JS v Egrow

Yo, what’s going on?

So as a successful internet entrepreneur, I’ve become obsessed with finding the very best tools to help me run my online businesses.

I’ve not only managed to do this in my Amazon FBA business, but I’ve also done the same in my lead generation business, which is now making me a steady $30K a month, each and every month.

In this article I’m gonna take two Amazon FBA tools and see how they stack up against each other (Jungle Scout v Egrow)

You’ll find out which tool is best to help you start and grow your Amazon business.

I’ll also take you behind the scenes and share some of the secrets about selling on Amazon that only a 6 figure seller would know.

(hint: It can get pretty ugly)

Here’s what we’re gonna cover…

Ready? 

Here we go!

1. JUNGLE SCOUT: What is Jungle Scout?

If you’ve done any digging into the world of Amazon FBA, then there’s a pretty good chance you’ve come across the Jungle Scout tool.

Jungle Scout Overview

Founded by the charismatic Greg Mercer, Jungle Scout is the tool that promises to help you get your Amazon FBA business off the ground and heading in the right direction.

It’s a common mistake to think that Jungle Scout is only a product research tool. Sure it is, but it does way more than that which we’ll dive into shortly.

Greg Mercer

2. EGROW: What is Egrow?

While Egrow may not be as popular or well known as Jungle Scout, the tool is one of a number of challengers that are starting to become more and more popular with Amazon sellers as time goes by.

Like Jungle Scout, the idea behind Egrow is that it is designed to help users find the best products to sell and brand on Amazon.

Egrow

It does this by crunching data, across thousands of products already selling on on the platform, and then spits this data out into a format that allows the user to make smart business decisions with it.

3. JUNGLE SCOUT FEATURES: What Does Jungle Scout Offer?

You’ll notice that the Jungle Scout tool comes with both a Chrome extension as well as a web app. 

Cool thing about this is that this means you never have to worry about downloading software, or running updates. 

JS Breakdown

Within the tool there are a range of different modules and sub tools that are all designed with the aim of helping you to get the most out of your Amazon FBA business.

Product Database: The Jungle Scout team have done an incredible job at storing millions of different products sold on Amazon in their database. 

This allows you to get highly accurate insight into various product metrics, and then make intelligent decisions about your own business, before you waste thousands on the wrong product.

Jungle Scout

Keyword Research: Here you’ll get the ability to see what keywords are being searched by actual shoppers when they are looking for products similar to yours. 

You can then use this information to optimize your own product listing better, as well as run more effective PPC campaigns.

Product Tracking: With this module you’ll get the ability to track a number of products and keep tabs on key metrics such as their price changes, ranking changes, customer reviews, as well as when new products enter the market etc.

JS Product Tracker

Opportunity Finder: This module is pretty similar to the product database, although rather than crunching the numbers at product level, it will do so across a category, giving you better insight into an entire market.

Find Suppliers: If you’re just starting out in the Amazon game, this module is like Gold Dust. 

It gives you the ability to search through a database of proven suppliers who you can trust.

You’ll even have the ability to see how many shipments they’ve sent and get a deeper look into how well established they are. 

JS Suppliers

Each of these suppliers has been vetted and approved by the JS team themselves, so this takes a lot of the risk out of sending your hard earned money to a supplier you’ve never heard of before.

Sales Data: Another pretty dope module that comes with this tool is the ability to connect to your own Amazon Seller account, and then see real time sales data across all of your products.

The Seller Central platform is not very well laid out and is certainly not the easiest to navigate, so having all this information in one place is really cool, and allows you to keep on an eye on the day to day running of your business.

JS Sales Analytics

Inventory Tracking: Again, using the ability to connect to your Seller account, you’ll be able to keep tabs on your inventory levels. 

The tools will also make highly accurate recommendations about when to purchase new inventory, based on your current stock level, lead times and then sales trends based on previous years for your product category.

JS Inventory

Even as an experienced 6 figure seller, I still struggle with inventory management, and I felt like this module was almost worth the price of the tool on its own.

Listing Builder: This will help you build out the perfectly optimized listing so that it has the greatest change of ranking for your chosen keywords.

Backed with the data you can pull from popular keyword research, you have the ability to create a listing that not only gets eyeballs on your product, but also converts as well (critical to winning the Amazon game).

Launch: When you’re just starting out, you’re gonna need to get your product in-front of the right people.

The JS tool offers you up the ability to launch your product at a discounted rate to a hungry market that is looking for deals.

