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I will help you find a product to sell on Amazon

farmer79

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What about a high quality analog chess clock?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KRODGPY/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20
Digital ones seem good but the analogs have mostly bad reviews and they all look the same. Analogs have a nostalgia emotional 'pull'. Could be differentiated by a different high quality design.

I don't mean to HiJack Biophase's thread, but I think you will have a very hard time with this one. As a competitive chess player myself who now has kids who are playing tournament chess, a digital clock is a must, because most tournaments now play with an increment (5-20 seconds added per move). This has eliminated wild time scrambles and also sped chess up as players won't play on in a hopeless position hoping to win on time. Both of which have made tournament directors lives much easier.
 
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dabelge

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Just back from a cycling holiday in Italy where me and my brother toured for 2 weeks on our road bikes.

We like to travel super light and hate panniers so have looked into alternatives. I have attached a few pictures of our setup for this year which worked very good. Easy to load/unload, relatively easy to carry around and not compromising on stability at high speeds 60km/h+.

One product or bundle that I would want to pursue, but I'm not sure if the demand is there, is the front setup which this year was achieved by fixing TT bars to the handlebars which were used as a "rack" or support for the bag we attached on top with homemade straps.

We have tried to fix the bag horizontally as well as vertically and found that while seated horizontal the center of gravity is in line with the forks etc, its inconvenient for hands when sitting in the hoods. The bag will slightly rub against your hands and shifting gears is not that easy.

Having the load along the TT bars however made a huge difference in comfort and it's somewhat more aero. The beauty of this is that it doesnt matter if you have your cables inside the handlebars or outside, this setup can work in both scenarios.

I have a few ideas on how to put this together and would be interested what others think before starting.
View attachment 16120
View attachment 16122

The reason some of the bags like the one you have on the back were developed is for off-road adventures where keeping the bike "skinny" would be helpful on tight single track trails.

I would think that having a lot of weight high up and in font of the handlebars would make the bike ride poorly(raising the center of gravity). Panniers keep the center of gravity low and in turn keeps the bike stable.

Personally I would come up with a better pannier for road riding vs a big bag high/in front of the handlebars.
 

Laughingman21

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@biophase - what's your opnion on how many suppliers you should get samples from on a new product?

I've found a new supplier that I like the price of, but speaking to more experienced Amazon sellers, they suggested getting three samples, each from a different company. Their reason being, that if the sample is no good, you save time not having to find another company and you can choose the best.

Obviously, the downside is three times the cost and time taken.
 

biophase

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@biophase - what's your opnion on how many suppliers you should get samples from on a new product?

I've found a new supplier that I like the price of, but speaking to more experienced Amazon sellers, they suggested getting three samples, each from a different company. Their reason being, that if the sample is no good, you save time not having to find another company and you can choose the best.

Obviously, the downside is three times the cost and time taken.

I get as many as i need. I don’t think I’d ever get just one. How do you even know it’s good if you have nothing to compare it to.
 
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Laughingman21

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I get as many as i need. I don’t think I’d ever get just one. How do you even know it’s good if you have nothing to compare it to.

I've bought competitors products to see their quality and planned to compare against these. However, I'll now try to find additional manufacturers, although it's proving hard as most won't reply to emails.
 

norenberg

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what about wrist watches in general?
Seems to be saturated yes but I see a lot of the same around there (doesn't need to be just Amazon but brands in general)
there seems to be a gap between supercheap chinese ($100 or lower) and the very expensive ones ($1000 or more) where a brand could be built.. my idea would be to design one from scratch and be different from the majority by not being necessarily from chinese manufacturers and maybe one need I see is for people with skinny wrists.. seems like we don't have many options for this size.
 
D

Deleted52409

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Why not a supplement? I am a newbie so I am only really asking out of curiosity. I assumed that supplements, vitamins, and herbs could be profitable to sell in the United States because of our horrible health care system.
 
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Laughingman21

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Why not a supplement? I am a newbie so I am only really asking out of curiosity. I assumed that supplements, vitamins, and herbs could be profitable to sell in the United States because of our horrible health care system.

It's super competitive. It's not a product to cut your teeth on.
 

College Dropout

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I think we're all getting a real lesson on how difficult it is to pick a good product to sell on Amazon.

This shit is hard!

I realize this is a bit of an older post on this thread but it illustrates something I've been wondering. If you remove the Amazon specific factors that help us decide which ideas are viable and which aren't (amazon fba, etc.), then selling on Amazon is, in essence, an eCommerce business with lower entry barriers. In the same sense, take a brick and mortar business, remove factors relating to location, stick it on the internet, and you get an Ecom business. Correct me if I'm wrong? If simply picking a product that will provide value to others and sell is this effing difficult then how is anyone in business? Or is selling on amazon just entirely different than opening a more fully fledged business?

