The problem: the “SaaS tax” on early FBA margins
New and bootstrapping Amazon sellers often subscribe to full seller suites because “everyone uses Helium 10.” Those suites can run $129/mo for Helium 10 Platinum ($99/mo billed yearly; Diamond $359/mo) for keyword databases, listing builders, and PPC modules. If you are still validating ASINs for retail arbitrage or early FBA, you may be paying for bloat you do not use yet — while margins are already thin.
That overhead is the SaaS tax: recurring tools that feel mandatory before you have proven a single SKU.