# Channel Economics Analyzer

> Use when an e-commerce business sells across multiple channels (own shop, Amazon, OTTO, eBay, Etsy, Zalando, etc.) and wants to know which channel is actually profitable vs which is bleeding money — e.g. "which channel makes money?", "is OTTO/Amazon worth it?", "channel break-even calculation", "marketplace profitability", "Kanal-Ökonomie", "soll ich den Channel zumachen?". Also triggers when ad…

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-maxschottke-spec-seo-survival-kit-channel-economics-analyzer`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [maxschottke-spec](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/maxschottke-spec)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Content & Media](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/content-and-media)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [maxschottke-spec](https://github.com/maxschottke-spec)
- **Source:** https://github.com/maxschottke-spec/seo-survival-kit/tree/main/plugins/seo-rescue/skills/channel-economics-analyzer

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-maxschottke-spec-seo-survival-kit-channel-economics-analyzer
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Channel Economics Analyzer

## Overview

A simple-but-rigorous channel-level P&L calculator for multi-channel e-commerce businesses. Computes per-channel: revenue, COGS, ad-spend, marketplace fees, operating margin, break-even order count. Output: scorecard that names which channels are loss-making and the minimum monthly order volume needed for profitability.

**Core principle:** *Revenue is vanity, margin is sanity, cash is reality.* A €5k/month channel that loses €500/month is worse than no channel at all.

## When to use

- Multi-channel sellers (Direct-Shop + 1+ marketplace)
- Quarterly P&L review by channel
- "Should we keep this marketplace?" decisions
- Ad budget reallocation across channels
- Founder asks "is OTTO/Amazon actually profitable for us?"

**Don't use for:**
- Pure direct-to-consumer (no marketplace) — trivial
- Pure dropshipping with no COGS data
- New launch  15 %. Risky: 5-15 %. Loss-making: -period.csv` with columns:
```
order_id,date,gross_revenue,refunds,cogs,shipping,ad_spend,returns_cost
```

Sources:
- Amazon: Seller Central → Reports → Payments → Date Range Reports
- OTTO: OTTO Partner Connect → Berichte → Auszahlungen
- Shop: order export from Shopware/Shopify admin
- Ads: Google Ads/Amazon Ads/OTTO Ads campaign reports

### Step 3 — Run the analyzer

```bash
node channel-economics.js
```

Output (per channel):

```
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
DIRECT-SHOP (last 90 days)
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Gross Revenue:      €48,200
  Refunds:            €1,840 (3.8%)
  Net Revenue:        €46,360
  COGS:               €18,544 (40%)
  Marketplace Fee:    €1,344 (2.9%)
  Shipping:           €3,200
  Gross Profit:       €23,272 (50.2% margin)
  Ad Spend:           €4,200
  Returns Handling:   €920
  Operating Profit:   €18,152 (39.2% margin)  ✅ HEALTHY
  
  Orders:             420
  Contribution / Order: €55.42
  Break-Even Orders:  77/mo (you did 140 — well above)

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
OTTO (last 90 days)
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Gross Revenue:      €8,400
  Net Revenue:        €7,980
  COGS:               €3,192
  Marketplace Fee:    €878 (11%)
  Shipping:           €560
  Gross Profit:       €3,350 (42% margin)
  Ad Spend:           €1,800
  Returns Handling:   €240
  Operating Profit:   €1,310 (16.4% margin)  ⚠️ RISKY
  
  Orders:             68 (22.6/mo)
  Contribution / Order: €49.26
  Break-Even Orders:  37/mo (you did 22.6 — below break-even)
  
  Recommendation: Cap OTTO ad spend at €500/mo OR commit to scaling
  to 40+ orders/mo. Current state burns €490/mo on a small order base.
```

### Step 4 — Decide

Decision matrix:

| Channel state | Action |
|---------------|--------|
| Healthy (margin > 15 %) | Reinvest ad spend, scale slowly |
| Risky (5–15 %) | Cap ad spend at break-even, optimize ops |
| Loss-making (€100k/Mo |
| Stripe direct | 1.5 % + €0.25 (EU cards) | Niedrigste PSP-Fees für reine Karten-Zahlungen |

### Affiliate / Performance-Channels (extra layer auf jedem Channel)

| Channel | Typical commission you pay | Notes |
|---------|-------------------:|-------|
| Awin / TradeDoubler | 5–15 % auf vermittelte Sales | Plus Plattform-Fee von ~30 % auf die Affiliate-Auszahlung |
| Influencer-Codes | 10–20 % via Code | Plus Sponsoring-Fee fix vor Sale |
| Google Shopping | CPC ~€0.15–€1.20 (kategorie-abhängig) | Inklusive Margins nur als CPA-äquivalent berechnen |
| Idealo Direktkauf | 5–8 % | Preisvergleichs-getriebener Channel, dünne Margen typisch |
| billiger.de / Preisroboter | CPC oder 3–7 % CPA | Ähnlich Idealo, Marken-spezifisch |

