Every catalog carries passengers
By steven-pope · September 16, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Every catalog carries passengers
Q4 is when they get expensive
Sort your ASINs before peak season
not during it
The mistake is sorting by revenue
Revenue tells you what sold
It does not tell you what earned
Run every ASIN on contribution margin
After Amazon fees
FBA fees
Storage
Returns
Ad spend
Half the catalog looks different once the real cost lands
Then layer in the Q4 tax nobody budgets for
Storage fees climb in the fourth quarter
Low velocity units pay the most per unit sold
An ASIN that breaks even in May
Loses money in November
While sitting on the same shelf
Aged inventory surcharges stack on top
Dead stock does not just fail to sell
It charges rent
Use sell through rate and days of cover to sort not gut feel
If an ASIN cannot clear its stock inside the season
Adding more inventory just moves the problem into January
The other half of the job is protecting the winners
Restock limits are shared across the account
Every unit you send for a weak ASIN
is a unit your best seller does not get
Shipping dead weight into FBA is not neutral
It steals capacity from the products
That were going to carry your quarter
A catalog is a roster
Not a collection
Play the ones that score