He crossed $10M in Amazon sales in 2025. Almost entirely online arbitrage. Just sourcing, scaling, and staying in stock.Stephen Reinhard (https://www.instagram.com/stephendoesbusiness/) started flipping Nike cleats at Ross in middle school for $20. By college, he was running a $75K/month retail arbitrage operation and flying home once a month just to shop. Today, he runs a lean OA business doing $3M+ in a single month with 12-15% net margins and a team of 7-8 VAs.In this episode, we break down how he treats online arbitrage like wholesale, why he thinks most Amazon AI tools are a waste of time, the $150K gift card mistake that almost slipped through, and the Q4 story where he raised $1M on friends' credit cards to keep scaling.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro00:35 - Meet Stephen Reinhard: $10M Amazon Seller02:33 - From $20 Cleats at Ross to $10M on Amazon06:06 - Why He Treats Online Arbitrage Like Wholesale09:20 - The Numbers: $3M+ in a Single Month11:46 - $464K in Sales from $6,700 in Ads (PPC Breakdown)13:42 - "OA Is a Video Game. I Just Get Dollars."15:48 - Buying Out Entire Websites to Block Competition18:26 - Do You Always Stay in Stock on Winners?21:36 - How He Lost $150K in Unreconciled Gift Cards24:44 - Building a VA Team That Runs Without You27:15 - The VA Who Begged to Learn and Became His Right Hand31:23 - How Many People Does It Take to Run $10M?35:46 - Why Most Amazon AI Tools Are a Waste of Time37:56 - Protecting Margins at Scale Behind Hard-Gated Brands40:46 - He Raised $1M on Friends' Credit Cards in Q444:35 - Lightning Round: Real Estate, Mentors, and What's NextGO DEEPER WITH OAC+Want the full Keepa Academy training used by 7 and 8-figure sellers? It's included with OAC+, our private community of 200+ Amazon sellers.OAC+ includes:- Full Keepa Academy course- Sourcing courses and SOPs- Amazon to Amazon flip leads- Live coaching and Q&A- Suspension supportJoin OAC+: https://www.oachallenge.com/plusOA CHALLENGE LIVE - MARCH 2026Join us for our next live cohort where we build your Amazon business together over 14 days.Learn more: https://www.oachallenge.comCONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://www.x.com/cleartheshelfWebsite: https://www.cleartheshelf.comTwitter: https://www.x.com/ChrisRacicWebsite: https://www.oaleads247.com

He closed 2025 at $844K in Amazon sales on roughly 10 hours a week. Then used those profits to buy a bulldozer, start a land clearing business, and quit his 20-year tech career. This is the full story.Justin Zsimovan (@flippin4gold) joins Clear the Shelf to break down exactly how he built a high-margin Amazon FBA business while working full-time, why he believes retail arbitrage is underrated, and what 20 years in enterprise AI taught him about where this industry is really headed.⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Intro: From IT Security to Amazon FBA02:52 — Why Amazon? The Exit Plan from Tech06:37 — Failed Side Hustles Before Amazon Clicked08:10 — How His Wife Runs Most of the Amazon Business11:32 — $844K Revenue Breakdown: RA vs. OA Split13:53 — Zero RA Competition: The Small Town Advantage16:33 — "RA Isn't Scalable" — Why That's Wrong19:00 — The Lead Delay Strategy: Let Stores Hold Your Inventory20:02 — Hiring a VA Too Early (And Why She's Now Irreplaceable)22:53 — Manufacturing Margin: Gift Cards, Credit Cards, and Stacking Points28:29 — Using Grok to Model $10K → $100K/Month Growth31:19 — Amazon as a Launchpad, Not the End Goal34:48 — What's Actually Hard About Starting a "Real" Business39:33 — The Land Clearing Business: From LLC to $90K Bids44:12 — How to Pick a Business AI Can't Disrupt49:15 — The Scott Adams Ideation Framework53:29 — AI Doomer Perspective: Why He Left Tech55:37 — 99.9% of AI Tools on Amazon Twitter Are Junk58:00 — Data: What Sellers Should Record Starting Today01:01:09 — Use Case Engineering: Don't Boil the Ocean01:07:00 — How to Evaluate AI Tools (Open Claw, Claude Desktop)01:10:10 — AI Threatens OA More Than RA01:19:06 — Balancing a W2, Amazon, and a New Business01:21:44 — Managing Risk: The "Worst Case Is Bankruptcy" Mindset01:24:47 — The Escape Sequence: X → Amazon → Land Clearing → Freedom01:28:08 — Lightning Round: Start With Less Money Than More01:29:29 — Book Rec: "Cold Calling Sucks (And That's Why It Works)"01:32:55 — Quote of the Week: Walt Disney on Action Over Analysis🔗 FOLLOW JZ- X/Twitter: @flippin4goldGO DEEPER WITH OAC+Want the full Keepa Academy training used by 7 and 8-figure sellers? It's included with OAC+, our private community of 200+ Amazon sellers.OAC+ includes:- Full Keepa Academy course- Sourcing courses and SOPs- Amazon to Amazon flip leads- Live coaching and Q&A- Suspension supportJoin OAC+: https://www.oachallenge.com/plusOA CHALLENGE LIVE - MARCH 2026Join us for our next live cohort where we build your Amazon business together over 14 days.Learn more: https://www.oachallenge.comCONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://www.x.com/cleartheshelfWebsite: https://www.cleartheshelf.comTwitter: https://www.x.com/ChrisRacicWebsite: https://www.oaleads247.com

Is 2026 the best time to sell on Amazon? Is AI repricing the future of selling on Amazon? In this episode of the Clear the Shelf Podcast, we sit down with Dillon Carter, co-founder of the Aura Repricer to break down exactly how AI repricing works in 2026 — including the game theory engine behind Maven, Aura's AI-powered repricing tool.Grab an Aura Free Trial here: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/repricerDillon explains how Maven profiles competitor behavior in real time, calculates optimal pricing above the buy box, and helps Amazon FBA sellers improve margins without sacrificing sales velocity. We also cover why 2025 was a turning point for operational efficiency on Amazon, how sellers should think about cash flow cycles instead of profit-per-unit, and why the best Amazon sellers in 2026 are running companies instead of side hustles.If you're an Amazon FBA seller doing online arbitrage, retail arbitrage, or wholesale, this episode is packed with actionable strategies to improve your repricing, sourcing, and overall business operations. We also dive deep into how AI tools like Claude, Poke, and browser-based agents are already changing how sellers source products, analyze data, and make decisions.🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES:—————————————————🔁 Try Aura Repricer: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/repricer🎙️ Clear the Shelf Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4O00RWj2hg&list=PLPJ1CITeRS1F1w-T7ZZT7QnKQ027nHVht📩 Join the OAC+ Community: https://www.oachallenge.com/plus🐦 Follow Dillon on X/Twitter: https://x.com/Dillon_Carter📰 Subscribe to the CTS Newsletter: https://www.cleartheshelf.com/newsletter⏰ TIMESTAMPS:—————————————————0:00 — Intro & Dillon Carter's Background14:20 — How Maven's AI Repricing Actually Works (Game Theory Explained)28:40 — Regional Buy Boxes & Average Profit vs. Profit-Per-Sale45:30 — Operational Efficiency: Amazon's New Standard for Sellers56:40 — Aura's Starter Plan & Cash Flow Cycles for New Sellers70:00 — AI Tools Sellers Can Use RIGHT NOW (Claude, Co-Work, Agents)85:30 — The Future of AI Sourcing & Will VAs Be Replaced?101:30 — Cutting Through AI Hype & Power Consolidation110:45 — Worst Amazon Strategy: Switching Business Models118:20 — First Principles Thinking & SP-API Developer Fees128:45 — Rapid Fire: Best Tools, Habits, Books & Advice