The Buy Box Maverick Podcast

Jon Cutler
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

I rebuilt my career after 40 — from owning a taxi company to building a brand-direct wholesale Amazon business. I began with online arbitrage, evolved into brand direct wholesale, and now share the real play-by-play. Here you’ll find my journey, deep-dive conversations with industry leaders, and honest insights on what it actually takes to win in modern eCommerce.

  1. Oct 23

    Amazon Wasn’t Working. She Went Live on Whatnot and Never Looked Back

    TOOLS I USE & RECOMMEND Seller Snap (AI Amazon repricer) — 10% off 3 months + 2-week free trial: https://referrals.sellersnap.io/l/BuyBoxMav SmartScout — 25% off 3 months, code BUYBOXMAVERICK: https://partners.smartscout.com/?fpr=buyboxmaverick All my links: https://linktr.ee/BuyBoxMaverick Amazon wasn't working for her. She had an office full of dead stock and damaged returns she couldn't move. So last October she put her phone on a ring light, went live on Whatnot with zero followers — and sold almost all of it in one show. One year later, streaming 2-3 hours a day, five days a week, she's done over $300,000 in sales. Part-time. This week Jon steps off Amazon and sits down with Dani Duck (Potluck Premier) to break down how live selling on Whatnot actually works — and why the cash flow alone should make every Amazon seller pay attention. Dani walks through the real fee structure (8% commission, Premier Shop discounts, and new volume tiers down to 6%), why active buyers matter more than follower count, and the feature that changed everything: after 1,000 items sold, you can cash out an entire show into your bank account the next morning. No 14-day reserve. Test 10 units, sell them, reorder before the market saturates. They also get into the side-hustle-to-real-business math, why she traded a 3,000 sq ft Philly warehouse for a $12K backyard she-shed studio, how three VAs run her listings, Jon's own $8,000 dead-inventory lesson, where Whatnot is headed as brands and restrictions catch up, and why your personality is your biggest sales asset on any platform. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro — Stepping Off Amazon This Week 00:41 Dead Stock to a $1,000 First Show 02:26 Take Action First, Research Later 04:07 $300K in Year One — Part-Time 04:30 Followers vs. Active Buyers 07:03 Whatnot Fees: 8%, Premier Shop & Volume Tiers 09:12 Instant Payouts After 1,000 Sales 10:29 Cash Flow vs. Amazon — Ask for Net 7 11:19 Jon's $8,000 Dead Inventory Mistake 13:10 Tunnel Vision vs. Diversifying 14:42 Pitching Brands to Launch on Whatnot 16:40 The Storefront That Sells While You're Not Live 17:40 Running Listings With 3 VAs 18:39 Doing the Math on Leaving the 9-to-5 21:16 From a Philly Warehouse to a Backyard She-Shed 28:03 Scaling Without Streaming 8 Hours a Day 29:19 What "Enough" Actually Looks Like 34:18 Where Whatnot Is Headed: Brands, Restrictions & TikTok 38:07 Lean Into Your Personality 42:31 Whatnot Is the New QVC 43:53 Starting With Capital vs. Without It 45:59 Dani's Coaching — Modules Launch November 1 51:29 Wrap-Up: Why Whatnot Might Be for You CONNECT WITH DANI Whatnot / Instagram: @pot_lucck Shop & coaching: https://stan.store/potluckpremier Website: https://cartuul.com FOLLOW BUY BOX MAVERICK All links: https://linktr.ee/BuyBoxMaverick Instagram: @BuyBoxMaverick YouTube / Spotify / Apple / Amazon Music: @marketplacemavs New episodes weekly. Like, subscribe, and drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. #Whatnot #AmazonFBA #LiveSelling

  2. Sep 29

    How to Make $8K/Month on the Amazon Influencer Program | Bryan Limitless

    🔧 TOOLS I USE & RECOMMEND ▶ Seller Snap (AI repricer – 10% off your first 3 months + 2-week free trial, no credit card): https://referrals.sellersnap.io/l/BuyBoxMav ▶ SmartScout (25% OFF for 3 months with code BUYBOXMAVERICK): https://partners.smartscout.com/?fpr=buyboxmaverick 🔗 All Buy Box Maverick links: https://linktr.ee/BuyBoxMaverick CONNECT WITH BRYAN LIMITLESS 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryan_limitless ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sourcefliprepeatofficial 🛠️ MultiSellerPro: https://www.multisellerpro.com/?a=b1Qk00sdQLhOhSac (use code: limitless30) What if Amazon paid you, with no inventory, no capital, and no social media following? This week we're stepping outside wholesale to break down the Amazon Influencer Program (AIP) with Bryan Limitless. Bryan lost his Amazon seller account to a Section 3 suspension two years ago, when Amazon was his only income. He swore he'd never let one platform control his income again. Today he runs seven income streams, and AIP brings in about $8K/month. It's neck and neck with his Walmart business. Bryan walks through the whole model live on screen: how to get accepted and approved, how Creator Connections unlocks 10–50% commissions, how the video carousel works just like the buy box, and how he films, uploads, and cross-lists a product to eBay in a few clicks. He also does a live unboxing and films a real AIP video on the spot. In this episode: - Why AIP cash flow is completely different from reselling - Acceptance vs. approval, and why you only get 3 shots - Creator Connections: requesting free products for 10–50% commissions - How commissions are earned (hint: last video watched wins) - Creator stars, Platinum status, and why brands care - The 50-videos-a-week consistency target - Turning one product into two incomes with eBay - Offsite links + international storefronts (CA, UK, AU) - The #1 rule for sellers: never review what you sell If you're in your first 90 days of wholesale outreach and not making money yet, this might be the side income that carries you through. 👍 Like, subscribe, and share with a seller who needs another income stream.

