How To Find Products To Sell On Amazon

The types of products that sell on Amazon

Different people are looking for different kinds of products to sell on Amazon which is why you need to find what works best.

The following are important criteria to keep in mind when trying to find the right wholesale suppliers for your Amazon business.

1. Different categories of products have different levels of competition

This isn't something that's exclusive only to an eCommerce business but it's still true in terms of how much work you need to put into making sure your storefront stays afloat.

If you're looking for a product type that has an exceptionally high amount of competition, there are going to be a lot more people competing with you over a smaller pool of potential customers. This means it'll be tougher for you to make sales and profit even if the price of your overhead costs is significantly lower than theirs.

In other words, finding low-competition products on Amazon can help boost your chances of success by decreasing the number of people who are competing with you for the same market - this type of increase in sales can make it much easier to figure out exactly what needs to be fixed (if anything) since less competition means there are fewer things that could go wrong.

Some examples of popular categories to help you with your initial research might be the jewelry category, pet supplies, sustainable growth products, personal care, home & kitchen, toys & games, video games or even something as specific as selling leggings. As you can see the list of popular products can be a never-ending one.

2. Try and find products that aren't too expensive

If you're looking at selling items that cost more than $200, you're going to be taking a big risk by investing a lot of money into any one product. This can mean that you might end up losing the majority of your profit margin as you’re testing out new ideas - through no fault of your own. Finding high-quality wholesale suppliers to work with will be so important if you want your business venture to turn into a successful one.

This means that starting out, you might consider finding goods that aren’t too expensive. By finding affordable goods, you will be providing yourself with a bit more financial stability since you won't be putting all of your eggs in one basket. You'll also be able to prepare for the future by making sure that you can invest in new product lines without having to worry too much about testing the market first - since you’ll have done the research at the very beginning.

This is probably one of the most important factors to consider since it means that people want what you're selling.

If there isn't a large number of potential customers looking for your product, it might not matter how low-priced or popular yours is because there simply wouldn't be enough interest to make sales worth your while.

With this in mind, it's always best to try and find wholesale suppliers that have a high demand for their own products to test out what works best when it comes to making sales.

Additionally, you might also want to look at specific markets and see if they're doing well in terms of success rate even if their items aren't very expensive - this is because the demand within your niche might be so good that people are still willing to fork out money just so they can get their hands on something popular.

Having an idea about how many people are looking for what you’re selling will go a long way in helping you figure out whether or not product sourcing would be profitable enough. In turn, this means it'll be easier for you to do business with your wholesale suppliers.

4. Try and find products which will be used every day

This one's a bit of a given but it's still important to factor in.

Not only will this make your product easier to sell because there'll be a higher chance for clients to buy from you again, but it can also help reduce the number of times you have to spend money on transportation since people might opt to purchase your goods online more often and in bulk.

5. Try and find products with high-quality images

Try not to let yourself get attracted by items with low-quality photos because that could be something that turns buyers away. If you really must go for a product with a low-quality image, then take some time and find/take better images to be used on your listings. 

It's always best to try and find wholesale suppliers that have quality photos on their site so you can see what your products are going to look like before they're sent out to buyers - this will help you save time, money, and most importantly, the frustration of having to deal with customers who aren’t satisfied.

6. Try and find products which aren't too common

If you were looking at selling water bottles - which are practically everywhere these days - there's a pretty solid chance that your competition would be pretty high and you'll need some serious marketing tactics for people to pay attention to what you’re advertising.

However, if you were trying to sell something like specific sports jerseys or high-end luxury bags, you might find that buyers are more willing to spend money on something which is (arguably) better since there aren't too many other stores out there trying to sell the same stuff. These high profit margin products are a great way to go when it comes to long-term success.

This doesn't mean you should go all-out and start buying products that are considered "rare" but it's a good idea for you to try and find wholesale suppliers with items that act as a pattern interrupt as people are scrolling on their phone.

7. Consider the size and weight of the products you're selling

You might not think that size and weight would be all that important when it comes to product sourcing but there are some things you should know about this.

For example, if you're trying to sell something like small glass jars then that'll mean that you'll have to pay more money just so it can be packaged correctly and sent out to your customers. This would affect the amount of profit you're going to and might also increase the headaches involved if such an item was to break during delivery. 

Wholesale suppliers which sell products like this will provide you with a shipping fee but it's always best to consider things like how many you're going to buy and if the price of the items would be worth it in the end - after all, you don't want to end up spending more on product sourcing than what your item is worth.

