Amazon Product Research Guide: How to Find Profitable Items to Sell

Instead of running your Amazon business blindly, it’s crucial to have a solid strategy in place. It all starts with smart product research to make sure you’re focusing on the right items. This enables you to boost your chances of generating high profits and steady growth while minimizing the risk of wasting time and money.

In this article, we’ll take you through a step-by-step guide to mastering Amazon product research, and share insider tips to help you do so efficiently.

Amazon product research is the process of identifying promising items to sell on the platform. This involves assessing various criteria, including profitability, competition, and demand, within a specific niche and for a particular product. Understanding these factors helps sellers determine whether a product is worthwhile, enabling them to select items that will generate revenue and develop effective selling strategies.

There are several methods for conducting product research, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we will explore the following approaches:

Understanding the specifics of each method will enable you to select the most effective approach for finding profitable products. Let’s delve into each one in detail and discuss how you can apply them to help you seize valuable opportunities on Amazon.

Now that we've explored different methods for conducting product research, let’s break down the key steps of each approach, along with their pros and cons. This will help you choose the strategy that best suits your needs and increase your chances of success on Amazon.

Performing Amazon product research manually involves going through a variety of Amazon categories, BSR lists, and product listings. Here’s a short overview the key factors you need to analyze:

1. Check the competition in the niche. See how many Amazon search results there are for a product. Result numbers higher than 1,000 can indicate a highly competitive niche.
2. Look at the top performers. Check Amazon’s Best Sellers and New Releases lists to help you identify top brands and types of product within your niche to get an idea of which products are trending and in demand.
3. Explore the product listing you are interested in. Take a look at the number of sellers on the listing, their prices, and seller ratings to help you understand how you can differentiate your own product, and determine if the competition is manageable.
4. Estimate profitability. Calculate your potential costs, including sourcing, FBA fees, and marketing expenses, to help you assess whether the product can be profitable.

The main advantage of this method is that it’s cost-free and helps you gain a deeper understanding of the market. It also doesn't require specialized knowledge, making it accessible to anyone.

However, manual Amazon product research does have some significant drawbacks, making it not the best option for product research. These include:

While this approach can serve as a useful starting point for gathering product research data, manual research alone may not provide a complete picture of market potential. The lack of detailed information makes it difficult to spot opportunities or threats, which are crucial when it comes to making informed decisions.

Product analysis can be challenging without access to specialized tools and can take time to master. If you prefer not to invest time in conducting your own detailed research, you can outsource your product selection to services that specialize in this process.

The disadvantages of this method include a higher cost compared to doing research on your own, and a dependency on external experts since you don’t gain firsthand insights. That’s why it's so important to choose a reliable service like Sellerhook, whose team has extensive expertise in Amazon research.

Here’s how it works:

1. Place an order on the Sellerhook website. Choose to receive one or five profitable product ideas.
2. Fill out a quick questionnaire. Provide details about your desired category, business model, and preferences. This helps Sellerhook's experts tailor their research to your needs.

3. Receive your product report. Within 14 days, a curated list of product ideas will be emailed to you.

To find out what each product research report includes, just click here to view a sample.
Outsourcing your product research to professionals is an easy way to find profitable product ideas. It saves you time and effort while ensuring that experts with deep knowledge of the market select high-potential products for you. This method speeds up the process and increases your chances of success by relying on professional insights.

Specialized product research tools offer a wealth of data and statistics designed to analyze products more efficiently. Those finders usually provide metrics like estimated monthly sales, the number of product sales over a certain period of time, market saturation, and more. This approach enables you to base your decisions on the most accurate data.

Many sellers often ask, “What’s the best product research tool for Amazon FBA?” The answer varies, as it depends on your individual preferences. However, top Amazon sellers frequently choose the AMZScout toolkit for its comprehensive features.