Also, how does all that's being discussed in this thread translate to assessing the viability of an idea you want to build an actual full fledged business around (ex: an eCommerce store). Is it easier to find a product to build a business around since your competition isn't literally right next to you on the same page your customer is viewing? I have been looking on Amazon for products which sell well on Amazon, yet have clear room for improvement as a means of finding products to potentially build an online store around. Is this a viable approach or is Amazon just a whole different beast?
 
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srtricky

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There are tons of items being sold on Amazon.com that are not available on Amazon.ca

How would one take advantage of this? How would I find a product that would makes sense and would it be better to cut a deal with the american distributor or try to get the same done through Alibaba?

Or the price drastically changes to 2x the price if the same item is looked at on Amazon.ca

How does one capitalize on something like this? I'm in Vancouver, Canada.
 
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biophase

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what about wrist watches in general?
Seems to be saturated yes but I see a lot of the same around there (doesn't need to be just Amazon but brands in general)
there seems to be a gap between supercheap chinese ($100 or lower) and the very expensive ones ($1000 or more) where a brand could be built.. my idea would be to design one from scratch and be different from the majority by not being necessarily from chinese manufacturers and maybe one need I see is for people with skinny wrists.. seems like we don't have many options for this size.

Without really even researching this on Amazon I'd say no. How are you going to differentiate on Amazon, just by putting your price in the middle?
 

biophase

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Why not a supplement? I am a newbie so I am only really asking out of curiosity. I assumed that supplements, vitamins, and herbs could be profitable to sell in the United States because of our horrible health care system.

Because of the competition.
 

biophase

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I realize this is a bit of an older post on this thread but it illustrates something I've been wondering. If you remove the Amazon specific factors that help us decide which ideas are viable and which aren't (amazon fba, etc.), then selling on Amazon is, in essence, an eCommerce business with lower entry barriers.

In the same sense, take a brick and mortar business, remove factors relating to location, stick it on the internet, and you get an Ecom business.

Correct me if I'm wrong? If simply picking a product that will provide value to others and sell is this effing difficult then how is anyone in business? Or is selling on amazon just entirely different than opening a more fully fledged business?

Also, how does all that's being discussed in this thread translate to assessing the viability of an idea you want to build an actual full fledged business around (ex: an eCommerce store).

Is it easier to find a product to build a business around since your competition isn't literally right next to you on the same page your customer is viewing? I have been looking on Amazon for products which sell well on Amazon, yet have clear room for improvement as a means of finding products to potentially build an online store around. Is this a viable approach or is Amazon just a whole different beast?

This was difficult to answer for me because it's really not even close to the same. If you want to sell one stapler. Can you open up an ecommerce store that literally sells 1 stapler model? When you list on Amazon, your stapler is being seen by people who are looking for staplers.

I doubt anyone here would do a Shopify store to sell 1 stapler.

The art of picking a product relies heavily on the current competition. That is why you need to research it on Amazon specifically.

If you launch a new shoe company with 1-2 shoes, would you open up a retail store in a mall, or put your shoe at footlocker next to other shoes?
 
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biophase

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There are tons of items being sold on Amazon.com that are not available on Amazon.ca

How would one take advantage of this? How would I find a product that would makes sense and would it be better to cut a deal with the american distributor or try to get the same done through Alibaba?

Or the price drastically changes to 2x the price if the same item is looked at on Amazon.ca

How does one capitalize on something like this? I'm in Vancouver, Canada.

I would go straight to China and import it to Canada. But remember, there is a probably reason that the price is 2X if you look at it on Amazon.ca.
 

Walter Hay

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I've bought competitors products to see their quality and planned to compare against these. However, I'll now try to find additional manufacturers, although it's proving hard as most won't reply to emails.
Failure to get replies is mostly due to the wrong approach in your email or online sales inquiry form.

See this early post of mine in which I set out many of the do's and don'ts regarding first contact. GOLD - Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.
There's more to it than that and I explain in Ch 13 of my book some of the niceties to take into account when making that first contact, including cultural issues.

Walter
 
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DCDeuce

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Here is neat trick I learned.

If you put a keyword in Amazon Search, it pulls up the popular phrase with the keyword in the front. For example, if you put "party", it will show "party favors" or "party supplies".

If you put the keyword in the Amazon Search and then put a # in front of it, it will show you the most popular long tail keyword with the keyword anywhere in the phrase. So if you put "party" with #, the 3rd most popular is "Unicorn Party".

