They’re Crushing It. So Why Aren’t You?

The biggest Amazon mistake I see? Sellers copy the winner… without knowing what happened before the win.

I get it.

You find a product doing $100K a month.

The listing looks great.

The images are sharp.

The title is packed with keywords.

The reviews are through the roof.

And you think:

“Okay. I’ll do exactly what they’re doing.”

So you copy the listing.

You copy the price.

You copy the ad strategy.

Maybe you even copy the packaging.

Then…

Crickets.

A few sales trickle in.

Your ad spend starts eating your lunch.

And suddenly that $100K/month seller looks less like a mentor and more like a magician who forgot to explain the trick. 😅

Here’s the part nobody puts in the screenshot:

You are seeing the result. Not the road that created it.

I learned this lesson the hard way

Years ago, I worked with a seller who was doing what many Amazon sellers do.

He found a competitor who was crushing it.

Let’s call the competitor “Brand X.”

Brand X had thousands of reviews.

A strong organic rank.

A polished listing.

And what looked like a very simple PPC setup.

My client thought:

“They must be doing this because it works.”

So he copied it.

Same basic keyword approach.

Similar pricing.

Similar listing structure.

And he waited for the sales to roll in.

They didn’t.

The problem?

He was copying the visible part of the business.

He couldn't see the years of sales history behind it.

He couldn't see the brand awareness.

He couldn't see the customer data.

He couldn't see how many clicks had already trained Amazon's systems around those keywords.

He couldn't see the inventory position.

And he certainly couldn't see how much money the seller had already spent testing things that failed.

That’s the trap.

Top sellers have a secret advantage

It isn't always a better product.

Sometimes it's context.

A top seller may be operating with:

• Thousands of reviews

• Years of sales history

• A large email or customer base

• More cash for inventory

• More room to test ads

• Better supplier terms

• Strong brand recognition

• Data from hundreds of failed experiments

You may have none of those things.

And that's okay.

Because you don't need to copy their business.

You need to understand why their business works.

That's a very different game.

Here's what I want you to copy instead

1. Copy the question, not the answer

Don't ask:

“What are they doing?”

Ask:

“Why are they doing it?”

If a competitor has a 20% higher price, don't automatically raise yours.

Ask why customers are willing to pay more.

Maybe they have better images.

Maybe the product solves a bigger problem.

Maybe the brand has earned trust.

Maybe their reviews explain the value.

The price is the answer.

The customer reason is the question.

That's where the gold is.

2. Look for patterns

One seller doing something doesn't make it a strategy.

It might just be a coincidence.

But if you look at the top 10 products in a niche and notice that most of them:

• Show the product in use

• Answer the same customer questions

• Lead with the same benefit

• Use similar price points

• Highlight the same features

Now you're seeing a pattern.

Patterns are worth studying.

Copies are not.

3. Remember that your numbers are YOUR numbers

This one is huge.

Your competitor's ACoS is not your ACoS.

Their conversion rate is not yours.

Their budget is not yours.

Their keyword strategy is not automatically your keyword strategy.

Amazon sellers often ask:

“What ACoS should I have?”

I'd rather ask:

“Is this campaign making economic sense for my business?”

Your margins matter.

Your product price matters.

Your conversion rate matters.

Your goals matter.

Don't let somebody else's dashboard run your business.

The best sellers aren't giving you the whole story

And to be fair…

They can't.

Nobody can show you every decision that got them where they are.

You usually see the highlight reel.

You don't see:

The dead inventory.

The bad supplier.

The failed launch.

The wasted ad spend.

The product that never sold.

The listing that flopped.

The 3 AM decisions made while wondering if this whole Amazon thing was a terrible idea.

That's normal.

Building an Amazon business isn't about finding the seller who has already figured everything out.

It's about getting better at making decisions with the information you have.

Here's the simple rule I use

Don't copy the winner. Study the winner.

Then ask:

1. What are they doing?

2. Why might it be working?

3. What evidence do I have?

4. Does it fit MY product?

5. Can I test it without betting the farm?

That last one matters.

Especially if you're building Amazon on the side.

Your budget may be tight.

Your time may be limited.

You may already have a family, a job, and 47 things fighting for your attention. 😅

You don't need another expensive experiment.

You need smarter ones.

The big takeaway

Your competitor's success is data.

It's not a blueprint.

Use top sellers to generate ideas.

Use your own numbers to make decisions.

That's how you stop playing copycat…

…and start building a business.

My rule: Borrow the lesson. Build your own playbook.

Because the goal isn't to become a cheaper version of your competitor.

The goal is to become very, very good at selling your product to your customer.

💬 One last thing…

Don't copy the scoreboard. Study the game.

Andy Splichal
Founder & Managing Partner of True Online Presence & Author of the Make Each Click Count Book Series

P.S. You’ve got products to sell and a business to scale. If PPC feels like a second job (or a black hole for your budget), let me handle it. I’ve scaled dozens of FBA brands profitably.
💬 Book a quick discovery call — I’ll show you what’s possible.

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