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

Retail arbitrage on Amazon has allowed Kim and Perry Coghlan to sell over 8 figures in a single year selling shoes and clothing They manage a team of about 20 people across two cities while raising 13 kids. In this deep-dive interview, they reveal the exact systems, processes, and management philosophies that make it all work.CONNECT WITH KIM AND PERRY

– Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EcomToolbox

– Free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ecomtoolbox

– Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ecomtoolbox1

– Skool: https://www.skool.com/ecomtoolbox/about?ref=4adcf73740e949279874c4793504807c

– Twitter: https://x.com/Pcoghlan, https://x.com/kimcoghlan4, https://x.com/ecom_toolbox

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0:00 - Introduction and episode overview

2:15 - Kim and Perry's business overview (10 years, 8 figures, 20 employees)

4:30 - Shifting focus from top line revenue to bottom line profit

6:00 - Why employees wanted data and metrics

8:00 - Ecom Toolbox community and podcast launch

11:00 - Helping intermediate sellers scale sustainably

12:00 - The retail arbitrage renaissance

14:30 - Know your numbers: why financial foundations matter first

16:30 - Top metrics every Amazon seller should track

17:30 - Velocity and cash flow management

20:00 - Tracking stale inventory and learning from bad buys

23:00 - The business scorecard explained (EOS framework)

26:00 - Scorecard metrics: sales, spend, inventory value, margin

28:00 - Returns tracking and seasonal variations

31:00 - Finding the right tempo for tracking your numbers

33:00 - Using AI in their Amazon business

36:00 - Lean operations and spaghetti mapping explained

39:00 - Real examples of process improvement

41:00 - Bringing in a lean consultant for company-wide training

43:00 - The eight wastes and eliminating extra processing

44:00 - Mindset shift: accepting your process is wrong

47:00 - Being the boss you never had

49:00 - Elon Musk, staying in the weeds, and the Gemba

51:00 - Book recommendations (Walter Isaacson, Ron Chernow)

52:00 - Building systems through crisis response, not planning

55:00 - Complete hiring process and personality testing

59:00 - Phone screening, core values introduction, and filtering

1:01:00 - Shopper training program overview

1:04:00 - Warehouse training before field work

1:07:00 - What makes a shopper field-ready

1:09:00 - Compensation structure: item count vs percentage of spend

1:11:00 - Bonus structure and incentivizing profitable behavior

1:12:30 - Buying criteria for shoes and clothing (minimums, ROI)

1:15:00 - Subcategories to avoid (dress shoes, small sizes)

1:16:00 - Repricing strategy: buy box anchoring, not ROI-based

1:18:00 - The rodeo jeans revelation: market doesn't care what you paid

1:19:00 - Aging inventory repricing (30-day and 90-day rules)

1:22:00 - Using ScanPower Mobile for pricing decisions

1:23:30 - Holding inventory strategy and merchant fulfilled hack

1:26:00 - Supplier profitability report as backbone of shopper metrics

1:28:00 - Cross-collaboration and company averages

1:30:00 - Honey holes and competitive bonuses

1:31:00 - The four core values (TACO framework)

1:34:00 - Quarterly conversations and the people analyzer

1:36:00 - Embedding core values through repetition

1:37:00 - Importance of outside perspectives and continuous learning

1:39:00 - How lean and EOS clicked for them

1:40:00 - EOS as the administrative equivalent of lean

1:43:00 - Ecom Toolbox elevator pitch and who it's for

1:44:00 - Where to find Kim and Perry

1:45:30 - Time travel question: advice to their younger selves

1:48:00 - Setting boundaries and not letting the business consume you

1:48:30 - Recent impactful learning (Musk biography, learning to play)