If you search for Unicorn Party or Unicorn Party Supplies, you will find many products (plate set, hats..etc) that have almost the exact design, and not many reviews. In addition, according to JS they are all selling well.

Make a bunch of unicorn designs, put it on napkins, paper plate, banners... and sell it in a big package for large parties.

Has anyone else tried this lately? I just tried it and no longer did any longtail keywords come up, the search bar simply goes blank? Is it possible amazon caught onto this and disabled this feature?
 
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Van Halen

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Evaluate my idea

Thermal Underwear

Its super competitive, however most of the underwear is pajamas type. There are less Sports Thermal underwear (like the under armour type). I would add the Sports underwear and in a set. It would be hard to rank, but surely would stand out for someone looking for specifically that. If you put in the long tail keyword its less competitive, but Im unsure if people would actually enter that. I have the logo, design and supplier ready to go. Just awaiting for me to pull the trigger.

Is it worth considering?
 

biophase

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Evaluate my idea

Thermal Underwear

Its super competitive, however most of the underwear is pajamas type. There are less Sports Thermal underwear (like the under armour type). I would add the Sports underwear and in a set. It would be hard to rank, but surely would stand out for someone looking for specifically that. If you put in the long tail keyword its less competitive, but Im unsure if people would actually enter that. I have the logo, design and supplier ready to go. Just awaiting for me to pull the trigger.

Is it worth considering?

Price is all over the place. Some are very low. Personally i don’t think people care that much, it’s underwear and not meant to be seen.

If it’s going to be hard to rank, how are you going to rank it?
 

Van Halen

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Price is all over the place. Some are very low. Personally i don’t think people care that much, it’s underwear and not meant to be seen.

If it’s going to be hard to rank, how are you going to rank it?
The lower priced ones are the pyjama type, the sports ones are more consistent

I'd be doing the classic giveaways and refunding via paypal

Thanks for your time Biophase. It is much appreciated
 
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biophase

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The lower priced ones are the pyjama type, the sports ones are more consistent

I'd be doing the classic giveaways and refunding via paypal

Thanks for your time Biophase. It is much appreciated

I see prices around $22.

I don’t see how yours will be different. I see a bunch of sports versions already.

How may will you have to giveaway to rank decently? It looks moderately competitive but not that bad.

What is your landed cost per suit?
 

Van Halen

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I see prices around $22.

I don’t see how yours will be different. I see a bunch of sports versions already.

How may will you have to giveaway to rank decently? It looks moderately competitive but not that bad.

What is your landed cost per suit?
Im in the UK so the numbers will look odd. This is in pounds:
Cost: 13.87
Net: 22.99
Profit: 9.13

I will simply user facebook giveaway groups, I can give away 30 from a x100 order to break even
 

biophase

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Im in the UK so the numbers will look odd. This is in pounds:
Cost: 13.87
Net: 22.99
Profit: 9.13

I will simply user facebook giveaway groups, I can give away 30 from a x100 order to break even

Is that cost including all amazon fees? How are those broken down?
 

MoneyDoc

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Hey Kenric,

What do you prefer on amazon: volume or quantity? Would you rather have 10 products selling 5 a day or 1 product selling 50 a day?
 
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biophase

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Hey Kenric,

What do you prefer on amazon: volume or quantity? Would you rather have 10 products selling 5 a day or 1 product selling 50 a day?

It depends on your goals. If you want an easy life 1 product selling 50 a day would be easier to manage. But if you want to build a brand 10-5 is better.
 

GabrielMD

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Hi friends!

Evaluated my idea.

Varicose vein treatments.

I am a Medical Doctor, I want to create a website to offer varicose vein treatment advice. Currently, I have suppliers for two products which are compression socks and creams for varicose vein treatment. The idea is to sell those products on my own website and also on eBay and Amazon. Right now, I am selling the products on eBay to see how it works, but it has been slow. What do you think about it? I want to use my knowledge to leverage the idea.
 
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biophase

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Hi friends!

Evaluated my idea.

Varicose vein treatments.

I am a Medical Doctor, I want to create a website to offer varicose vein treatment advice. Currently, I have suppliers for two products which are compression socks and creams for varicose vein treatment. The idea is to sell those products on my own website and also on eBay and Amazon. Right now, I am selling the products on eBay to see how it works, but it has been slow. What do you think about it? I want to use my knowledge to leverage the idea.

Well you will be in a competitive market. Being a doctor may help with your product credibility but you will still have an uphill battle at the start. You should sell these because you WANT to create the website and help people vs. trying to make money. Else is may be discouraging and you may give up too fast.
 

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