I’m a give or take a 13 handicap player I’ve been playing with 2004 big berthas that were passed down to me and wondering if it’s the worth the upgrade to new tech or do I just keep playing with what I have and just try improving my game budget isn’t an issue but also don’t like spending money when it isn’t needed

Since people liked me ranking the faction knight sets, I thought I’d come back and rank all types of knight sets present in the game. I managed to find 28 in my own stock and the wiki and was able to test out a majority of them in combat. So let’s see which fan favorites and slept on get swept under the rug or come out on top.
Now obviously heavy knight/endgame sets will have a blatant advantage over others so I will emphasize what I think is the best early to mid game armor set (start to when you first enter Leyndell Royal Capital) around when we reach the top 12. I’m judging based off weight and all defense stats and only, immunity, robustness, and poise. So let’s dive right in!
28: The Zamor Knight Set
Now when it comes to rankings like these there’s always gonna be the objective worst set, and here it’s so obvious it kind of hurts. Zamor knight set is the armor you wear if you wanted to dual wield two colossal weapons and that’s pretty much it. It ranks dead last consistently in everything and has solid robust resistance and that’s about it. Being the lightest armor basically means you can live out your fantasy of wielding the greatsword and the fingerprint shield at the same time and not heavy roll. Other than that, it’s just worth having in your inventory.
27: The Drake Knight Armor
What is with this game and having a lot of endgame armor just outright suck. Don’t get me wrong, ranking this by drip, it’s incredible. But holy cow is almost as bad viably as Zamor. The only thing this armor has going for it is its weight and truly that’s it. I was almost tempted to rank it last because at least Zamor is alright with Frost resist. However Drake still at least outperforms it almost everywhere else so putting Zamor ahead doesn’t really feel right.
26: The Carian Knight Armor
I want to meet the guy who designed the stats for this set because whoever did absolutely does not like Carian’s lmao. For some bizarre reason it mirrors the faction knight sets in a lot of it’s numbers but is always one decimal off for every stat. Making this objectively worse than all of them. It’s got solid magic and fire resist but as I’m saying that, you might as well just go for the Cuckoo knight set which is basically the direct upgrade.
25: The Bloodhound Knight Armor
This one kinda hurts me, hands down the most unique set of the bunch and the lore of these guys is cool as shit. But everything about this one is just kinda meh for defense. It’s not last in a lot like the other 3 but it doesn’t exactly have an exact niche situation you can use like the Carian and Zamor. It does boast pierce defense but it’s kinda the average anyways. As far as drip armor goes you can certainly do worse when it comes to stats.
24: The Eccentric Knight Armor
You get this set after killing Jerren either in Sellen’s hideaway or invading him and as far as side quest rewards go. Meh. At the point in time you’ll probably get this set, you’ll probably come across better sets. It does have better stats than a majority of the sets we’ve just talked about but all but the Carian you have to go out of your way to get like this one vs others that are not only better stat wise but easier to find, leaving you with no reason to really wear it outside of drip.
23: The Standard Knight Armor
Ah the infamous set many players put on to face Margit and Godrick. And for good reason because it is the perfect set for the beginning of the game…..afterwards this set falls of hard. Technically in regards to **EARLY, early game this is about the best you can get save for a few if you have the patience to farm them. It is the perfect definition of average, average defense, average resist, it is pretty close to the median when putting all the sets stats against each other. But once you claim your first great run, it’s probably best you set your sights on an upgrade as the new enemy types and damage will punish hard if you stick with this. But for the very start, it’s hard to say no.
22: The Fingerprint Knight Armor
Definitely up there as one of my favorite sets look wise. Definitely one of the weaker ones stat wise. It’s got some things going for it. It’s fire defense and robustness are really solid all things considered but apart from that it’s very similar to the standard knight armor. I also find it peculiar that Vyke known for his relationship with Lannsseax and lightning incantations has the second worst lightning defense of all of them. I get the fire defense and robust being as high as it is but not that.
21: The Briar Knight Armor
One of the champion sets you can get after defeating great enemies. And when it comes to knight’s it is by far the weakest one. That sounds harsh because what ya see is what ya get. For a heavier weight than all the sets we’ve talked about you get mildly better stats than all of em. But where it surprisingly seems to shine is having the best robustness of any medium weight armor. So if ya need to hit an enemy hard and are worried about frost or bleed, this might be your best bet
20: The Vagabond Knight Armor
The biggest lie Elden Ring tells you is that the standard knight’s set is better than the starter class one. Like I said in regards to Limgrave and Stormveil, the standard does indeed reign supreme. But in the long run, the vagabond set does seem to outclass it as you move along when coming across enemies with weapons and combos that inflict more than one type of damage and build up. So while yes for innate physical damage the standard is supreme. It won’t hold out when the game decides to add more later on
19: The Haligtree Knight Armor
I’ve already talked about the faction knights sets in the past so here’s the quick notes version. Some stats are really good for a medium weight armor and some are just outright abysmal. It’s a set that’s so all over the place with it’s only true talent being it’s holy defense. Other than that, you have no reason to not put on the other faction sets
18: The Redmane Knight Armor
Initially this is what I considered to be the worst faction knight set. But upon closer inspection, I gotta say it outclasses the Haligtree by a hair. Aside from Holy it does better in every other type of elemental damage, the Haligtree has the worst poise of any faction knight. So in the field surprisingly so the Redmane set does indeed outclass by just a tiny bit
17: The Cuckoo Knight Armor
When it comes to pure magic defense, you won’t find a medium armor better than this one. Boasting the highest second to Carian while not compromising on other stats like the other two faction and Carian sets do. And given magic enemy abundance in Elden Ring, this one can stick around a lot longer than the other two
16: The Mausoleum Knight Armor
Man if this had a helmet I would call this the best faction knight set. But alas I cannot. Sure the lack of a helmet makes for a lighter load, but it also opens you up to a lot more hp and posture damage than all the others combined. Now obviously in game you’d remedy this by attaching a helmet but I’m talking the pure sets themselves without modification. So I can’t exactly rank this higher despite it’s amazing medium armor stats
15: The Leyndell Knight Armor
This one has definitely risen since I ranked the faction sets, carrying a lot of the highs of the Haligtree set with only a few lows and carrying solid lightning defense. The best of the faction knight’s in fact and rivals a few of the heavy armors. If you really need the lightning defense boost, this is the one
14: The Godrick Knight Armor
Technically the best knight set you can get the earliest. You just have to have the skill and patience to farm the same enemy several dozen times. Because it’s physical defense compared to weight is one of the best you can get out of all of these. Only faltering in fire but that’s not the worst thing. This armor can easily carry you through the entire game but if you’re willing to go through some extra trouble there is one mid game armor better than this
13: The Gelmir Knight Armor
This one’s the complete package, it keeps all of Godrick Knight’s great physical while improving it’s elemental defense. On all objective measures it is the best faction knight set and is the best early-mid game medium knight set you can get in the game
12: The Night’s Cavalry Armor
However the overall best medium armor set you can get in Elden Ring is the Night’s Cavalry set. To the point where it kinda borders on just being the weakest heavy. Taking every strength from the faction knight sets and combining them into this ultimate result
11: The Cleanrot Knight Armor
We’ve now entered the Heavy Armor section of the list where all these armors are just objectively better than anything we’ve discussed so far and the only thing this comes down to is weight requirements. And Cleanrot is definitely the weakest of the bunch but does have some surprising strengths namely in it’s pierce defense and very high immunity making this ideal for mob clearing especially in the Haligtree and Caelid
10: The Crucible Tree Knight Armor
This is a weird one to talk about since these two sets share gauntlets and boots. So going off just the helmet and armor. The tree knight is slightly weaker than it’s axe variant. It’s clear strength is having the highest holy damage of any knight armor in the game bar none. Making this the ideal set to go with for the final boss. While still having solid physical defense. Although having a surprising weakness to fire damage (I mean it is a tree) but it is definitely a holy damage go to
9: The Crucible Axe Knight Armor
First off why in the hell is it called the Axe knight; any lore experts explain this part to me? Basically the only reason this thing excels over the tree variant is because it also has strong holy defense and doesn’t stink at fire.
That’s all
8: The Royal Knight Armor
Best Magical defense knight set in the game. It isn’t just oh it’s good for a knight set. It’s just flat out great for magical enemies. I will say it does struggle with mediocre robustness and especially poise given it’s a heavy set. But I think the trade off is pretty obvious here and worth it.
7: The Draconic Tree Sentinel Knight Armor
Imagine being known for lightning and you still don’t have the best lightning defense. Okay that’s mean, so while it doesn’t have the highest, it at least has the second highest and perhaps that’s better given which set does have the #1 spot in that regard. It’s definitely one of the more well rounded sets and doesn’t really struggle anywhere making this one of the better armors to main when just exploring.
6: The Scaled Knight Armor
Technically speaking this is the best mid game knight armor you can find, the only catch is by the time you find it, you’ll probably be heavy rolling it just with the armor alone, so Gelmir is still probably your best bet for the mid game. But if you’re a complete psychopath who only leveled endurance and uses the great jar talisman. Then this is the best mid game armor.
5: The Best Champion’s Knight Armor
The top 5 are just flat out some of the best armor you can get in the game, most of which are locked behind tedious farming or very tough traversal/fights. Recusant Bernhal’s armor. Having one of the most well-rounded physical defense of any set regardless of knight. Strong immunity and robustness. And elemental damage not too far behind, it’s one of the best armors you can get. If you can defeat his bs invasion that is.
4: The Bull-Goat Knight Armor
Technically speaking, this is the best armor in the game purely on defense. It ranks number 1 in like half of the defenses, and even at it’s worst it is still top 5 in the game. However one thing hold it’s back from being the number one knight set in Elden Ring. That being its weight. Weighing nearly 40lb’s this armor is reserved for very late game, post game and arguably just NG+. Because with 60 Endurance you will still be medium rolling this just on the armor by itself. That’s not adding the talismans you’ll be using, and the various weapons. It’s why you never see invaders and coop users wearing this full set because it’s just not worth it because it severely limits your weapon options. What good is the best defense if you can’t even put on an offense. But if you can manage with this weight and have an ideal light weight weapon. Then yeah this is the best armor.
3: The Banished Knight’s Armor
One of the most annoying to get in it’s peak form. The unaltered Banished Knight set offers some of the best bang for you buck defense to weight. Having only the 4^th heaviest weight of the knight armors and consistently ranking in the top 3 for all stats and being the best for Slash. It’s one of the best sets to fully main all it’s components, whereas the top 2 often see more customization, but are objectively better and more feasible to pull of if you’re willing to put in the work.
2: The Tree Sentinel Knight’s Armor
Ironic the first knight you see is one of the best armors period. Having the best elemental defense of any Knight’s set ranking exclusively number one with fire. And number 2 in the rest. The physical defense is also rock solid. It’s the godrick knight of heavy armor. Master of none.
1: The Lionel’s Knight Armor
Don’t act surprised, everyone wears this armor at some point when they think the damage is what’s causing them to die so much to this boss. And Y’know what they’re probably right. The best physical defense and second highest elemental defense of any armor. Capping the stat at 99 for robustness on it’s armor. This is the armor you wear after being all about drip until you reach Malenia and Radagon. It’s just lying around in Leyndell so you don’t even need to go through the bs that is farming or questing. Underwhelming result but it is indeed the best knight armor in all of Elden Ring.

