Sorry your experience didn't play out as you wanted. Hopefully you have more success in other sales channels. I will share our Amazon experience because I think it's a good example of the yin/yang nature of dealing with a portal like Amazon. We resisted selling on Amazon for several years about a decade ago even though we were advised to by several consultants to be on the platform. We already had other sales channels that were seasoned and provided ample business for us but more is always more and so we eventually caved and opened an Amazon store about 8 years ago, in part, to prove the consultants wrong. We seriously had little faith that our niche product, for which there is precious little direct competition, would sell well on Amazon. For several years, we were right - sales were meager andthe platform really made no sense. We weren't spending alot on advertising and we were getting meager sales. I was in someways happy with this because I didn't necessarily want to be an Amazon merchant. What we noticed was that sales doubled each year though... that's significant. When you're selling very little as in the early years, doubling a very small amount is still a very amount but the trend was undeniable. By the 6th or 7th year of 50-100% sales increases year on year, it became apparent to me that at some point, if the trend continued, Amazon would become a primary source of sales for our company. In the 8 years we have been selling on Amazon, their sales channel went from 5% of our total revenue to 35% and we expect it to become our primary source in 2024. Now that all sounds like a good thing but to be honest, it's a double edge sword that scares us as much as it encourages us. We've had our share of issues with good selling listings being taken offline with no explanation and having to pay consultants 1000's of dollars to get them back on after spending countless hours with overseas support groups that seem specifically designed to frustrate as opposed to rectify issues. We've had to deal with fraudulent buyers who take advantage of Amazon's "customer is always right" philosophy at the expense of the merchant. We've had our products downgradd in reviews unfairly but jackweed customers who buy things without reading the descriptions and then complain about things clearly described in pictures and listing details. All of this drustrates the merchant and makes you dislike the platform that creates it. If you're successful on Amazon, they become your boss in a sense. I don't know about all business but I tend to think most small ones don't form so that they can be beholden to any entity, other than their customers, but you do end up being beholden to Amazon in some way or another. As you point out, you put thousands of dollars in their pockets for small profits but you have to keep reminding yourself - would I have all these new customers if NOT for Amazon and the answer is pretty clear. Nowadays we spend 1000's a month on advertising and while it kills to me do it, it works and so all we can do is continue to do it but like every job I've ever held, I recognize that someday it will come to an end and while we watch this sales channel grow, we entertain no illusion that it cannot be taken away from us with little recourse on our part because when Amazon does something that negatively affects you, there usually isn't much you can do.. people lose their jobs in your company and that's just how the cookie crumbles. All this said, it's hard for us to deny the power of the platform in terms of finding new customers. Who DOESNT buy on Amazon? So we continue to do what we do and hope for the best. Your experience is sad but perhaps it also was for the best - I guess what I am saying is - even when it goes well, it's not like the Brady Bunch.. it's more like The Sopranos. Cheers to you - good luck in business in 2024.