He was doing $1.7M a year on Amazon wholesale. Then a counterfeit complaint got his account suspended for 180 days.

Instead of folding, he pivoted to live selling on Whatnot and did $350K in under 10 months.Kip Roland (https://x.com/kip_roland) is one of the early movers in live selling on Whatnot and TikTok live auctions. He built nearly 37,000 followers, runs 3-5 hour live shows 6 days a week selling liquidation clothing at $1 starting bids, and is already top 15 in live generated revenue on TikTok after just two weeks on the platform.

Today we're breaking down what live selling actually looks like as a business, how the economics compare to Amazon FBA, and whether this is something Amazon sellers should be paying attention to.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Meet Kip Roland: From Amazon Wholesale to Live Selling

02:14 - The Origin Story: Flipping Sneakers to Product Manager to Full-Time Seller

09:45 - The Amazon Suspension That Changed Everything

14:11 - "It Was Like Being Fired" (With a Newborn at Home)

19:11 - What Is Whatnot and Why Should Amazon Sellers Care?24:16 - First Shows Were Brutal: Building an Audience From Zero

27:07 - Selling 60 Items Per Hour: The Proof of Concept Moment

29:01 - The Psychology of Live Auctions (Sacrificial Lambs and FOMO)

33:01 - Why He Switched From Kitchen Appliances to Women's Clothing

40:29 - How the First 10 Minutes of a Live Show Actually Works

44:49 - Dollar Auctions: How Often Do You Sell at a Loss?

53:34 - Closing in on 40K Followers: How Whatnot Helps Sellers Grow

59:01 - TikTok Live Auctions: "This Is Whatnot Circa 2023"

01:06:00 - Why Live Selling Projections Are in the Trillions

01:11:38 - The Business Behind the Camera: Organization and Hiring

01:16:42 - "Liquidation Ruins Retail Forever" (Sourcing for Whatnot)

01:26:06 - Whatnot Academy: Sourcing, Selling, and Scaling Live

01:30:56 - Lightning Round: Would You Still Be on Whatnot Without the Suspension?

GO DEEPER WITH OAC+

Want the full Keepa Academy training used by 7 and 8-figure sellers? It's included with OAC+, our private community of 200+ Amazon sellers.

OAC+ includes:

- Full Keepa Academy course

- Sourcing courses and SOPs

- Amazon to Amazon flip leads

- Live coaching and Q&A

- Suspension support

Join OAC+: https://www.oachallenge.com/plus

OA CHALLENGE LIVE - MARCH 2026

Join us for our next live cohort where we build your Amazon business together over 14 days.

Learn more: https://www.oachallenge.com

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He crossed $10M in Amazon sales in 2025. Almost entirely online arbitrage. Just sourcing, scaling, and staying in stock.Stephen Reinhard (https://www.instagram.com/stephendoesbusiness/) started flipping Nike cleats at Ross in middle school for $20. By college, he was running a $75K/month retail arbitrage operation and flying home once a month just to shop. Today, he runs a lean OA business doing $3M+ in a single month with 12-15% net margins and a team of 7-8 VAs.In this episode, we break down how he treats online arbitrage like wholesale, why he thinks most Amazon AI tools are a waste of time, the $150K gift card mistake that almost slipped through, and the Q4 story where he raised $1M on friends' credit cards to keep scaling.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro00:35 - Meet Stephen Reinhard: $10M Amazon Seller02:33 - From $20 Cleats at Ross to $10M on Amazon06:06 - Why He Treats Online Arbitrage Like Wholesale09:20 - The Numbers: $3M+ in a Single Month11:46 - $464K in Sales from $6,700 in Ads (PPC Breakdown)13:42 - "OA Is a Video Game. I Just Get Dollars."15:48 - Buying Out Entire Websites to Block Competition18:26 - Do You Always Stay in Stock on Winners?21:36 - How He Lost $150K in Unreconciled Gift Cards24:44 - Building a VA Team That Runs Without You27:15 - The VA Who Begged to Learn and Became His Right Hand31:23 - How Many People Does It Take to Run $10M?35:46 - Why Most Amazon AI Tools Are a Waste of Time37:56 - Protecting Margins at Scale Behind Hard-Gated Brands40:46 - He Raised $1M on Friends' Credit Cards in Q444:35 - Lightning Round: Real Estate, Mentors, and What's NextGO DEEPER WITH OAC+Want the full Keepa Academy training used by 7 and 8-figure sellers? It's included with OAC+, our private community of 200+ Amazon sellers.OAC+ includes:- Full Keepa Academy course- Sourcing courses and SOPs- Amazon to Amazon flip leads- Live coaching and Q&A- Suspension supportJoin OAC+: https://www.oachallenge.com/plusOA CHALLENGE LIVE - MARCH 2026Join us for our next live cohort where we build your Amazon business together over 14 days.Learn more: https://www.oachallenge.comCONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://www.x.com/cleartheshelfWebsite: https://www.cleartheshelf.comTwitter: https://www.x.com/ChrisRacicWebsite: https://www.oaleads247.com