Like many of you, i'm just starting my journey on attempting the transition to Linux Gaming. Steam really has made it insanely easy. My biggest struggle recently was just getting F13+ keys to function, and maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan aparently they are a weird concept for long time Linux users. I attempted to paste over the keys in the inet file as commonly recommended as a solution, but no luck. I finally found the answer hidden in a forgotten post by a champion of the deleted.
I really don't know what i'm doing just yet, so forgive me if this is common knowledge to many of you, but my god google has not been very helpfull, and it has been the most frustrating problem. If i understand correctly this primarily became an issue/change when Wayland was release, and X11 no longer used? No idea what those are, but this may be the solution for multiple Fedora/wayland distros. By all means, feel free to explain these like i'm 5.
Keep in mind, i still had to figure out how to map the keys to my Logitech gear via Piper, the guide i followed for that is here. The hard to find fix i'm discussing, is essentially extending the computers understanding of what to do with these inputs. You still need to use piper or some other program to get a key to provide the input.
Copy past of the heros instructions below, and you're out there, bless you.
I finally figured it out, and got some solutions too. I’ll try to explain first and then tell you what you can do, although you can skip the explanation.

The problem

Basically there are 4 main parts in the Linux input stack relevant in this discussion:
1. At the very low level, the kernel gives keycodes to the keyboard keys and mouse buttons. Defined in /usinclude/linux/input-event-codes.h:

#define KEY_F13183 

2. At a higher level, XKB then assigns names to those keycodes (/usshare/X11/xkb/keycodes/evdev) …and proceeds to assign them X11 symbols (/usinclude/X11/keysymdef.h) …in file /usshare/X11/xkb/symbols/inet:

key  { [ XF86Tools ] }; 

3. Your desktop environment (GNOME in this case) assigns global shortcuts to a combination of symbols, common ones configurable via GNOME settings and some hidden in gsettings schemas by GNOME settings daemon.
4. Finally at the top level you got the applications receiving the keysyms that weren’t designated for global shortcuts.
Here I’m using key-mapper for example, and if it resembles the key remapping utility you’re using, likely assigns the kernel keycodes to your mouse buttons (level 1), but XKB is assigning the “wrong” symbols to those keycodes (level 2). In turn GNOME (level 3) already defines an action for some of those keys to perform an action (toggle microphone and trackpad), and maybe some don’t even reach the application (level 4).
The culprit seems to be exactly in file /usshare/X11/xkb/symbols/inet:

key  { [ XF86TouchpadToggle ] }; key  { [ XF86TouchpadOn ] }; key  { [ XF86TouchpadOff ] }; … key  { [ XF86AudioMicMute ] }; … key  { [ XF86Tools ] }; key  { [ XF86Launch5 ] }; key  { [ XF86Launch6 ] }; key  { [ XF86Launch7 ] }; key  { [ XF86Launch8 ] }; key  { [ XF86Launch9 ] }; 

Notice how the F19 key is not used though.
We can, of course, assign the keys to their original symbol:

key  { [ F13 ] }; 

But to do it in /usshare/X11/xkb/symbols/inet is not recommended, as an update to XKB will restore the original definitions. Besides, it’s a pretty important file and if it’s badly configured you could crash your session and prevent you from login. I tried it and it even kept crashing my login manager (gdm), ttys (Ctrl+Alt+Fk) wouldn’t work too, so I had to chroot in a live usb and restore the original file.
What we could do instead is to create a custom XKB option. I believe it’s important that it’s an XKB option in /usshare/X11/xkb/symbols, because I think setxkbmap adds the “inet(evdev)” layout on top of whatever layout we have, so creating a new XKB layout won‘t help here. An option instead is added on top of every layout, even “inet(evdev)”.
I also tried to do it with XKB user-configurable options in Wayland (via ~/.config/xkb) but it seems the user options are added before the ones located in /usshare, so “inet(evdev)” ends up setting the symbols of the function keys.
We have to fix this the old fashioned way.

The solution

1. Create a new file under /usshare/X11/xkb/symbols/ called "myoptions". Paste this in there:

default partial function_keys xkb_symbols "restore_fk" { key { [ F13 ] }; key { [ F14 ] }; key { [ F15 ] }; key { [ F16 ] }; key { [ F17 ] }; key { [ F18 ] }; key { [ F19 ] }; key { [ F20 ] }; key { [ F21 ] }; key { [ F22 ] }; key { [ F23 ] }; key { [ F24 ] }; }; 

2. Edit the /usshare/X11/xkb/rules/evdev file, find the !option = symbols line and add your symbols filename and option name, like so:

! option = symbols myopts:re_fk = +myoptions(restore_fk) 

3. (Optional \*) Edit the rules/evdev.xml (this one is with .xml), find the opening tag and paste this immediately below the tag

  myopts My custom options    myopts:re_fk Restore original keysyms of the function keys from 13 to 24    

Note:
\* Do this if you want GNOME Tweaks to pick up the config file and display it under “Keyboard & Mouse > Additional Layout Options”. If you don’t you can still set the new option via dconf Editor, edit /org/gnome/desktop/input-sources/xkb-options, then add the option as you did in step 2, so ['myopts:re_fk'].
The old method of defining custom options still has its flaws though. As said above, an update to XKB will undo the changes to evdev and evdev.xml files, so you’ll have to redo step 2 and 3 after some time. You could automatize the process with a script file using sed, or apply a patch file, or something else, but since it’s infrequent that XKB updates I think it’s better to just manually edit it yourself.

