How To Find The Most Profitable Items To Sell On Amazon

Is It Profitable For Third Party Sellers To Sell on Amazon?

Amazon has a wide reach, and if you make the right decisions when setting up your Amazon seller business you will be able to join the masses of new sellers in making between $26-810K annually on Amazon.

Amazon receives over 80 billion in revenue from third-party sellers, and 56% of their paid units were sold by third-party sellers.

There is certainly money to be made in this lucrative field of online sales.

3PSs receive the most benefits, as they receive better pricing control, favorable payment terms, and don’t have to rely as heavily on their relationship with Amazon as first-party sellers.

First-party sellers benefit from wholesale purchases from Amazon and also benefit from their credibility as a seller.

When it comes to setting up your Amazon online store, research and data-driven business decisions will help you to harness your potential as an Amazon FBA seller and grant you long-term success.

How Do I Find Out Which Products To Sell in My Online Store?

When choosing which products to start selling in your Amazon business, you need to ensure you maximize the success of your Amazon seller business with a product you can actually sell. This is why you need to do product research.

Product research can help you to figure out which products are likely to generate high volumes of sales for your business. Before you start your research, here are the basic principles for product selection you should know.

If you want to sell a private label product, there are some shipping companies that handle the sourcing for you, to really help your business grow!

THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PRODUCT SELECTION

Look for high-demand products.
Look for low-cost items.
Ensure there is limited competition in your product’s category.
Avoid seasonal items.
Opt for lightweight/small items to minimize shipping costs.
Opt for products you can sell variants of (size, color, flavor).

How Do I Perform Product Research?

Product research is an essential part of choosing which products to sell, as it will determine your potential revenue. If your product has a demand, customers will buy your product. If your product is cost-effective, this will increase revenue.

So, let’s take a look at ways in which your research can ensure your business provides a successful low-cost, high demand product:

Look At Amazon’s Best Seller List

Taking a look at the best sellers list on Amazon will provide you with some idea of which items are selling the most. Identifying popular categories in the best sellers list is a great way to start.

By looking at the 1-100 top products in your category, you will know which items are high demand. However, it is imperative that you do not select an oversaturated category to sell in.

You can use BigTracker Chrome Extension to view the average price, review rating, review count, and total monthly sales of a product you are thinking of selling. If the area is already highly competitive, it’s best to steer clear.

Evaluate Your Competitors

Once you have chosen a category, you should have a look at your competitor’s store. What products are they selling? Do they have an established brand? What is their seller rank?

If you determine the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, it will reveal gaps in the market that you can fill with your product.

Take a look at any negative reviews they have received. You should also buy their product to evaluate its quality. If your inventory is made up of better quality products for a competitive price, you will soon outrank their stores.

If you need more inspiration to create a range of products, take a look at your competitors ‘others also bought’ and ‘you may also like’ suggestions to find new products that are relevant to your customer.

Perform Keyword Research

By performing keyword research, you can strategically tailor your inventory to fill popular search categories. You can use Amazon to conduct this research by using the search bar to find the suggested keyword variants that apply to your product.

For example, if you search for a ‘necklace’ and Amazon suggests a ‘moon pendant necklace,’ this means that a high volume of people search for a moon pendant necklace.

If you were then to search for a moon pendant necklace and find that no Amazon sellers are providing such a necklace, this means that this is a high-demand, low-competition item.

If the results for a product that a high volume of customers are looking for are scarce, you should source products that answer this demand.

If thousands of products match the keyword variants, this would be a competitive area that it’s best to avoid.

Research Your Profit Margins

When deciding if this is the product you wish to sell in your Amazon store, it’s best to calculate the profit margin in order to ensure that any new products you take on will be profitable.

You can calculate your profit margin by subtracting the cost of the item from the total revenue and then dividing that amount by the total revenue. For online retail, the average profit margin is 42%. You should aim for yours to be higher than 20%.

If your product has low profitability, and you want to make it more profitable, you should look into switching suppliers or negotiating the price with your current supplier.

Profit Bandit is a paid subscription service you can use to compare your profit margins with your competitor’s pricing. Using this service will help you to determine profitable yet competitive pricing for the items in your store.

What Are The Best Items for an Amazon Business?

Now you know how to perform product research, it’s time to look at the best items and item categories for third-party sellers on Amazon:

Books

Although it may seem we are moving away from printed books, with all of the innovative e-readers and audible books available, people cannot seem to ditch their paperbacks and hardbacks.

This is because books are deemed to have a better sensory experience, be better for children, and be better for your health (looking at a screen can damage your eyesight).

