Fewer competitors on Amazon should mean cheaper ads. It doesn't.
By Brandon Fishman · July 16, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Fewer competitors on Amazon should mean cheaper ads. It doesn't.
Amazon lost 750,000 active sellers between 2021 and 2025. A lot of the people that went away were Chinese sellers, pushed out by de minimis tax changes.
The catalog quality got better. You would think CPCs would have gone down.
They only keep going up.
Average CPC has climbed 72% since 2020, and in competitive categories you're paying $6-$8 a click.
A lot of U.S. sellers got pushed out too. Their fees keep going up, and sellers with lower margin products can't absorb it.
This means you have to have a really good product with good margins or you can't win. If you don't clear 70% gross margin, there's nothing left.
The brands that left couldn't afford to stay. If your margins are tight, you're gone next.