertised in trade publications in the 80’s. Their business model shifted to Ecommerce in early 2012, where they started on eBay, and later moved to Amazon. In this interview, he talks about how to get your maximum ROI by focusing on Amazon. Key Takeaways In this interview you’ll learn these from Robert: Ecommerce didn’t reinvent something that wasn't there. The difference was taking something from the analog world over to the digital world. If something hasn’t worked for you, it doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t warn others of it. Network with people who’ve gone ahead of you because you may not see the future, but they can. Invest in a passive way that's “safe.” Where you don't have to worry about the management, collection, or operational end of it. Don't think that since you were successful in Amazon, it must translate to every other business because e-commerce and Amazon are far different. Ecommerce allows you to see if you’ll succeed in a business in a relatively short period of time. Each business has to look at its model and what they're selling and be aware of everything around them as much as possible. When you own the customer, especially with selling online, you can do more down the line. It’s extremely difficult and problematic to sell branded items at Walmart compared to Amazon because of the size and depth of their catalog. The flat file contains some obsolete items that might confuse a new seller, but you can customize it carefully and make your own templates.