case study

How Monster Pets Scaled on Amazon with ConnectBooks

“People don’t know what they don’t know. We’ve been doing this a long time, and even we were surprised by what we uncovered. Having that level of clarity… it changes everything!

Brian Fennell
OWNER OF MONSTER PETS

When you’re processing 100,000 units per week across thousands of SKUs, small inefficiencies don’t stay small for long. For Monster Pets, a top Amazon seller in the pet category, gaining visibility into true profitability became mission-critical to continued growth. In this case study, Brian Fennell, Owner of Monster Pets, shares how ConnectBooks helped transform their margins, cash flow, and operational efficiency.

The Client

From Brick-and-Mortar to Top Amazon Seller

Monster Pets began over 20 years ago as a brick-and-mortar pet store in South Philadelphia. Today:
- 98% of revenue comes from ecommerce
- They sell across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and their own website
- They rank among the top Amazon sellers in pet supplies
- They manage ~4,500 active SKUs with weekly replenishment

Their scale is massive, and so are the challenges that come with it.

The Challenge

Hidden Profit Leaks at Scale

Before ConnectBooks, Monster Pets relied on:
- Manual QuickBooks processes
- Downloading and analyzing settlement reports
- Legacy tools like HelloProfit

But at their volume, this created serious blind spots.

“We had items we thought were very profitable—but when you factor in returns, reimbursements, and Amazon adjustments, they weren’t.”

Key challenges included:
- No true SKU-level profitability visibility
-
Difficulty tracking Amazon fees and adjustments
-
Time-consuming, manual financial processes
- Inability to quickly identify underperforming products
- Slow ingestion and time-to-sellable-inventory on Amazon
- Expensive inbound placement fees eating into profits

The Turning Point

True Profitability with ConnectBooks

After switching to ConnectBooks, the impact was immediate.

“People don’t know what they don’t know… until they see it. Then it’s an ‘ah ha moment’. At the end of the day, the ConnectBooks software is a necessity.”

What changed:

🔍 SKU-Level Clarity
“It’s right there in your face. You can instantly see what’s working and what’s not.”
Monster Pets can now analyze profitability down to the ASIN level in real time.
- Identify products losing money due to returns or fees
- Adjust purchasing decisions immediately
- Reduce or eliminate underperforming SKUs

📈 Margin Improvement
“ConnectBooks has absolutely driven our margins north.”
With better visibility came better decisions.
- Reduced investment in low-margin inventory
- Increased focus on high-performing SKUs
- Overall margin improvement across the catalog

⚡ Faster, Smarter Decision-Making
“It’s the second tab I open every day.”
ConnectBooks is now part of their daily workflow, and even integrated into buying decisions.
- Used alongside internal systems for purchasing decisions
- Influences pricing and inventory strategies
- Helps avoid costly mistakes in a volatile marketplace

“I am over the moon with ConnectBooks. They are fantastic! The transparency it brings to our business is a game changer. Being able to drill all the way down to the ASIN level and see true performance… I don’t think there’s anyone else that does it like this, especially at our scale."

ROI

Clarity That Pays for Itself

For Monster Pets, the return on investment in ConnectBooks was immediate.

With Amazon’s constantly changing fees and competitive pricing pressure:
- Small margin leaks can quickly turn into major losses
- Visibility and speed are no longer optional. They’re essential!

ConnectBooks creates a powerful advantage in a competitive ecommerce market: financial clarity and SKU-level insights enabling smarter, faster, more profitable decisions.

“It’s an ‘oh my gosh’ moment. ConnectBooks paid for itself in the first week."

Final Takeaways

Why ConnectBooks

At scale, success on Amazon isn’t just about selling more. It’s about:
- Understanding true profitability
- Moving inventory faster
- Making smarter decisions daily

For Monster Pets, ConnectBooks delivered all three.

“ConnectBooks is completely enlightening. You can see everything at the ASIN level.”

Want to see similar results?

Discover how better financial visibility can transform your Amazon business:
- Book a demo with ConnectBooks

Want to see if Connectbooks can save you hours on accounting and give you instant clarity to grow faster and accelerate profits?