DTC founders who insist on “owning the customer” are lighting money on fire. The
By Brandon Fishman · October 7, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
DTC founders who insist on “owning the customer” are lighting money on fire.
They’ll pay $40 or $50 to acquire a customer on their own site because they want the email address, the first-party data, and the direct relationship.
Meanwhile, they could acquire that same customer on Amazon for around $15.
You’re spending roughly 3X more per customer just to make the first purchase happen on your website instead of Amazon.
That’s a crazy premium to pay for a channel you prefer, especially when customers want to use Amazon anyway.
More than 60% of people who see an ad outside Amazon will still check Amazon before making a purchase. They want reviews, price comparison, fast shipping, and a checkout they already trust.
I don’t care how beautiful your Shopify attribution looks if your acquisition economics suck.
If customers want to buy on Amazon, and you can acquire them there for less, take the sale.
Then use the better economics to earn the repeat purchase.
Paying 3X more just to force the first order through your own site is insane.
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