  3. Sep 21

    Amazon Repricing Just Changed (Localized Buy Box Explained) | Seller Snap CEO

    🔗 Try Seller Snap free for 2 weeks (no credit card) + 10% off your first 3 months: https://referrals.sellersnap.io/l/BuyBoxMav 🔗 SmartScout — 25% off for 3 months with code BUYBOXMAVERICK: https://partners.smartscout.com/?fpr=buyboxmaverick 🔗 Join the AIP Challenge: https://buyboxmaverick--entreresource.thrivecart.com/aip-challenge/ 🔗 All my links: https://linktr.ee/BuyBoxMaverick Amazon doesn't award ONE Buy Box anymore — it awards hundreds, based on where your inventory sits. That changes everything about how you should be repricing. In this episode I sit down with Adrian, CEO of Seller Snap, for a full screen-share walkthrough of their brand-new repricing engine. I switched to Seller Snap two weeks before recording this, and on one listing my margin went from 14% to 16.5% while velocity went UP. Adrian explains exactly why that happened. We cover: - Why a repricer is the #3 subscription every Amazon seller needs (after Keepa and SellerAmp) - The evolution from rule-based → algorithmic → B2B → localized Buy Box repricing - The "Alaska pool toys"

  4. Sep 14

    Amazon Wholesale Since 2017: What 9 Years of Selling Taught Alex from FBA Boys

    🔧 TOOLS I USE & RECOMMEND ▶ Seller Snap (AI repricer – makes us extra money every day): https://referrals.sellersnap.io/l/BuyBoxMav ▶ SmartScout (25% OFF for 3 months with code BUYBOXMAVERICK): https://partners.smartscout.com/?fpr=buyboxmaverick ▶ Amazon Influencer Program Challenge: https://buyboxmaverick--entreresource.thrivecart.com/aip-challenge/ Alex from FBA Boys has been selling on Amazon since 2017 — before the courses, before the community, before anyone was talking about it on social media. In this episode he breaks down the whole journey: flipping PS2 games on eBay at 13, fixing cracked iPhones out of his mom's basement, quitting a liquidation sales job (and turning down a $100K offer to stay), getting $100K frozen by Amazon, and rebuilding his entire business around clean distributors and brand-direct accounts. We get into the stuff nobody posts on Instagram: being $50K in the hole, subleasing warehouse space from other sellers (including a guy you definitely know), and why the "barrier" that makes wholesale hard is exactly what protects your margins. WHAT WE COVER - Why liquidation/gray market inventory will get your account suspended today - The Capital One Spark strategy Alex used to scale buying power from $5K to $100K/month - Why a distributor who says "no" to protect their existing sellers is the one you want - The 90-day / 100-calls-a-week method Jon used to break into wholesale - Pipeline mistakes: why you should never stop sourcing, even when cash is tight - Trade show prep — how Alex's VAs scout floor plans before he shows up - Brand direct vs. distributor: margins, cash flow, lead times, and which one you should start with - The exact questions to ask a brand at a booth to find the gap you can fill - Networking in wholesale: what's secret and what isn't - Multi-channel: Whatnot, TikTok Shop live auctions, Walmart — and when to stay in tunnel vision - Why the Amazon Influencer Program is the real side hustle (OA/RA is not) - Evolve or die: what a 40-year Cape Cod taxi business taught Jon about Amazon 📍 NYC E-COMMERCE MEETUP — Sept 19, 5–8 PM at Fifth & Mad. Amazon, Walmart, Whatnot, TikTok sellers all welcome. Alex has a few tickets left — links below. CONNECT WITH ALEX / FBA BOYS Instagram: @fbaboys CONNECT WITH JON Instagram: @buyboxmaverick Amazon storefront: Pinnacle Lane New episodes every week. Like, comment, and subscribe so you don't miss next week's episode with the Seller Snap team. #AmazonFBA #AmazonWholesale #BuyBoxMaverick #FBABoys #AmazonSeller #Ecommerce #Wholesale #BrandDirect #Whatnot #TikTokShop

