Michael Girdley (@Girdley) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) turned the tables on Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) for this special eCommerce episode. We talk about the day-to-day operations of eCommerce businesses. Product types, 3PL vs in house fulfilment, customer acquisition, favorable attributes for products, and much more!-----Thanks to our sponsors!* CloudBookkeeping offers adaptable solutions to businesses that want to focus on growth with a “client service first” approach. They offer a full suite of accounting services, including sophisticated reporting, QuickBooks software solutions, and full-service payroll options.-----* Do you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.* Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show!* Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations.-----Show Notes:(0:00) - Intro(1:36) - Cloudbookkeeping.com(3:30) - How to operate an eCommerce business?(5:50) - Let’s talk about product size: Must-haves and hell nos!(8:00) - The power of scale: Home run swing models(8:50) - How to pick a great product?(11:17) - Pricepoints breakdown and the sweet spot zone(14::50) - Where does intellectual propriety play a role?(16:30) - Let’s go into dimensions, weight, shipping costs and the evaluations to be made there(18:35) - In house fulfilment vs 3PL - Where are the breaks along the scale?(20:20) - How unique is your process?(22:01) - What’s the pricing structure like for a 3PL?(23:27:) - Negotiation points(25:36) - What about in-house? Advantages & disadvantages(27:20) - What made you switch from a 3PL to your own?(29:46) - The flexibility of in-house logistics(31:23) - How does geography come into play?(34:01) - How do you think about customer relationship?(38:40) - Have you seen any other interesting distribution models? What are the challenges of influencer businesses?(41:29) - One of Bill’s favorite businesses.(45:00) - What is the holy grail of metrics?-----Additional episodes you might enjoy:#96 From W-2 to Business Owner - Patrick Dichter tells us how to cold reach seller and we discuss 2 Deals#92 Wait... what? You laid-off 90% of your staff?!? - Pete Erickson joined us for an exciting WarStories episode!#87 Yelp is not evil! Building a business using digital CAC - Featuring Johnny Robinson from Orange Window Cleaning#79 What do Investors want? - Dig into an investor’s mind with Bradford Hardin#75 SBA Loan Secrets with Heather Endresen, expertise from a Billion-Dollar Loaner