You can find profitable products in just three simple steps:

1. Generate product ideas. You can use the Product Database to set criteria like desired sales volume or revenue, and display recently added products that meet your specifications.
2. Check niche viability. The PRO AI Extension helps you determine whether the niche of those products is saturated, and assesses its overall profitability.
3. Assess product profitability. For those ideas that pass your viability check, use the profit calculator to analyze your potential profit margins after all costs and expenses.

By following these steps, you'll be able to pinpoint the most promising products to pursue for your Amazon business.

The only potential drawback to utilizing a toolkit like this is the subscription cost, but AMZScout offers a free trial without requiring any credit card information. There’s also an expected learning curve, but the tools are user-friendly and come with plenty of tutorials to guide you.

The key benefits of using this method for product research include automating the product research process, which significantly saves time and allows you to focus on other critical aspects of your business. You also gain access to market insights, such as trending products and consumer preferences, helping you stay ahead of the competition and adapt your strategy accordingly.

It’s not necessary to stick to just one product research method. In fact, combining different approaches can offer you a broader perspective and more comprehensive insights for identifying profitable items to sell on Amazon.

Apart from the techniques described earlier, there are several additional factors to keep in mind when conducting product research. Here are some key tips that Amazon experts frequently recommend in their courses to help sellers effectively products evaluate:

Monitoring market trends is crucial for identifying relevant products that meet customer demand and help you stay ahead of competitors. To ensure that you remain up-to-date, consider checking social networks like TikTok for viral products, as these platforms often highlight emerging trends. Additionally, using keyword tools like AMZScout's Keyword Search can help you identify the most frequently searched terms, giving you insight into what customers are actively looking for.

It's also important to determine if a product has consistent or seasonal demand. For example, Christmas decorations sell primarily during the holiday season, so planning ahead is crucial. Estimate your sales volume so you can manage your inventory effectively and avoid overstocking or stockouts.

By studying your competitors, you can gain valuable insights into what works in your niche and what doesn’t. Staying updated on their pricing is essential if you want to remain competitive while maintaining profitability. Additionally, reviewing their product listings can help you identify ways to differentiate your offerings, such as providing faster delivery or enhanced product functionality.

To streamline your competitor analysis, you can utilize Sellerhook’s competitor keyword research. Experts will identify the most successful competitor products and provide a list of their top-performing keywords along with strategies for using them. Each report also includes data on competitor pricing, reviews, and ratings analysis to help you optimize your Amazon sales strategy.

Analyzing your competitors' strategies not only informs your approach but also helps position your products more effectively in the marketplace.

When conducting product research, ensure that your product aligns with your chosen business model.

By understanding the pros and cons of each selling format, you can adjust your strategy and drive success on Amazon.

Customer reviews offer valuable insights into your target audience’s preferences. By analyzing product reviews, you can identify gaps and opportunities in the market. For instance, if you consistently see negative feedback about product quality, you may want to reconsider reselling that item or find ways to improve it (if you are working with private label products). On the other hand, positive reviews can guide your product selection and help highlight its strengths in descriptions and ads.

As a seller, complying with Amazon's rules and policies is essential to avoid account suspension. Some products, like weapons or alcohol, are prohibited, while others, such as HAZMAT items or branded products, require special permission, like certificates or reseller authorization. While it's possible to sell goods with restrictions, obtaining the necessary documentation takes time and may delay your business operations. Since the list of restricted products is frequently updated, it's important to check Amazon's policies regularly to ensure that your items can be sold without encountering any issues.

Applying these techniques consistently will help you better meet customer expectations, leading to increased sales. It will also enable you to build a solid business strategy, which is crucial for long-term revenue growth.

To ensure that you're investing your time and money in a profitable Amazon venture, you need accurate data on product performance. Consider ordering a professional research report from Sellerhook for in-depth market insights, which can save you time and provide easy access to trending product ideas.. This will allow you to make informed decisions and stock your store with high-demand products that can make your sales skyrocket.