If you are reading this article it is because you are probably one of those who have been, at one time or another, passionate about and attracted to the idea of starting their own business. Some see it as a way to gain financial independence, others dream of becoming their own boss or being able to have the freedom to work anywhere and anytime…
We all think of starting our business one day and start dreaming about the repercussions of this adventure on our lives and those of our families. The dream often ends up remaining at the project stage when we consider, for example, the possibility of failure or when we believe that we do not have enough resources (especially financial) to be able to invest …
Sometimes we even don’t have a concrete idea of what we want to do…
Yet, these days you really don’t have to start big, or even be a modern day genius, to be successful. In reality, by starting small, there is much more chance that the business will work and in particular thanks to opportunities like those offered by amazon image requirements and more specifically AMAZON FBA .
I’m not talking about a business that would generate $ 1 million per month or even per year as many dream sellers on Youtube or on social networks would do today. I am talking about a realistic business that will allow you to meet your needs and very often allow you to greatly exceed your current monthly salary … This is not a utopia, nor an impossible task, but indeed everyday life tens of thousands of entrepreneurs around the world who currently make a living from their sales on Amazon .
All this excites you and I can already see you carried away, but let’s come back to reality for a moment!
An entrepreneur must, by default, solve a multitude of problems on a daily basis.
The first of these and which we have all faced is “what should I sell?”…
There are millions of articles on Amazon, so how do you spot the right vein, start small and take the minimum risk?
You are probably saying to yourself: “Ah! Too many criteria to manage… You have to be lucky to find a good product… ”doubt sets in (I feel it), discouragement regains you… especially since during this stage, there is no way to be 100% sure that your choice will be the right one… I am certainly not going to lie to you and promise you the miracle solution, but I know a method that can make your task easier and, above all, less risky.
FIRST OF ALL, WHAT IS A “GOOD PRODUCT” TO SELL ON AMAZON FBA?
In short, a good product is one that:
- Sell well and fairly quickly
- Which allows us to generate a reasonable margin.
At Amazon, this translates into the following:
- A good ranking corresponding to a low BSR (Best Seller Rank)
- A product commented by buyers
- A price varying between 15 € and 50 €.
The choice of the category to which the product belongs is also very important. At first, it is better to start with so-called “easy” categories such as kitchen, sports, garden or pet supplies.
If we find a product that meets all of these criteria, chances are we are on the right track.
Then, if the rating of competing products is mediocre (less than 4) it is even better (but this is rarely the case).
For my part, I also try to target listings (ie products in Amazon jargon) offered by a single seller. In general these are “Private Label Products” (ie products Private Brand) are therefore often easy to reproduce.
The products sought often do not meet all the criteria and this is normal.
METHOD N ° 1: MANUAL SEARCH
The first method consists of browsing the categories and subcategories of Amazon’s Bestsellers (ranking of the best-selling products on the platform):
- Identify a main product category (Top Category)
- Navigate in this category and find the products in the desired price range
- Identify products with few reviews
- Consult the selected listings by clicking on them to analyze the BSR. At this point, that number doesn’t mean much.
- Identify the number of sellers who sell this product (1 or 2 max)
- Analyze price history using sites like Keepa camelcamelcamel
- Track the sales of the products over a period of time using the 999 method – By simulating a purchase and putting 999 units of the products in the cart, Amazon will correct and tell you the actual quantities in stock. It will suffice to come back each time to check if the stock has evolved and to know the rate of sales of this product. This is often referred to as the Amazon 999 method.
This process involves a lot of time and work knowing that Amazon updates the listings once every hour…
So unless you stumble upon a product that meets most of the criteria, it will be very difficult to do this manually. There are Chrome extensions that make this task easier, you still have to find the right vein … This manual work is very tedious!
Now that we know the criteria for a good product, we should be able to find it!
METHOD N ° 2: AUTOMATED SEARCH – WEBAPPs
The second option is to simply use amazon software which does the operation described above but automatically!
Web Apps, as they are called, collect data from listings. They navigate through the categories / subcategories deemed interesting and collect the data. All you have to do is access the Web App, fill in the criteria and your results are displayed in seconds! You can also follow several listings (instead of doing it manually every day) and access the history (if available)… It’s so easy to use that one wonders why several Sellers use the manual method?
Once you have selected a product, you need to do a little keyword check: on amazon.fr: you type the main keyword of the product in question and if the results on the first page are conclusive (not many sellers, price reasonable, not a lot of reviews) you’re on the right track. It is also preferable to add some competitor products on the WebApp tracker.
We have maintained a product that holds up and sells well, with not a lot of competition… everything is going for the best!
A final step is to contact the suppliers on alibaba.com for example to ensure that it is possible to make a profit by selling this product. I advise you to do this exercise on several products at the same time because not all products are profitable for you, even if they are selling well.
If this is your first experience, a good approach would be to try it out by ordering several products, in very small quantities, without worrying too much about profitability.
This will allow you to know which products are working well so that you can recommend more. It is a portfolio of products that you are creating at this stage that will be the source of your income.
You can also look for products that are doing well in the US market and that are not yet in the European market. In general, the United States is a forerunner and the products that work well there end up arriving in Europe later.
If you fear competition that can arise quickly, once you have made your choice, I advise you to choose a product that does not follow sales clichés and go with a product that sells less well but with a good margin ( for example 50 or 60 units per month). There will be less competition because all sellers are targeting the products that sell the most!
Don’t forget to use AMZ cockpit to simplify your business and tasks on AMAZON FBA.
And finally, here is a video of the seller-pulse web application that will allow you to analyze products and know their sales. It is a very practical tool to start and launch a new product. Even if it is never without risk, knowing the number of sales of its competitors is always interesting. Click here