JS Launch

This in turn will allow you to start gathering reviews, as well as increasing your sales velocity, which is an important component of ranking well in Amazon.

4. EGROW FEATURES: What Does Egrow Offer?

Just like Jungle Scout, Egrow has a range of different features that allow you to navigate through the weeds and actually start making smart business decisions.

Egrow Product Database

Opportunity Score: Similar to the JS features, you’ll get a rating on whether or not the product is one you should consider.

Of course you don’t have to make your decisions based on this score alone, but it’s usually a good indicator as to how competitive a particular product is, and how difficult it will be to be successful in that space.

Listings: You’ll be able to assess your competitors listing and how easy it will be to out rank, and outsell them based on this setup.

The Niche Tool: With this module you can filter on various Amazon products to get insight into them, based on your chosen filters and specifications. 

This is a quick way to cut through the fat, and see the products that offer exactly what you’re looking for.

Egrow Niche

You’ll be able to filter on factors such as product reviews, price, sales, best seller rank (BSR), all to get a much better idea how well a product is performing.

Product Tracking: Again similar to Jungle Scout, you’re able to track any product listed on Amazon, and keep tabs on a number of key metrics.

What's cool here is that you can also request that they add new products which aren't currently being tracked by their tool.

Egrow Tracker

5. CREATORS: Do They Actually Sell on Amazon?

So when I start looking at tools like this, I’m always interested in whether the creators actually use the tool themselves to run their businesses, or do they just make their money selling the tool itself?

In the modern age of the “wannapreneur”, there are all too many hustlers out there that are good at telling us what to do, but not actually doing it themselves. 

I’m talking about the guys who have a course telling you how to sell on Amazon, but don't actually sell themselves. 

In the case of Greg Mercer and Jungle Scout, this definitely isn’t the case. 

Greg not only talks the talk, but he walks the walk too - big time!

Greg Mercer

As an 8 figure Amazon seller, Greg’s the real deal, and he actually created Jungle Scout because of the day to day frustrations he had running his own FBA business. 

Rather than having to crunch the numbers manually like he used to, he built a tool that would do it for him.

Once he realized there was a huge demand for this type of service, Jungle Scout was born.

In the case of Egrow, it was created by IT Student and passionate entrepreneur, Florian Haberland. 

Egrow Founder

Back in 2016, Florian also identified a gap in the market for an Amazon tool that could assist sellers understand and then utilize product data better.

From there, Egrow was born, serving a market of confused Amazon sellers that need all the help they can get.

It's not clear if Florian actually sells on Amazon himself, although one would imagine he would given he'd need a deep understanding of the FBA game to develop a tool around it.

6. SUPPORT: How Does Their Customer Support Stack Up?

You may be wondering, once you part with your cash, what kind of customer support do you get.

As simplistic as this sounds, customer support is a big deal, and you only truly appreciate great customer service, when you don’t get it.

JS Support

Jungle Scout totally makes the grade here, with their level of support being unmatched from what I’ve seen.

One of the things they do really well is create an awesome “family” feel when you deal with them. 

Even though they’re turning over millions in revenue every year, you get the impression that they’re core mission is to have fun and help entrepreneurs build their Amazon business in the process.

This culture is set by Greg himself, as he comes across as a genuinely all round nice guy, and probably the most laid back CEO on the planet.

Egrow also make it super simple to reach out for support, and what I really liked is that they offer a communication channel through Facebook.

While running my 6 figure online businesses, I spend a lot of time on Facebook these days in various high performance Mastermind groups.

For this reason, I love using Facebook as a tool for communication, and was stoked to see it as an option.

Egrow Support

7. USER EXPERIENCE: How Easy are the Tools to Use?

How do the tools stack up from a usability point of view?

In the case of Jungle Scout, you’re gonna find that the user interface is super clean and simple.

JS User Interface

Most of all, it’s really intuitive, which makes it a pleasure to use. 

I’m not sure if it was just the cool orange branding that made me feel at home using the tool, or perhaps the awesome training videos that come with it, but overall I loved using this tool and still do!

In the case of Egrow, I gotta say the user interface is also pretty clean and simple, just like Jungle Scout is.

In-fact, the Chrome extension looks remarkably similar to the Jungle Scout one, and the data is clear and concise. 

Egrow Extension

I liked the branding and color schemes and overall the tool is well presented and intuitive to use.

8. FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS: What Do Customers Think?

It doesn’t matter how many cool features a tool has, the real question is does it actually provide value and solve a problem?

