With the advent of the internet in the 90’s, Ecommerce has spread like wildfire. Consumers have moved from traditional shopping to ecommerce. All this started when Jeff Bezos introduced us to the world of Amazon.
Nowadays, Amazon has become synonymous with ecommerce. Apart from being a great online store, it is known for its user personalization feature. A study by Internet Retailer states that in 2016, Amazon accounted for 43% of all online sales in the US. That alone is a good reason for you to consider selling on Amazon.
In fact, people have been known to make as much as $5000 in an hour by selling on Amazon. However, this can be a little tricky. Keep in mind that Amazon sells more than 300 million individual products. And only by selling the right products you can become a successful seller.
Here are five ways to find the best products to sell on Amazon.
1. Start by Discovering Profitable Products
You can find the most profitable items to sell on Amazon without much experience. Amazon provides you all the necessary information to understand market trends and products that sell.
You need to understand what makes an item profitable. Criteria like shipping weight, popularity, category, and competition all play a major role here. You need to identify products that meet most of the criteria.
Research the Shippable and Sellable Factors
While looking for products you need to first consider three things: Shipping cost, wholesale pricing, and Amazon Seller fees.
Try to purchase products considering the following specs:
- The cost should be 25% to 35% of your target selling price
- Your target selling price should be in the range of $10 to $50
- The product(s) should be lightweight, i.e., around 2-3 lbs. including box and packaging
- Simple and sturdy items that would reduce the risk of loss from damage
- Evergreen or everyday use items, meaning they can be used throughout the year
- Better quality products when compared with the competition
2. Check For Competition
To bring in profits, you need a product that is priced profitably, found and shipped easily, and in demand.
Below are the key factors that determine whether your product(s) meets these criteria.
- Products that are not currently being sold by major brands and Amazon sellers
- Similar items that have Amazon’s Best-Seller Rank (BSR) of 5000 or lower
- Items that can be searched under multiple product categories and keywords
- Leading product keywords having not more than 10,000 searches/month
- Similar product listings having less than 50 reviews
3. Learn From Amazon Product Listings
Here’s an Amazon bestselling game called What Do You Meme. In the product description, you can find all the information on what makes it a seller’s goldmine.
Image via Amazon
In the product description, you will find various information about the product, such as product dimension, weight, etc. From there, you can determine if your product is an evergreen one.
Lookout for the following criteria to find the most sellable and profitable items:
- Item pricing: The item is priced at $29.99. The pricing is perfect as it falls under the pricing bracket of $10 to $50.
- Product dimensions and weight: Here you can find that the product weighs 2.78 pounds and has dimensions of 6.5 x 4.5 x 3 inches. This size and weight will help in cutting down the shipping cost.
- Overall specs and sales ranking: You will find that the Amazon BSR of this product is 3. This is way under the BSR 5000 rank. Also, it can be found under the toys and games category easily.
- Customer reviews: You will find that the product has more than 2000 reviews from consumers. This is way beyond the 500+ reviews rank making it a well-trusted product. This also indicates that the product has a lot of demand in the market.
4. Find Out What Others are Selling
Do you know that small-scale sellers are making it big by selling niche items? From handmade items to custom and unique jewelry items and even live bugs. In this way, they reduce the competition from large sellers and from Amazon itself.
Amazon is really good when it comes to upselling products. It keeps a section showcasing recommended products underneath a product’s description. This encourages buyers to consider the products that are being showcased.
Here’s an example:
Notice how Amazon suggests product pairing with the above-mentioned best-seller. Here, suggested products may not be “bestsellers” themselves, but as a seller, you can determine what are the products other sellers are selling.
5. Select Your Source For Products
Once you are done researching on which products to sell, you should start thinking about sourcing them.
Here are two places from where you can start your search:
- Alibaba: If you are planning to sell on Amazon, Alibaba is a good place to source your products. It is a place where you can source inexpensive imports. A good thing about Alibaba is that it helps you learn about product sourcing. This is extremely helpful if you are new to the business.
- Wholesale marketplaces: Wholesale buyers markets are another way of sourcing your products. Wholesale markets are situated in every major city in the US. And the best part is, they focus on every imaginable industry. To locate your nearest wholesale market just google it. Also, don’t forget to add the product name or category you are interested in. The Dallas Market Center, NY NOW Wholesaler Gift & Home, Los Angeles Gift & Home and Las Vegas Market are major wholesale markets in the US worth visiting.
Conclusion
There’s nothing worse than seeing your product marketing campaign fail in front of your eyes. This can be the result of your consumers not wanting the product to a major seller drowning your business. The above points will help you understand the science behind determining successful product sales.
Amazon accounts for nearly half of all online sales made in the US. Hence, there are a lot of profitable opportunities for sellers. The only thing that you should concern yourself with is market research and focusing on creating a remarkable buying experience for your customers. You’re going to want good reviews and people coming back to you. It’s not just about how many products you can sell a day. The real metric you should focus on is how many repeat customers you can get. This will help you become a successful seller on Amazon.
Can you think of any other ways of finding the best products to sell on Amazon? Let us know in the comments below.