8. If possible, try and evaluate samples before getting started

This one's pretty self-explanatory since you'll need some capital when it comes to getting started and doing business with your suppliers.

Finding cheap wholesale sources might take some time but if you manage to get your hands on some samples before committing to anything, you'll have a better idea of the quality of your products as well as how much you'll need to pay for them before they're shipped out.

Not only that but cheap wholesale suppliers might not have top-notch customer service skills or provide fast shipments so if you ever come across any of those problems, it's best for you to move on and find someone who can offer a little more - trust us when we say this is going to save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

9. Consider whether or not the supplier will ship worldwide

You might think that this isn't important since it costs more but there are some people out there who want to buy from wholesalers which ship anywhere in the world.

It might take longer to get your products since more people are involved but if you're looking for long-term business then this will be worthwhile in the future - just make sure that you communicate with the supplier so they can give your customers estimated times of arrival as well as expected shipping costs.

10. Other product considerations

Finding and selling private label products might be something to consider. This means that the products will not contain any labeling that indicates that someone else has produced them. This is ideal when dropshipping for high ticket items since you will be able to take 100% of the product credit. Private label selling is a very popular concept that has picked up speed over the years.

As mentioned earlier, the product category that you choose is also important. Being put on the top seller’s list for a particular category means that people will find you on the Amazon marketplace for that category - this will increase your monthly sales volumes. Also, consider various subcategories that you’d like to be a part of - it all adds up when it comes to having a successful amazon business.

How to find products to sell on Amazon

1. Identify your passions

Selling products on Amazon can be one of the best self-employed jobs since you can combine it with your passions. If you like to cook, you can sell your homemade salad dressing on Amazon and earn a commission each time it sells. You could also sew and sell some of the clothes that you make on Amazon by marketing them and earning a percentage of what they sell for on the site.

If you like gardening, find innovative products that solve problems for gardeners and market them through online stores such as Amazon.

Once again, you will earn a percentage of all sales from their site. If starting capital is not too much of an object for you, look at investing in novelty toys or collectibles - there is always demand for these unique items no matter how weird they are. In this case, you will be the one who buys the products from wholesale suppliers and then markets them on Amazon or any other shopping site you like.

Back to our passion example, if you love swimming, think of products related to the activity such as goggles, swimwear, inflatable toys for kids, sunscreen lotions and creams, etc (more on this in a second).

2. Think about what people need

Are there products that people cannot live without? Are there items that are universal i.e., can they be used anywhere in the world irrespective of where a person lives?

If yes, then these are perfect Amazon products to sell because people will always buy products that they will use. I know, profound, right? However, that doesn’t make it any less true. Also, as more people discover online shopping, your market will also increase.

There has been an increase in internet penetration in developing countries such as India and China. There is a rising middle class from these regions who have the disposable incomes to purchase products online - which means that there are more buyers for eCommerce stores such as Amazon.

The chances of selling a product increase each time a big shopping site like Amazon opens a branch in a country because even if only 10% of the population decide to shop on it, you've just increased your potential customer base by several million (obviously depending on the country size).

3. Do thorough research

Doing thorough research will help you get insights into what's trending, what people need, and any other information that you can use to come up with better products or services that might appeal to customers looking for good deals on shopping sites such as Amazon.

The easiest way to go about effective research is by using Google Trends. This tool will help you identify popular search terms that are trending across the world, in different time zones and it even gives you access to information on the shopping habits of people in different regions.

For example, when I typed in 'Amazon India' into Google Trends it showed me that there has been a steady growth in searches related to Amazon since 2013 - which means more potential for selling products on Amazon in the future. You can also use Google Trends to find trending products such as food items or gadgets.

The tool will show you how many times a particular item was searched over some time and where these searches came from geographically. This information will be really handy when it comes to identifying potential hot selling items.

4. Know your target markets

It is very easy to get carried away by the large number of potential customers who shop on Amazon or other sites such as eBay, Alibaba, etc., but it's important to realize that you need to have a niche market before you can think about going mainstream with your products and services. There are thousands, if not millions, of Amazon sellers right now fighting for attention for the same products always shouting the same message.

That can be a little off-putting if a person just decides to sell anything that seems hot at the moment - they will find it difficult to stand out from the rest of the crowd. When becoming a reseller, pick a niche market related to any of your interests and start looking for great deals on wholesale items that match your target audience’s interests.

5. Know what you're selling - research is key.

Before you start your Amazon selling adventure, it's important to do your homework and find out the best wholesale suppliers of products related to your chosen niche market so that you can sell them online in a way that makes customers come back for more.

