Becoming an Amazon Seller is a great way to build a sustainable passive income stream for years to come.
But there are 1.9 million active sellers on Amazon worldwide. Most product niches are over-saturated, and it has become challenging for small business sellers to find the right products to sell on Amazon.
Still, although the competition is fierce, most sellers make a lot of money on Amazon. In fact, 45% of sellers earn more than $1,000 a month, and 10% make more than $25,000 a month.
So, if you want to make your mark on the Amazon marketplace, you’ll need to find the best Amazon products to sell. And for that, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s jump into the article.
What Type of Product Should You Sell on Amazon?
What are the best Amazon products to sell? Honestly, it depends on your budget and goals – especially if you’re a beginner.
Do you want to make $2,000 a month or $20,000?
Is your budget for purchasing new products from sites like Alibaba $1,000 or $10,000?
All of this influences what products to sell on Amazon.
However – for most beginners – the best products to sell are so-called evergreen products. But what are evergreen products?
Evergreen products are any products that are in high demand throughout the year, despite changing styles and seasons.
They are profitable products that sell consistently right now and will sell consistently in the future. In other words, they’re reliable.
It doesn’t make sense to jump on a trend if you want to build a sustainable business and earn money for years to come.
Besides that, trends die out, meaning you could be left with wasted inventory and little to no sales.
In general, such popular products are more competitive because most sellers know that thousands of people want to buy them.
However, if you use the product research strategy we will show you in a minute, you can find Amazon products that are not so competitive and still have a huge demand.
Important: Selling items with a small profit margin on the Amazon marketplace doesn’t make sense. If you don’t make money selling Amazon products, you should stop selling. Amazon seller fees can eat up your entire profit. You need to make sure that your products have a positive profit margin.
Why Promotion Is Crucial for Every Product You Sell
First things first, you need to know that you have to promote your product for multiple weeks to get it to the first page of Amazon search results. You have to heavily invest in Amazon PPC and SEO when you’re launching your product.
Most likely, you won’t be able to run a profitable Amazon business within one week. About 22% of Amazon sellers took less than 3 months to turn a profit, 16% took 3-6 months, and 20% took 6 months to 1 year.
In the beginning, you need to invest time and money into your Amazon business to be profitable in the long run.
Basically, if you want to launch a more competitive product, you will have to invest more money and time into the product promotion.
If you want to sell a less competitive product, you’ll need to invest less money and time into the product promotion. It’s that simple.
In most cases, the best-selling products are always more competitive. A product that only makes $200 in revenue is most likely not as competitive as a product that makes you $20,000 a month. So, find the right mix of more competitive and less competitive products to sell.
How To Find The Best Products To Sell on Amazon
As already mentioned, you need to find products with high demand and low competition. Imagine there’s a product all people want to buy, and nobody sells it. That would be the perfect opportunity.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to find such a product on Amazon. Several niches are over-saturated, and it’s hard to stand a chance against established sellers.
However, in the following section we will explain a step-by-step strategy that you can use to find private label products with high demand and low competition.
First of all, you need Jungle Scout’s Extension. It’s an excellent research tool to identify trending products. You can get it here for $29.
You can also buy the annual subscription with a 74% discount here. However, if you’re new to Amazon, this won’t be necessary.
Here’s what to do next:
First, search for a product by going through Amazon’s bestseller list. Let’s look at the bestseller list for “Kitchen and Dining”:
Choose any interesting product. For example, I chose a rack set:
Identify the most important keyword:
Put the keyword into the search bar:
Next, open Jungle Scout’s Chrome Extension and search for all related keywords that people are also looking for.
To do that, open Jungle Scout’s keyword cloud:
Let’s choose the keyword “wood”:
Add on the new keyword into the Amazon search bar:
Amazon suggests the keyword wooden dish rack and drainboard set. You can perform a search for this keyword:
There are only 398 search results which indicates low competition.
However, Jungle Scout tells me not to go for this product because they say it’s highly competitive:
You can clearly see that you shouldn’t sell this product. Yet, complete this process enough times and you’ll find products with little competition and high demand. Use this “keyword-strategy” to search for a product with low competition and then check the revenue with Jungle Scout.
Oversize and Expensive Products
If you’re starting to sell online, you should consider the size and price of a product. Oversize products are way more expensive than standard-size products.
You also have to pay more shipping costs and Amazon FBA fees when selling oversize products. These fees can eat up your profit.
On the other hand, selling oversize or more expensive products could be a great idea for you because there’s less competition for these products.
When we analyzed the number of product listings (Amazon US) by price range, we found very interesting results. We discovered that there’s much less competition for more expensive products than for low-cost products:
However, keep in mind that you’ll need a high budget if you want to sell oversize or more expensive products. You’ll need more money for manufacturing, shipping, FBA fees, and so on.
Demand and Penetration Rate
To decide which product categories are best to enter for your Amazon business, we’ve analyzed different types of products based on two main aspects: Demand and penetration rate.
While the term demand is clear to most people, the concept of penetration rate might not be as well understood. The market penetration rate is the percentage of target customers that made at least one purchase over a specific period. (Source)
If there’s a niche where 99% of potential customers already bought a product, you’ll do hard to sell yours. But if only 1% of potential customers have made a purchase, it will be a hundred times easier for you.
The data we used for this article applies to the entire eCommerce market and comes from Statista.
More Criteria for Amazon Products
Here are some criteria you need to consider before choosing products you want to sell on Amazon:
- Choose items with high demand: At a minimum, any product should sell at least 10 times per day.