The feeling a book in your hand has kept books in the top-ranking product categories on Amazon, against the odds!

Baby Items

Selling baby items on Amazon will inevitably make you more money. Baby clothes, diapers, lotions, washes, pacifiers, and toys don’t last long. These items are frequently used, grown out of, and undergo wear and tear.

A customer who buys your baby inventory will likely re-order from your store. If they trust the quality of your brand, having an Amazon delivery with their baby’s necessities is likely to be a godsend.

So, baby products are a great thing to have in your inventory. Sellers can make decent sales in the baby product category, as only 14% of sellers have a product in the baby category.

Electronics

You should sell products within the electronics category that have a low number of sellers. For example, only 5% of sellers have products in the mobile accessories category.

Since we use mobile phones every day and often lose or break accessories such as chargers and phone cases, stocking such items will make you a hot seller. Electronics is a good category for new sellers.

What Are The Worst Items For Amazon Sellers?

As an Amazon seller, there are some categories that should be avoided at all costs. Here are some of the categories which will put you at a disadvantage:

FBA Restricted/Prohibited Products

There are certain products that are difficult to get approval for from Amazon. Take a look at the FBA Prohibited Product Claims and FBA Restricted Products lists for more information. This list includes:

Tires
Gift cards
Loose packaged batteries
Knockoffs (illegally replicated items)
Human parts
Pesticides
Supplements (if they are not made up of FDA approved ingredients)
Drugs and medicine

If you try to stock these items and sell them on Amazon without permission, your account may be suspended.

Seasonal Products

Though it may seem like a great idea to stock Fall wreaths and Christmas candles, they are not going to be sold year-round and so will only be profitable for the Amazon seller for 1/3 of the year or during the holiday season.

Fragile Products

Fragile products can be costly to ship. Breakage can result in returns and bad reviews of your store. Therefore, it’s best not to sell glass items or any other delicate materials. They can have a poor ROI.

Saturated Products

It is best to avoid selling items like cleaning solutions, where other products that people love will have you beat. In other words, don’t try to compete with big brands.

Outdated/Redundant Products

If the products you are trying to sell are outdated or have been made redundant by new technology, you will not get any customers. There may be a market for people selling vintage products, but for the most part, you should stick to up-to-date products.

For instance, your sales are going to be poor if you start stocking cassette tapes. There is no market for them, as most people do not own cassette players. You simply won’t make any money.

What Are The Risks of Becoming an Amazon FBA Seller?

Though there is a clear advantage to becoming an Amazon seller, there are some things to consider before taking the role on and starting your business:

You only receive payments within 14 days (unless you have a grandfathered account).
There are fees for the disposal of any items stored at one of Amazon’s warehouses.
Your inventory can become gated- if the brand owner removes the listings from Amazon. This usually happens if the brand partners with Amazon. You will have to pay the FBA product disposal cost should this occur.
Your account can get suspended. This means your sales will be suspended, and you will have to pay Amazon FBA costs with no income from your products. Your account could become suspended through hacking, buyer complaints, or fraudulent seller claims.

How Do I Eliminate Risk As an Amazon Seller?

You need to protect yourself should anything go wrong with your business. All Amazon FBA sellers should consider taking the following precautions:

Have your own website. This way, if your account is suspended for any reason, you won’t lose your income.
Have your own brand. Having your own branded items means that if the brand owner for your other items pulls your inventory from Amazon, you will still have items to sell.
Have another source of income. If Amazon is your only source of income, and something goes wrong, you could find yourself without any money. This is why you should have another source of income.

Can Amazon FBA Make You a Millionaire?

According to LinkedIn, the top 6% of Amazon sellers make over $250,000 per month. That’s 3 million per year!

For the right product, great marketing, and the perfect brand, Amazon can most certainly produce millionaires.

Even if your business does not make you a millionaire, if it is successful, you could be making lots of money—more money than you might make in any other job, for that matter. Even if you don’t make it to the top 6% of sellers, it could be worth your time.

How Do You Sell On Amazon For Beginners?

If you are thinking of getting your own seller account and starting to sell on Amazon, here are the initial steps you should take:

Decide what profitable products you would like to sell.
Source products that are cost-effective.
Set up an Amazon seller account.
Set up fulfillment services using FBA and shipment using freight companies.
Market your products.

Taking these steps will get your Amazon seller business off the ground, ready for you to expand and grow.

In Summary

Knowing what products to sell in your online store will help you to make the most Amazon sales. Your product research, branding, and competitive pricing should give your business great success. With quality products in unsaturated areas, an Amazon FBA business will succeed.