If you’re focused on selling consumer products, as I am, there’s no better place to research and discover new product ideas than Amazon. I’m not interested in inventing new products (I’m not smart enough plus its too difficult/risky). I’m interested in launching versions of existing products and making them better. Some tips below on how to find the best products to sell:
GO SMALL
Try to find a product that’s physically small in order to reduce freight costs, storage costs, and minimize the chances of damage during transit.
GO HIGH END/EXPENSIVE
Nearly every product category has a range of price options from super cheap to super expensive. Try to get into a market/category that doesn't have a huge selection of high end versions. Don’t make the mistake of going after lower end products and competing on price. It’s a losing proposition.
Dont be afraid to be one of the most expensive options in a category. There is always a buyer looking for the highest quality product and is willing to pay for it. I prefer to sell to that buyer. Higher end means higher margin. Higher margin means more budget for advertising and more profit. Keep in mind that Amazon charges you roughly 23% of the sale for fulfillment fees and commissions. You need high margin product to be successful online.
SELL QUALITY
When sourcing your product, find a quality supplier. If you’re marketing a high end product at a premium price, make sure you’re delivering a quality product to justify the price. Customers arent stupid and they have a voice. If you sell them a crappy product at a high price, they’ll kill your business with negative reviews.
SELL A CONSUMABLE
Ideally you want to sell a consumable product that keeps customers coming back for more when they run out. Its very costly to aquire a new customer. Once you have them, and assuming they like your product, it costs very little to get that customer to come back and buy more of your product.
CHECK OUT THE COMPETITION
Take a look at the competitors in your category. Are there clear market leaders? Are their listing sophisticated or sloppy? Is the first page of search result full of products with thousands of reviews? This type of analysis will help determine how easy or difficult it might be to launch a product and gain market share. There are plenty of tools online that can help you make this determination. Check out Helium 10 or Jungle Scout.
READ THE 1-3 STAR REVIEWS
Every existing product on Amazon has 1-3 star shitty reviews that are full of complaints. Go to your competitors’ products and read every shitty review posted. Chances are you’ll see the same complaints repeated over and over again (not big enough, not small enough, too smelly, not comfortable, not easy to use). Design your product to solve these problems. When you launch, make sure your images and descriptions specifically address these problems and how your product solves them.
DONT FORGET INTERNATIONAL
Competition too fierce domestically? Check out Amazon’s international marketplaces. While they still have a ways to go in terms of customer base, the competition on many of the intl marketplaces is minimal and unsophisticated. Some of these marketplaces today remind me of what Amazon looked like in the mid 2000’s: a wide open field with so much untapped opportunity. Establish your foothold now before someone else does.