Aftermath

After enabling the option GNOME settings correctly identified all F13-F24 keys when trying to assign them to global shortcuts. If not used for global shortcuts, the keys function will depend on the app/game that receives the keystrokes, e. g. I can set all SuperTuxKart keybindings to F13-F24 keys and it works perfectly fine, however the settings menu displays an ? for F16-F24, as it didn’t expect users to actually have a keyboard with function keys beyond F15.

Warning: abuse
At 19F in the middle of active alcoholism 3 years after my mom went to jail for murder for hire, I was a SW (looking?) for a SD? - while out at a bar I got approached by a 43M that I found attractive and very charismatic. Thinking we’d end up having “fun”, I returned the honest sentiment of attraction. We stayed together 2.5 years after that. He was a Chemist who laughed and made light of everything, his alcoholism and drug addiction became apparent from the beginning, but not to the extent that it got to/really was.
Like all relationships, things started out fun, a very Glee movie summer-like love, very free-ing. He was a Doctor of chemistry and worked in the oil field prior to my meeting him, because of his living situation and luxury cars he seemed like he was doing well. He never was any type of SD. The night I met him, we made eye contact and never looked away. Our chemistry, pun intended- was like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
I’m the youngest, not the smartest nor prettiest. I quit my jobs because I simply didn’t want to work sometimes, I made a lot of mistakes and I’ve been in the receiving end of family based bullying and school bullying, SA, R@p€, abandonment and trust issues, I’m bipolar, I practice/d SH, depression, GAD… things of the human condition that make it feel like I’m faulty.
This man was the first person that ever sat with me and listened to me vent to the extent that I did the first tight we spent together. We rarely had sex, but we shared breaths as we slept, (he inhales my breath as I exhale his breath, vise-versa and so on and so forth) to keep it brief and give example. He’s the most intimate partner I’ve ever experienced.
I notice others micro expressions and cater to their benefit if it seems they are troubled or asking for help.
I’m having so much trouble these days accepting the fact that I’m never going to meet him again. Specifically because he was so attentive and catering to my needs. He knew immediately when I was masking. I’m so confused and perplexed about the feeling of not having anyone in my life that has that interest in me. I felt so understood. That’s been my first and last experience with feeling understood like that.
He drank from morning to night nonstop. Together we became aware of what alcoholism was. Brown urine, blood, pain… regret that then led to arguments, accidents, threats, drugs, danger, fear turned to bonding, helping each other, trying to get better, failing. Trying again. Do it all over again. Fail. Again and again.
We managed to get sober a few days. His parents loved me. I understood and loved him. He hadn’t been sober for that long and trying for a long time. He was doing better, that’s what his mom would say.
Every relapse got harder, more dangerous medically and physically as well as economically.
Sleep deprivation was torture I hadn’t experienced before. I would be awoken with yelling because of delirium, anger and he would degrade me so badly. Use that bond we had against me, my own experiences turned against me he’d repeat the insults I shared with him to me. Yell those at me. Then love bomb. Then threaten me and my family with guns. I lived in fear when he blacked out. Felt lonely because with all of the yelling, smashing things around, being stared at by neighbors crying, being called an idiot dumbass in front of people and them witnessing me at a low point and then, agreeing with him? No neighbor knocked after crying and yelling to see if anyone was ok or dying. Public shame feels so. Fucking. Lonely. Isolation doesn’t help.
He stopped functioning. His body started giving out. I loved him. Took care of him cleaned his wounds after falls, his body after incontinence. He literally shed blood, shit and tears, regret and asked for forgiveness when I cared for him in his sober state.
In return, I’d receive non stop verbal abuse if I didn’t stop and do what he wanted me to at the time he wanted me to and how he wanted me to. If I didn’t give him my attention he’d end up getting it by threatening my family. And he would! Fight my brother and go after him with loaded guns. So there I would go do what he said. Forced to ride in a vehicle, with him locking the doors, blasting Phil Collins yelling at me. Driving erratically, dangerously. And I’d be so fucking scared of crashing. Just imagining the police report, “f19 dead alongside 43m after drunk reckless driving”. He’d speed in traffic so I couldn’t really jump out the car. I’d end up just drinking to numb the fear.
I had enough and attempted to sleepies forever by taking a sweet deadly cocktail of whatever handful of pills I could get my hands on. We had plastic gallon moving boxes filled with narcotics- he was a pharmacist too. I told him I was going to KMS he said go ahead, so I attempted and I filmed it.
From the setting up the phone in that closet, the one I color coordinated for him, his button-ups and suits in those dry-cleaning bags that hadn’t been opened since leaving the laundry shop… I watched my su!c!d€ afterwards. Out of morbid curiosity. “What a dumbass!” was what he said when he found me. I won’t go into detail of the full video but chest compressions hurt a lot, 10/10 would not recommend. And EMS left the AED stickers on my chest 🤷🏽‍♀️
After that 24hr watch, an awkward taxi drive to a crisis clinic that was understaffed and left me in a room by myself for two hours and walking in public with those see-through paper hospital clothes. Embarrassment is a light expression. When I was taken home, I didn’t have keys, or phone, or anything. Just my discharge papers and my cut vomit stained pajamas in a biohazard bag. - I lived in a gated neighborhood with key-fob-entry-only. I was fucked and waited what seemed like 4 hours for anyone to help me but no one showed up until HE did WITH MY BROTHER. The one who was threatened with a gun, that brother.
JFC the amount of insults, “what a fucking dumbass, what were you thinking? You’re a fucking idiot!” To summarize in the friendliest way. I was dressed in a see through hospital gown, I went straight to the shower, didn’t have the energy to get dressed when they kept just YELLING at me. INSULTING me- I had enough and wanted to defend myself. That’s when my brother pulled out his phone and started filming me pleading with them to let me sleep, calling me crazy, threatening to “show the family how fucking crazy you are!” - I threw my phone. Broke the microwave door. More insults, while still filming me, I was ordered to, “clean it up” - and at that moment. Completely detached, I did.
I put my brother on the soon-est bus to Mexico and sent him to rehab after 2 hell filled weeks of him living with us because he was so fucked in alcoholism he was homeless. To this day I don’t know how I did that.
I managed to leave my ex. 2 weeks later I receive calls from worried friends. Ryan was missing.
After investigating, (calls to police,hospitals, checking out the “usual” spots) - turns out he went to a Circle K looking for Peroni after the liquor store wouldn’t sell to him, tripped on the steps, hit his head on the pavement, STILL MANAGED TO PURCHASE ALCOHOL, left, got into a fight, and somehow miraculously ended up in his apartment where he tried to shower, fell face forward towards the water tap, (which left a softball sized bruise on his right eye and fractured his nose) he then tried to walk towards the kitchen? Passed out in the living room leaving blood all over the walls, puddles on the ground and the biggest blood clot stain on the floor ( we had to get crime scene cleaners). He apparently had a fit where he trashed the apartment by throwing my things, my plants, bottles of crown… anything. Everything was trashed when I found him in the apartment. I counted at LEAST 20 bottles of crown. He was so fucked up we thought he had been assaulted.
COVID hit and hospitals were in full lockdown. As an “essential worker” I could travel to the hospital to see him, and because someone somewhere said I was his wife/fiancée I was the ONLY one allowed to see him.
I snuck behind friends and family’s backs checking in on him at the hospital. Singing The Carpenters songs, wearing his favorite perfumes, reading Bill’s Story (IYKYK), playing Phil Collins. The whole 9 yards.
The last time I saw him, he was in Physical therapy/Rehab. He ended up moving back to his parents in California. Then February the next year, on Valentine’s Day - his mom let me know he passed.
She grieved very much attached to me. It was one of the saddest things I ever had to help someone through - alongside helping her son go through alcoholism.
I became a CNA as a tribute to helping him during those hard sober times where his body gave out. Helping others like that, bathing them, diaper changing, g-tube cleaning, hygiene essentials…
The classic grief started with what-if’s. Etc. it’s been hard lately because all my family is against him and his family resents me for being the only one with access to his medical records during COVID. I’m in a relationship now and our therapist told me to “put a break on it”. Recently. My mental illnesses keep getting worse and I feel like no other has taken such interest in me as much as Ryan did. He was so observant. So in-sync with me. And he was so shitty to me. He’s like the sweetest tasting radioactive flower that once was and will never be. And I’m grieving. And it’s so lonely out here.
I don’t know. I’m not suicid@l, I’m medicated and 4 years sober. It’s been hard and it’s getting harder to understand. I feel neglected and lonely. Anything helps please.

how does everyone feel about the new video/video style on the second channel?
i personally LOVED IT, i thought the editing was great and i love that we get to see arthur's personality on his pwn channel for once!
i hope he does these more often and hopefullyale them longer even as i really enjoyed it !! <3

E, T, C, etc.

