SmartScout: A Comprehensive Review for Amazon Sellers

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by AMZScout T.posted on 12.07.2024

Research tools can boost Amazon sellers' performance significantly by offering valuable market insights. One of the most popular solutions available is SmartScout, known for its comprehensive features. However, some user reviews have highlighted several key points to consider about utilizing this software.

In this article, we'll examine the pros and cons of SmartScout, and also explore some alternatives.

Overview of SmartScout

What is SmartScout? SmartScout is a specialized product research tool tailored to Amazon sellers. It helps users discover trending products aligned with different business models. This tool also provides useful SEO insights and streamlines the process of competitor analysis to help sellers optimize their selling strategies.

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SmartScout is primarily a product finder tool that provides detailed insights across over 42,000 Amazon subcategories. It offers market share data, historical revenue trends, and key product information to help sellers select products for their stores. In addition to standard functions like the sales estimator, it distinguishes itself with two unique features:

  • Sellers Map: This tool includes a seller database of the top 1,000 Amazon merchants, allowing you to locate them geographically, view their brands and products, and adjust your own strategy accordingly.

  • Traffic Graph: This feature displays products that are bought together frequently, helping sellers enhance their ad strategy and bundle creation to enhance sales and improve the overall user experience.

smartscout Traffic Graph
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While SmartScout is a robust tool, it's also important to note that, like the sun, it has its spots and flaws. User reviews of SmartScout highlight some drawbacks, which we'll discuss further in the pros and cons below.

Benefits and Drawbacks of SmartScout

According to user feedback, SmartScout offers numerous pros, including:

  • Excellent support service: SmartScout receives top-rated reviews for its friendly and prompt customer support.

  • Modern interface: It also features a sleek design that presents data in a manner that’s easy to interact with, and as convenient as a web app.

  • Valuable insights: This tool is especially beneficial for online arbitrage and wholesale, and helps sellers find promising products with minimal competition.

  • Tailored packages: It also offers different packages and relevant features that cater to various types of Amazon sellers.

However, SmartScout also has a few drawbacks:

  • No free trial: There is no opportunity for a free trial with this tool - instead, there's a seven-day money-back guarantee, and users are required to provide payment details upfront.

  • Pricing concerns: The basic $29/month package may not include essential tools like keyword research, making it less appealing to new sellers. More comprehensive packages are significantly more expensive, with the reseller and private label plans costing $97/ month, and the brand plan priced at $187/month.

  • Learning curve: While it is user-friendly, understanding terms like ‘Estimated CPC’ can be challenging for beginners due to lack of explanations.

  • Limited functionality: This Amazon extension lags behind competitors in terms of offering features for checking sales history, as this option is only available on the SmartScout website. Additionally, SmartScout offers limited keyword research opportunities, which are essential for ad and listing optimization.

These drawbacks may prompt users to explore alternative trend-tracking tools. We'll discuss the main SmartScout alternatives in the next section.

Leading Alternatives

When it comes to analyzing Amazon, it's best to compare SmartScout with three other well-established and widely recognized tools in the market. Each of these tools has its own unique characteristics, so let's delve into each of their features.

AMZScout

The first alternative to SmartScout is AMZScout, renowned as a robust analytical tool for its precise data, essential features, and user-friendly interface. AMZScout’s features help sellers succeed on Amazon by offering a variety of tools for:

  • Keyword research: You can find effective keywords for your niche with the Keyword Search, and use them in your ads or listings to boost visibility. With the Keyword Tracker, you can spot ineffective keywords to help you adjust your strategy.

    Amazon product discovery with keyword search
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  • Listing optimization: You can create compelling listings instantly with the AI Listing Builder, which uses your pre-collected keywords or extracts them from your competitors’ listings using Reverse ASIN Lookup tool. A list of best practices and Amazon guidelines are also available for further adjustments.

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  • Market research: The Product Database and PRO Extension are two product finder tools that help sellers find trending product ideas, and analyze both category and niche profitability. This helps to ensure that you select the best products for your store.

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  • Supplier search: Alibaba offers the widest range of products and suppliers. With the Find on Alibaba feature, you can locate suppliers easily without leaving the extension.

  • Reseller-focused analysis: For resellers, the Amazon Dropshipping, Arbitrage, and Wholesale Extension allows for swift verification of selling restrictions, such as gated categories and items containing hazardous materials, along with the capacity to calculate unit profitability.