  5. Aug 6

    He Did $550K in One Month at 19 — Then Told Me Why VAs Changed Everything

    Abe started selling on Amazon at 16, flipping used books from Goodwill and library sales with his mom. By 19 he did $550K in a single month. But the story most sellers need to hear is what happened in between: a $190K December that netted him about $9K in profit because he had no VAs, no prep center, and no one watching the leaks. In this episode Abe breaks down the exact systems that fixed it, why the vetting process is 90% of a good VA hire, how to structure incentives so your VA is actually motivated, and why "oversaturated" is the worst word in this business. He's also personally hired and trained over 500 VAs for around 300 Amazon sellers — so if you've ever had a VA "not work out," this one will sting a little. CONNECT WITH ABE Book a free VA/business audit call: https://calendly.com/abe-ecgwholesale/va-sales-call VA hiring service: https://www.ecgwholesale.com/va-hiring?preview=true

  6. Jul 30

    Inside the 5-Day Brand Direct Challenge with Cajua Robinson

    👉 Join the Brand Direct Challenge (Aug 10–14): https://buyboxmaverick--entreresource.thrivecart.com/brand-direct-challenge/ ## Episode Summary Jon sits down with Cajua Robinson (Ecom Unlimited Podcast) to talk about the new Brand Direct Challenge — a free 5-day live training, Aug 10–14 with Chris Grant, covering finding/negotiating with brands, onboarding, brand registry, and using AI for listings and PPC. They also dig into how they each use AI (Claude, Google Pomelli) to run their Amazon businesses, why brand direct moves slow enough that you have time to learn, and why real brand partnerships (not just cold calling) make this model fun. Also: the podcast has a new name — Marketplace Mavericks is now The Buy Box Maverick Podcast*.* ## What We Cover - 0:00 – New podcast - 1:01 – Intro to Cajua and the Brand Direct Challenge - 3:07 – What's covered in the 5-day training + bonuses (AI Ops course, extended Smart Scout trial) - 4:35 – Why Smart Scout is a must once you go brand direct - 5:21 – The #1 key to success: taking action, not over-preparing - 7:56 – How AI fits in: listing copy, PPC, images, brand presentations - 11:46 – Underrated tool: Google Pomelli for on-brand AI images - 12:36 – More resources: listingoptimization.com and scalable.so - 16:54 – You don't have to quit OA to start brand direct - 18:03 – Why real brand partnerships beat nonstop cold calling - 22:02 – The Operators Podcast: why "Head of Amazon" is so hard to hire for - 24:31 – The pitch reframe: "I'm your distribution partner for Amazon" - 27:05 – Never fully cross a brand off your list — timing matters - 29:28 – Final thoughts + how to join the Challenge ## About Cajua Robinson Cajua co-hosts the Ecom Unlimited Podcast and runs "the wholesale network," a wholesale/brand direct education community. He started in private label, moved into wholesale and brand direct, and now uses AI for listing optimization, PPC, and brand presentations. He's partnering with Chris Grant on the first-ever Brand Direct Challenge, a free 5-day live training Aug 10–14. Connect with Cajua: - YouTube (Ecom Unlimited): https://www.youtube.com/@ecom.unlimited.podcast - YouTube (personal): https://www.youtube.com/@cajuarobinson - Instagram: [@cajuarobinson](https://www.instagram.com/cajuarobinson) - X: [@CajuaRobinson](https://x.com/CajuaRobinson) ## Tools & Resources Mentioned Brand Direct Challenge · Smart Scout · Keepa · Google Pomelli · listingoptimization.com · scalable.so · The Operators Podcast --- Follow The Buy Box Maverick Podcast: Instagram [@BuyBoxMaverick](https://www.instagram.com/buyboxmaverick)