I was brought up in a church. It was always boring and strange and I never really felt welcome, despite everyone's persistent attempts to tell me how happy they were to see me every week. Nevertheless, the stories I was taught there were all I had. And even if I didn’t fully understand them, to me, there was a god and good and evil, and I was just a mortal caught in the middle of it all.
I was around 12 or 13 years old at the time. I remember it being spring time outside, beautiful but tainted by a plague of allergies that had come over me. I was stuck in a habit back then of reading books late into the night. My mom was mostly supportive of it though and bought me a book light to use in the dark, with the caveat that I put the book down by 10PM at the latest.
On the first night that it happened, I remember being very sucked into the story I was reading. I had started a new book and I distinctly remember thinking that the story wasn’t for someone my age, and if my mother found out what I was reading, she might not let me keep it. The feeling that I was doing something wrong had me on edge in a sort of fun and exciting way, and my heart was beginning to beat somewhat quickly as I continued.
And then I heard it. A rustling sound like something had slid off of a hanger in my closet. I jumped in place, dropping my book down on the blanket, the clip-on book light casting a long and imposing shadow across the room. What I saw next was difficult to make out and is even harder to picture in my mind all these years later. I remember my clothes hung up in the closet, swaying in place, almost shivering or jittering from the movement coming from behind them. The book light was cut off along one edge of the closet opening, only showing the bottom of my hanging clothes and part way down onto the floor where some old shoeboxes and retired sports equipment was stored. But there was something odd and quite noticeable partially in view within the small glow of light that existed there. At the time it was puzzling to interpret as I had been expecting my angry mother to have somehow divined that I was reading something she didn’t approve of. But with time and reflection it became clear that the dark shape I saw amongst my belongings was an abnormally long and trembling leg.
“P-please!! P-put that down!”
It spoke with a frantic whisper, as if I was inadvertently pointing a loaded gun at it. I froze for a moment, staring at the indiscernible shape, watching my jacket and button down shirts shivering on their hangers when it suddenly occurred to me. I frantically grabbed the book light and pulled it to my chest. I could have quickly turned and shown it directly into the closet, but for some reason, I didn’t.
The nights that followed were difficult. I kept looking over my shoulder, staring in the direction of my closet, wondering if something would happen instead of falling asleep or reading. My mother even took notice of the sudden change, asking me, “Is something wrong, sweetie?” before tucking me in one night.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I’m just bored with my book,” I lied.
“You can’t give up on it now, dear! Even if it’s not for you, at least try and finish it so you know for sure.”
That night I pulled the book out again and continued from where I left off. I felt bad, as if I was taking advantage of my mom’s ignorance as she advocated for me to read a book that she must not have known the full story behind. But still, I wasn’t really bored of it. In fact, once I had the book out and in my hands again, I felt that same itch I had before. An excitement to see what came next. To know what else lies between the pages of the coming chapters. And as I read further, my heart began to race again. I felt a tingle going up my spine now, and for some reason, I began to sweat.
“Can you hear us?”
The voice was closer this time, somewhere off to my side now, away from the closet and more toward the center of my room. I remained still, careful not to bounce the book light around in fear that I would drive the being away.
“Yes.” I told it. The moment after I spoke back to it for the first time, the strangeness of the situation became somewhat mildly apparent to me, although it still did not deter me or drive me toward fear.
“Good.”
I had church that next morning. What I didn’t realize that day, as we piled into the car at the crack of dawn, was that it would be the last time I would ever go to church for the rest of my life. I remember this day very well, as you’ll soon be able to tell.
“Did you sleep okay?” Mother asked me, peering into the backseat through the rear view mirror.
“Okay, yea.”
“How about your book? Did you read any?”
“Yeah.”
“Good! I’m glad.” She said, smiling with her eyes as they returned to the road ahead.
We pulled up to the church and parked in the small parking lot out front. It was altogether a poorly cared for area with faded yellow lines on the ground separating the parking spaces, and chunks of concrete broken apart as if the urban environment had somehow fallen victim to a recent bombing. Our church service was held in an office park of all places, down a flight of stairs and through a long hallway that always smelt like damp carpet. The church pastor had acquired the space for a good deal, and always talked about the location as if it were merely the humble beginning compared to where they would someday be.
We took our seats in the cramped room as usual and an eerie silence was broken by the sound of an old, muffled electronic organ that tried and failed to lift the energy of the room before our pastor walked out center stage.
“Welcome and good morning to everyone on this fine, somewhat humid day. I hope you all are doing well and the drive in wasn’t too problematic, what with all the traffic cones blooming for the summer.” He gave a sort of wincing smile as a few members of the crowd let out a light chuckle. “I’m sure we’re all eager to get on with service today as this is the day we’ve all been waiting for for almost 18 years now - wow! But I just wanted to take a brief moment before we begin to acknowledge the significant achievement of everyone here, and the endless effort you all have gone through in order to make sure that today happened at all.” The room filled with gentle clapping, everyone turning toward one another as they nodded in approval.
“Very good. Now, without any further delay. Let us begin.”
Several quick yet world changing events occurred in the minutes after his speech. Minutes that have dominated my life and memory ever since they happened. My mother stood up and took me by the hand, looking down at me with a large smile across her face.
“Come on! It’s time!”
“What for?” I hesitated, only slowly scooching off of my seat.
“It’s ok, you’re just going to read something out loud for everyone. Think of it like a speech in class, except everyone here is excited just to hear you speak. You won’t do anything wrong, I promise.” I nodded nervously and followed her up to the front of the congregation where she positioned me in front of a mic stand, adjusted down to my height, before leaving to stand next to the pastor. And then I saw her do something quite strange. She took the pastor's hand in her own and kissed him on the lips. The room was deadly silent as the lights overhead were shut off, suddenly leaving us all in a thick darkness. I squinted my eyes as I tried to look back towards my mother, hoping to god I could catch even the slightest hint of her familiar face.
The shadows were pierced by something on the far side of the room. A glow of red light parting the darkness like a curtain, illuminating the pages of an old looking but familiar book that was slowly making its way down the aisle and toward me. Somebody placed the book in my hands and opened it to the first page.
And then a familiar voice spoke.
“Read.”
“But… I’ve already read the beginning before.” I replied quietly.
“But they haven’t.” The voice explained with a seductive hiss. I held the book closer and looked it over. It was my book. It was my light.
As I began reading the words from the pages, I could hear people in the crowd whispering. Some of them were praying, some were crying, one woman in particular I could hear whispering excitedly to her partner: “He can read it! Can you believe that?”
And there were other noises as well. Chanting. Whaling. A sound that I can only explain as a guttural choking noise. I tried to stay focused. To read loudly and not stutter. But as I read further, another noise began to distract me. A drumming or clanging of metal, followed by a rhythmic grinding, over and over and over. Eventually the noise was so loud it was hard to hear my own voice, but I could tell that the audience was loving it. In fact, they were beginning to yell out their approval: “Amazing,” “We’ve finally found him,” “Praise be!”
The tingling had returned up my spine again and my skin felt electric, like I was being filled with some sort of strange energy. It was as if I was moving with momentum as the words of the book were flowing from my mouth like I had somehow memorized every page - even the parts I hadn’t read before. It was so easy I didn’t even need to look at the pages at a certain point, but by that time, something had started to come over me. A hesitance or doubt. I felt wrong and I desperately wanted to leave.
I looked at my book light, examining the streaks of red marker across the glowing plastic, and without a second thought, I scratched it off with my thumb nail. The rhythmic sounds of metal ceased and a blood curdling scream sounded off across the room, followed by several animal-like growls from the now seething congregation. I had stopped reading now and dropped the book to the ground, clutching the light firmly in my trembling hands as the light showed all around me.
“Mom?” I called out with no reply. There wasn’t a sound in the room now apart from the heavy breathing of the congregation, as if they had all just finished running in a triathlon. I started inching my way forward, stepping down the aisle way between all the seats, swinging my head over each shoulder as the sound of bare footsteps sounded off the linoleum floor, mere inches around my glowing circle of protection. I had considered aiming my light around the room, but couldn’t stomach to see what I might reveal. “Mom?” I called again. A sea of hisses erupted from everyone in the room, and without any further investigation, I ran. I pushed open the office door, turned down the long hallway and made short work of the stairs leading up and out of the building. The light outside was blinding, and everything after that was a blur.
The people who found me, wandering alone around a park, brought me to the police who quickly started a search for missing children. Shortly after that, an investigator was brought in who had already been tipped off that I may not have been the child of the woman who raised me.
Years later, I have now learned who my true biological parents are. The woman who I had once called mother had kidnapped me from the hospital on the day I was born, and several lengthy trials later, she has been placed in prison.
I don’t know what the book really was, and for some reason I have no recollection of its contents either. While these events do haunt my memory, it also helps me to share the bizarre and horrifying tale with others. As time has gone on the days have gotten easier to get through, while the nights are still haunted by the feeling of something lingering in the shadows, watching me with anger but unable to act as I always keep my book-light nearby and ready.

