Amazon product research is your ticket for finding winning product ideas to sell on Amazon. Every successful Amazon seller has mastered the research process.
Unfortunately a lot of people spend too much time doing product research the wrong way, because they haven’t been armed with the right knowledge.
In walks Matt Clark, the co-founder of Amazing Selling Machine, who has helped thousands of people build profitable businesses selling on Amazon. In this interview, Matt Clark shares everything that you need to know about Amazon FBA product research.
Are you ready to learn Amazon FBA product research tips from an Amazon expert? This is an interview that you don't want to miss!
Watch the video below:
(Click here to watch on YouTube)
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Want to get the PDF of 100 Red Hot Amazon Product Opportunities? CLICK HERE and I'll send you an e-mail with instructions on how to get it!
Here is a snapshot of my Amazon FBA product research interview with Matt:
What are some of the things that people should look out for when they are choosing a product to sell on Amazon?
The first thing is to make sure that you are following a good model. I started off in an e-commerce business, so I was going out there and finding products that I could get access to through a distributor or manufacturer directly, and then I was selling their brand. That is not the model that we recommend.
You are competing against everyone else for the exact same product. You are likely competing against the brand itself, and your margins will be horrible. We recommend that you go out there and create your own brand with basic consumer products.
The second thing that you need to realize is that, when it comes to Amazon, there is a list of categories that are good and a list that is bad. The general idea is that you want to go after products that fit the model. You want to look for basic consumer products – anything in the beauty, product, or fitness niche is great.
I would recommend staying away from anything that is digital, like cell phones or apps, and anything that has a crazy amount of variations to it, like clothing or jewelry, which will add complexity to your business.
Once you have narrowed down your product idea, then you can start looking through a category and ask yourself, “Within this category, what is a good opportunity?” Amazon has something called a Best Sellers Rank, that ranges from 1-1000 for any given category.
The number 1 is the best selling product in a category and then it goes up from there. Ideally, you are looking for products that are less than 5000. You are also looking for a specific price range. For a product to have a good profit margin, but not be so crazy expensive that you can't even get started, we like to see products anywhere between a $20-70 selling price.
That means that your total cost per unit is likely to be anywhere between $2-3, up to $20. This way, you can buy a few hundred units, without losing a crazy amount of money from the onset, and you will still have a good profit margin.
Lastly, you want to look for products that are light and small, and if you can find ones that are less than a pound, that is ideal. If you have something that's large and heavy, it will ramp up shipping costs and storage fees with Amazon. The holy grail of a product is one that sells for $30-40, and that weighs next to nothing.
One of the other things that you want to look at is the number of reviews. They are a good gauge of how hard it is going to be to compete with a product. If you find a product opportunity that meets all of your criteria, but it has 5000 reviews, and you only have 5 reviews, the reality is that people won't end up choosing your product.
What is the typical profit margin that you recommend for someone who is deciding which product that they want to choose?
We recommend a profit margin of 30-40% — which is selling price, minus any shipping and product costs or Amazon FBA fees. If you can do all of that, you are off to a good start. Later on you will probably be able to raise your price, get cheaper inventory, and optimize your shipping and FBA fees, so that it's less expensive. Moreover, you should be able to ramp up that profit margin, hopefully to 50% or more.
When it comes to researching, which Amazon platform do you suggest people start on?
It depends on where you live and what language that you speak. If you live in the U.S. or Canada, you will likely start on Amazon.com U.S. If you live in Europe and you speak English, you will want to start on Amazon.uk.
Germany and Japan are two marketplaces that have gained a lot of popularity as of late. Although the competition isn't as high on these platforms, the sales volume has picked up a lot, so there is opportunity there.
What you don't want to do is pick a low volume Amazon platform, like Amazon Canada or Amazon India, because they haven't grown as much. You need to figure out what your #1 goal is. If it's to build a successful business as quickly as possible, then you don't want to be the first person in a new marketplace.
Rather, go somewhere where the machine is up and running, and where people are already producing sales, which is in the U.S., the UK, Germany, and Japan.
What advice would you give to someone that has dabbled with Amazon FBA product research, but has yet to pull the trigger for fear of diving in and moving forward with the process?
At the end of the day, Amazon product research is incredibly important, but it's not going to matter at all if you never pull the trigger and get something live.
You don't want to rush the product research process, but if you've looked for product opportunities, you’ve created a list, you've contracted suppliers, and got prices and samples, that is the point at which it is time to go for it and make a decision.
You may still have doubts, but you have to put something out there. That is going to help you learn and will give you more confidence. You will be able to see how the full picture works, rather than just be really good at the product research side.
With some Amazon businesses, it is so easy to get a positive ROI when you look at it from the company value standpoint. For example, since my wife started selling on Amazon, her products have been coasting. They produce good sales every day. She doesn't put a lot of time into the business, maybe 1 hour per day at most.
If someone were to buy her Amazon business right now, it would probably be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and she's probably only spent a total of $12-15,000 in inventory, over the course of 3-4 re-orders of inventory.
If you are getting analysis paralysis, just pick a date and go for it. At the end of the day, you will be so much happier that you did.
I hope Matt Clark's tips have inspired you to start your Amazon FBA product research!
Starting an Amazon FBA business is an exciting journey, but a lot of people avoid taking a leap of faith, for fear that they will fail. Every successful Amazon seller started somewhere, so don't hesitate. Enjoy the process, be an avid learner, and never stop believing in yourself.
How would it feel to create a 6-figure online business selling products on Amazon? Anything is possible. You will never know unless you start somewhere, so dive into your Amazon FBA product research today!
Want to get the PDF of 100 Red Hot Amazon Product Opportunities? CLICK HERE and I'll send you an e-mail with instructions on how to get it!