For example, if I were going to start an eCommerce store about baking cakes, I would have a look at any product related to making cakes and only list items that are genuine, high quality and reasonably priced so that they appeal to my target audience.

When it comes to finding manufacturers, always ensure they are reputable; especially when buying from someone who isn't a known brand. Getting stuck with bad deals from people who are just trying to make a quick buck off you is one of the worst things that can happen to you.

eBay is another great place to find research products that are trending in different regions around the world. This site is particularly useful if you're looking for something rare or one-of-a-kind because there are many popular listings there that don't show up on Google Trends, and sometimes not even on Amazon. 

In this case, you might strike a goldmine since these items may not appeal to most people but they can be great opportunities for those who want customized products rather than generic ones.

With that said, eBay isn't the only online shopping site out there so feel free to explore your options before deciding on where to put your money. Remember there are no guarantees when it comes to any business venture and if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

6. Don't just sell online, network as well.

Just because being a part of the eCommerce world requires more work than some other types of businesses doesn't mean it's impossible to flourish in your chosen niche market - the proper connections and contacts with potential suppliers make this easier.

The best way to find new sellers and wholesale suppliers is by meeting up with people who can help you spread the word about your products in person - this makes it much easier to get your foot in the door if you're looking for something unique but don't have any special skills or talents that would make wholesale suppliers want to work with you.

One idea might be to set up a booth at local street markets or events related to whatever market you're catering to (take along all your products) and you might just meet some suppliers who have the goods that you've been looking for. It’s also a great way to do some real-time testing with your target market and take on feedback when selling online.

Networking can also be done online, by asking for feedback from customers about what they like (and don’t like) regarding a product that you offer.

7. Don't be afraid to take risks - good business isn't about playing it safe.

A lot of people want to run their eCommerce businesses because they think they'll never have another boss again and that life will be plain sailing after that. 

Whilst this might be true, running an online store requires coming up with all sorts of business ideas, content, and strategies to make your products stand out from the rest. This means there's always going to be someone steering your entrepreneurial ship even if it's yourself who's at the helm - which means that you’ll need to take risks to get to the next level.

8. Don't give up.

Selling on the internet is great because it gives you access to millions of potential customers - this also means that competition can be tough, especially if you're entering a niche market where there are already many people selling similar products as yours.

If your goal is to sell inexpensive goods online, you can expect some pretty stiff competition among other businesses who are looking for the same sort of buyers which means it's almost impossible to compete with them on pricing alone. Finding ways to stand out from the rest of the crowd will be key if customers are going to come into your shop and buy things from you.

This might seem like a lot of unnecessary hassle but trust me when I say that eCommerce businesses are worth the trouble - especially if sourcing wholesale goods makes it easier for you to make more sales while dealing with less competition.

Tools To Find Products To Sell On Amazon

As we mentioned earlier, there are thousands of products available on Amazon. This means that there's simply no way anyone can sift through all of them in search of the perfect product idea. That's where using tools can be helpful when making decisions. As we also mentioned, we believe that such tools should be used to back up your initial research, since understanding the pain points that people are trying to solve by buying the right products, can’t be done using tools. 

With that said, here’s a list of Amazon research tools we recommend.

Jungle Scout

Jungle Scout is an online tool that offers different products to help you find and validate profitable product ideas. The Chrome extension has a few extra features such as tracking estimated revenue, keyword research tools, evaluating monthly search volume, and determining whether or not a particular item qualifies as a hot seller. 

All of these features are pretty helpful when finding the highest margin products to sell on Amazon because they allow you to track data over any subset of time, which is perfect for product research.

Viral Launch

Viral launch also helps with validating ideas by tracking sales rank over time as well as offering ideas as to whether or not those product listings would qualify as an item that can be fulfilled by Amazon.

Much like Jungle Scout, Viral Launch is great for tracking sales as well as predicting the likelihood of a product being ranked on Amazon's first page. Since they offer so many tools and features, it is important to note that you'll need to sign up for their paid plan to access them all.

Product Insights

The final tool is Product Insights (by Seller Labs). Many people report that this is a great tool for seeing how much revenue an item makes on Amazon. While this is certainly not a must-have feature when looking at products, it can be rather helpful since you'll then know exactly how big of an opportunity you're working with once you find the right product to sell.

Product insights also allow you to track historical data which helps validate if something will be successful or not. With so many tools out there to help identify profitable products, this one seems to stand out as being particularly useful whether or not you want/need access to more features.