Still confused about which products to sell on Amazon?
The platform’s gigantic size can be quite intimidating but trust us, all the current money-makers on Amazon have been there.
However, we were able to collect and process information from hundreds of campaigns and figured out the top selling items on Amazon.
So, in this article we have compiled a list of top selling items on Amazon so that you don’t have to do the dirty work.
Moreover, there is a detailed guide on how to select the best products for your Amazon and how to sell them the right way.
So, without further ado – let’s get started.
What Kind of Items to sell on Amazon in 2019?
In this section, we will review the kind of items that perform best on Amazon. Note that this section is more about the criteria to find such items rather than a list.
1. Items having Sale Price higher than at least $20
Anything selling below $20 would be unable to earn you substantial profits in the longer run.
Sure, you may feel like it’s really hitting off in the beginning but soon other sellers will get ahead in the competition and you will be left facing margin compression. What happens then?
Well, you would most likely be stuck with tons of stored units of that product with no profitable clientage.
This is why we recommend products that sell at $20 or higher.
Don’t forget that sometimes the profit margin appears to be quite substantial but once you do your math and calculate all of the contributing factors, you realize that it is really not that great after all. We’ll discuss this in detail later in a bit.
Moreover, one of the things you should note is:
Having a very low price could reduce the contribution margin a lot. You get hit by Amazon fees and as a result, the margins are not very promising.
2. Products that Target the Right Keywords
Keywords play a crucial role in getting maximum traffic towards your listings.
Usually sellers only target a couple of broad, competitive keywords. This serves no good as you usually end up getting discouraged because competitive keywords make it almost impossible to get a good ranking.
The trick here is to target longer keyword phrases that don’t have as much competition and thus make it easier to get a good ranking and stay on the first page.
Make sure your product is ranked for as many keywords as possible. If you’re only targeting 2-3 keywords, you need to do a lot more.
I would say if you can find long tail keywords like are 3+ keywords with traffic over 5000 volume via ZonWords then you’re on the right path.
3. Items with at least 25-30% Contribution Margin
What is Contribution Margin?
Let’s take a look at your numbers to find out.
Total cost of goods landed means the sum of:
- shipment cost per unit
- landed cost per unit
Now come all the fees you’re paying to Amazon, which involve:
- FBA Fulfillment Fee
- Referral Fee
Add up all these factors and subtract them from your product’s sale price.
Lastly, it’s time to include the cost of PPC for promoting your product. After this, you finally arrive at your contribution margin.
This represents the actual profit you’re going to get after everything’s been said and done. Make sure there is at least a 25-30% contribution margin for your product.
4. Products with Just the Right Amount of Competition
This is really important, which is why we’re going to be talking about it a lot.
As a new seller, you have to avoid highly competitive items but also those with almost zero competition (there’s probably a reason that no one’s selling it, right?)
Highly competitive spaces are for experienced sellers that customers trust. Realistically speaking, an inexperienced seller among such competitors is unlikely to make profitable sales.
The right product is in-demand, but still has room for new sellers.
If there are around 1 to 15 sellers selling the same product then it’s fine. You are on the right track. However, it’s highly advised that you examine them with a tool like Zonwords, Jungle Scout, Helium10 or Viral Launch for better results.
5. Well-Inspected, Easily Shippable Items
A good product is both easily and inexpensively shippable. There are a couple of factors to determine if your product is conveniently shippable or not. We’ll discuss these later in detail.
But what does “well-inspected” mean?
Sometimes, your supplier is from another country – or another continent even – where you can’t possible go to check the goods yourself.
In such cases, it is best to hire an inspecting company in your supplier’s country and leave it up to them to make sure that the product meets all of the set criteria and quality standards.
This will save you from negative customer reviews later. Products damaged during shipping are perceived as low quality items and will give you the reputation of substandard products seller.
For better understanding, you can always review Qima in China which is an intelligent platform for quality assurance.
Guide to Buy Top Selling Items on Amazon
Tips to Find the Bestselling Items on Amazon – How to Maximize Your Profits?
Before we get into strategic details about profitable products, here are a few simple yet fruitful tips to become a successful seller on Amazon:
1. Don’t get into Competition Right Away
This is an important rule for every new seller in any market.
