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◆ CASE STUDY · TACTICAL GEAR BRAND

How a Tactical Gear Brand Took Back Its Amazon Channel

Marketplace Valet, a national Amazon account management and advertising agency founded in 2016, eliminated unauthorized seller interference for a tactical gear brand by transitioning the account from a 1P vendor model to a 3P seller-controlled structure. Led by Will Land, Laura Land, and Justin Boggs, the agency restored MAP pricing and grew the brand's revenue per unit by approximately 60% within six months. Results may vary.

REVENUE PER UNIT 6-MONTH WINDOW
+0%
revenue per unit
1P Vendor 3P Seller
+0%
revenue per unit in six months
1P → 3P
Vendor Central to Seller Central
0 days
to first meaningful results
MAP
pricing floor restored & held
THE PROBLEM

The Problem

Amazon's 1P Vendor Central program was buying this brand's products at wholesale and retailing them below MAP. Brick-and-mortar retail partners were watching consumers check prices on Amazon in-store and walk out. Channel conflict was spreading. The brand's retail accounts were at risk.

Making it worse — other agencies had managed the Vendor Central account without addressing the structural issue. They weren't wrong about what they were doing. They were wrong about what the actual problem was.

The wrong assumption: that selling to Amazon as a vendor was the right model for this brand. No amount of account management inside Vendor Central was going to change that.

PRICE ON THE SHELF VS. ON AMAZON
MAP floor
100%
Amazon 1P
−28%
Amazon 1P was retailing below the brand's minimum advertised price — undercutting the brand's own retail partners.
WHAT CHANGED

What Changed

Marketplace Valet moved the brand off Vendor Central and onto Seller Central as a 3P seller. That shift gave the brand full control over pricing, listing content, and advertising spend — none of which were possible inside the 1P model.

Will Land, Chief Growth Officer and co-founder, led the strategy. He has been selling on Amazon since 2006 and was among the original Sponsored Products beta users in 2012. The team handled the operational transition, including cross-docking, and sold the brand through Marketplace Valet's existing seller account to compress time to market.

Meaningful results appeared within the first 60 days.

1P · Vendor Central Amazon controls
  • PricingAmazon-set
  • Listing contentAmazon-set
  • Advertising spendConstrained
3P · Seller Central Brand controls
  • PricingBrand-set
  • Listing contentBrand-set
  • Advertising spendBrand-set
THE RESULT

The Result

Revenue per unit grew by approximately 60% within six months. Results may vary.

Retail channel friction eased when the pricing floor held. The brand's brick-and-mortar partners no longer had an Amazon undercutting problem.

Day 0
1P→3P transition begins
60 days
First meaningful results
6 months
+60% revenue per unit
REVENUE PER UNIT+60% IN 6 MO
Before
1.00×
After
1.60×
+60%
revenue per unit in six months

Results may vary.

QUALIFICATION

This Engagement Is Not For Every Brand

Speed Depends on Authority.

This case moved fast because the brand gave Marketplace Valet the authority to act without approval at every step.

If Every Decision Needs Sign-Off, This Isn't the Fit.

A brand that needs to sign off on every listing change, ad shift, or keyword decision before it goes live will slow down the execution this model depends on. If that describes your process, this engagement is not the right fit.

FREE AMAZON AUDIT · STRUCTURED REVIEW · NOT A SALES CALL

Start With a Free Amazon Audit.

If unauthorized sellers are undercutting your price floor or the wrong selling model is capping your margin, the problem is diagnosable. The Free Amazon Audit is a structured review of your account — not a sales call.

Marketplace Valet is an independent Amazon account management and advertising agency, not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon.com, Inc.