Shoppers are eating $12B in tariffs... and it shows 💀 [MDSR #53]

Two weeks in eCommerce feels like two years anywhere else. 

Let’s catch you up.

Hot Off The Presses 📰

Tariff whiplash giving anyone else a sore neck? 

Trump’s latest round of import duties may have grabbed headlines, but the hidden sting is in the details: American shoppers are already paying an extra $12.2 billion a month. Retailers are scrambling to juggle costs, with some warning of holiday toy shortages after a pullback in production earlier this year. 

And while the U.S. tossed China a 90-day tariff reprieve, don’t bank on relief — July’s inflation gauge ticked upward, signaling those costs are already bleeding into consumer prices.

Meanwhile, Amazon is tightening its own levers of control. Fall’s Prime Big Deal Days will reportedly be capped at just two days — a rare show of restraint after last month’s four-day marathon. 

On the back end, the company just scored its biggest legal win yet against fake review brokers. And don’t miss the quieter plays: expanding same-day grocery delivery for perishables and exploring new Prime perks as it plots its next subscription hook.

Competitors smell opportunity. Walmart and Alphabet just got a boost from the feds with looser rules for long-range drone flights — opening the door for scaled aerial delivery. eBay is rolling out new AI tools to woo marketplace defectors, and Best Buy launched its own third-party marketplace. The platform wars aren’t slowing down.

And in the “seller beware” column: referral traffic from Google is dropping as much as 25% thanks to AI overviews, TikTok Shop is proving both “explosive” for sellers and fertile ground for scammers, and OpenAI’s rumored checkout system could soon turn ChatGPT into yet another shopping channel to manage.

Bottom line: tariffs are reshaping costs, Amazon is recalibrating its playbook, rivals are circling, and sellers are stuck navigating shifting algorithms and buyer behavior in real time. 

Would you expect anything else from your average two-week eCom news cycle these days?

Million Dollar Advice 💸 

If you’re serious about scaling, efficiency isn’t just a back-office metric. It’s the potential leg up most sellers overlook. 

Every minute wasted on manual processes, clunky ops, or scattered data adds up to margin left on the table. And the best sellers know that streamlined workflows, smart automation, and clear visibility into their supply chain don’t just cut costs. They unlock speed, resilience, and growth. 

Want to see where your ops could be sharper? Here’s how to level up your eCommerce efficiency.

The profit squeeze 🍋

If tariffs, fees, and fickle shoppers have you feeling squeezed, you’re not alone. Our latest poll will show just how many sellers are watching their margins evaporate in real time. But here’s the kicker: most sellers don’t actually have a clear picture of their true profit margin until it’s too late.

On paper, the formula looks simple:

Profit margin = (Revenue – Costs) ÷ Revenue × 100

But in practice, that tidy equation hides a lot of messy variables — from rising ad spend and returns to packaging, fulfillment, and “hidden” overhead like software subscriptions or staff time. Miss a few, and you’re not tracking profit margin… you’re tracking wishful thinking.

The upside? Once you build a habit of calculating margins accurately (and often), it becomes one of the most powerful decision-making tools in your business. Clear margins tell you:

• Where to double down (SKUs or channels that are truly profitable)
  

• Where to trim (products that sell well but quietly bleed cash)
  

• How to price when tariffs or Amazon fees change the math overnight
  

• When to scale — with confidence that growth isn’t just vanity revenue

Margins aren’t just a finance exercise — they’re a survival strategy in 2025’s trade climate. 

Check out our full breakdown here to sharpen your own margin math.

Think this is helpful?

Rank #1 on Amazon by gifting products 🎁

Want to get your Amazon listing to #1 page positioning in 2025 by just giving away products?  

Sending free products to Micro-Influencers using the platform Stack Influence. They automate influencer collaborations at scale (think: thousands of collabs per month) and have helped Brands like Magic Spoon, Unilever, and Farmacy not only get to #1 page positioning on Amazon — but also increase their monthly revenue as high as 13X in as little as 2 months.

Stack Influence provides the following benefits to Amazon sellers:

• 📈 Increase Amazon listing search positioning (drive high volume external traffic sales) 
  

• 🤑 Pay influencers only in products (stop negotiating fees with every influencer)
  

• 📸 Generate branded image/video UGC with full legal rights (no timeframe or usage restrictions)
  

• 🤝 Develop affiliate relationships (easily identify top influencer candidates to work with in the long run)
  

• 🤖 Automate influencer collaborations from A-Z (save over 175 management hours per month)

Want to see some real results? One brand in the ultra competitive baby category launched a Stack Influence campaign at the end of August and within days their category rank improved by 7X and as a result they've now 10X their recurring revenue, growing 50 sales/month to over 500 sales/month.  

They now sit at #18 in the Toddler Pillows category which is all due to improving search positioning and driving more organic sales from the increased visibility (see BSR chart below).  

Still don't believe it? Check out some more results from this Micro Influencer campaign which generated a 13X ROI scaling up influencers on Amazon. After successfully raising investment on Shark Tank this brand turned to Stack Influence to boost their Amazon sales and become a top selling listing using Micro Influencer product seeding.

Here is a link to the full case study so you can see more growth details. If this type of tactic is something you think would be worth pursuing for your product lines in 2025 click the link below to learn more. 

Finish out 2025 strong by increasing your Amazon listings organic search positioning and multiplying your recurring revenue: Click here to get 10% OFF signing up for Stack Influence this month.

Talk shop, swap wins, spark growth 🗣️

Some conversations just don’t happen over Zoom. That’s why the MDS community puts as much weight on in-person meetups as we do online forums.

These gatherings cut past the noise — giving founders space to swap playbooks, troubleshoot challenges, and spark partnerships that actually stick.

🤝 The Main Event: MDS Summit Milan

Where high-level strategy meets once-a-year energy.

• MDS Summit Milan – August 24–27, 2025: Our flagship event in one of the world’s most iconic cities. If you’re serious about scaling, this is the room to be in.

🤝 Ecompreneur Socials

Relaxed settings, sharp insights. 

• September 4 — Bay Area Founder Social

• September 24 — Boston Founder Social

• September 26 — Singapore Founder Social

🤝 MDS Connects 

Curated meetups anchored to the biggest industry moments.

• September 12 — SoFlo Chapter Padel Play 

• September 18 — MDS Connect at Amazon Accelerate 2025

• September 21 — MDS Connect at Commerce Roundtable 2025

• October 20 — MDS Connect at Innovate 2025

FYI, space is limited — if you’re eyeing a spot, lock it in now: 👉 All Event Links

Did you see that post 📲

Sellers hoped inventory stockpiling would shield them. July’s books proved it didn’t. 

Until next time ✌️

As always, thanks for sticking with us until the end. 

If you’d care to share your thoughts on this newsletter, we’re all ears. Just hit reply to sound off. 

See you next time with more of the latest and greatest content you need to succeed this year 🔥

Sincerely, 

Looking for a mastermind community?

Million Dollar Sellers (MDS) is an exclusive community of 650+ like-minded Amazon and DTC sellers from all over the world. Collectively, our members generate more than 8 billion in annual sales and dominate some of the biggest categories on Amazon. MDS offers world-class events, chapters, industry discounts, resource libraries full of SOPs, templates, and video recordings of private trainings, workshops, events and so much more.

If you are looking for a business professional community made for ecom entrepreneurs, then consider applying today. 

*To qualify, you must be a full-time seller or brand owner and do at least 1 million in verified annual revenue. Will Amazon’s Returnless Resolutions solve the returns debacle? [MDSR #30]