# 195: Ensuring Profitability on Shopify and Amazon

- Show: [Product Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup)
- Published: 2023-09-28
- Length: 17m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-09-28-195-ensuring-profitability-on-shopify-and-amazon
- Listen: https://productstartup.com/podcast/195-ensuring-profitability-on-shopify-and-amazon/

## Summary

Tyler Jefcoat, founder of Seller Accountant, explains how hardware startups can maximize profitability by choosing between direct-to-consumer (Shopify) and marketplace (Amazon) strategies. He argues that differentiated, well-designed products with strong community appeal thrive on Shopify, while commoditized staple products perform better on Amazon due to existing buyer traffic. Jefcoat emphasizes that achieving a 20-25% net margin is critical for viability, with 30% enabling scalable growth, and stresses the importance of real-time accounting to ensure every product and sales channel is profitable.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-09-28-195-ensuring-profitability-on-shopify-and-amazon#t=0) Introduction: Tyler Jefcoat and Seller Accountant
- [1:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-09-28-195-ensuring-profitability-on-shopify-and-amazon#t=111) Defining Direct-to-Consumer vs. Marketplace Strategies
- [4:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-09-28-195-ensuring-profitability-on-shopify-and-amazon#t=244) Shopify for Differentiated Products vs. Amazon for Commodities
- [8:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-09-28-195-ensuring-profitability-on-shopify-and-amazon#t=534) The Impact of COGS and Margins on Marketing Budgets
- [11:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-09-28-195-ensuring-profitability-on-shopify-and-amazon#t=699) Profitability Thresholds: 15%, 20%, and 30% Margins
- [13:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-09-28-195-ensuring-profitability-on-shopify-and-amazon#t=789) Accounting Essentials: Channel and Product Profitability

## Topics

- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Seller Accountant (company)
- Shopify (other)
- Amazon (other)
- eBay (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [#225 -  Amazon vs. Your Own Website: The Great eCommerce Debate with Daybreak Agency and Gawronski Media](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-12-02-225-amazon-vs-your-own-website-the-great-ecommerce-debate-with-daybreak-agency-a) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Ep. 9: E-Commerce Strategies from Amazon to Shopify with Rachel Barge of Leap Grow and Kate Lin of Right Side Up](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2020-08-29-ep-9-e-commerce-strategies-from-amazon-to-shopify-with-rachel-barge-of-leap-grow) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [How To Build A Sustainable Brand On Shopify](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2021-02-15-how-to-build-a-sustainable-brand-on-shopify) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#96 How to Understand the Unit Economics of a CPG Company with Graphite Financial](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2023-06-27-96-how-to-understand-the-unit-economics-of-a-cpg-company-with-graphite-financial) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [4: How The Money Comes In](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2015-11-12-4-how-the-money-comes-in) (Thoroughly Considered)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-09-28-195-ensuring-profitability-on-shopify-and-amazon. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Product Startup.