[ Notice: Not my article. Link: https://4womaninthewilderness.blogspot.com/2012/08/i-have-been-asked-for-clarification-for.html ]
I have been asked for clarification for a segment of yesterday's post, namely:
"As Matt.24:15,16 says, when YOU catch sight of the disgusting thing standing in a holy place (by using discernment), you are to "flee". The meaning of this has become wide open among the anointed being thrown out by spiritual Gentile elders, who seeonly themselves as YHWH's chosen priests (Eze.44:6,7,8,9; 2Chron.13:9; Gal.4:8). Yet, only the anointed are circumcised in heart, and as such, are the only "priests" allowed to render acceptable service in YHWH's spiritual Temple (Rom.2:29; 1Cor.3:16; 1Pet.2:5,9)."
Accordingly, I have added the following:
As all the previous scriptures show, the only ones whom YHWH approves to serve as priests in His Spiritual Temple, are those whom He has chosen and whose hearts He has circumcised. This does ~not~ ~include~ ~un~anointed elders, who are considered spiritual Gentiles, not anointed "Jews" (Rom.2:29). Yet these ones have taken over the priestly duties, and have "raised themselves up over" the anointed Temple (2Thess.2:4). The un-anointed elders have proceeded to throw out (2Chron.13:9) any who do not regard the "image" of their "authority" as a genuine (and subject themselves accordingly) representation of Jehovah's "spirit directed organization" (Rev.13:15,8). These do not recognize the True Temple directed by YHWH's spirit (Rom.8:14,16; 1Cor.3:16). The "False Prophet"/"two-horned" Beast/anointed "star", has fashioned an "image" of a counterfeit spirit-directed "Temple", serviced by unanointed elder "priests"/crowned locusts/princes/ WildBeast (Rev.13:11,15; 9:1,2,3,7) rather than endorsing those whom YHWH decreed as His chosen witnesses and priests (Isa.43:10,21; 1Pet.2:9). Any who refuse to worship that counterfeit "Temple" and its "priests", are "killed"/expelled (Rev.13:7,8,15; John16:2).

1. Amazon Store Rent
First, let's talk about the monthly rent for an Amazon store. Registering an Amazon store is free, but using a company registration instead of a personal one is recommended. This approach is safer and has a higher approval rate. After registering, you can choose between an Individual account and a Professional account.
Individual Account: This account has no monthly fee, but you'll pay Amazon $0.99 for each item you sell. It’s suitable for sellers who are just starting out and have lower sales volumes.
Professional Account: This account costs $39.99 per month, but you won’t pay a fee per sale. This option is more cost-effective if you sell more than 40 items per month.
Recommendation: If you’re just starting and your sales are low, opt for the Individual account. As your sales increase and you consistently sell more than 40 items per month, switch to the Professional account to save on per-item fees.

