Amazon Merch Just Changed Everything for Sellers!

About this video

RJ Martinez — who says he has sold on Amazon Merch for over eight years, made over $400,000 in royalties all time and sold more than 125,000 products — breaks down announced Amazon Merch by Amazon program changes. He frames them as Amazon cleaning up a catalog flooded with copycat designs, low-effort AI spam and products that have not sold in years, prioritizing designs customers actually want. The biggest change is the tier system: previously based on lifetime sales, it will now be based on performance in the last 12 months — both number of products sold and the percentage of your catalog that sells — so current momentum matters more than past history and unsold uploads slow tier progress. Variation selection is being simplified: products will launch with fewer colors and fits and expand only if they perform, making each launch matter more. Amazon is resuming product deletion: a product with no sale in the past 18 months will be removed, though he advises revising and re-uploading designs you still believe in. He also notes Amazon still controls final pricing so royalties can fluctuate with market conditions, and that deal events can auto-include performing designs with royalties based on what the customer pays. He closes by warning that buying accounts, ripping off brands and uploading stolen or trademark-violating content will be caught, and that original creators should benefit as Amazon cleans house.

Key takeaways

• Tier progression is changing from lifetime sales to last-12-months performance: units sold plus the percentage of your catalog that sells.
• Play the conversion game, not the upload game — unsold designs sitting in your catalog can now slow tier progress.
• Variations will start small and only expand if a product performs, so treat every design as a deliberate mini launch with strong keywords.
• Product deletion is resuming: designs with no sale in the past 18 months will be removed; revise and re-upload worthwhile ones with evergreen or seasonal appeal.
• Deal events may auto-include your designs and royalties follow the price the customer pays, so designing for gifting seasons and trending topics improves your chances of being picked.

Episode details: published April 27, 2025 · 8:09 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are RJ Martinez’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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