## Common channel-specific gotchas

| Channel | Hidden cost |
|---------|-------------|
| Amazon FBA | Storage fees scale with low-velocity SKUs — old inventory eats margin. Aged-inventory-surcharge nach 6 Monaten verdoppelt sich |
| Amazon advertising | "Sponsored Products" auto-bid burns budget on irrelevant terms — always negative-keyword. Plus: Brand-Cannibalization (du bewirbst dein eigenes Brand-Keyword teurer als ohne PPC) |
| OTTO | Returns rate often 2-3× direct shop (sizing mismatches). Plus: "Strafgebühren" für SLA-Verletzungen (verspätete Verarbeitung) |
| Kaufland.de | Schedule-Compliance strikt — verspätete Lieferung führt zu Account-Suspend |
| eBay | Auction volatility skews per-order margin. Promoted-Listings sind quasi-erzwungen seit 2024 (ohne kein organischer Traffic) |
| Zalando | Heavy commission tier (20-25%) makes most price-aggressive SKUs unprofitable. Plus Zalando-Logistik-Pflicht in vielen Kategorien |
| About You | Hohe Returns durch Mode-Sizing. Marken-Approval-Prozess langwierig |
| Etsy | Listing fees + ads + transaction fees stack up — calculate all three. Etsy-Offsite-Ads sind 15 % EXTRA Fee bei Sales von Externals |
| Wayfair | Drop-Ship-Modell heißt: du trägst Inventory-Risk, Wayfair nimmt 15-25 % Cut |
| TikTok Shop | Returns extrem hoch (Impulse-Buying), Returns-Logistics oft Verkäufer-pflicht |
| Instagram/Meta Shop | Reach-Algorithmus bevorzugt Reels — statische Posts sehen kaum Sales |
| Bol.com | Selektive Verifikation — kann Wochen dauern bis Listings live sind |
| CDiscount | Monatliche Pauschal-Fees ~€40 + Provision, lohnt sich erst ab €1k Umsatz/Monat |
| Faire (Wholesale) | First-Order-Cut 25 % schreckt viele Boutiquen ab — Repeat-Mechanik einplanen |
| Alibaba B2B | Trade-Assurance-Pflicht für Bezahlung, sonst hohes Buyer-Default-Risiko |
| Direct shop | Payment provider fees (Klarna, PayPal) often 2-3% — don't forget. Plus: Currency-Conversion-Fees bei Cross-Border |
| Idealo Direktkauf | Preis-Race-to-Bottom — wenn du deine Marge senkst, ziehen alle nach |
| Affiliate (Awin/TradeDoubler) | Last-Cookie-Wins-Attribution oft unfair zu organischem Traffic — über-credited Affiliate-Sales fressen Marge |
| Google Shopping | CPC-Inflation in saturierten Kategorien (Matratzen, Möbel, Elektronik) — ROAS oft <1 |

## Recommended channel-portfolio templates

Picking which channels to start with depends on your category. Patterns we've seen work:

### E-commerce shop (DACH-fokussiert)
- Direct-Shop (Anker, höchste Marge)
- Amazon DE (Reichweite, aber Marge-Killer)
- 1 weitere DACH-Marketplace (OTTO oder Kaufland je nach Kategorie)
- Optional: Idealo Direktkauf falls Preis-führend in Kategorie

### Mode/Lifestyle
- Direct-Shop
- Zalando Partner ODER About You (nicht beide — kannibalisieren sich)
- Instagram/TikTok Shop (Social-Commerce-Test)
- Optional: Etsy (für handmade-Subkategorie)

### Möbel/Home
- Direct-Shop
- OTTO (DACH-Standard für Möbel)
- Kaufland.de (wachsend in Möbel-Kategorie)
- Wayfair (US/EU-Drop-Ship-Test wenn international skalierbar)

### Niche/Sustainability
- Direct-Shop
- Avocadostore (Nachhaltigkeits-Filter)
- Faire / Ankorstore (B2B-Wholesale an Concept-Stores)
- Etsy (handmade/customized)

### B2B / Industrie
- Direct-Shop mit B2B-Bereich (eingeloggte Großhändler-Preise)
- Alibaba.com (international sourcing-Channel)
- eBay B2B (Surplus/Restposten)
- Branchenspezifische Marketplaces (z.B. Conrad B2B, Mercateo)

**Anti-Pattern:** "Wir sind auf allen Marketplaces" — jeder Channel braucht eigene SKU-Pflege, Customer-Service, Returns-Handling. Mehr Channels = mehr Fixkosten. Bei <€500k Jahresumsatz: max 3 Channels gleichzeitig.

## Real-world anchor data (anonymized 2026)

- Mid-size DE matresses shop: OTTO channel went from break-even to −€500/mo when monthly orders fell from 30 to 12. Decision: cap ads at €500/mo, hold for 6 months, decide.
- Same shop: Direct channel margin 39 %, Amazon margin 18 %, OTTO margin 12 % (declining). Capital allocation reshuffled toward Direct.

## Implementation

A starter script is provided in this folder as `channel-economics.example.js`. It expects `channels.json` + per-channel CSVs in `./data/` and prints the report to stdout. Customize fee rates and the report template for your business.

## Related skills

- `seo-outreach-report` — if the question is "why does my channel not get more traffic", this comes first; channel-economics tells you whether traffic is even monetizable
- `claude-mem:knowledge-agent` — for tracking decisions and revisiting in 60-90 days

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [maxschottke-spec](https://github.com/maxschottke-spec)
- **Source:** [maxschottke-spec/seo-survival-kit](https://github.com/maxschottke-spec/seo-survival-kit)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-maxschottke-spec-seo-survival-kit-channel-economics-analyzer
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/maxschottke-spec
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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