The Prompt
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You are a senior ecommerce CFO with deep experience analyzing Amazon seller P&Ls. You're known for cutting through surface-level metrics to identify the 2-3 things that actually matter, and you communicate directly without softening bad news. I'm going to provide you with product data below. For each product, calculate: 1. Gross margin (sell price − COGS − inbound shipping per unit) 2. Amazon fees deducted (referral fee, FBA fulfillment fee, storage, returns processing, long-term storage if applicable) 3. True contribution margin (gross margin − all Amazon fees − estimated return cost per unit using the return rate provided) 4. Contribution margin % Think through the calculations step by step before producing your final answer. Output format: A table with columns: SKU | Sell Price | Total Fees | CM$ | CM% | Status Where Status is one of: - HEALTHY (CM% > 20%) - THIN (CM% 10-20%) - AT RISK (CM% 0-10%) - LOSING MONEY (CM% < 0%) After the table, provide a brief "What to do about this" section with 3-5 specific actions ranked by impact. Keep each action to 2-3 sentences. Be direct — if a SKU should be discontinued, say so. BEFORE YOU EXECUTE: 1. If any required input is missing, unclear, or looks malformed, stop and ask me a specific clarifying question before proceeding. Do not guess or fill in plausible values. 2. If you are less than 95% confident you understand what I'm asking for, ask me to clarify before executing the task. 3. If the data I've provided contradicts itself, flag the contradiction and ask how to resolve it before continuing. 4. If executing this task would require information you don't have access to, tell me what's missing instead of fabricating it. 5. Verify every arithmetic calculation by working it twice. Do not round intermediate calculations; round only the final figures to two decimal places. 6. If my math or your math produces an unexpected negative number, verify the input values with me before presenting the final answer. 7. After completing the task, flag any row where you had to make an assumption, and note any results that look unusual under a "Caveats" section at the end. ===== PASTE YOUR PRODUCT DATA BELOW. Include for each SKU: sell price, COGS, inbound shipping per unit, Amazon referral fee %, FBA fulfillment fee, monthly storage fee estimate, return rate %, average return processing cost. If you don't know a value, write "unknown" and I will note assumptions in my analysis. [YOUR DATA HERE]
Example Input
What you'd paste after the divider
SKU: WIDGET-001 Sell price: $24.99 COGS: $6.50 Inbound shipping per unit: $0.75 Amazon referral fee: 15% FBA fulfillment fee: $4.75 Monthly storage: $0.12 Return rate: 8% Return processing cost: $3.50 SKU: WIDGET-002 Sell price: $18.50 COGS: $5.25 Inbound shipping per unit: $0.60 Amazon referral fee: 15% FBA fulfillment fee: $3.95 Monthly storage: $0.09 Return rate: 12% Return processing cost: $3.50
Tips
01
Pull this data straight from your Amazon Seller Central "Fee Preview" report plus your internal COGS sheet.
02
If you have 100+ SKUs, do this in batches of 20-30 to keep outputs manageable.
03
The "return rate %" is the most commonly missed input — grab it from your Business Report by Child ASIN in Seller Central, which shows return rates per SKU over the last 90 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Analyze True Product Margins (After All Fees) prompt do?
Calculate real contribution margin on your Amazon products after pulling out every fee category most sellers forget. Identifies which SKUs are actually losing money once you factor in returns, storage, and long-term fees.
What data do I need to use this prompt?
An example of the exact input format is provided on this page under "Example Input." Generally you'll prepare your data in the structure shown, paste it after the prompt body, and the AI will return the analysis described above. If you're missing any inputs, the prompt will ask you what it needs.
How long does this take to set up?
Setup time for this prompt is < 30 mins. That includes pulling your data, formatting it to match the example, and running the prompt. Once your data pipeline is set up the first time, subsequent runs take only a few minutes.
Which AI tool should I use this with?
This prompt is designed to work with any major large language model — ChatGPT (GPT-4 or newer), Claude (Sonnet 4 or newer), or Gemini. For structured analysis, math, and tabular outputs, Claude and GPT-4 class models produce the most reliable results.
Does this prompt work for Shopify or other platforms?
This prompt is built for Amazon sellers and references Amazon-specific data points such as referral fees, FBA fulfillment fees, and ASIN-level metrics. The underlying methodology can be adapted to other platforms by substituting equivalent inputs, but the prompt as written is Amazon-first.
What skill level is required to use this prompt?
This prompt is rated intermediate. Some familiarity with your platform's data exports and basic AI prompting is helpful for getting the most out of it. Most ecommerce operators can use it productively within a single session.
Is this prompt free to use?
Yes. Every prompt in the SMB Advantage Prompt Library is free for any small business operator to use. The only cost is whatever you pay for your AI tool subscription (ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, etc.).
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