Ecommerce & DTC — what 62 operators said

The episodes

How Brands Turn Customers Into Their Best Marketers | Luke Yarnton

The Social Media Goldmine Brands Are Ignoring with Matthew McGrory

How AI Is Changing Retail, Style, and the Future of Shopping | Anya Cheng

From Expelled Student to Entrepreneur: Mike Sancho on Network Marketing, Passive Income & the Metaverse

Agentic AI Is Here: How ATOMS Turns Ideas into Revenue with Ethan Ouyang

Inside the World of Icons.com: Authentic Sports Memorabilia, Messi Collectibles & Market Growth

The Future of Fashion Technology: AI, Branding & Live Shopping Trends | Anya Cheng

Right About Now Evolves: New Formats, More Guests, and the Launch of Collectibles on SI

From Reebok to Syntilay: Footwear Innovation with Joe Foster & Ben Weiss

Business News: Railroads Merge, Prebiotic Pepsi Pops Off, Real Estate Investors Surge, and Chicago's Sports Collectors Convention Heats Up

Business News: Stripe Bypasses IPO, Amazon’s Dark Pattern Debacle, MLB Tests AI Umpires, Microsoft’s Surprising Ad Surge

B-Sides: Flavor, Sustainability & Profit with Yousuf Ahmed

Creating his own Breaks - The Booming Hobby Series w/ Jason Koonce

Business News: Amazon’s Fuel-Cell Fleet, Fast-Food Price Wars, Sky-High Shipping, AI Guardrails, and Ikea Micro-Stores

From Trading Cards to Connections: The Heart of the Industry with Matty Rich

Business News: Marketers Bet Big on Podcasts, Veo 3 Demos Next‑Gen Video, TikTok Shop Changes the Game, Prime Day Sparks Shopping Sprees

Questions answered on ecommerce & dtc

In their words

When you sell someone on Amazon, like it's, that's Amazon's customer. Suddenly when you sell on Shopify, it's your customer and you can bring them back in.

Robbie Fitzwater · Catching up on e-commerce with Robbie (24:35)

And is it going to be something where you try and ramp up quickly on Amazon and then try and transition over to a Shopify and owning as much as as possible, or is it going to be something where you start with your own audience and then start to gradually let that Amazon, let that Amazon drip start.

Robbie Hitzwater · Ryan and Robbie talk Super Bowl Ads & Rented versus (21:09)

Walmart is even kicking Amazon's ass in delivery because every day items and some things that I would have normally ordered from Amazon for their supposed two day, that's not always two days anymore.

Ryan Alford · The 2024 Naughty and Nice Businesses List (17:21)

And so you really don't get any of that with Amazon and other e-commerce. It's a one time sale pretty much. Do you hardly even get their email address?

Jordan Schindler · Ecommerce Series: How Nufabrx built an 8-figure Shop (18:17)

So we have a goal for Amazon on its own to be a nine-figure business for us in the next three years from an Amazon very focused scale plan, hiring plan, partnership plan that allows us to take advantage of the Amazon platform and marketplaces, Walmart.com, etc.

Josh Snow · Priceless Advice for Being an Entrepreneur (52:21)

We're on Amazon, we're on the web, we're on all the social media, but you'll find this with a comeback for round two and talk, you know, the ins and outs of e-commerce and the the pluses and minuses of Amazon.

Ashley Parker Angel · Ashley Parker Angel and Bobby Klebanoff - Founders o (48:52)

With E-commerce, after all your distribution, your marketing costs, your product costs, most E-commerce companies, unless they've got a 10X markup on their product, their margins are so damn slim.

Michael Noicos · "Filling The Gap" with Only Fans Management | Michae (12:52)

All of the sites that I've been able to scale, we built on Shopify, which is not to say that there aren't other eCommerce platforms.

Sanjay Jenkins · A Story of Growth: How Buff City Soap is leveraging (11:23)

While here, we feel like Amazon's, Amazon's, eBay's, eBay's, Instagram and Google Maps, they are all separate functions.

Anya Cheng · How AI Is Changing Retail, Style, and the Future of (20:48)

Nothing happened to make us stop using eBay aside from shipping, being easier with Amazon.

Christina Gossi · Original E.T. Animatronic Model Used in Spielberg Cl (31:25)

But the only problem with that on Amazon, Amazon is not a fan of it.

Mike Sancho · Mike Sancho - Real Estate Investor, Marketer, CEO, a (22:56)

We move we push clients to Shopify 95% of the time You know When when to Shopify not makes sense for a company.

