#758 – The Low-Price, High-Volume Amazon & Wholesale Strategy

Can an Amazon seller build a profitable business around products priced under $10? In this episode of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley Sutton sits down with Ivan Komashinsky, the entrepreneur behind the U.S. distribution of Pedag Insoles and the Meltonian shoe-care brand. Ivan shares how he went from working at Microsoft to acquiring an established seven-figure e-commerce business—and eventually tripling its revenue.

While Amazon remains Ivan’s largest channel, his company has built a much broader operation through its own websites, independent retailers, regional distributors, Walmart, eBay, TikTok Shop, and Faire. Ivan explains how wholesale volume, strong supplier relationships, and European manufacturing allow Meltonian to maintain healthy margins on products selling for as little as $7.99. He also breaks down why managing inventory in-house makes sense for a business carrying thousands of SKUs across multiple sales channels.

Ivan also reveals how his team uses Helium 10 tools such as Cerebro and Magnet to rank for valuable non-branded keywords and develop new products based on customer demand, competitor gaps, and search behavior. More recently, he has been using the Helium 10 MCP through Claude to investigate declining product sales, analyze trends, and explore profitability, traffic, conversion rates, keyword rankings, and advertising performance through natural-language conversations.

From building authority on Reddit to getting started with wholesale through Faire, trade shows, and industry associations, Ivan offers a practical roadmap for creating a more resilient e-commerce business. His story shows that success does not always require expensive products or a business built entirely around Amazon. With the right sourcing, volume, distribution strategy, pricing policies, and willingness to adapt, even a traditional brand can unlock new growth opportunities.

In episode 758 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley and Ivan discuss:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 03:27 – Buying An Established Seven-Figure Online Business
• 06:22 – Growing Pedag And Acquiring Meltonian
• 07:33 – Building A Diversified Multichannel Sales Business
• 09:59 – Expanding A Traditional Brand Into Sneakers
• 11:05 – Finding New Products Through Market Demand
• 12:25 – Making An Eight-Dollar Product Highly Profitable
• 15:29 – European Sourcing And In-House Inventory Management
• 20:01 – Ranking For Valuable Non-Branded Amazon Keywords
• 22:26 – Using Helium 10 Tools And MCP
• 27:00 – Building Brand Authority Through Reddit
• 28:26 – Expanding Into Wholesale Through Faire
• 31:24 – Protecting Retail Margins With MAP Pricing
• 32:38 – Live Meltonian Sneaker-Cleaning Product Demonstration

Enjoy this episode? Be sure to check out our previous episodes for even more content to propel you to Amazon FBA Seller success! And don’t forget to “Like” our Facebook page and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to our podcast.

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Want to absolutely start crushing it on Amazon? Here are few carefully curated resources to get you started:

• Freedom Ticket: Taught by Amazon thought leader Kevin King, get A-Z Amazon strategies and techniques for establishing and solidifying your business.
• Helium 10: 30+ software tools to boost your entire sales pipeline from product research to customer communication and Amazon refund automation. Make running a successful Amazon or Walmart business easier with better data and insights. See what our customers have to say.
• Helium 10 Chrome Extension: Verify your Amazon product idea and validate how lucrative it can be with over a dozen data metrics and profitability estimation.
• SellerTrademarks.com: Trademarks are vital for protecting your Amazon brand from hijackers, and sellertrademarks.com provides a streamlined process for helping you get one.