# Avoiding Losses Every FBA seller loses money on something at some point. That's not pessimism — it's just reality. The goal isn't to never take a loss, it's to make sure losses are small, infrequent, and never the result of something you could have caught beforehand. *** **Calculate before you buy — every time** This sounds obvious but it's where most mistakes happen. Sellers see a decent looking margin, get excited, and buy without properly checking the numbers. Before placing any order, use SAS or BuyBotPro to verify: * Your actual profit after all Amazon fees * Your ROI after the cost of goods * Whether the sales history justifies the purchase Also pull up the Keepa graph. Check what the price has done over the last three to six months — not just what it's doing today. A product that looks profitable right now might have a history of crashing in price whenever a few extra sellers pile in. *** **Expect prices to drop** On popular leads, prices almost always drop after the lead goes out. More sellers see the same opportunity, they all buy stock, they all list at the same time, and suddenly there are ten FBA sellers where there were two. The Buy Box price falls and everyone's margin shrinks. This isn't a reason to avoid good leads — it's a reason to buy with enough margin that a price drop still leaves you profitable. If a product only works at today's exact price, it's not a safe buy. *** **Don't put everything into one product** Spreading your budget across multiple products, categories, and brands is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself. If one product tanks, the rest of your inventory carries you through. New sellers often go heavy on one item because they're confident in it. Sometimes that works out. Sometimes the price crashes, or Amazon starts selling it themselves, or the brand gets restricted again. Diversification isn't exciting but it is protective. *** **Don't hold stock longer than you need to** The longer stock sits in an Amazon warehouse, the more storage fees you're paying — and the more time there is for the price to move against you. For beginners especially, focus on fast moving inventory with steady demand. The exception is seasonal products where you've done your research. Buying toys in October knowing Christmas is coming is a calculated hold. Buying something in January and hoping it recovers by Easter is a gamble. *** **Know when to cut your losses** Sometimes you'll buy something that just doesn't perform the way you expected. Price drops, competition floods in, Amazon jumps on the listing. It happens. In that situation, the worst thing you can do is hold on and hope. Every week that stock sits unsold is another week of storage fees and tied up capital you could be using on better opportunities. If a product has stalled, ask yourself honestly: is it realistically going to recover, or am I just hoping? Sometimes selling at break even or a small loss is the right move. Freeing up cash to reinvest in better stock is nearly always more valuable than waiting months for a rebound that may never come. *** **A few things worth checking before every purchase** * Are you actually ungated on this product? Buying stock you can't list is an expensive mistake. * Have you factored in prep costs if you're using a prep centre? * Is Amazon themselves selling this product? If so, are they sharing the Buy Box or holding it completely? None of these take long to check. Making them a habit before every purchase will save you from the most avoidable losses. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://behind-the-buybox.gitbook.io/behind-the-buybox-docs/avoiding-losses.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.