The best way to find out is to find out what customers have to say after they’ve made a purchase, and then used the tool themselves.

In the case of Jungle Scout, they excel in the review department, with over 2,000 Trust Pilot reviews and a rating of 4.5.

JS Trust Pilot

This tells you right away that they have an army of loyal fans who appear to love them.

Based on this, I'd say the Jungle Scout tool is over delivering on customer expectation and needs.

In the case of Egrow, it was honestly difficult to find trusted reviews and feedback online. 

They don’t appear on Trustpilot (which is kinda the benchmark for reviews), 

I then checked out Quora and Reddit, and there wasn’t much there either. 

Kinda strange...and as a result a conclusive win for Jungle Scout in this category!

9. PRICE: How Much Does Jungle Scout Cost?

The Jungle Scout team does really well to keep their pricing affordable, and simple to understand.

To kick things off, you get a 14 day money back trial. This gives you the chance to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, which I loved.

Jungle Scout Price

From there you can grab the Chrome extension for $29 a month (when paid for the year), $49 a month for the Basic Suite, and $84 a month for the Professional Suite which is perfect if you have a team that will need access to the tool.

10. PRICE: How Much Does Egrow Cost?

One of the cool features with Egrow is that they offer a free account when signing up.

Although this is pretty limited, it gives you the ability to dip your toe into the Egrow pond to see if the water is warm enough for you to get in.

With the free version you’ll get access to key features such as product tracking, keyword tracking, product history etc, but on a limited scale.

Egrow Price

From there they offer plans from as low as $29 a month, and up to $44 a month. 

So in the case of price, they have Jungle Scout beat...but I guess there’s a lot more that goes into selecting a product than price, right?

11. PROS AND CONS: Jungle Scout

So just like any product, Jungle Scout has good features and...well not so good. 

Pros

  • Clean layout.
  • Quality customer support.
  • Family feeling.
  • Low price.

Cons

  • Extension is separate.
  • No mobile app.

At the end of the day, one of the things I loved about Jungle Scout was the simple and clear layout.  

This made it super easy and intuitive to dig in and start using.

Add the high quality customer support, and overall good vibes you get from the company, and it’s hard not to like this tool. 

Oh yea...the tool is also kinda useful as well...did I forget that part?

On the downside, I’d like to see the tool be available as a mobile app, and I found it kinda annoying that the Chrome extension is separated from the rest of the suite. 

Not quite sure why that is...

12. PROS AND CONS: Egrow

The Egrow tool comes with some cool features as well as a few features that could use improvement. 

For me the main ones were...

Pros

  • Free trial and good price. 
  • Can request new products are added.
  • Product history tracking is solid.

Cons

  • Not available in all markets.
  • Not as in-depth as Jungle Scout.

First up, as I mentioned the tool allows you to create a free account and get started using the features (at a limited capacity).

You can also request that new products are added to the tracking tool, although it would be better if they just tracked everything I guess.

What was cool is that you can track product history for up to 90 days back.

On the downside, the tool is not available in all Amazon marketplaces such as Japan, Middle East and Mexico, and overall I just didn't find the features as in-depth as Jungle Scout.

I guess the way I'd describe it is that Jungle Scout seems like Egrow's big brother...a more mature version perhaps.

13. JUNGLE SCOUT V EGROW: Which Tool is Best?

So after diving into both tools, which one do I recommend for building your Amazon business?

For me it's pretty simple - Jungle Scout is the clear winner in my opinion. 

Sure, Egrow's not a bad tool, particularly if you're just starting out and looking to save money on price and just do the very basics.

But if you're looking for the real deal, then Jungle Scout is for you.

With their range of tools built into their overall platform, they'll give you the best chance at success when it comes to selling on Amazon.

Jungle Scout Team Winners

But here's a question for you...

Are you sure you want to start an Amazon FBA business?

...It's time I dropped a truth bomb about what it actually takes to sell on Amazon..

14. THE TRUTH ABOUT SELLING ON AMAZON

As a fairly successful Amazon seller (6 figures a year), I feel like I need to drop a truth bomb here!

If you’re thinking about starting an Amazon FBA business then you need to know some facts before you over commit and it's too late...

Truth Bomb

First up, selling on Amazon is hard...I mean real hard!

Every single day there are literally thousands of new sellers joining the ranks, many of them Chinese suppliers who are essentially cutting out the middle man (you and me).

What does this mean? 

Price Wars!

