Product Launch Checklist

Pull search volume and competitor ASIN data in Helium 10 (Cerebro / Magnet) or Jungle Scout. Confirm there's a defendable keyword cluster with monthly search volume that supports your unit-volume target — not just one anchor keyword. Note the top three competitors' price points, review counts, and main differentiation hooks for the positioning brief.

Build the unit-economics sheet with COGS, inbound freight, FBA fulfillment fees (or 3PL pick/pack), referral fee, returns reserve, and PPC reserve (TACOS target). Set MAP at a level that protects retailer margin and DTC ad efficiency. Channel conflict from a too-low MAP is hard to undo once unauthorized resellers list at floor.

Lock master-carton dimensions and weight before the PO — DIM weight drives both inbound freight and FBA size-tier fees. Confirm any oversize, hazmat, or fragile classification that changes prep requirements. Capture the GTIN/UPC/EAN that will be assigned to each variant.

Inspect the gold sample against the spec sheet — materials, color, packaging print quality, polybag suffocation warning, country-of-origin marking. A rejected sample at this stage is far cheaper than rejecting a 5,000-unit production run at FCL inspection.

Document each defect with photos and tolerances. Push the launch date back by the rework + reship lead time before re-issuing the PO; this is one of the most common root causes of a launch slipping into Q1.

Add buffer for Chinese New Year (factory closure mid-January through mid-February), Golden Week, and ocean transit variability. Specify carton labeling requirements (FNSKU placement, master-carton labels) on the PO so prep doesn't fall to your warehouse.

For non-children's products, request the General Conformity Certificate (GCC) from the manufacturer; for children's products, the Children's Product Certificate (CPC) plus tracking labels. Restricted categories (supplements, cosmetics, electronics) need their own substantiation — FDA labeling, FCC ID, MoCRA registration as applicable.

Provide your customs broker with the commercial invoice, packing list, HTS codes, and ISF 10+2 details at least 72 hours before vessel loading. Attach the BOL and signed commercial invoice here for the audit trail.

Configure per-channel buffers in Cin7 (or NetSuite / SkuVault / Linnworks) so Shopify and Amazon don't both sell the last unit. Set the FBA reorder point using lead time × daily velocity + 30-day safety stock, with alerts wired to the inventory channel.

Decide whether the launch SKU ships from FBA, FBM/Seller-Fulfilled Prime, or your own warehouse / 3PL for DTC. Size-tier and storage fees often push large or slow-mover SKUs out of FBA; small fast-movers usually win on FBA. The decision drives the next two prep workflows.

Publish the product page with Product schema, descriptive alt text on every image, and a mobile-first hero. Run Lighthouse for Core Web Vitals — LCP under 2.5s, CLS under 0.1 — before pushing live. A theme regression on mobile checkout is the most common silent revenue killer post-launch.

Build the listing in Brand Registry: keyword-loaded title within the category byte limit, five benefit-led bullets, A+ content modules with comparison chart, and Brand Story. Confirm no claims trigger Amazon's restricted-claims filter (medical, FDA, organic without certification) — suppression on launch day is a recoverable but expensive mistake.

Create the shipment plan in Send to Amazon, choose the partnered UPS rate or external carrier, apply FNSKU labels, and confirm Amazon's distributed FC placement (or pay the inventory-placement fee for a single FC). Capture the BOL and shipment ID for the 30-day reconcile window.

Map the SKU and any kits or bundles to the 3PL's WMS (ShipBob, ShipMonk, ShipHero). Confirm pick/pack instructions, packing-slip branding, insert cards, and gift-message handling. Run a test order end-to-end before opening the floodgates.

Stage the launch-announcement email, the early-access flow for the waitlist segment, and a three-touch abandoned-cart series. Add a check at send time so customers who already converted aren't pinged with the abandonment email — a frequent race condition that erodes trust on day one.

Provide each creator the contract clause requiring #ad / 'paid partnership' tags per the FTC Endorsement Guides, plus the approved claims list. The brand — not the influencer — gets the FTC enforcement action when disclosure is missing.

Build the campaigns in draft with daily caps that won't drain by 10am. Set conservative initial bids and a CAPI / Conversion API connection so iOS attribution holds up. Schedule launch and pre-launch teaser creative in advance; budget pacing rules should refresh mid-day rather than blow the cap on morning traffic.

Track the waitlist signup count — this is the cleanest demand signal you'll get before launch and drives the day-one inventory allocation. Segment for early-access send the morning of launch.

Place a real test order on iOS Safari and Android Chrome before going live. Confirm Shop Pay, Apple Pay, the discount code, the shipping rate calculation, and the order-confirmation email all fire. A broken mobile checkout is the most common silent launch-day failure.

Push the announcement via Klaviyo and Postscript / Attentive. SMS subscribers must be opted-in under TCPA — do not import a list that wasn't collected with express written consent. Stagger the sends if you're worried about server load or CS ticket spike.

Flip Amazon Sponsored Products to active with exact-match on your top three keywords; layer Sponsored Brands on the brand term. On Meta, lift the campaign out of draft. Monitor TACOS and ROAS hourly the first day — early bid signal is noisy but obvious overspend should be capped.

Watch the Triple Whale / Northbeam dashboard for ROAS and MER, the Amazon account-health page for Order Defect Rate and late-shipment rate, and the Buy Box on the launch ASIN. A hijacker on a brand-new listing will surface today; Brand Registry takedowns are faster than reactive enforcement.

Tag the first wave of tickets by issue type — sizing, shipping, product question, defect — and turn the recurring patterns into Gorgias macros. Repeating issues from this batch usually flag a PDP gap or photo-vs-reality mismatch worth a content fix.

Compare shipped quantity against received-and-checked-in quantity in Seller Central. File lost-shipment claims with BOL and packing list as proof; the reconcile window closes at 30 days from FC receive, and uncontested shorts become permanent leakage.

Pull the 30-day returns rate from Loop / Shopify and Amazon Returns. Break down by reason code: sizing, defect, not-as-described, changed-mind. A returns rate above category average usually points to an image, sizing-chart, or copy fix — not a manufacturing problem.