“You must start with a product that many demand, but not many provide.”
Getting into a saturated and competitive space is a rookie yet common mistake.
So, how do you find a high-demand product with low competition on Amazon?
It’s almost impossible to do so using the site’s catalog, which is why we have devised a strategy:
Check for the number of customer reviews. Higher the reviews, the higher the competition.
Search for product listings with 50 or lesser reviews. If the top results only have a few reviews then congratulations, you just found yourself the perfect product!
2. Avoid Seasonal Items
Who wants to be successful only for some part of the year?
That’s right, no one. You have to make sure that the item you plan on selling has consistent demand all around the year. We suggest that you take some time and check your category’s sales thoroughly.
For instance, take a look at how number of searches for the term “winter sports” vary around the year:
You should avoid seasonal items for two main reasons:
First and obvious one is that you only get to earn during a particular season and…
The other is that seasonal items usually mean high competition.
Take Halloween or Christmas items, for instance. Almost everyone becomes a businessman in such days. So, if you are a new seller with inadequate reputation, we advise you to avoid this space.
3. Pay Attention to the Size and Weight of your Item
If you have ever bought something online, you would be familiar with a buyer’s reluctance to pay high shipping fee. Therefore as a seller, avoid attaching the high-cost shipping label to your product.
So, how to ensure hustle-free, cheap shipping?
Here’s the trick:
Check if your item is first, lightweight, and second, durable.
As far as the item’s size is concerned, even if your item is large in dimensions, ask yourself if it is foldable. If yes, you’re good to go!
One thing that we have learned from our experience on Amazon is that it is far more likely to make sales with easy-to-ship items. Save the costly-shipping items for when you have successfully made a name for yourself.
4. Look Out for Big Fishes
As a beginner, try not to jump into categories already dominated by prominent sellers. These categories are for when your brand has enough following and good customer reviews.
Instead, choose a category yet unknown to a big fish seller. This is a golden opportunity to make a name for your brand in your particular niche and gain reputation.
Even after putting up your product for sale, you should keep yourself up-to-date with new sellers entering the market. We suggest to do so on a weekly basis to know how competitive your category is at all times.
5. Quick Checklist for a Profitable item on Amazon
So, can your item be a bestselling product on Amazon?
Check out this list of characteristics of Amazon bestsellers to find out:
- Products within $20-50 price range – items costing more than $50-60 usually attract only specific buyers so the chances of purchase drop.
- Household items – these are your everyday-use items that are needed all round the year. On the contrary, seasonal or holiday items are only in-demand for some part of the year.
- Lightweight and unbreakable items – fragile and heavy items both mean costly and risky shipping.
- Easily manufactured items – trust me, it is best to avoid electronics, crockery, or any other complicated items that are not only difficult to manufacture, but also high-priced and mostly fragile.
- Products having high-demand yet low competition – We cannot stress this enough: do not jump into a competitive market on your first experience.
4 Most Common Mistakes to Avoid while Selling on Amazon
You shouldn’t just learn from your own mistakes, learn from others’ as well!
Here are the top 4 most common mistakes that almost every Amazon beginner makes:
1.Using Untested Sellable Factors
Is your product actually profitable?
Many beginners complain that their product didn’t earn them the promised profit despite being in-demand.
Here’s the thing: being only “in-demand” does not make any item sellable. This is exactly what beginners fail to realize.
We have already discussed the roles of competition and shipping rates in this regard. Moreover, Amazons seller fees, the product’s wholesale price, margin for profit, quality and usability also contribute to a particular item’s value.
All you need to do is a bit of research to ensure that all these factors are in order. You can visit Amazon’s website to check out their selling rates in detail:
2. Lack of a Solid Marketing Plan and Research
Every business needs two basic things to run: a product/service, and a great plan. Amazon is no exception.
Many beginners focus their attention solely on choosing the right product. Once they do that and have their item up on sale, they depend entirely on their product and Amazon itself for profits.
The truth is that no matter how perfect your product seems, it still needs to be paired with a well-devised strategy to make profits. Therefore, conduct thorough research and plan out your sales based on this research beforehand.
