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Amazing Chris Jones Steps to Success on Amazon for AMZScout!
FBA master and our handsome friend Chris Jones (also known as “Chrissy J”) from the U.K, an Amazon private label seller and brand building specialist with over 3.5 years of experience within the industry, wrote this fabulous article for you, our readers. Chris energizes everyone around him and creates engaging, full of finest pieces of advice articles.
Amazon product research takes time, commitment and most of all, patience.
Many up and coming Amazon FBA sellers are always looking for that quick and easy fix these days. Wanting to find the best and most profitable product to sell on Amazon with minimal effort put into the process.
Unfortunately, Amazon product research does not work like this..
In this blog, I will guide you through the processes needed in order to find a profitable product to sell on Amazon (not just one that will make you a few sales here and there, an actual long term product that will make you consistent sales and bring you in consistent cash flow).
Ready to jump in? ;)
AMAZON PRODUCT RESEARCH
Just before we begin, I want to make sure I go into enough detail on each and every step to come. If you have any questions whilst going through this, simply drop a message - slide into my Facebook profile (Chris Jones), and I will be more than happy to answer any questions that you might have.
POTENTIAL PITFALLS TO AVOID
Below are some of the most common mistakes that most Amazon sellers make when getting stuck into this business. Please be sure to take note and learn from these pitfalls so you can save time, stress, energy and money when going jumping aboard the Amazon selling train.
1. PRICING TOO LOW
This is such a common misconception when it comes to pricing a product on Amazon. Personally, I believe it comes down to the difference between these two thinking processes:
If I price my product too high, nobody will buy it
If I price my product too low, I am running the risk of devaluing my brand and product
So, where does this leave things with pricing when it comes to Amazon product research?
You have to make the clear choice of either of the following when going through your own pricing marks:
Price lower than your competition (cheapest in the market)
Price the same as everybody else (I like to call this “Stampede pricing”)
Price higher than everybody else (premium in the market)
I know which of the options I would choose..
The most common mistake is setting your sale price like everybody else. This will create a race to the bottom in terms of pricing and can have detrimental effects on your products, brand and overall business.
Seriously, why would you price your product based off what your competitors set their price at? It makes zero sense. None what so ever. You don’t know how much their label, product, website, other costs are that come into their financials, so why would you guess that your product costs the same as theirs and you should price the same? Just don’t even go there.
Another point to consider is undervaluing your product and brand. If you price too low, you will run the risk of creating "That cheap brand” kinda name for your product range. This is clearly something you want to avoid, so be sure to pay attention when pricing your products on Amazon (and anywhere else where you sell your products for that matter).
2. FAILING TO DIFFERENTIATE
While you may have heard “It’s super simple to make money on Amazon, yo. You just chuck a basic product up and watch it sell!” Ummm, no sir. This tactic may have earned you a few dollar bills back in the starting phases of selling on Amazon FBA, but as time passes, the game gets tougher and customers get smarter and clearer on their buying decisions.
Sadly, you cannot just slap a label on a coffee mug and stroll into the bank to deposit your winnings anymore. In our day and age (early 2018), it would be extremely challenging for you to spontaneously select a product that is selling well and get it on Amazon in its basic form, with zero to minimal differentiation.
Older, current and soon to be new Amazon sellers MUST grasp the importance (and power) of bringing a product to market that stands out leaps and bounds from the competition. By creating such a product (or a bundle), you will have the glorious option of pricing your product on the lower end of the market (no thanks), or to become the premium price seller in the market (yes please), as your product will be different, unique and offer a specific something else that no other product online offers. Sound promising? You bet'cha! ;)
Just to answer the question you are begging to ask me; Yes, a better product (higher quality, better functionality, nicer design etc..) will indeed cost you more money to produce the product, but you will be in full control of your sale price based on the quality you have created to separate you from the other products on market.
“Invest in quality, shine in profits.”
- Ya boy, Chrissy J :)
3. NOT IMPROVING YOUR PRODUCT
This is something I actually executed extremely well starting out when bringing my first product to market on Amazon UK (sports supplement). I focused my energy and attention on bringing a product to market that was currently doing great sales but had products on market with some real bad reviews (1,2 and some terrible 3 stars also). The power of product research on Amazon (when you know what you are doing) is that you have a flood of feedback data for how you can improve your product right off of your competitors product listings.
