The Selling From the Beach Newsletter

You and 3,978 had better enjoy this newsletter or i’ll microwave Aunt Cheryl’s leftover tuna casserole at work.

Welcome back friend!

And a big welcome to the +112 new readers this week!

Hey! We’re celebrating our two year anniversary!

First off, thank you, friend! Seriously. You’ve been part of this journey, and we’re truly grateful. Connecting every week with so many sharp & driven entrepreneurs has been life changing for us. Your messages, feedback, and stories mean more than you know. Thanks for letting us be part of your world.

But here’s the rub… When most people hit a milestone they don’t do much. Perhaps a social media post. They move on and forget it a week later.

If you actually want it to mean something, don’t just celebrate it. Mark it.
Do something weird enough that your brain remembers.

Burn something you got during the last year.
Or bury a short note in a jar somewhere and dig it up next year.
Your brain remembers novelty, not noise.

That’s how you lock in progress. Memory. Meaning. Movement.

(And don’t forget to reward yourself)

Two years of Selling From The Beach. Still just getting started.

Sponsored by Stackinfluence

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  Now’s the time to climb to page #1 before Black Friday.
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✅The Instant Value Section (IVS)✅

(aren't you glad you opened the email now?)

Huge thank you to my friend Janelle Page for supplying this week’s IVS! Janelle is a serial entrepreneur, 5x founder, and growth strategist who’s helped e-commerce brands generate over $475M in online sales.

The Simplest Way to Improve Video Ad CTR

Most brands are losing clicks and sales on Amazon...and they don’t even realize it. Here’s a simple fix that can double your click-through rate.

Check out the video!

Amazon Seller Challenge Has Arrived

Amazon just launched a new Seller Challenge feature, a second-chance appeal system for when you believe an enforcement was wrong. It’s for sellers enrolled in Account Health Assurance (AHA) and applies to listing-level enforcements, not full account suspensions. You get three challenges every six months, and Amazon says they’ll reply within 48 hours.

There you’ll see “Initiate Seller Challenge.” Submit your case and evidence. If Amazon agrees, your listing goes back up immediately. But your listing stays down during review, and losing still uses one of your 3 challenges (you get 3 challenges every 6mo).

This is Amazon’s first real sign that sellers deserve fair review & due process. Used smartly, it’s a strong tool for brands that depend on uptime. Check if your account qualifies for AHA, keep solid documentation for claims and compliance, and save your challenges for high-impact issues. Apparently, it works.

“Hello Sidney” - Halloween in Costa Rica

Early Halloween hit this weekend. When we first moved here, Halloween wasn’t much, but it’s grown a lot with more expat families doing real trick-or-treating. Down the road is a beachside community called Las Catalinas that hosts games, rides, and a full trick-or-treat route. We rented a condo there for the event. The boys loved it, loaded up on candy, and we had a great time seeing everyone’s costumes. Total good vibe.

When we checked in, though, the host gave us the wrong condo. I kept saying, “Are you sure? These photos don’t match,” and even the Wi-Fi password didn’t work. He still insisted it was correct. The bellman dropped our bags and called me Mr. Smith.. oops! Twenty minutes later, the host came back and admitted it was the wrong place. We got a late checkout and a 10% discount for the trouble, so I’m not leaving any bad reviews.

CVR Analysis by Placement: Free Tool!

I love this tool. Find out where your placements are converting the best with ALL your ad campaigns. Then, double down on them!

Get it here.

The Deep Dive (Premium Content)

Smarter listings start with better insights

Here’s a cool tool that Korean Amazon Sellers love (Seriously).

SellerVisor is your AI listing strategist for Amazon. Upload one product photo and an ASIN, and it will instantly analyze your top competitors to surface keyword gaps, image strategy ideas, and data-backed creative direction — all designed to help you convert better.

With thgir AI-powered ASIN Comparison Tool, sellers can clearly see how their listing stacks up against the competition — image by image, keyword by keyword, and feature by feature.

New users get 14 days of full access, including 20 free image generation credits 
→ Try it free now

How I Made A Really Good AI Video Using Still Images

Here’s how I made a full product video using Amazon’s Creative tools + ChatGPT: no paid software needed.

Step 1: Choose the product you want to create a video for

Step 2: Get AI to Understand the product
Drop the ASIN into any marketplace analysis tool (or ask ChatGPT).

If you need a tool, I like this one.
(Use code “SFTB for 20% off lifetime)

• Customer pain points

• Key motivations

• Review insights
  This becomes your creative brief.

Step 3: Generate image ideas
Take that brief, then paste it into Chat GPT along with the below:

Step 4: Create the images
Use free AI image tools (Nanobanana works great)
If something looks off (camera angle, direction, emotion), tell ChatGPT to fix the written brief.

Step 5: Build the video
Go to Amazon Creative Studio → Video Builder.

• Enter your ASIN

• Uncheck the stock assets

• Upload your AI-generated images

• Click Generate

Amazon will produce infinite videos for free.

Step 6: Write your captions
The captions won’t be correct. So once you find a video you like, ask ChatGPT for the following:

Step 7: Edit & export
Add the captions in Amazon’s editor, preview, and download.
That’s it — you’ve got a polished AI-assisted product video.

Here are the images I used. All AI.

See the final video here.

Shoot us an email if you want to learn more!

Staying at a Marriott property? How about a free night?

Everyone loves a free night in paradise, right?

Here’s one Marriott keeps surprisingly quiet:

When you book five consecutive nights using Bonvoy points, the fifth night is free. No code. No promo. Just automatic.

It’s called “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” and it works at every Marriott property that allows point redemptions, including high-end ones like Wailea Beach and Ritz-Carlton.

The catch?

All nights must be on points and in one single reservation.

Easily enough done. Enjoy!

Las Catalinas - Beachside Town Without Cars

This resort town hosted the Halloween event, and it was awesome. There’s a hotel, plenty of condos, and houses for rent. It sits in a sheltered cove with a black sand beach (fair warning: that sand gets insanely hot in the sun) and fun waves to jump in. We hit the beach with the boys every morning.

Everything is walkable, and the town has this cool European vibe. There are rentals, full-time residents, restaurants, mountain bike trails, and more. It’s a great little vacation spot, but keep in mind it’s about 20 minutes from the nearest town or outside restaurants, so it can feel a bit tucked away.

The development was started by Charles Brewer, who made his money selling MindSpring Enterprises, an American internet company, before creating Las Catalinas. The project keeps growing with new homes popping up all the time. Definitely a vacation spot worth checking out.

• Lawrence asks about sole prop verification.

The Three Immutable Laws of the Universe

Before time began, there was nothing. Then came three unbreakable laws of the universe: Death, Taxes, and Amazon Always Raises Fees.

In 2026, U.S. FBA fees will rise by about $0.08 per unit on average. Amazon says there were no “fee increases” in 2025. Technically true. But instead of raising fees directly, they found new ways to take more from sellers (for example, reimbursements now use sourcing cost, not selling price).

Find all of the details here.

How was today's newsletter? Love it? Hate it? Dreaming of a place where shoes are optional? 👣

• I loved it! 👣👣👣

• It was okay 👣👣

• Not good. 👣

To your success,

Rob & Max