1. Product Selection Tools

Choosing the right products to sell is crucial for the success of your e-commerce business. Fortunately, there are several tools available to assist with this process, each offering unique features to help you make informed decisions.
Popular Paid Tools: JungleScout and Helium10
JungleScout: Priced at $49/month, JungleScout is widely recognized for its comprehensive suite of tools designed to help sellers identify profitable products, estimate sales, and analyze competition. Its features include:
Product Database: Allows you to filter products based on various criteria like price, sales, and competition.
Product Tracker: Helps track the performance of potential products over time.
Keyword Scout: Provides keyword research and optimization suggestions to enhance product listings.
Sales Analytics: Offers insights into sales trends and revenue estimates.
Helium10: At $79/month, Helium10 is another powerful tool that provides a wide range of functionalities for Amazon sellers. Key features include:
Black Box: A product research tool that allows you to find profitable niches.
Xray: A Chrome extension that gives you a quick overview of product performance metrics directly on Amazon.
Keyword Research: Tools like Cerebro and Magnet help you discover and optimize for high-ranking keywords.
Listing Optimization: Features like Scribbles and Index Checker ensure your product listings are optimized for maximum visibility.
Free Tool: 4SELLER
4SELLER: For those who are looking for a budget-friendly option, 4SELLER is a free tool that offers a robust set of features to aid in product selection and management. It includes:
Product Selection: Assists in identifying profitable products by analyzing market trends and competition.
Inventory Management: Helps track inventory levels, forecast demand, and manage stock efficiently to prevent overstocking or stockouts.
Supplier Finder: Aids in locating reliable suppliers, which is essential for maintaining product quality and consistency.
Why Product Selection Tools are Essential
Using product selection tools is vital because they provide data-driven insights that help you make informed decisions. These tools can save you time and reduce the risk of choosing products that may not sell well. They offer features that allow you to:
Identify Trends: By analyzing market data, these tools help you stay ahead of trends and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
Evaluate Competition: Understanding your competition is crucial. These tools provide detailed analysis of competitors' products, pricing strategies, and sales performance.
Optimize Listings: Well-optimized product listings are more likely to attract buyers. These tools offer keyword research and listing optimization features that improve your product's visibility on e-commerce platforms.
Manage Inventory: Efficient inventory management ensures you have the right products available at the right time, which is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and maximizing sales.
Whether you opt for a paid tool like JungleScout or Helium10, or a free option like 4SELLER, leveraging these tools can significantly enhance your ability to select profitable products, manage inventory effectively, and optimize your listings for better performance.
3. Initial Stock Costs
Purchasing your first batch of products involves a significant initial investment, and the amount required can vary widely depending on the type of products you choose to sell. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what to consider when estimating your initial stock costs:
Factors Influencing Initial Stock Costs
Product Type and Price: The nature of the products you choose to sell will greatly influence your initial costs. Higher-priced items tend to have less competition but require a larger upfront investment. Conversely, cheaper products are more budget-friendly but often come with higher competition.
Quantity: The number of units you decide to purchase initially is another major factor. A common recommendation for new sellers is to start with 200-500 units. This range allows you to test the market demand without overcommitting financially.
Calculating Initial Costs
To estimate your initial stock costs, you need to multiply the quantity of units by the purchase price per unit. Here’s a simplified formula:
Initial Stock Cost=Quantity×Purchase Price per UnitInitial Stock Cost=Quantity×Purchase Price per Unit
For instance, if you decide to buy 300 units of a product that costs $5 per unit, your initial stock cost would be:
300 units×$5/unit=$1,500300 units×$5/unit=$1,500
Typical Budget Ranges for New Sellers
Low Budget: If you’re starting with a tighter budget, you might opt for products with a lower purchase price. For example, if you choose items costing around $2 per unit and purchase 200 units, your initial cost would be $400.
Moderate Budget: A more common range for new sellers is between $1,000 and $3,000. This allows for a balance between purchasing a reasonable quantity of units and managing the risk of unsold inventory. For example, buying 400 units at $5 per unit would total $2,000.
Higher Budget: With a larger budget, you can consider higher-priced items that might have less competition. For instance, purchasing 300 units at $10 per unit would result in an initial cost of $3,000.
Why Initial Stock Costs are Important
Understanding and planning for initial stock costs is critical because it ensures you are adequately prepared for the financial outlay required to launch your business. Here are a few reasons why this is essential:
Market Testing: Buying an appropriate number of units allows you to test market demand without over-investing. This way, you can gauge the product's popularity and adjust future orders accordingly.
Cash Flow Management: Proper planning helps manage your cash flow effectively. Ensuring you have enough funds to cover initial stock costs, along with other expenses like marketing and shipping, is crucial for maintaining business operations.
Risk Mitigation: Starting with a moderate quantity of units helps minimize the risk of unsold inventory, which can tie up capital and lead to losses. It’s better to start small, analyze performance, and scale up gradually.
Carefully estimating and planning for your initial stock costs is a vital step in setting up your e-commerce business. By understanding the factors that influence these costs and budgeting accordingly, you can make informed decisions that set the foundation for a successful venture. Whether you have a limited budget or can invest more significantly, strategic planning will help you manage risks and maximize your chances of success.
4. UPC Codes
UPC stands for Universal Product Code, a standardized barcode used by retailers, including Amazon, to track products. Obtaining UPC codes is a critical step in setting up your products for sale. Here’s a detailed explanation of why you need them, where to get them, and the associated costs.
What are UPC Codes?
Definition: UPC codes are unique identifiers assigned to products. Each code consists of a series of black bars and a corresponding 12-digit number that can be scanned by barcode readers.
Purpose: These codes help retailers manage inventory, streamline the checkout process, and track sales. For e-commerce platforms like Amazon, UPC codes ensure each product is uniquely identifiable, reducing errors and simplifying logistics.
Where to Buy UPC Codes
Official Source: GS1: The Global Standards 1 (GS1) organization is the official provider of UPC codes. Purchasing from GS1 ensures the authenticity and uniqueness of your codes, which is crucial for compliance with Amazon’s policies.
Why GS1?: While there are third-party sellers offering UPC codes at lower prices, these codes might not always be unique or compliant with GS1 standards. Using GS1 guarantees that your UPCs are globally recognized and legitimate, preventing potential issues with listing products on Amazon.
Cost of UPC Codes
Initial Purchase: GS1 sells UPC codes in packs. A pack of 10 UPCs costs $250 initially. This upfront cost covers the registration and issuance of the codes.
Annual Renewal Fee: In addition to the initial purchase cost, there is a $50 annual renewal fee. This fee ensures your codes remain active and your registration with GS1 stays current.
Breakdown of Costs
Initial Cost: For a pack of 10 UPC codes, the initial cost is $250.
Annual Renewal: The $50 annual renewal fee applies every year to maintain your codes.
Example Calculation:
If you purchase a pack of 10 UPCs, your total cost for the first year would be:
$250 (initial cost)+$50 (annual renewal fee)=$300$250 (initial cost)+$50 (annual renewal fee)=$300
In subsequent years, you will only pay the $50 renewal fee to keep your UPCs active.
Why UPC Codes are Important
Inventory Management: UPC codes play a crucial role in inventory management, allowing you to track stock levels accurately. This helps prevent stockouts and overstock situations.
Product Identification: Each UPC code is unique to a specific product, ensuring that Amazon and other retailers can correctly identify and catalog your items. This reduces the risk of listing errors and mix-ups.
Compliance and Credibility: Using GS1-issued UPC codes ensures compliance with Amazon’s listing requirements. This adds credibility to your listings and prevents potential issues that might arise from using unauthorized codes.
Efficiency and Automation: UPC codes facilitate the automation of various processes, including checkout, shipping, and inventory updates. This enhances operational efficiency and reduces manual workload.
Investing in UPC codes from GS1 is an essential step for any e-commerce business aiming to sell on platforms like Amazon. The initial cost of $250 for a pack of 10 UPCs, along with the $50 annual renewal fee, ensures that your products are uniquely identifiable and compliant with global standards. This investment not only helps in effective inventory management but also enhances the credibility and efficiency of your business operations.
5. Shipping and Distribution Costs
Shipping and distribution costs are critical components of your overall budget when selling on Amazon. These costs encompass various fees and charges that ensure your products reach Amazon’s warehouses and, ultimately, your customers. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what to consider and how these costs can impact your business.
Components of Shipping and Distribution Costs
Shipping to Amazon’s Warehouse: This involves the costs of transporting your products from your supplier to Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Factors influencing these costs include the size and weight of your products, the shipping method, and the distance between the supplier and the warehouse.
Packaging: Proper packaging is essential to protect your products during transit. This includes boxes, cushioning materials, and labeling.
Inspection Fees: To ensure quality and compliance with Amazon’s standards, you might need to pay for product inspections before they are shipped.
Import Duties and Taxes: If you are importing products from another country, customs duties and taxes will apply. These costs vary based on the product category and the country of origin.
Estimated Shipping Costs by Product Size
Small Items: For smaller products, shipping costs are generally lower. On average, you can expect to pay around $4 per unit for shipping.
Mid-sized Products: For larger or heavier items, shipping costs increase. These costs can range from $8 to $12 per unit, depending on the specific dimensions and weight of the products.
Amazon FBA Fees
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Fees: Once your products are in Amazon’s warehouse, the company handles storage, packaging, and shipping to customers. Amazon charges FBA fees for these services, which are based on the size and weight of the product.
Small and Light Items: FBA fees for smaller items typically range from $2.92 to $6.13 per unit.
Larger Items: For bigger or heavier products, FBA fees can be higher, reflecting the additional handling and shipping costs.
Breakdown of Costs
Shipping Costs to Amazon’s Warehouse:
Small items: $4 per unit
Mid-sized items: $8-$12 per unit
Amazon FBA Fees:
Small items: $2.92-$6.13 per unit
Larger items: Higher fees depending on size and weight
Example Calculation
If you are shipping 300 small items to Amazon’s warehouse, with each unit costing $4 to ship and an average FBA fee of $4.50, your total costs would be:
Shipping to Warehouse: 300 units×$4/unit=$1,200300 units×$4/unit=$1,200
FBA Fees: 300 units×$4.50/unit=$1,350300 units×$4.50/unit=$1,350
Total Shipping and Distribution Costs:
$1,200 (shipping)+$1,350 (FBA fees)=$2,550$1,200 (shipping)+$1,350 (FBA fees)=$2,550
Why Shipping and Distribution Costs are Important
Budget Planning: Understanding and accurately estimating these costs is crucial for budgeting and financial planning. Unexpected expenses can significantly impact your profitability.
Pricing Strategy: These costs need to be factored into your pricing strategy to ensure you maintain healthy profit margins. Underestimating shipping and distribution costs can erode your margins and affect your competitiveness.
Customer Satisfaction: Efficient shipping and distribution are key to timely delivery and customer satisfaction. Using Amazon FBA ensures reliable and fast shipping, which can enhance your seller ratings and lead to repeat business.
Operational Efficiency: Managing these costs effectively can streamline your operations and improve cash flow. By optimizing packaging, negotiating better shipping rates, and accurately forecasting demand, you can reduce expenses and improve efficiency.
Shipping and distribution costs are a significant part of your overall expenses when selling on Amazon. By carefully estimating these costs, including packaging, inspection fees, import duties, and Amazon FBA fees, you can better manage your budget and pricing strategy. Understanding these costs helps ensure smooth operations, enhances customer satisfaction, and supports your business's profitability and growth.
6. Inventory Storage Costs
Inventory storage costs are a critical consideration when using Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service. These fees are based on the size and quantity of your inventory stored in Amazon’s warehouses and vary throughout the year. Here’s a detailed breakdown of these costs and their implications for your business.
Amazon’s Storage Fees
Amazon charges monthly storage fees that depend on the size category of your products (standard-size or oversized) and the time of year. The fees are higher during the holiday season (October to December) due to increased demand for warehouse space.
Standard-Size Storage Fees
January to September: $0.83 per cubic foot
October to December: $2.40 per cubic foot
Oversized Storage Fees
January to September: $0.53 per cubic foot
October to December: $1.20 per cubic foot
Calculating Storage Costs
To estimate your storage costs, you need to know the cubic footage of your inventory. Here’s how you can calculate it:
Cubic Footage=Length×Width×HeightCubic Footage=Length×Width×Height
Once you have the cubic footage, multiply it by the applicable storage fee rate.
Example Calculation for Standard-Size Products
Let’s say you have 500 units of a product, each measuring 1 cubic foot. Your storage costs would be:
January to September: 500 cubic feet×$0.83/cubic foot=$415500 cubic feet×$0.83/cubic foot=$415
October to December: 500 cubic feet×$2.40/cubic foot=$1,200500 cubic feet×$2.40/cubic foot=$1,200
Example Calculation for Oversized Products
If you have 200 units of an oversized product, each measuring 3 cubic feet, your storage costs would be:
January to September: 600 cubic feet×$0.53/cubic foot=$318600 cubic feet×$0.53/cubic foot=$318
October to December: 600 cubic feet×$1.20/cubic foot=$720600 cubic feet×$1.20/cubic foot=$720
Why Inventory Storage Costs Matter
Budget Management: Accurately estimating storage costs is crucial for budgeting and financial planning. These costs can add up, especially during peak seasons, impacting your overall profitability.
Inventory Turnover: High storage costs can incentivize better inventory management practices, such as maintaining optimal stock levels and ensuring a higher inventory turnover rate. This helps in reducing long-term storage fees and minimizing the risk of overstocking.
Seasonal Planning: Knowing that storage fees increase during the holiday season can help you plan your inventory levels more effectively. You might choose to stock up on faster-moving items or reduce slower-moving inventory before the fees increase.
Cost Control: By understanding these fees, you can implement strategies to minimize them, such as reducing the size of your packaging, negotiating better storage terms, or using other fulfillment centers if necessary.
Strategies to Manage Storage Costs
Optimize Inventory Levels: Maintain a balance between having enough stock to meet demand and avoiding excess inventory that incurs high storage costs.
Seasonal Adjustments: Plan your inventory levels based on seasonal fluctuations in storage fees, ensuring you minimize costs during peak periods.
Efficient Packaging: Use packaging that minimizes space without compromising product safety. Smaller packaging reduces the cubic footage and, consequently, storage fees.
FBA Inventory Management: Use Amazon’s inventory management tools to monitor and adjust your stock levels based on sales data and forecasts.
Inventory storage costs are an important aspect of selling on Amazon using FBA. These costs, varying by product size and season, can significantly impact your business’s profitability. By accurately estimating these fees and implementing strategies to manage and reduce them, you can optimize your inventory management and control expenses effectively. Understanding and planning for these costs will help ensure a smoother and more profitable operation.