Someone give me a hell yeaaaaaah!? :)
As a prime example, you might have an average product in the Pet Supplies category on Amazon selling over 400 units per month, but has poor and sloppy low star reviews. I know I could take that product (and so could you), improve on it, bring it to market, generate more sales, better reviews, and of goes dynamite!
Now this is the way to do effective Amazon product research (and capitalize royally on other sellers negatives).
When looking through my competitors’ reviews starting out selling sports supplements, I started to see a pattern merge. Most customers were not happy with the dosage a single capsule contained, the size of the capsules and also the quantity of capsules per tub. All I did then, was take note and apply to negatives from what competitors’ customers were experiencing and turn those into bright, shiny and sparkling positives upon creating my own product.
Then, I created my product page listing to specify the unique points of my product that were not being included with others on market (bigger and MUCH more popular branded products I might add..).
Magic? Of course not. Okay, maybe just a little..
18-months later, that product made me over £100,000 in total sales and maintained the actual Best-Seller tag for the majority of that duration. Not too shabby, eh!? :)
As you can see, there is no such thing as reinventing the wheel here when looking to get ahead in the market, it often comes down to a common sense style of approach with a hint of creativity.
Now that you have dodged some potentially sales and cash flow threatening obstacles, it’s time to move on and talk about some strategical moves when it comes to Amazon product research.
THE VERY REAL OPPORTUNITY
With online marketplaces growing more and more in popularity, Amazon continues to own (and dominate) a large percentage of the online space when it comes to this. With over 240 million+ active users on Amazon, the opportunity for sellers to jump on board has never been so great. As Amazon’s profits grow, yours can too as an Amazon seller leveraging their sales platform.
But of course, with demand and popularity of a given something, the rise of potential concerns for increased competition and saturation in the market also begins to rise.
The good news is, You can tap in and create your own little sub-niches if you follow the right procedures for effective Amazon product research, helping you to move away from the fast and furious categories that all so many Amazon sellers are trying to get their own slice the cake of.
I’m about to show you how you can ensure proper product research when starting out in this online business so you don’t have to fall into the “same as every other seller” category.
One last thing, selling on Amazon in my opinion will continue to grow in popularity. If you are serious about getting started, begin sooner than later. Period.
CONNECTING WITH A WINNING PRODUCT
Just like many other Amazon sellers out there (yes, including myself), have gone through the motions when beginning their Amazon product research and turning it into a trial and error kinda thing (1000% not needed, yo!). It’s down to this trial and error phase during my own product research for selling on Amazon that has helped me learn a lot, gain a shed load of experience and to succeed at this business model.
I started selling 2-years ago within the Health & Personal care category on Amazon (selling supplements), and in all honesty, I didn’t have the slightest of clue what I was doing with product research. Like not a single clue.. So what ended up happening!? I totally guessed my first product and luckily enough (extremely lucky) managed to sell £100,000 worth over in a 2-year duration.
Do I advise you follow the same protocol as I did? Absolutely not. In our day and age, there are so many tools and resources out there that we can use to minimise risk and maximise gain when it comets Amazon product research. For example, AMZScout is a great tool for product research and selection for Amazon sellers, this is a well-thought option to start.
Also, during your beginning stage of product research, you are always going to get those people saying “Trying to choose a product to sell on Amazon is near damn impossible, I have spent over 6-months+ in trying to select a product and now that I have one, I’m still not sure it will sell!”. This comes down to lack of know-how, a lazy approach in the way product research is carried out and also a lack of will to actually commit a nice chunk of time to nail this process down (sorry not sorry cause’ it’s true, yo!).
My advice to you would be to spend a solid amount of hours (15-25 on average) on Amazon product research in total, taking notes of everything that you come across that might have even the slightest amount of hope in selling well.
It’s almost scary that so many newbie Amazon sellers think they can walk onto the platform with 2 or 3 hours of product research under their belt and feel confident in the 100+ products they have chosen ready to sell - LOL!
The fact of the matter is that this takes time to master, just like everything else worthy of having or being successful at in this world.
BRINGING BACK THE BASICS
Most people will always look for the more “advanced methods” and “secret strategies” when it comes to product research for Amazon, but when it comes down to the real thing, sometimes basic just works best.
Below are the research criteria that you should look at following when searching for a product to sell on Amazon:
SALE PRICE: Always allow for respectable profit margins (I would opt for between $20-$50 as your sale price on Amazon).
NON-SEASONAL: Search for products that are going to be in demand and able to sell year round (avoid seasonal items).
