Faizan Mughal

Every article by Faizan Mughal, COO at Xcelerate Brands: guides on selling on the marketplaces, advertising and running an online brand, newest first.

COO, Xcelerate Brands

Faizan Mughal on LinkedIn
Example screens on two phones: a made-up store's pages, of the kind this work is about

Articles by Faizan Mughal

14 min read2026-11-14

How to Read a TechBehemoths Company Profile Before You Hire

What a TechBehemoths profile's EXO Score, blue badge, reviews and awards actually prove, which parts a paid plan changes, and six checks before you shortlist a marketplace agency from its listings.

Learn more
12 min read2026-11-14

How Sortlist Matches Brands With Agencies, and How to Read a Profile

On Sortlist, agencies pay to apply to your brief and up to four of them do. How the match works, who pays for what, how the directory is ordered, what the badge and the reviews prove, and five checks before you hire.

Learn more
11 min read2026-11-14

The Manifest: How to Read an Agency Profile Before You Hire

The Manifest is Clutch's sister site, built from the same profiles and reviews. What its rankings weigh, what sponsorship and the Most Reviewed lists change, and five checks before a marketplace agency makes your shortlist.

Learn more
11 min read2026-11-14

How to Read an Amazon Service Provider Network Listing Before You Hire

What Amazon's vetting checks and what it leaves to the provider, why most listings have no rating, what the requests line and labels really say, and the one screen Amazon actually approved: five checks before you shortlist.

Learn more
13 min read2026-11-14

PFAS Ban 2027: The State Rules That Reach Products Sold Online

New Mexico's first PFAS bans, its reporting deadline and a label for product pages all start on 1 January 2027, and New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Colorado, Washington and Vermont add rules through the year. What each covers, what intentionally added means, what the marketplaces say, and what to settle now.

Learn more
13 min read2026-11-14

Best eCommerce Business Models for 2027: What Each One Earns After the New Fees and Rules

Seven ways to sell online in 2027, from private label on Amazon to a revenue share partnership, compared on startup capital, margin, risk and time to first sale, with the FBA fee, carrier rate and de minimis changes already dated for next year.

Learn more
13 min read2026-11-14

UPS, FedEx and USPS Rate Increases for 2027: What an Online Store Pays From January

UPS raises rates an average net 5.9% on 21 December, FedEx 5.9% on 4 January, and USPS has filed new prices and an 11% fuel surcharge for 17 January. What each carrier announced, where sources disagree, and how to re-check a product's margin.

Learn more
13 min read2026-11-14

De Minimis Ends in Law on 1 July 2027: What Changes for Brands That Import and Sell Online

The US de minimis exemption has been suspended since 29 August 2025. On 1 July 2027 the 2025 law makes its end permanent. What a small parcel now costs to clear, what CBP's June and October 2026 rules change, and what marketplace sellers sourcing from abroad should settle first.

Learn more
10 min read2026-11-13

Amazon Brand Registry Reseller Role: Who Can Create and Sell on a Registered Brand's Listings

To create a new listing for a brand enrolled in Brand Registry, Amazon says a seller needs a Brand Representative or Reseller role from that brand. What each role does, how a brand assigns one, how a reseller asks for it, and what the role does not do.

Learn more
11 min read2026-11-13

Meta Ads Updates 2026: What Is Live, What Is Paused and What to Check Before Black Friday

Meta's new ad terms will not take effect on 20 November, a pixel setting is reported to have switched on by itself on 12 November, and a new API version changes how some ads are built. What is live, what is on hold, what is only reported, and the checks to make before Black Friday.

Learn more
10 min read2026-11-13

Amazon FBA Fee Changes 2027: What Rises, the New Storage Rules and What to Do Before January

Amazon's 2027 US fee changes raise FBA fulfillment fees by $0.19 a unit on average from 15 January and replace two storage surcharges with one age-based rate from 1 February. Here is what changes and what to do first.