Amazon Seller Locations

With suppliers throwing up their products at a very low cost price, they are able to undercut the rest of us, meaning that we have no choice but to either drop our prices, or bow out of the game.

When you drop your prices, you’re then obviously eating into your already low profit margins.

All in all, it’s a real mess.

Add to that, you have very little control over your business.

Think about it…

What if your supplier sends you a faulty batch of stock?

What happens if everyone returns it for a refund?

What happens if everyone leaves a 1 star review?

What if your shipping supplier raises their fees?

What if Amazon raises their warehouse fees?

What if Amazon kicks you off their platform?

Amazon No

All of these factors are totally out of your control.

You can do everything right from your side, and still lose big, due to the above factors taking place.

The more time I spend selling on Amazon, the more I realize it’s a risky business model that I could never bet my family's future on.

15. A BETTER BUSINESS MODEL

With Amazon FBA being a tough business model, I was starting to lose total faith in the process.

I knew I had to find a business model I could trust, and would have more control over.

Luckily I did…

Introducing local lead generation.

Lead Generation

With local lead generation, you’re building small websites for local services.

Here’s the low down...

Let’s say you build a website about plumbing for your local area. You then add a call tracking number to that website, and rank it #1 in Google.

Immediately people looking for a plumber find your site and start calling the phone number on it. 

Here’s where the good stuff happens…

You redirect the phone number to a local plumbing service in the area that is looking for more business.

When people call the number on your website, the call is directed to plumbing company and they handle it.

They then pay you for sending them plumbing leads.

google map pack showing tree service lead gen site

Now this could be a flat fee per month (say $1,200 for all the leads you’re sending them), or a fixed fee per lead (say $20 per lead), or a commission on each job they close (say 10%).

Do you see the potential here?

Each site costs less than $15 to build and host, and you can build as many as you want for as many services as you want, in as many areas as you want.

Heck, the US has 45,000 zip codes alone…

Imagine having 1 site paying you $1,200 a month.

Imagine having 10 sites paying you $1,200 a month.

Imagine having 100 sites!

Best part about it, the profit margins are around 90%, and there’s no inventory to purchase like with Amazon FBA.

Here’s why I prefer local lead gen over Amazon FBA

Lead Generation Always Wins...

Amazon FBA

  • Risky - Inventory to purchase. 
  • Expensive - $10K - $15K to get started.
  • Competition - Over saturated with sellers.
  • Low profit margins - Around 20% - 25%.
  • Limited control - Many factors out of your hands.
  • Price - You have to charge what your competitors charge.
  • Scale - Difficult and expensive to grow.

Lead Gen

  • Zero risk - No Inventory to buy.
  • Not Expensive - Few hundred bucks to get started.
  • Low competition - Untapped potential.
  • High profit margins - Around 90% - 95%.
  • Full control - You always control the asset.
  • Price - You decide the price.
  • Scale - Quick and easy to grow your business.

MARKET SATURATION & COMPETITION

You're going head to head with literally millions of sellers covering over 6000 different product niches. Breaking into an established niche is next to impossible - and finding untapped niches are becoming increasingly rare.

MASSIVE START UP COSTS

Start up costs require roughly $5000 in initial inventory, $10,000 in advertising, and $3000 in listing optimization, packaging, and branding. All in all, if you want to have a chance at success, you'll need to spend roughly $15,000 to $20,000 just as an initial investment.

AMAZON BASICS & CHINESE COPYCATS

Nearly all successful products are copied and resold by either Amazon or Chinese manufacturers who then undercut their competition at margins that only billion dollar companies can afford. Every time you see an Amazon Basics or Essentials product at the top ranked listing, it's likely that dozens of independent sellers went out of business.

NO LONG-TERM ASSETS

The key to long term wealth is in building and owning valuable assets, but with Amazon FBA, you own nothing. You're an enslaved middleman to Amazon, who care only about market domination and making a profit. Remember, you're there to make them money - and your use of Amazon is a privilege they grant you; a privilege they can revoke at any time.

LONG START UP TIME

Between identifying products and suppliers, passing quality assurance, securing inventory, and then product ranking, you're looking at over a year before you even have a chance at seeing a net positive income.

LOW PROFIT MARGINS

Profit margins are extremely low, meaning the only real way to make money is through mass ordering. Successful Amazon sellers often make less than 10% profit off of their sales.

ACCOUNT DEACTIVATIONS

Amazon's terms of service are fickle and ever changing. Bans are frequent and can spell disaster for FBA startups and established businesses alike.

Local Lead Generation

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