In this episode of Adil Talks, host Syed Zurriyat Adil speaks with Chelsea Cohen, the co-founder of SoStocked and a veteran in the Amazon space. They discuss the often-overlooked financial side of e-commerce, specifically how inventory management and cash flow are the real engines behind a sustainable brand.

Five Key Points

1: Profit vs. Revenue Mindset: Many sellers focus purely on “marketing hacks” to drive sales, but Chelsea argues that the next phase of e-commerce is about “growing up” into finance. A business can look successful on paper with millions in revenue, but if you aren’t managing margins and cash flow, a sudden spike in storage fees or a shift in tariffs can kill the business overnight [23:45].

2: The High Cost of “Out of Stock”: Prime Day and holiday rushes are exciting, but they are traps if not planned correctly. Running out of stock doesn’t just lose you today’s sale; it destroys your organic ranking, requiring massive ad spend to “rebuild” the momentum you lost [04:50]. Chelsea suggests sometimes raising prices to slow sales and stay in stock is more profitable than selling out at a discount [03:32].

3: Inventory as a Marketing Tool: Chelsea introduces the concept of “inventory-minded marketing.” Instead of the marketing team just chasing revenue, they should work with the inventory team to use high-traffic days (like Prime Day) to liquidate aged inventory. This clears out “liabilities” that are racking up storage fees and turns them back into usable cash flow [07:25].

4: Negotiating for Cash Flow: To scale, you need cash. Chelsea recommends negotiating better terms with suppliers—like moving from Net 30 to Net 60 or 90—rather than just focusing on the unit price. Turning your cash faster and putting less out upfront is a more effective scaling strategy than just chasing a 2% lower manufacturing cost [26:06].

5: Driving Forward, Not in the Rearview: Most sellers look at what happened last month to make decisions, which is like driving a car while looking only at the rearview mirror. Chelsea emphasizes using forecasting to anticipate future brick walls—like $25,000 storage fee spikes in Q4—so you can adjust your strategy before the disaster happens [38:24].

Final Takeaway

The “gold rush” era of simple Amazon selling is over; the future belongs to the professional operator. To survive in 2025 and beyond, you have to master your data. Don’t just look at the numbers—look for the action the numbers are telling you to take. Whether it’s cutting waste in ad spend or fixing a margin drag in your shipping, every small percentage you claw back is cash you can use to future-proof your brand.

Podcast Transcript

[01:59] Adil: Hi Chelsea, how are you doing?

[02:02] Chelsea: Well, thank you for having me!

[02:04] Adil: Thank you for coming. How was your Prime Day? I ask everyone this because I want to see if transactions were as crazy as they say.

[02:11] Chelsea: Since we are in software now (SoStocked) and not directly selling, it’s all about supporting our clients. It’s important to monitor Prime Day because if you end up running out of stock, you lose all that momentum and profitability afterward.

[04:16] Adil: You’re right. In 2023 and 2024, we ran deals, went out of stock, and then couldn’t sell for a month while waiting for inventory. It’s better to stay in stock even if you don’t run a deal.

[05:42] Adil: Inventory is so mathematical. I have a client with inventory over 365 days old, and Amazon is charging them a ton.

[06:31] Chelsea: It’s the most expensive mistake you’ll make. Those storage fees slam you in Q4. We encourage people to use Prime Day to sell through that old stock—even if you don’t profit much, you get the cash back and avoid those “margin drag” fees.

[08:23] Adil: What do you prefer more—running software or running an Amazon seller account?

[08:35] Chelsea: We started our Amazon business in 2014 and ran it until 2022. My passion is helping entrepreneurs get their time back. Now we are launching a profit forecasting tool because we see people struggling with the complexity of Amazon’s new fees.

[10:36] Adil: You got out in 2022, which was a good time. Lately, Amazon has been slapping on ridiculous things, like the new prep and labeling changes starting January 1st.

[11:58] Chelsea: Exactly. Amazon won’t be doing the FN-SKU labeling or poly-bagging anymore. This hits resellers and arbitrage sellers hard because they now have to send inventory to a 3PL first, which adds shipping costs and cuts their margins.

[13:37] Chelsea: We even have a promo calculator on the Carbon 6 website because the structure of deals changed. If you don’t plan the costs in advance, you’ll be surprised by the charges later.
[16:56] Adil: Has AI been any help to you guys in the software world?

[17:14] Chelsea: It’s great for building a foundation for marketing copy and helping me fix Excel formulas. But for inventory forecasting, it has limits. It can’t project complex timelines involving multiple 3PLs and marketplaces a year out yet.

[22:19] Adil: Where do you see the industry in the next five years?

[22:35] Chelsea: We used to call ourselves “internet marketers”—just sending stuff to Amazon and trying to out-market competitors. Then 2020 forced us to learn inventory. Now, the industry has to grow up into finance and cash flow.

[24:42] Adil: Cash flow is a real killer. I’ve seen big brands and aggregators die because of it.

[25:29] Chelsea: If you make an extra 2-3% profit on your top sellers, you have more cash to scale. Also, negotiate terms! Moving from Net 30 to Net 60 helps you turn your cash faster and scale without needing outside funding.

[28:41] Adil: Switching gears—if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

[28:44] Chelsea: I eventually want to live in Italy. I love the culture, and being in Europe makes it so easy to travel to different countries in just a day.
[30:13] Adil: I’m in Portugal, and it’s the same here. But I’ve realized I need a “cabin in the woods” that’s still near a highway because I can’t live without high-speed internet to help my clients!

[31:57] Adil: What is the most important thing for sellers to keep in mind today?

[32:05] Chelsea: Understanding your numbers. We are building “Profit Flow” to show people what to actually do with their data. It’s not enough to see the data; you need to know when your landed cost is over your target and take action.

[35:50] Chelsea: Advertising is easy to change, but people overlook shipping and “cost share.” If you can lower your ad spend on a best seller by even 2%, that could be tens of thousands of dollars a year in your pocket.

[38:03] Adil: Do you have any closing remarks?

[38:10] Chelsea: Future-proof your business. Don’t drive by looking in the rearview mirror. Look forward at your forecast so you can weather the storms of changing economies or tariffs.

[39:27] Adil: Thank you so much for coming, Chelsea. It was a real learning session.

[39:42] Chelsea: Thanks, I really enjoyed the conversation!