He closed 2025 at $844K in Amazon sales on roughly 10 hours a week. Then used those profits to buy a bulldozer, start a land clearing business, and quit his 20-year tech career. This is the full story.Justin Zsimovan (@flippin4gold) joins Clear the Shelf to break down exactly how he built a high-margin Amazon FBA business while working full-time, why he believes retail arbitrage is underrated, and what 20 years in enterprise AI taught him about where this industry is really headed.⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Intro: From IT Security to Amazon FBA02:52 — Why Amazon? The Exit Plan from Tech06:37 — Failed Side Hustles Before Amazon Clicked08:10 — How His Wife Runs Most of the Amazon Business11:32 — $844K Revenue Breakdown: RA vs. OA Split13:53 — Zero RA Competition: The Small Town Advantage16:33 — "RA Isn't Scalable" — Why That's Wrong19:00 — The Lead Delay Strategy: Let Stores Hold Your Inventory20:02 — Hiring a VA Too Early (And Why She's Now Irreplaceable)22:53 — Manufacturing Margin: Gift Cards, Credit Cards, and Stacking Points28:29 — Using Grok to Model $10K → $100K/Month Growth31:19 — Amazon as a Launchpad, Not the End Goal34:48 — What's Actually Hard About Starting a "Real" Business39:33 — The Land Clearing Business: From LLC to $90K Bids44:12 — How to Pick a Business AI Can't Disrupt49:15 — The Scott Adams Ideation Framework53:29 — AI Doomer Perspective: Why He Left Tech55:37 — 99.9% of AI Tools on Amazon Twitter Are Junk58:00 — Data: What Sellers Should Record Starting Today01:01:09 — Use Case Engineering: Don't Boil the Ocean01:07:00 — How to Evaluate AI Tools (Open Claw, Claude Desktop)01:10:10 — AI Threatens OA More Than RA01:19:06 — Balancing a W2, Amazon, and a New Business01:21:44 — Managing Risk: The "Worst Case Is Bankruptcy" Mindset01:24:47 — The Escape Sequence: X → Amazon → Land Clearing → Freedom01:28:08 — Lightning Round: Start With Less Money Than More01:29:29 — Book Rec: "Cold Calling Sucks (And That's Why It Works)"01:32:55 — Quote of the Week: Walt Disney on Action Over Analysis🔗 FOLLOW JZ- X/Twitter: @flippin4goldGO DEEPER WITH OAC+Want the full Keepa Academy training used by 7 and 8-figure sellers? It's included with OAC+, our private community of 200+ Amazon sellers.OAC+ includes:- Full Keepa Academy course- Sourcing courses and SOPs- Amazon to Amazon flip leads- Live coaching and Q&A- Suspension supportJoin OAC+: https://www.oachallenge.com/plusOA CHALLENGE LIVE - MARCH 2026Join us for our next live cohort where we build your Amazon business together over 14 days.Learn more: https://www.oachallenge.comCONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://www.x.com/cleartheshelfWebsite: https://www.cleartheshelf.comTwitter: https://www.x.com/ChrisRacicWebsite: https://www.oaleads247.com