1. Platform Commission

When selling on Amazon, it’s essential to account for the platform commission, known as the referral fee. This fee is a percentage of each sale and varies by product category. Understanding these fees is crucial for pricing your products and calculating your profit margins.
Amazon’s Referral Fees
Amazon charges a referral fee on each sale made through its platform. The percentage varies depending on the product category. Here are some common examples:
Electronics: 8%
Beauty Products: 15%
Books: 15%
Clothing and Accessories: 17%
Home and Kitchen: 15%
How Referral Fees Are Calculated
The referral fee is calculated as a percentage of the total sales price, which includes the item price and any shipping or gift wrap charges.
Referral Fee=Sales Price×Referral Fee PercentageReferral Fee=Sales Price×Referral Fee Percentage
Example Calculations
Electronics: If you sell a gadget for $100, the referral fee would be: $100×8%=$8$100×8%=$8
Beauty Products: If you sell a skincare product for $50, the referral fee would be: $50×15%=$7.50$50×15%=$7.50
Why Platform Commission is Important
Pricing Strategy: Knowing the referral fee helps you set your product prices appropriately to ensure you cover costs and achieve desired profit margins.
Profit Margin Calculation: Understanding the commission allows you to accurately calculate your net profit after deducting all fees.
Category Selection: The commission rate can influence your decision on which product categories to focus on. Lower commission rates in certain categories might lead to higher profitability.
Competitive Pricing: Factoring in the referral fee ensures your prices remain competitive while still being profitable.
Impact on Different Product Categories
High-Commission Categories: Categories like beauty products and clothing with higher referral fees require careful pricing to maintain profitability. High fees can significantly impact margins, especially for low-cost items.
Low-Commission Categories: Categories like electronics with lower referral fees can offer better profit margins, but these categories might also have higher competition.
Strategies to Manage Referral Fees
Optimize Pricing: Adjust your pricing to ensure it covers all costs, including the referral fee, while remaining attractive to customers.
Product Selection: Consider the referral fee when selecting products to sell. Products in categories with lower fees might be more profitable.
Bundle Products: Creating product bundles can help increase the average sales price, potentially offsetting the impact of the referral fee.
Platform commission is a significant cost factor when selling on Amazon. By understanding the referral fee structure and calculating these fees accurately, you can make informed decisions about pricing, product selection, and profitability. Properly managing and accounting for these fees ensures your business remains competitive and financially sustainable on the Amazon platform.
8. Advertising Costs
Advertising is a crucial component of your e-commerce strategy, driving visibility and sales for your products on Amazon. Effective advertising can help you reach potential customers quickly, but it requires a financial investment. Here’s a detailed breakdown of advertising costs, strategies, and their impact on your business.
Types of Advertising
Amazon Advertising: The primary form of advertising on Amazon is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads. These ads appear in search results and on product detail pages, allowing you to target specific keywords and audiences.
Sponsored Products: These ads promote individual product listings and appear in search results and product pages.
Sponsored Brands: These ads feature your brand logo, a custom headline, and multiple products.
Sponsored Display: These ads target audiences both on and off Amazon, helping to re-engage shoppers who have viewed your products.
Off-Amazon Advertising: To broaden your reach, you can also advertise on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. These platforms allow for targeted advertising based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Budgeting for Advertising
A typical budget for new sellers on Amazon ranges from $700 to $1,000. This budget should cover various advertising strategies, including PPC campaigns and social media ads.
Cost Breakdown
Amazon PPC Ads:
Sponsored Products: These are the most common and can cost anywhere from $0.10 to $2.00 per click, depending on the competitiveness of your keywords.
Sponsored Brands: These ads generally cost more per click due to their higher visibility and brand promotion capabilities.
Sponsored Display: Costs vary but can be effective for retargeting potential customers.
Social Media Advertising:
Facebook Ads: Costs typically range from $0.50 to $2.00 per click, depending on targeting options and competition.
Instagram Ads: Similar to Facebook, Instagram ad costs range from $0.50 to $2.00 per click, with the advantage of visual storytelling through images and videos.
Example Budget Allocation
Let’s allocate a $1,000 advertising budget across different platforms:
Amazon PPC Ads: $600
Sponsored Products: $400
Sponsored Brands: $150
Sponsored Display: $50
Social Media Ads: $400
Facebook Ads: $200
Instagram Ads: $200
Why Advertising is Important
Increased Visibility: Advertising ensures your products appear in front of potential buyers, increasing the likelihood of sales.
Competitive Edge: With many sellers on Amazon, advertising helps you stand out and reach customers who might otherwise not find your products.
Sales Velocity: Effective advertising can boost your sales velocity, improving your product rankings and increasing organic visibility over time.
Strategies for Effective Advertising
Keyword Research: Use tools like Amazon’s Keyword Planner or third-party tools to identify high-performing keywords for your PPC campaigns.
A/B Testing: Continuously test different ad creatives, headlines, and targeting options to find the most effective combinations.
Monitor and Optimize: Regularly review your ad performance data to optimize your campaigns. Adjust bids, pause underperforming keywords, and allocate more budget to high-performing ads.
Leverage Social Media: Use Facebook and Instagram to build brand awareness and drive traffic to your Amazon listings. Engaging content, such as videos and customer testimonials, can enhance ad performance.
Advertising is a vital part of your e-commerce strategy on Amazon and beyond. Allocating a budget of $700 to $1,000 for advertising can significantly enhance your product visibility and drive sales. By utilizing Amazon PPC ads and leveraging social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you can reach a broader audience and increase your chances of success. Effective advertising requires continuous monitoring and optimization, but the investment can lead to substantial returns in terms of sales growth and brand recognition.
9. Returns and Refunds
Managing returns and refunds is an inevitable part of selling on Amazon. While they can impact your profitability, understanding the associated costs and implementing effective management strategies can help mitigate their effects. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the costs and considerations involved in handling returns and refunds.
Amazon Return Processing Fees
Amazon charges a return processing fee that varies depending on the product’s size and weight. This fee is applied when a customer returns a product, and it covers the cost of handling and processing the return.
Standard-Size Products: Fees for standard-size products are typically lower due to their smaller dimensions and weight.
Oversized Products: Fees for oversized products are higher because of the additional handling and storage space required.
Example Fee Structure
Standard-Size Product Return Fee: Approximately $2 to $5 per unit, depending on the specific dimensions and weight.
Oversized Product Return Fee: Approximately $5 to $20 per unit, depending on the specific dimensions and weight.
Additional Costs of Returns and Refunds
Restocking Fees: Amazon may charge a restocking fee for certain returned items. This fee is deducted from the refund amount and can range from 10% to 20% of the item’s price.
Return Shipping Costs: In some cases, you may be responsible for covering the cost of return shipping, especially if the return is due to a defect or error on your part.
Product Condition: Returned items that are not in resellable condition may need to be disposed of or liquidated, leading to additional losses.
Why Returns and Refunds Matter
Customer Satisfaction: Efficient handling of returns and refunds is crucial for maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction and positive reviews. Poor management can lead to negative feedback and damage your seller reputation.
Cost Management: Understanding and anticipating the costs associated with returns can help you better manage your budget and pricing strategy, ensuring you account for these potential expenses.
Inventory Control: Effective return management helps maintain accurate inventory levels and reduces the risk of overstocking or stockouts.
Strategies to Manage Returns and Refunds
Clear Product Descriptions: Provide detailed and accurate product descriptions to reduce the likelihood of returns due to customer dissatisfaction or misunderstandings.
Quality Control: Implement rigorous quality control measures to minimize defects and errors that could lead to returns.
Customer Service: Offer excellent customer service to address issues promptly and potentially resolve problems without necessitating a return.
Return Policies: Establish clear and fair return policies that balance customer satisfaction with protecting your business from excessive costs.
Example Calculation
Let’s consider you sell 100 units of a product, with an average return rate of 5%. Here’s how you can calculate the potential costs:
Product Price: $50 per unit
Return Rate: 5% (5 units)
Return Processing Fee: $3 per unit
Restocking Fee: 15% of the product price ($7.50 per unit)
Return Shipping Cost: $5 per unit
Total Return and Refund Costs:
Return Processing Fee=5 units×$3=$15Return Processing Fee=5 units×$3=$15 Restocking Fee=5 units×$7.50=$37.50Restocking Fee=5 units×$7.50=$37.50 Return Shipping Cost=5 units×$5=$25Return Shipping Cost=5 units×$5=$25
Total Costs:
$15+$37.50+$25=$77.50$15+$37.50+$25=$77.50
Handling returns and refunds is a necessary aspect of selling on Amazon, and the associated costs can add up quickly. By understanding the fees and implementing strategies to manage returns effectively, you can minimize their impact on your profitability. Clear product descriptions, stringent quality control, excellent customer service, and well-defined return policies can all contribute to reducing return rates and associated costs. Efficient return management not only helps maintain customer satisfaction but also supports better cost control and inventory management.