    Install Amazon Dropshipping, Arbitrage and Wholesale
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  • Competitor analysis: Stock Stats is a free tool that enables sellers to monitor their competitors' inventory levels and types of businesses (FBA, FBM, or Amazon). Other features included in the AMZScout bundle allow users to evaluate their sales performance to improve their selling strategies.

    How does AMZScout Stock Stats chrome extension work
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  • Educational resources: AMZScout offers a thorough, step-by-step course on starting an Amazon business, covering all crucial aspects. You can also enhance your knowledge further with webinars featuring top-seller tips and insights.

AMZScout is a comprehensive solution focused on selecting the best products for your store, identifying the most effective keywords, and optimizing your listings. It caters to all business models, including both reselling and private label ventures.

Thanks to these features, AMZScout can outperform SmartScout by offering:

  • A free trial: There's a free trial period that lets you test every feature without the need to enter any credit card information—just your email address. This saves you the hassle of dealing with refund requests and timely cancellation of subscriptions.

  • Affordable pricing: The bundle of 12 Amazon seller tools is available for just $49.99/month, and comes with a 10-day money-back guarantee.

  • Free tools: You can benefit from free tools that check profitability metrics, such as FBA fees and estimated monthly sales. You also have the ability to spy on competitors' stock levels, pricing, and seller types.

  • Product ideas: Weekly reports with 19 booming product suggestions, plus monthly reports on best-selling products and niche updates, help you stay ahead of trends.

  • Wide functionality: The bundle is suitable for any business model, including dropshipping. Additional filters can help you decide if a product is worth your time, considering factors like reselling limitations, weight, and private labeling suitability.

This combination of essential tools, convenience, and affordable pricing makes AMZScout a valuable option to consider.

AMZScout Amazon Seller's Bundle

Get All Tools You Need to Start Selling on Amazon with a Step-by-Step Course

TRY FOR FREE

Find your first product with a free AMZScout Trial!

Get AMZScout Now

Helium 10

Helium 10 offers one of the greatest array sets of functions available, and utilizes API for accurate Amazon data retrieval. This option includes over 30 tools for detailed product analysis, listing optimization, and competitor assessment with extensive metrics. However, some users find the abundance of features overwhelming and unnecessary, leading to information overload.

Unique features of the extension include:

  • Amazon Inventory Management Software: This helps sellers track their inventory levels by automating quantity adjustments according to the amount of orders received. It also estimates delivery speed for effective communication with suppliers.

  • Amazon Refund Manager: Amazon sellers often encounter problems when dealing with refunds and reimbursement. The Refund Genie greatly streamlines this time-consuming process.

  • Amazon Anomaly Tracking: If you notice that your listing is no longer displayed via keyword search, it could be one of Amazon’s anomalies. Helium 10 can help to locate and resolve the issue.

Helium 10's pricing ranges from $39/month for the starter package (which includes minimal tools) to $279/month for the extended package. Users should evaluate whether they require all Helium 10 functionalities carefully before making such a significant purchase.

JungleScout

JungleScout is another widely recognized analytical tool known for its extensive functionality. While it effectively addresses common issues like product and keyword research, its abundance of data can be overwhelming for beginners. Some of JungleScout’s standout features include:

  • Review Automation: The app automates the review request process, allowing for personalized requests that can increase the likelihood of receiving reviews and boosting your store's credibility.

  • Amazon Ad Intel: This feature provides clear metrics on ad performance, helping you save time, adjust your strategy, and improve your results.

  • Supplier Database: By using this Chrome extension, you can find verified suppliers by searching for a brand or product, compare quotes, and check confirmed shipments and customer volume.

JungleScout's monthly subscription starts at $49, but offers limited functionality for Amazon analysis. The full version costs $129/month. It's important to note that JungleScout is best suited for private label sellers rather than resellers, so your business goals will determine if it's the right fit for you.

Conclusion

Like every tool, SmartScout has its advantages and drawbacks. However, its functionality is somewhat limited compared to more versatile alternatives like AMZScout. Amazon sellers can benefit from exploring free trials of other alternatives to SmartScout and studying user reviews to determine which option best meets their needs.

AMZScout Amazon Seller's Bundle

Get All Tools You Need to Start Selling on Amazon with a Step-by-Step Course

TRY FOR FREE

Find your first product with a free AMZScout Trial!

Get AMZScout Now

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