I was a clothing buyer, high end clothing for 15 years and travelled to Italy to source, that is where I really learned the buy side business inside and out. In 1998 (1998 -2010) I ran a healthcare company specifically focused on Diabetes products and sourced domestically as well as Europe, China and the Middle East. I met Amazon at a trade show in 2006 and began a relationship that led to a direct  Vendor account. After meetings with buyers in Seattle in 2008 and 2009 the business grew dramatically and sales were in the 25 million a year range as a direct vendor. We then launched a 3P account and  that grew to a million+ a month in sales by 2009. In 2010 I left that company waited out a 1 year non-compete and started a new Amazon 3P account, began extensive research, and began  travels to China not only to source but build a trusted team. During our start-up process we began sourcing the tried and true brands and items domestically and discovered as we did in our previous company the competition, supplier demands and grief, MAP issues, getting cut off,  counterfeit product claims by angry manufactures and so on led us to make a commitment to sourcing and building our own brands, primarily in China. We wanted to control every aspect of the sourcing with the main objective, create branded items that would gain momentum, produce profits and have no direct competition on our listings.   We developed a system of  evaluating products, sourcing and listing that covered all the areas and pitfalls, IP issues, logistics, pricing and associated risks. Even with so much experience behind us it was a challenge but we succeeded and felt what we have learned would be incredibly valuable to thousands of Amazon and other channel sellers that want to go to an advanced level and create a business that if managed correctly has high value and if ever desired a real an exit strategy in the brands that are built. Photo attached.