#744 – The Truth About Competing With Chinese Sellers

In this episode, Bradley Sutton sits down with two China-based Amazon sellers whose stories are anything but ordinary. Freeman Cui is a Helium 10 employee and seven-figure seller who first saw Amazon’s potential while working around the bondage products niche, while Yohan’s path to e-commerce began after farming in Namibia.

Their backgrounds are unusual, but the lessons they share are highly relevant for any seller trying to understand the global Amazon landscape. Freeman gives listeners an inside look at how many Chinese sellers really operate today.

He openly discusses the reputation Chinese sellers have for black hat tactics, but explains that the environment is changing fast. Account crackdowns, tax pressure, and a more mature Amazon marketplace are forcing more sellers to think long-term.

He also breaks down how he built a seven-figure business while working a full-time job, leaning on diversification, smart keyword targeting, and careful ad spend instead of trying to chase only the biggest keywords. Yohan brings a completely different perspective.

After years in Africa working first as a translator and then as a farmer, he returned to China in 2020 and got pulled into e-commerce by the freedom it offered.

He shares how he helped grow the Bont brand, why roller skate wheels became a winning product, and how he approaches launches today through a mix of Amazon PPC, website traffic, and social media promotion. Like Freeman, he stresses that long-term brand building matters far more than shortcuts.

What makes this episode stand out is how both guests flip the usual narrative. Instead of only talking about why Western sellers fear Chinese competition, they explain what Chinese sellers admire about US and European brands: better storytelling, stronger marketing, and deeper customer understanding.

The message is clear: the future belongs to sellers who build real brands, know their audience, and play the long game. This episode is a reminder that strategy, not stereotypes, is what wins on Amazon.

In episode 744 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley, Freeman, and Yohan discuss: 00:00 – Introduction 00:30 – Bradley Sutton Introduces The China Special 01:13 – Freeman Cui’s Background In Advertising And E-Commerce 03:03 – How Freeman First Got Into Amazon 04:17 – Starting An Amazon Brand During COVID 05:20 – Freeman’s Role At Helium 10 And China Seller Insights 06:22 – The Truth About Black Hat Tactics In China 07:49 – Tax Crackdowns And Compliance Challenges For Chinese Sellers 09:13 – Freeman’s Marketplace Expansion And 7-Figure Growth 11:04 – Freeman’s Amazon Launch Strategy And Keyword Targeting 14:33 – What Chinese Sellers Fear About U.

Brands 17:18 – Yohan’s Journey From Farming In Namibia To Amazon 20:23 – Yohan’s First Products And Building The Bond Brand 22:18 – How Yohan Uses Helium 10 To Launch And Track Products 24:29 – Yohan’s Product Launch Strategy Using PPC And Social Media 28:26 – Factory Concerns, Brand Building, And Protecting Market Share 29:27 – What Chinese Sellers Admire About American Sellers Transcript Bradley Sutton: Today we take a trip to China and get a peek behind the curtain at how Chinese sellers operate with two very unique stories.

One is a seven-figure seller who’s also a Helium 10 employee and got his start on Amazon selling bondage products, and the other seller from China used to be a farmer in Africa. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think. Bradley Sutton: Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Serious Sellers Podcast by Helium 10.

I’m your host Bradley Sutton, and this is the show that’s a completely BS-free, organic conversation about serious strategies for serious sellers of any level in the e-commerce world. Bradley Sutton: And we’ve got a two-for-one special in this episode. We are going to be talking with two sellers based in China.

Half of this episode actually recorded when I was in China. Right now I’m back in the United States and our guest right now is actually in China. And so we are going to be learning about the other side of the world and what’s the same, what’s different, and everything in between. So here today we actually have somebody who is also a Helium 10 employee.

Helium 10 was started by Amazon sellers, and we’ve always had a number of Amazon sellers who are also employees at different departments. And so we’ve got Freeman here who’s been at Helium 10 for a while. We’ll find out exactly how long. But Freeman, how’s it going? Freeman: Yeah, very good. Thanks, Bradley. Hi, everybody. I’m Freeman.

Bradley Sutton: You’re right now in Shenzhen? Freeman: Yeah, I’m in Shenzhen. Bradley Sutton: Where were you born and raised in China? Freeman: Actually, I’m born from a mid-China province called Anhui. There was a beautiful mountain, yellow mountain, one of the best in China. You want to visit the beautiful mountain. Bradley Sutton: Nice.

When did you move to Shenzhen? Freeman: Yeah, actually when I graduated from my college. So I go to Hong K