Learn more
11 min read2026-11-13

eBay Balance: Why Your Sales Money Now Waits Until You Withdraw It

Since 4 November 2026 eBay has been moving eligible US private sellers and sole proprietors to eBay balance, with payouts on demand by default. Here is what changed, how to withdraw, what it costs and how to set a schedule again.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Acknowledging Amazon Purchase Orders: The 24 and 48 Hour Rules

Every Amazon purchase order is answered within 24 hours, line by line, and changes close at 48 hours. What Amazon's own documentation sets, what each answer commits a vendor to, and the mistakes that show up later as deductions.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Amazon Renewed in the UK and Europe: How It Differs From the US

Amazon Renewed runs in the UK and the EU on different terms from the US: a lower purchase threshold, a stated defect rate, sample images, its own fee cut from 9 November 2026 and a longer buyer guarantee. What changes and what to plan for.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Amazon, Walmart and TikTok Shop Image Requirements Side by Side, and One Shoot for All Three

Amazon, Walmart and TikTok Shop all want a pure white main image with nothing laid over it, and they differ on shape, size and what the photograph may show. The rules side by side, and how to shoot once for all three.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Amazon Multipack and Bundle Main Image: What It Must Show

A multipack's main image must show everything that arrives, and a bundle's must show the actual products in it, with no text laid over either. How to show the count clearly at thumbnail size without breaking the rules.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Where Marketplace Creative Budget Goes First: Main Image to Brand Store

A brand with a limited creative budget gets the most from it in a set order: the main image, the gallery, A+ content, the Store, then video and ad creative, all from one set of brand rules. Why each comes where it does.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Fixing a Marketplace Catalogue in the Right Order: Identifiers, Words, Content, Then Price

A neglected catalogue is fixed fastest in a set order: products identified correctly, the words buyers use, the content that uses them, search beyond the marketplace, then each product's economics. Why the order matters.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Amazon Marketing Cloud: What It Answers, Who Can Use It and Where to Start

Amazon Marketing Cloud is free for eligible advertisers and open to sponsored ads advertisers without DSP. What it answers that the console cannot, what it takes to use, the 2026 AI help, and three first questions.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Revenue Share or Retainer: How a Marketplace Growth Partnership Is Paid

Retainer, percentage of ad spend or a share of growth: what each structure rewards, why the baseline is the whole contract in a revenue share, and the questions to settle before signing any of them.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Amazon Brand Store Moderation: Why a Store Is Rejected and How to Pass

A Brand Store goes through moderation before it goes live, and most rejections are for a handful of rules. What Amazon's Stores policy forbids, the claims it wants evidence for, the deals page trap, and how to submit once.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Google Ads Offline Conversion Import for Lead Generation: Sending Qualified Leads Back

A lead generation account that only counts form fills teaches Google to find form fills. How to send qualified leads and won clients back, the 90 and 63 day windows, and the 2026 change in how uploads arrive.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Outsourcing eCommerce Customer Support: What to Hand Over, and the Rules It Is Measured By

Handing buyer messages to an outside team works when the team is held to each marketplace's response rules. What Amazon, Walmart and TikTok Shop measure, what to hand over and keep, and the service levels to write down.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-11

Amazon Search Suppressed Listing: Where the Reason Is and How to Clear It

A search suppressed listing is live but invisible in search. Where Amazon shows the reason, the causes it names, the order to fix them in, and what to send support when a fix does not clear.

Learn more
5 min read2026-11-09

Amazon LPN: What the License Plate Number on a Returned Item Means

LPN stands for license plate number, the barcode sticker Amazon puts on a returned unit. Here is what it tells a seller, how to trace it to an order, and how it helps with a reimbursement.

Learn more
6 min read2026-11-09

What Does Rollback Mean at Walmart? The Badge, the Rules and How a Seller Earns It

A Rollback is a temporary price cut marked with a badge that Walmart assigns itself. Here is what it takes, how it differs from Reduced Price and Clearance, and when it is worth running.

Learn more
5 min read2026-11-09

BFCM Meaning: What It Stands for and What a Seller Can Still Do in 2026

BFCM means Black Friday Cyber Monday, 27 to 30 November in 2026. Here is what the four days are, how they differ on each marketplace, and what can still be done this close to them.

Learn more
7 min read2026-11-09

Multichannel Marketplace Analytics: Why Your Numbers Disagree and How to Read Them as One

Amazon, Walmart, eBay, TikTok Shop and Shopify each count a sale at a different moment and pay on a different clock. Here is how to turn that into one set of numbers you can decide from.

Learn more
6 min read2026-11-09

How to Get a GTIN Number for Your Product Listings

What a GTIN is, why marketplaces check it against GS1, whether you need one number or a Company Prefix, and when an exemption is the honest answer.

Learn more
6 min read2026-11-09

How to Open a Walmart Seller Account, and What Walmart Checks First

What you need before you apply, which tax class you fall under, the five onboarding steps and where a Walmart seller application usually gets held up.

Learn more

Want This Applied to Your Account?

Tell us the category and the numbers you have. We will review the account and tell you where the opportunity is and what we would change first.