  7. Jul 22

    From Astrophysics Major to $250K/Month: A 22-Year-Old's Wholesale Blueprint

    He was studying to be an astrophysicist. Now he's doing $250,000 a month across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and his own local distribution business — and he did it by literally buying an ownership stake in the supply chain. In this episode of Marketplace Mavericks, host @BuyBoxMaverick sits down with Chris Shelby, a 22-year-old wholesale and brand-direct seller who started with online arbitrage as a college side hobby, moved into buying from distributors, and eventually skipped the middleman entirely to open direct accounts with brands — including 3M. The most surprising part of his playbook: buying into a business office co-op, which made him a literal part-owner with shares, gave him direct relationships with every brand rep in it, and solved his Amazon ungating problems in one move because the letterhead on his invoices is the co-op's own. Jon and Chris dig into how relationship-building (not email blasts) is what actually turns a distributor account into an exclusive brand-direct one, why owning a warehouse and a 3-person prep team changed his unit economics enough to profitably sell $6 items, how a warehouse opened up local B2B leads worth $70,000 in a single deal, and why Chris and a developer friend built their own internal AI-powered business tool — handling restocking, repricing, and shipment workflows off one shared database — instead of paying for five different SaaS subscriptions. They also compare notes on Amazon's brand registry requirements, why account age might be quietly triggering stricter gating, and what it actually takes (capital-wise and mindset-wise) to run wholesale as a real full-time business instead of a side hustle. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: - How Chris went from astrophysics student to online arbitrage to brand-direct wholesale in four years - The buying co-op strategy: how becoming a part-owner unlocked direct 3M inventory and simplified Amazon gating - Why relationships — not email — are what actually convert a distributor account into an exclusive - The real math behind owning a warehouse: prep costs under $1/unit vs. what a prep center would charge - How warehouse ownership generated an unexpected $70,000 local furniture deal that never touched Amazon - Inside Chris's custom internal software: automated restocking, repricing, and shipment workflows on one shared database - Why he still pays for Keepa and Smart Scout but replaced every other SaaS tool with something built in-house - Jon and Chris's theories on why Amazon keeps asking for brand registry even when a brand isn't enrolled - What it actually costs (in real capital) to scale wholesale beyond a side hustle

  8. Jul 15

    He Got $110K in Business Credit in One Day — Then Scaled to $400K/Month

    He got $110,000 in business credit in a single day — and used it to scale his Amazon business from $25K a month to $200K a month in under a year. In this episode of Marketplace Mavericks, host @BuyBoxMaverick continues his series spotlighting entrepreneurs under 25 with Sadeq Wahab, a 22-year-old who's been finding ways to make money online since eighth grade — eBay dropshipping, candy reselling, and a sneaker reselling business that netted him $100,000 in profit between the ages of 16 and 18. When sneaker reselling started slowing down, Sadeq pivoted to Amazon online arbitrage (OA) in August 2022 and scaled it toward $400,000 a month in revenue, doubling his profit every year along the way. But the real story here is what Sadeq built after Amazon took off: a business credit funding company that helps other sellers unlock six-figure credit lines the way he did, and a custom AI agency — built with two developer cousins — that creates done-for-you dashboards, reconciliation software, and speed-to-lead systems for e-commerce operators. Jon and Sadeq dig into why packing your own inventory is the fastest way to cap your growth, why chasing high average selling price (ASP) products makes an entire operation easier to run, and why word of mouth is still the thing that closes every deal. If you're building a business under 25, thinking about funding your next move, or just curious what real year-over-year scaling looks like, this is a tactical blueprint from someone living it in real time. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro — Continuing the Under-25 Entrepreneur Series 03:14 Sadeq's Origin Story: eBay Dropshipping in 8th Grade 05:49 $100K Net Profit From Sneaker Reselling (Age 16–18) 06:05 The Pivot to Amazon Online Arbitrage (August 2022) 08:15 Why Outsourcing Prep Was the First Real Unlock 17:51 Time to Open the Tunnel Vision: Building Beyond Amazon 20:38 Business #1: The Credit Funding Company 21:29 Business #2: The Custom AI Agency 40:00 Build Once, Deploy Many: How the AI Agency Scales 43:24 Why High ASP Changes Everything 56:09 Doubling Revenue Every Year: $500K to $6M+ 58:18 Why Word of Mouth Still Wins in E-Commerce 1:04:37 Inside the $110K Same-Day Business Credit Story 1:06:20 The Day Everything Got Serious 1:11:03 The #1 Funding Mistake New Sellers Make 1:16:36 Wrap-Up & Next Week's Guest WHAT YOU'LL LEARN How a 16-year-old turned $15K in seed money into $100K net profit reselling sneakersWhy he pivoted from sneaker reselling to Amazon OA in August 2022 — and what changed once he took it seriouslyThe exact day $110,000 in same-day business credit changed the trajectory of his businessWhy "packing inventory doesn't make you any money" — the case for outsourcing prep immediatelyHow doubling revenue every year (from $500K to a projected $6M+) actually worksWhy he built a business credit funding company instead of an Amazon coaching programInside his custom AI agency: build-once, deploy-many software for reconciliation, AIP dashboards, and speed-to-leadWhy chasing high ASP products simplifies an entire OA operationWhy word of mouth and networking — not paid ads — built every business he's touchedCONNECT WITH SADEQ Instagram @sadeqwahabb

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

I rebuilt my career after 40 — from owning a taxi company to building a brand-direct wholesale Amazon business. I began with online arbitrage, evolved into brand direct wholesale, and now share the real play-by-play. Here you’ll find my journey, deep-dive conversations with industry leaders, and honest insights on what it actually takes to win in modern eCommerce.

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