LOW RISK: To minimise refunds and danger, choose products that are less risky as you could end up with a high refund rate (i.e.; a set of kitchen knives).
EASY TO SHIP: Look for products that are light in weight, small in size and that won’t get damaged during shipment overseas.
ZonLifeZinger - Leverage AMZScout’s sales estimator to see the velocity of sales and revenue of cash flow (accurate mostly data) for products you are looking to sell on Amazon.
While the above may seem very simple, these are in fact the criteria that all must begin with when searching for a product to start with (everybody has to start somewhere).
Okay, who’s ready to ramp up this product research stuff into more depth and detail, yo!? ;)
BEAST MODE AMAZON PRODUCT RESEARCH
Below, I will include some of the “more advanced” methods of product research that you are all so needy to find out about. It’s time to turn that “vanilla” style Amazon research into “double choc-chip with a fresh chunk of brotein” homies. Let’s do this! :)
1. SPYING ON YOUR COMPETITORS
This is an incredibly powerful tactics that many Amazon sellers swear by (myself included). Being able to find out how your competition is doing in terms of sales and revenue per month (using This awesome product research tool) and also seeing whether their customers have a smile or a frown on their faces after they have made a purchase with them.
You can head on into your competitors store fronts on Amazon and scout through to find their best selling products and capitalise on those top sellers into creating a much improved replica of their product(s) ;).
All you have to do in order to be able to do this is to.. On second thoughts, i’m just going to create a video for you all to show you how..
Any further questions on this? Hit me up on my Facebook profile (see bottom of blog) and I will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.
2. LESSER COMPETITION MARKETS
For a new Amazon seller going into a market, you might find yourself being up against some pretty hefty competition. I recommend you look for an average review count in the market of under 50-150 (product reviews). You want to enter a niche that has potential for sales even for a new seller, so look for the other listings in the marketplace that are doing a large amount of sales (300+ per month) with smaller amounts of reviews.
ZonLife Zinger - Product reviews can be very challenging to generate these days, this is why I advise going into markets with lower count of reviews so you can successfully compete. Then focus on building up your reviews to match and take over your competitors review numbers faster than you could in other higher review categories.
3. ENTER A FRESHER NICHE
In the world of selling on Amazon, competition (as well as mind blocks of motivation) can be a great concern for new sellers. In the last few months, I have taken a step back to really evaluate the Amazon product research process to spin some structures on their heads in order to carve out fresh, newer and exciting niches.
This in my opinion, is where the magic really starts to happen. I mean common, you see the average Amazon seller jumping onto a hot niche that everybody else seems to be in all of the time, what is the point of that when there are already so many sellers in the market?
Imagine finding a product that is selling 400+ units per month and with the highest review listing in the niche being 60 or even less? That is an absolute goldmine! You now have the option to enter a up and coming market that is already in demand being searched and purchased by customers, and you get to avoid the trap of falling into a gloomy (and often aggressive) market where every other Amazon seller seems to be hanging out.
You’ll be less stressed in pestering customers to clock up hundreds of reviews, and a lot less worried about not making sales.
Does the juice sound like it’s worth the squeeze on something like a newer market to enter? Absolutely! :)
ZonLife Zinger - If you can find markets like this on Amazon (and trust me you can), just imagine if you created an even better product than the ones currently selling well in this new niche? The potential of making a crazy flow of sales would be incredible!
While there are other processes with Amazon product research in selecting a killer product to sell on Amazon, the above information will get you started off on the right track.
CONCLUSION
I hope these tips and tricks come in handy when going through your own Amazon product research.
Always focus on the bigger picture, the higher quality product creation and the more appealing design when producing a private label product.
Friend, it’s time I left you crack on, muster up some ideas, take action, and embark on your journey to ultimate selling on Amazon glory.
Until next time, keep the good hustle flowing and the great sales growing homie!
Just before you head off, what has been your biggest struggle when it comes to Amazon product research, and how did you get around it? Comment your answer below! :)
My contact details are below for anybody looking to get in touch. I promise I don’t bite ;)
Facebook: Facebook.com/ZonLifeSuccess
YouTube Channel: YouTube.com/ZonLifeSuccess
And remember, you’re only one product launch away from..
Author BIO:
Chris Jones is a successful Amazon Seller and business owner. He now spends much of his time helping others start their own businesses and make money from selling online. He also creates lots of free resources for ecommerce sellers and aspiring sellers.
