Prime Day ends and suddenly you are staring down the next wave: October Prime Day, then Black Friday and Cyber Monday, then the full “Turkey 12” reality where deals stretch for days. Ryan Yamamoto joins me to get brutally practical about what actually helps Amazon sellers win Q4 2026, especially when everyone is discounting and shoppers are trained to wait for the sale.

We dig into what longer deal events do to buyer behavior, including the “bunny ear” pattern of day-one spikes, mid-event dips, and end-of-event surges. We talk category context (why consumables and CPG can dominate), and why “just raise bids and budgets” is the fastest way to waste spend. Instead, we focus on building momentum early: Brand Store readiness, A+ Content, strong images, and copy that feels fresh and seasonal without turning your listing into a holiday gimmick.

From there, we go deep on Amazon advertising and creative. Sponsored Brands has changed, video matters more than ever, and mobile shopping keeps growing. Ryan shares how to think about click-through rate versus conversion rate, why the first 6 to 8 seconds of a video does the heavy lifting, and how UGC and offsite traffic with Amazon Attribution can support your Amazon PDP. We also cover Amazon’s ongoing AI push, what to watch with Rufus or Alexa shopping placements, and how to protect yourself with defensive Sponsored Brands while staying mindful of buy box issues.

If you want a clearer Q4 plan for Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, Black Friday Cyber Monday, and beyond, subscribe, share this with a seller friend, and leave a review so more operators can find the show.

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Returns are not just a cost of doing business on Amazon, they are a system you can design to recover revenue and protect your brand. We talk with JD Sass, CEO of Axiom Return Solutions, about what really happens after a customer sends a product back and why reverse logistics is becoming a serious advantage for sellers who want higher profitability.

We get into the Amazon-specific changes that are reshaping returns management: removal versus disposal costs, the tradeoffs of Amazon’s grade and resell program, and how returnless refunds can sometimes be the smartest move. JD also explains why brand control matters, including chain of custody, where inventory ends up, and how “good enough” grading can still lead to missing pieces, unhappy customers, and reviews that tank a listing.

Then we go practical. We break down how reimbursement claims work in Seller Central, why the timeline is tighter than it used to be, and what documentation actually drives successful claims. JD shares simple, high-impact fixes like adding photos of every component to your listing, using replaceable inserts, and placing tamper-proof seals on every opening to reduce fraud and prevent used items from re-entering sellable stock. If you sell on FBA, Shopify, or other ecommerce channels, this is a blueprint for turning return data into better packaging, better listings, and better margins.

Subscribe for more Amazon operations deep dives, share this with a seller who is drowning in returns, and leave a review with your biggest returns challenge so we can cover it next.

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Amazon is telling sellers something with its actions, not its press releases: external traffic that converts matters more than ever. We bring on Greg Potts, Senior Director of Partnerships at Levanta, to dig into how affiliate marketing and creator-led content can send high-intent shoppers to your listings and trigger the kind of conversion signals that support organic ranking, visibility, and Best Seller Rank.

We talk about the affiliate “halo effect” and why the real win is often bigger than a single tracked sale. A shopper clicks a creator link, lands on one ASIN, then browses your storefront, discovers your other products, and buys more. That blend of performance-based marketing and brand awareness is why Amazon affiliate marketing is becoming a serious lever for modern Amazon brands. Greg also breaks down what actually converts today: authentic partners, not endless one-off posts. Think micro-influencers, publisher listicles, newsletters, and other affiliate types that audiences genuinely trust.

If you are planning for Prime Day, we get specific about timing and execution. Affiliate programs are not a last-minute switch, so we cover realistic lead times, how affiliates frame urgency around Prime Day deals, and why paying for conversions can complement PPC when ad costs climb. We also walk through the KPIs that matter most, including the click-to-cart funnel that exposes where your listing or messaging is leaking sales.

If you found this useful, subscribe for more Amazon growth playbooks, share the episode with a seller friend, and leave a review so more brands can find it. What part of your marketing mix needs the biggest rethink right now?

Learn more about Velocity Sellers!

Check us out on YouTube!

Book a FREE Amazon Audit!