Selling Products On Amazon

Selling products on Amazon can be both exciting and confusing. If you’re looking to sell a private label product you’ll need to know what a winning product looks like.

Like many beginners making sense of how to select a product can be intimidating.

We’re going to give you a step-by-step guide to finding a product to sell on Amazon.

We’ll need to know what a good product looks like before we can start searching for one. So we’ll start by sharing what we’re looking for when searching for a new product.

Lightweight and small.

It’s important that your product is lightweight. You’ll be sourcing and shipping your product from China by air. Shipping cost depend on two factors: size and weight. Shipping small and heavy objects are just as expensive as shipping large and lightweight objects. Remember that Amazon also charges you fees based on the size and weight as well. So the rule is simple small and light.

More specifically we’re looking for a product that weighs less than 3 pounds.

Rule #1: Product that weighs less than 3lbs

So most beginners think “Alright I need a product smaller than 18 inches”, Right? Wrong!

Amazon will take your product, but it in a box and ship it to the customer. Amazon counts the size of their box for shipping not your product.

Amazon has their own requirements for what’s considered a standard sized product which is 18 x 14 x 8 inches. So you’ll product will need to fit inside this box.

Rule #2: Product fits in a box 18 x 14 x 8 inches

Is Your Product Seasonal?

For anyone new to selling on Amazon, especially if this is your first private label product. We want you to STAY AWAY from seasonal items, instead we’re looking for a product that sells year round. For example, a christmas tree only sells during the few months leading towards Christmas, while a toothbrush sells all year round.

Rule #3: Product should not be a seasonal item

Making sense of the numbers

Sells on Amazon between $14.99 – 49.99

You’re searching for a product that sells on Amazon between $14.99 – $49.99. First you’ll want to make sure that there’s enough profit in it for you after you take into consideration your FBA fees, shipping, product cost, advertising, etc.

Second we’re after customers that are making impulse purchases and aren’t looking for branded products. That’s not say you should never go above this price point, but as a beginner this is a good place to start.

Rule # 4: Sells between $14.99 – 49.99 on Amazon

Best Seller Rank (BSR) between 2,000 – 10,000

Amazon uses best seller rank to rank their products from best to worst in sales. This means that a product with a BSR of #1 is the best selling product in that category. We’re generally looking for products with a BSR between 1,000 – 10,000, anything below will likely be too competitive.

Pay attention here’s an important point about BSR: We’re only counting the scores of these Top Level Categories. Second Level Categories, Third Level are not counted.

Rule #5: BSR of 2,000 – 10,000 in Top Level Categories

Low Number of Reviews

A low number of reviews is a good indicator that we’ll be able to compete with this product. Product reviews serve as social proof to customers browsing Amazon and we won’t want to compete with a product that has thousands of reviews while our product has none in the beginning.

We’re looking for products with less than 350 reviews, since these will be easier to compete against.

Rule #6: Product that has less than 350 reviews

KISS – Keep it simple stupid.

This rule should not be ignored. Select a product that is simple, meaning it isn’t breakable, isn’t electronic, doesn’t have moving parts and doesn’t require batteries. We’re looking for a simple product, where little can go wrong both in production and shipping.

Examples of simple products might be cutting boards, oven mitts, etc.

Rule #7: Keep your product simple

No brand name product

Competing with brand name products and you will likely lose. Big brands have built trust with their customers and the general public and competing with them will be very difficult. They also have a team of lawyers at their disposal, so you may run into patent issues in the future. Especially if you become a big enough target for them.

Rule #8: Stay away from brand name products

Simple Supply & Demand

For a product to be successful, there must be demand. If no one is searching for the product, you won’t be able to make a sale. You can use the following tools to help you estimate the demand in a given niche.

Look at the search volume on Merchant Words, the main keyword should be over 100k/month
Look at the sales volume in Jungle Scout, the top 20 competitors should sell at least 3,000 units in total, however, we prefer 5,000 to 10,000 units per month

Rule #9: The product has a high demand

Analyze Your Competition

You need to take a look at your top 10 direct competitors, and ask yourself these questions:

Are your competitors “BIG TIME SELLERS”? You can click their store name to find out what else they are selling to figure out if they are moving volume, and if they sell various other products in the same niche.
Are they running Amazon Sponsored Ads (PPC) aggressively? If the first 5 search pages are covered with your competitor’s sponsored ads, it’s likely that this market is fairly competitive.
How well does your product stack up against your competitors? Can you make your product better in design, features, color, shape, material, etc.

Rule #10: Find weakness in your competition

Selling A Product On Amazon – 10 Rules

Rule #1 Product that weighs less than 3lbs