1. Miscellaneous Expenses

In addition to the primary costs associated with setting up and running your Amazon business, there are several miscellaneous expenses that can significantly impact your budget. These costs, while often overlooked, are crucial for creating a professional and efficient operation. Here’s a detailed breakdown of these potential expenses and their importance.
Graphic Design for Product Listings
Importance: High-quality graphics and well-designed product listings are essential for attracting customers and conveying professionalism. Poorly designed listings can deter potential buyers.
Costs: Hiring a freelance graphic designer can cost between $50 and $200 per listing, depending on the complexity and the designer's experience.
Services: Graphic design services might include creating product images, infographics, and enhanced brand content (EBC) that highlights your product's features and benefits.
Professional Photography
Importance: Professional photos can make a significant difference in how your product is perceived. High-quality images help build trust with customers and increase conversion rates.
Costs: Professional product photography can range from $100 to $500 per product, depending on the number of images and the photographer’s expertise.
Services: This may include standard product shots, lifestyle images showing the product in use, and detailed close-ups of key features.
Virtual Assistant (VA) Services
Importance: Hiring a virtual assistant can help manage various tasks, such as customer service, inventory management, and order processing. This can free up your time to focus on strategic growth.
Costs: VAs typically charge between $10 and $30 per hour, depending on their skill level and the tasks they perform.
Services: Tasks handled by VAs can include responding to customer inquiries, updating product listings, managing social media accounts, and handling administrative duties.
Other Potential Miscellaneous Expenses
Subscription Services: Tools and software subscriptions for keyword research, inventory management, and sales analytics can cost anywhere from $20 to $200 per month.
Legal and Accounting Services: Professional advice for legal and tax matters is crucial. This can include incorporating your business, trademark registration, and tax preparation, costing several hundred dollars annually.
Packaging Design: Custom packaging design can enhance your brand image and customer experience. Costs can range from $100 to $500, depending on the complexity of the design.
Marketing and Promotional Materials: Additional marketing efforts, such as email campaigns, social media ads, and promotional giveaways, can also add to your expenses.
Example Budget Allocation
Let’s break down a potential budget for these miscellaneous expenses:
Graphic Design: $150 per listing for 5 listings = $750
Professional Photography: $300 per product for 3 products = $900
Virtual Assistant: $20 per hour for 10 hours per month = $200 per month
Subscription Services: $100 per month
Legal and Accounting Services: $500 annually
Packaging Design: $300
Marketing and Promotional Materials: $200 per month
Annual Costs:
Graphic Design=$750Graphic Design=$750 Professional Photography=$900Professional Photography=$900 Virtual Assistant=$200×12=$2,400Virtual Assistant=$200×12=$2,400 Subscription Services=$100×12=$1,200Subscription Services=$100×12=$1,200 Legal and Accounting Services=$500Legal and Accounting Services=$500 Packaging Design=$300Packaging Design=$300 Marketing and Promotional Materials=$200×12=$2,400Marketing and Promotional Materials=$200×12=$2,400
Total Annual Miscellaneous Expenses:
$750+$900+$2,400+$1,200+$500+$300+$2,400=$8,450$750+$900+$2,400+$1,200+$500+$300+$2,400=$8,450
Why Miscellaneous Expenses Matter
Professionalism and Trust: Investing in professional services like graphic design and photography enhances your product listings and builds trust with potential customers.
Efficiency and Focus: Hiring a virtual assistant allows you to delegate time-consuming tasks, enabling you to focus on growing your business.
Operational Smoothness: Subscriptions to essential tools and professional legal and accounting services ensure your business operates smoothly and compliantly.
Brand Building: Custom packaging and marketing materials contribute to a strong brand identity, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.
Miscellaneous expenses, while sometimes overlooked, play a vital role in the success of your Amazon business. By budgeting for high-quality graphic design, professional photography, virtual assistant services, and other essential tools and services, you can create a professional and efficient operation. These investments not only enhance your product listings and customer experience but also free up your time to focus on strategic growth, ultimately contributing to your business's long-term success.
Summary
Setting up and running an Amazon business involves various costs that need careful consideration to ensure profitability and efficiency. Here’s a summary of the key cost components:
Product Selection Tools: Essential for choosing profitable products, with popular tools like JungleScout ($49/month) and Helium10 ($79/month). Free alternatives like 4SELLER also provide valuable features for product selection and inventory management.
Initial Stock Costs: Depending on the product type and quantity, initial stock costs can range from $1,000 to $3,000. Starting with 200-500 units is recommended to test the market without overcommitting financially.
UPC Codes: Necessary for product tracking, these should be purchased from GS1. A pack of 10 UPC codes costs $250 initially, plus a $50 annual renewal fee.
Shipping and Distribution Costs: Includes fees for shipping products to Amazon’s warehouse and Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fees, which range from $2.92 to $6.13 per unit. Shipping small items might cost around $4 per unit, while mid-sized products could cost $8-$12 per unit.
Inventory Storage Costs: Monthly fees for storing products in Amazon’s warehouse vary by size and season. Standard-size storage costs $0.83 per cubic foot from January to September and $2.40 per cubic foot from October to December. Oversized storage costs $0.53 per cubic foot and $1.20 per cubic foot during these periods, respectively.
Platform Commission: Amazon takes a commission on each sale, typically between 8% and 15%, depending on the product category. For instance, electronics have a referral fee of 8%, while beauty products have a fee of 15%.
Advertising Costs: To drive visibility and sales, set aside $700-$1,000 for advertising. This includes Amazon PPC ads and potentially social media ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Returns and Refunds: Handling returns incurs costs, including Amazon’s return processing fee, restocking fees, and return shipping costs. These fees vary based on product size and weight.
Miscellaneous Expenses: Other costs include graphic design for product listings ($50-$200 per listing), professional photography ($100-$500 per product), and virtual assistant services ($10-$30 per hour). Additional expenses may include subscription services, legal and accounting services, packaging design, and marketing materials.
In total, you'll need at least $5,000 to start an Amazon FBA business today. Plus, you'll need to spend a lot of time managing your store and optimizing your product listings. This includes continuously monitoring your sales performance, tweaking your advertising strategies, and keeping an eye on competitors to stay ahead in the market.
By understanding and planning for these costs, you can effectively manage your Amazon business, ensuring it remains profitable and efficient while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction.

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