To find inspiration, try asking yourself:
- What are you passionate about?
- When you look around, what do people need to solve a problem?
- Which types of products are trending and currently popular?
- Could you put your own spin on an existing product and make it better?

Explore what products are selling well on Amazon and see how they rank. Start with the Amazon’s Best Seller list and consult the Movers & Shakers list for popular products based on sales. Then, dig deeper into product categories and subcategories.

Read about more tips on researching what to sell here.

i) Conduct an industry analysis and adequate category research – consider which categories have the greatest potential and the competition involved.

- Category growth potential: Research via Google trends or use any third-party analytical websites.
- Barrier to entry: Additional supporting documents may be required for more gated categories (e.g. Compliance or Product Safety Certification). You should also ensure that your products are compliant with Amazon’s product regulations.
- Competitive landscape: Search for the product type and observe the number of substitutes available on Amazon.

ii) Consider your product positioning – how do you differentiate yourself based on customer shopping behavior or demographics?

- Product innovation and unique selling point: Take into account the market and business needs.
- Point of introduction, changing trends and seasonality: Determine the best time to launch your new selection by using tools like Google trends or Product Opportunity Explorer. For products that are not impacted by seasonality, it is recommended to launch by March to optimize the store before peak sales seasons like Prime Day.
- Customer reviews and ratings: Use this to find untapped potential for your products. Pay particular attention to bad reviews which signals an opportunity to introduce a new product that avoids similar mistakes.

iii) Choose the pricing strategy – how should you price your new products to give yourself a healthy profit margin?

- Consider Amazon selling fees: Take into consideration your monthly subscription plan, referral fee, fulfillment fees (if you intend to use FBA) and other costs. Learn more here.
- Pricing band opportunities: Research average product pricing on Amazon before deciding your product pricing strategy. If you are pricing it at a premium, your product should have a unique selling price versus other similar products.

With these in mind, you will be well poised to pick the right products to sell on Amazon.

The Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) revenue calculator helps you to get real-time cost comparisons to decide whether to fulfil orders on your own or use programs like FBA to deliver orders from customers on Amazon, and estimate your profit.

Note: This FBA Revenue Calculator should be used as a guide in evaluating FBA only. If you are unsure about what FBA is, please refer to this page.

Although you can sell almost anything in Amazon stores, a good place for an aspiring ecommerce store owner to start is with products that:

- Are easy to package and ship
- Have branding potential
- Are affordable for customers
- Have a long shelf life

Products that may be difficult for a new entrepreneur to sell are:

- Food and perishables
- Products with a low profit margin
- Heavy or bulky items, or products that are expensive to ship
- Highly competitive products (check the amount of customer reviews)
- Complex items or electronic products

Products that you may wish to avoid selling are:

- Patented or trademarked products (unless you own the patent/trademark or are certified as a reseller)
- Restricted products. Depending on the selling channels you use, there may be restrictions on the types of products you can sell. It’s a good idea to check the restricted products list before you start buying inventory to make sure you don’t run into any unexpected challenges.

Our Amazon Seller University Category Guides provide in-depth analyses on customer trends, hot selling products, and peak shopping seasons for you.

Our Product Research Playbook also provides more tips on product ideas per category, customer insights that drive demand, and tools that you can use to gain a competitive advantage to maximize your chances for success on Amazon.

There is a Best Sellers page on Amazon which is updated with top products by category. View top sellers, movers and shakers, new releases, gifting ideas and more. Get inspired, and learn more about researching what sells best on Amazon here.

Amazon's Product Opportunity Explorer tool (Seller Central login required) gives you access to rich, accurate customer demand data so you know the WHY as well as the WHAT. Product Opportunity Explorer allows you to understand Amazon customers' preferences to evaluate if there is unmet customer demand, find niche opportunities and assess competition. This way, you will be closer to picking a product that reaps good profit and sells well on Amazon.

To learn more about the Product Opportunity Explorer tool, refer here. Sign up for an account today to gain access to this tool.

Discover third-party software and services including third-party keyword research tools such as Helium10 or JungleScout, and product compliance consultants here.

Our selling plans give you the freedom to pay per sale or stick to a flat monthly fee. You can change or cancel your plan at any time.

Remember to take into account other costs when calculating your profitability. Refer here.