- The Ranking Pill
- Posts
- The Ranking Pill #16💊The Real Cost of Giveaways (Capybara Edition 🐹)
The Ranking Pill #16💊The Real Cost of Giveaways (Capybara Edition 🐹)
Your Weekly Dose of Game-Changing Amazon Strategies
In partnership with
What's inside?
👋 Hey Amazon Rockstars!
Quick confession: I love capybaras.
My daughter does too—we have them in all shapes and sizes at home.
And look what just made it to my 2026 bucket list 👉 Capybara Café 🐾
But today’s Ranking Pill isn’t just about cute rodents.
It’s about money math most sellers get wrong:
👉 calculating the real cost of giveaways and free samples.
You’re invited to the world’s largest email marketing conference.
Become an email marketing guru at the GURU conference. It’s two days full of all things email marketing. Learn more about newsletters, deliverability, design trends, AI, and what NOT to do with email.
What you can expect:
Keynote Speakers: Nicole Kidman, Amy Porterfield & more!
The latest digital trends in email marketing & how to increase performance.
Networking opportunities - each day!
Dj’s, dance contests (judged by Lance Bass, yes for real), breaking world records & MORE!
Spots are limited. It’s VIRTUAL. It’s FREE. It’s time to become an email marketing GURU. Join 25,000+ marketers on November 6th & 7th. Don’t miss out!
🚀The Giveaway Multiplier Effect
Whether it’s:
Free samples for influencers
Beta-testing campaigns post-launch
TikTok giveaways for Shop traction
Amazon ranking campaigns
…you can do way more than you think with the same budget.
Knowing the math = smarter strategy = faster growth.
Spoiler: you’re probably spending less than you think.
📌 Did someone forward you this?
Get your own Ranking Pill every week here.
❌ The “Obvious” Cost
Most sellers do the math like this:
Amazon Price: $31.99
Sales Tax (8%): $2.56
Service Fee: $8 (just an example number, if they use AZ Rank or other service, fees are involved as well)
Total: $42.55 + COGS / per unit
So, with a $5,000 budget, that’s about 117 units.
And most sellers stop here.
Seems quite simple, right?
✅ The Real Cost
Here’s the thing: those $5k aren’t gone.
Buyers purchase → you reimburse → but you also get real sales revenue back.
Amazon (or TikTok) pays you like it’s a normal sale.
Let’s break it down:
Amazon Price: $31.99
FBA Fee: $7
Referral Fee (15%): $4.80
Net back to you = $20.19
So instead of losing $42.55/unit…
Your real cost is only $22.36 + COGS/unit.
That same $5k?
It actually funds 224 giveaways — almost double.
COGS is not taken into consideration in either scenario. But you can add it in, if you want an even more detailed calculation
💡 Pro Tip:
Always calculate giveaway costs using net revenue back, not just the upfront spend.
Most sellers ignore the Amazon payout and underestimate how many units they can actually push.
This single shift could literally double your campaign power without adding a cent to your budget.
The Pill News Capsule 📰
Unlock Prime Big Deal Days with Creator Connections 🚀
Amazon’s Creator Connections is the bridge between your brand and Amazon Creators. Here’s the deal:
Partner with trusted creators to boost visibility + sales.
Pay only for qualifying sales (performance model = no wasted spend).
Manage everything inside your Amazon Ads account — no extra service fees.
✨ Special for Prime Big Deal Days: New and managed 3P sellers who run campaigns for ASINs on deal may get premium marketing opportunities (if referred within their first year).
⚡ Don’t sleep on this — Prime Big Deal Days won’t wait, and neither will your competitors.Let’s Talk Ranking 🔗
Want to talk about product launches or keeping your ranks steady?
📅 Book a quick call with our team — we’ll dive straight into your products and strategy.
💗 Pink Vibes – Capybaras FTW 🐹
This week, we’re taking inspiration from… capybaras.
Did I tell you that we have a ton at home, in every size and shape? From bath sponges to mugs and T-shirts…
Oh right, I did 🙂
Fun facts:
Capybaras are social butterflies — they live in groups of 10–20.
They’re basically everyone’s friend: dogs, cats, even crocodiles hang out with them.
And yes, there’s now a Capybara Café in St. Pete (bucket list 2026 ✅).
Moral of the story?
Be more capybara 🐹
stay calm under pressure
surround yourself with good company
and make space for joy in the middle of the hustle.
Untill next time, Keep thriving!
Alina