- Avoid really trendy/seasonal products: This is crucial if you want to achieve sustainable growth.
- Find a niche with consistent demand: Look for products with steady monthly sales volumes and low competition.
- Products that are easy to source: Consider products that are inexpensive to acquire/make.
- Quality products: Test the product quality before investing in the item.
- No fragile items: If you want to keep your shipping costs low be careful about items that are fragile, breakable or prone to damage.
Best Product Categories on Amazon
Amazon made $25.207 billion from its subscription services, $45.37 billion from its Amazon Web Services (AWS) segment, and generated an estimated $10.4 billion during their annual Prime Day sales event in 2020.
But did you know that Amazon initially started as a bookselling company?
In 1994, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com as an online bookselling company, and in 1995 Amazon sold the first book Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought by Douglas R. Hofstadters.
That’s why we start with the product category books:
Books
Although there are things like ebooks and iPads nowadays, people always want to read real books. That’s why the book sector is projected to grow up to 129,062.1 million USD by 2024.
The relative amount of target customers that made at least one purchase over a specific period – the penetration rate – is projected to be 35% by 2027.
Selling books on Amazon is easy, and you don’t have to create a listing on your own. You can easily list your book by clicking on this button here:
And you’ll also have good chances to win the Amazon Buy Box. The disadvantage is that you have to sell books in bulk to make a real profit every single month.
Here’s a guide showing you how to sell books on Amazon.
Baby
An excellent idea is to sell baby products on Amazon because people will always buy stuff for their *new* babies.
In 2022, there were approximately 3.66 million births in the US alone. The global eCommerce market for baby products is projected to reach USD 26.33 Billion by 2030, driven by a growing demand for natural and organic products and the convenience of online shopping.
The penetration rate will be under 15%:
Selling baby articles will always work. But keep in mind that there’s a lot of competition, and therefore, you’ll need a high budget to invest in promotion and outrank your competitors on Amazon in the long run. If you’re looking for an easy game, selling baby articles isn’t your best bet.
Pets
It’s the same with pets. People will always have pets, and they will always love it to buy new stuff for them.
And this doesn’t seem to have an end. The global pet care e-commerce market is projected to reach USD 45.60 billion, by 2030.
As of 2024, the penetration rate for the global pet e-commerce market is projected to grow to 35%.
However, there are also already thousands of sellers who offer pet products on Amazon. To succeed, you need to find a super niche product or invest a lot of money.
Outdoor
People love to go out into the fresh air and do activities like hiking. Like the fitness trend, this trend continues to increase.
By 2024, the global revenue for the eCommerce sports and outdoor market is expected to reach approximately 90.8 billion USD.
As of 2024, the penetration rate for the global sports equipment eCommerce market is expected to be approximately 15%.
Kitchen
Most people enjoy cooking.
Kitchen lovers are always in favor of buying a new gadget to make everyday life in the kitchen easier.
By 2024, the global eCommerce market for home and kitchen products is expected to reach approximately $47.8 billion.
The penetration will be about 24%.
Where Can You Find Items to Sell on Amazon?
When running an e-commerce business, it’s crucial to strategically choose the products you sell to maximize your revenue. Equally important is knowing where to source these products. Here are some places to find products to sell on Amazon:
- Alibaba: Ideal for private label products. This platform allows you to buy products in bulk directly from manufacturers, making it perfect for creating your own brand.
- AliExpress: Suited for low Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs) and dropshipping products. This site offers lots of products that can be purchased in small quantities, making it ideal for testing new products without significant upfront investment.
- Brick and Mortar Stores: Perfect for retail arbitrage. You can purchase products from physical stores and resell them online at a higher price, taking advantage of price differences.
- Other Online Marketplaces like eBay: Excellent for online arbitrage. You can buy items at a lower price from online marketplaces and resell them for a profit on other platforms or within the same marketplace.
Conclusion
To summarize, this article highlights the key points on selecting the best products to sell on Amazon. By following the things mentioned in this article, you can identify high-demand and low-competition products and make informed decisions to maximize your sales potential:
- Budget and Goals: The products you choose to sell should align with your budget and business objectives. Determine what you can afford to invest and what you aim to achieve.
- Promotion: Save money for promoting your products on Amazon. Effective advertising is crucial to drive traffic and boost sales.
- Evergreen Products: Focus on evergreen products that maintain consistent demand throughout the year. These items ensure steady sales and reduce the impact of seasonal fluctuations.
- Easy to source: Look for products that are easy to source without spending too much fees on things like transportation. Also consider that fragile items may break during transportation.
- Competition: Avoid entering markets with high competition unless you have a substantial budget for marketing and differentiation. Competing against well-established sellers can be challenging and expensive.
With these strategies, you can now utilize tools like Helium 10 to conduct thorough product research. This tool helps identify top-selling products by analyzing market trends, competition levels, and potential profitability, enabling you to make informed decisions about which products to sell on Amazon.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to know which are the best products to sell on Amazon you need to take a look at our article above. We looked up the best product categories on Amazon for you.
There are always product categories which sell better than other categories. If you want to know what these categories are you need to read the chapter Best Product Categories on Amazon.
Which products are most successful on Amazon depends on many things. There are no such products which are selling all by themselves. But there are so called Evergreen Products that sell consistently right now and will sell consistently in the future. If you want to know more about successful products on Amazon you need to read the chapters above in this article.