3. Getting Stuck on a Product
People often get way too committed to a single product or product idea. While it’s good to stick to a potentially profitable product, it is just plain stubbornness to keep on selling a product that’s clearly not beneficial.
And when it comes to business, stubbornness can cost you a lot.
You should always be willing to give up your current product and move on to a new option if needed. Wasting both your time and money on a product that was a dud from the start is just silly in a diverse market like Amazon, where you have so many options.
4. Coming off as a Newbie in front of Suppliers
It’s actually not that difficult for a supplier to determine if you’re a new seller.
It all depends upon your attitude and especially upon the type of questions you ask the supplier. If you ask really newbie questions then you’re going to come off as a rookie seller and chances are that the suppliers would use that fact to their advantage.
For instance, if you place a really small order while coming off as an inexperienced seller, suppliers would use your lack of knowledge and sell you expensive or lower-quality products.
So, how to take care of this issue?
The best way to come off as an experienced seller is to use templates for communicating with suppliers. These templates are easily available online. You can also look for tips to communicate the right way.
How to be on Top of Your Game?
We discussed tips to become a successful seller on Amazon and also common mistakes to avoid as an Amazon seller.
Finally, let’s get into how you can go the extra mile to up your game on Amazon:
1. Pay Attention to Product Listings
This is really important.
Try to view your product from buyer’s perspective. Product listing can be a deal maker or breaker, depending upon how much attention you give to it. Create a clear, easy-to-read description with an interesting, eye-catching image of your item.
Sure, your product may be the best in quality and other aspects, but if its lower-quality competitors put up a more catchy listing on Amazon, you may lose sales. So, how to give the best listing for your item?
An easy tip is to observe how top-sellers showcase their product listings. Learn from different sellers and create a unique listing of your own based on your learnt knowledge. For instance, checkout the listing for this top-seller product:
2. Stay Connected with the Amazon Community
This is one of the first things that you should do after putting your item up on sale, but why?
Joining Amazon communities on social media and other platforms will enable you to interact with fellow sellers or simply to observe them.
This is great especially as a new seller because it introduces you to several scenarios or problems that may have remained unknown to you otherwise.
Long-term active membership in such communities goes a long way. It can even make way for successful partnerships. You can also get first-hand reviews from other sellers about certain products or suppliers.
However, make sure to participate in these groups and don’t just become a silent observer entirely. People would be reluctant to help you out if they’ve never even seen you contributing to the community.
3. Learn from your Experiences – Test and Retest
Don’t just “wing” things, learn from your experiences. See what works and what doesn’t, and base your next strategy on previous knowledge.
Trust us, everyone makes mistakes in the beginning, no one makes a major profit on their very first attempt. However it is possible. Through your first product you will be Learning from your mistakes, test new strategies and analyze results every time.
Amazon is a huge platform and it takes a while to fully understand its trends. But once you do, you can put all your previous experiences to use and make better decisions. Till then, don’t get demotivated and just keep trying again and again.
4.Stick to Your Strategy
Lastly, don’t lose sight of your own path.
We discussed above how important devising a well-planned strategy is, but that strategy won’t be of any use if you keep deviating from it. Be confident in your own plan, rather than following trends.
Think, what’s the worst that could happen? Yes, you may not make good profits but at least you get to learn something from that experience for the future.
On the other hand, if you leave your strategy midway to pick up a trend and still fail, you won’t even know exactly why you failed and hence, won’t learn anything from your experience.
Final Thoughts?
No one wants to see their investments sinking right in front of them. The best way to avoid that is to be as prepared as possible beforehand. This post is to prepare you for this very reason.
This is all for a reason: selling on Amazon may seem overwhelming, but is actually quite simple! Neither does it require huge investments nor any complex procedures. All you have to do is to be smart about your tactics and do enough research.
Thorough research is vital for profitable sales. If you don’t do proper research, you won’t be able to properly learn about your product or even come up with a fruitful strategy.
So, If you are a new seller seeking a golden opportunity in e-commerce giant Amazon, combine our guide with proper research and you will see yourself outselling your competitors in no time!