Dave Gerhardt · Ryan talks with Dave Gerhardt, one of the leading vo (16:25)

What comes up again and again

Edgewell's Fieldtrip keeps every product under $25 and sells DTC plus Amazon, but Ryan warns rising online ad costs and Amazon's shipping economics are squeezing DTC brands. (Weekly Marketing and Advertising News, J)
An Amazon-TikTok deal would be a data and attention play — TikTok Shop layered onto Amazon's fulfillment, Prime shipping, and verification could turn discovery into two-swipe purchasing. (Business News That Matters: Amazon Bid f)
Josh Snow's launch stack was one product, Facebook ads, Shopify and one or two people for support and shipping, with inventory in his spare bedroom until the idea proved out. (Priceless Advice for Being an Entreprene)
Start narrow and validate before you spend: Snow launched one $95 system on Shopify with Facebook ads, $50,000–$100,000 of first inventory, one or two people on support, and shipping out of a spare bedroom. (Take it to the Next Level! How to become)
Amazon is worth leaning into because over 50% of online retail searches start there, antitrust rules cap Amazon's own private label share, and it is the only platform where you can see competitors' sales velocity — Josh cites Hero Cosmetics' $630M sale and Zesty Paws as Amazon-driven exits. ($100 Million E-Commerce Brand Builder w)
Ecommerce founders should expect operations, not demand, to be the hard part — Heidi's main challenges are inventory timing and shipping delays customers blame on her. (Heidi Cortez - American Entrepreneur, Be)
With so many DTC competitors, you can't just switch on an e-commerce store and expect sales; without brand recognition you lose to Walmart, Amazon and hundreds of other stores. (Weekly Marketing and Advertising News, M)
Nobody is going to out-Amazon Amazon, but you can out-human Amazon by building a genuine connection with your audience. (Be at the Forefront of your Communicatio)
Amazon's Wondery acquisition folds one of the last independent podcast platforms into Amazon Music, and Amazon's targeting data will likely expand its audio ad capabilities. (Weekly News Update 1.8.21: What is Clubh)
Amazon One launched a contactless palm reader tied to your credit card for Amazon Go stores—Ryan's concern is fragmented biometric standards across Apple, Samsung and Amazon rather than one universal scan. (Amazon One Concerns, VANS: Musicians Wan)

Questions this topic answers

All 120 episodes

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Jul 14, 2026

Should ecommerce brands sell on Amazon or stay direct to consumer?

Should a DTC brand sell on Amazon or stay direct to consumer?

Should my ecommerce brand sell on Amazon or build direct to consumer?

Is Amazon Prime two-day shipping still reliable?

How do you start an ecommerce brand with Shopify and Facebook ads?

Should I sell on Amazon or stay direct to consumer?

Which e-commerce and DTC startups are the most valuable in the US?

Should ecommerce brands sell on Amazon or stay direct-to-consumer?

All 120 episodes

Turning Customers Into Your Best Marketers | Luke Yarnton

The Social Media Goldmine Brands Ignore | Matthew McGrory

Anya Cheng on AI, Data Moats and the Future of Shopping

Mike Sancho: From Expelled to Passive Income Builder

Agentic AI and Atoms: Ideas to Revenue With Ethan Ouyang

Inside Icons.com: Messi Memorabilia and Scarcity

Sean Whalen: How Truth Built Lions Not Sheep

Anya Cheng on AI Styling, Branding & Live Shopping

Right About Now Evolves: Collectibles on SI Launches

Joe Foster & Ben Weiss on AI 3D-Printed Shoes

Railroad Merger, Prebiotic Pepsi and TikTok's 60-Min Test

Turning Followers into Brand Ambassadors: Luke Yarnton

Stripe Skips IPO, Amazon's Dark Patterns, AI Umpires

Yousuf Ahmed on Upcycled Snacks and 80% Margins

Jason Koonce on Sports Cards, Grading and Live Selling

Amazon AI Jobs, Dollar Menus, Drones and IKEA Micro-Stores

Inside the Trading Card Boom with Matty Rich

Podcast Ads Win, Veo 3 Hits, TikTok Shop Charges

Entrepreneur Masterclass: 5 Founders on Scaling Smart

Mother's Day Gifts, Amazon Robots, Crypto & Trading Cards

Easter's $23.6B, Tom Brady's Card Vault, Katy Perry in Space

Ben Glinsky on Running a Lean $100M Supplement Brand

Amazon's TikTok Bid, Musk Exits DOGE, OpenAI's $40B

Consumer Sentiment Tanks as Retail Closures Pile Up

NoBaked Cookie Dough: Jimmy Feeman on Scaling a CPG Brand

Trump's Gold Card Visa, DOGE Savings & Sports Card Boom

Inauguration Billionaires, Crypto Trends & Amazon's Slip

The 2024 Naughty and Nice Businesses List

Luke Peters: Building NewAir Into a $600M Brand

Cyber Monday Records, Elf on the Shelf, and Teen Bans

Entrepreneur Masterclass: 5 Founders on Scaling

Amazon Live Goes Shoppable, TikTok Notes & AI Anchors

Stanley Targets Men, Apple's Gemini Deal & March Madness

Inside an OnlyFans Agency with Michael Noicos

Wendy's Dynamic Pricing, Bitcoin $60K and DTC Unicorns

Apple Music Replay vs. Spotify Wrapped + Pop-Tarts Bowl

Snoop Dogg Quits Smoke for Solo Stove: Campaign Breakdown

Elon on Rogan, Free Phones and Steak-umm's Deepfakes

Kelce Jersey Sales Spike, Amazon Sued, Spotify AI

Alex Urban's E-commerce Blueprint: Brand, Offers, Exit