I will help you find a product to sell on Amazon

[biophase]

I'm by no means an ecommerce guy, but I'm pretty big into accessories like necklaces and bracelets. I'd like to throw this idea out there for the forum as I think there's a need to fill for this.

One huge issue I see is getting high quality, fashionable bracelets. I'm in mens fashion groups on facebook and a lot have a hard time finding good bracelets and necklaces as well.

Some bracelets on Amazon look okay, but the string/plastic they use to hold the bracelets together break very easily and they fade really easy.

I like taking my bracelets and necklaces everywhere. Including in the pool and shower.

There are a lot of ppl in this market, but they sell the same low quality cookie cutter stuff, so I'm wondering what you think of a high quality bracelet that buyers can actually use without it fading or breaking and feel amazing wearing it.

I don't know alot about jewelry. I try to stay away from anything that has subjective tastes. If you take the same bracelet and improve the string, can you sell it for more? How do you convey this in your listing when people are just scrolling by and your listing a priced much higher?

 

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[biophase]

so you wouldnt give it a go? at the end i think not only gamer would buy it, but i speculate

@biophase also no recommendation on this one?

Not enough here to give it a shot. This is how you end up with 500 knives in your closet that you can't even get rid of on ebay or craigslist.

 

[Duane]

I don't know alot about jewelry. I try to stay away from anything that has subjective tastes. If you take the same bracelet and improve the string, can you sell it for more? How do you convey this in your listing when people are just scrolling by and your listing a priced much higher?

My thoughts on it were you can improve the quality of the plastic that holds the bracelet together, increase the quality of the materials used in the bracelet so it doesn't fade as easily and give it a unique design in the bracelet that hasn't been brought to market that is in demand. The above would be the reason for the additional costs.

For example, stone bracelets are starting to become a pretty popular style of bracelets for men. This is your typical bracelet on amazon, priced at $8.99. This bracelet has some good reviews, but from a consumer standpoint... the quality of the bracelet is pretty poor, so the string falls apart pretty quickly and the color of the beads fade after minimal use, all in all it's bland. There are even people rating it with 4/5 stars and still saying they weren't satisfied, but for the price that's what they expected.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C5P2QI6/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20




Lets put a higher quality bracelet to market using a stretchy more durable plastic instead of cheap string, higher grade stones that don't fade as easily and a unique metal design like a tiger's head/paw or a tiki face to differentiate it and sell it for $14.99.

Thoughts?

 

[biophase]

My thoughts on it were you can improve the quality of the plastic that holds the bracelet together, increase the quality of the materials used in the bracelet so it doesn't fade as easily and give it a unique design in the bracelet that hasn't been brought to market that is in demand. The above would be the reason for the additional costs.

For example, stone bracelets are starting to become a pretty popular style of bracelets for men. This is your typical bracelet on amazon, priced at $8.99. This bracelet has some good reviews, but from a consumer standpoint... the quality of the bracelet is pretty poor, so the string falls apart pretty quickly and the color of the beads fade after minimal use, all in all it's bland. There are even people rating it with 4/5 stars and still saying they weren't satisfied, but for the price that's what they expected.

https://www.amazon.com/Birthstone-Gemstones-Healing-Adjustable-Bracelet/dp/B01C5P2QI6/ref=sr_1_5?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1503535688&sr=1-5&nodeID=7147441011&psd=1&keywords=men's+stone+bracelet&th=1




Lets put a higher quality bracelet to market using a stretchy more durable plastic instead of cheap string, higher grade stones that don't fade as easily and a unique metal design like a tiger's head/paw or a tiki face to differentiate it and sell it for $14.99.

Thoughts?

To me, that is just too risky. You are going to sell a product for double the price of what everybody on Amazon is selling for. How are you going to convey that your product is worth double the price compared to the other ones on the market?

You can't even discounted back down to $8.99, because if you do that people will think it's the same quality as the $8.99.

The price point is just too low and it is just a throwaway type of product. There is no way I would touch this type of product.

 

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[SquatchMan]

What about improving a product like this?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CJ31Z8Q/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

or more general:

Amazon.com: molle backpack: Sports & Outdoors

I own one myself and the quality is pretty terrible. The "hard plastic" backing is like cardboard, the straps have virtually no padding, the clips feel like crap, the thing just feels cheap as hell, and I know it's gonna fall apart.

My only concern is that the product is a little big and I'm not sure if the market can support a high quality and pricier option.

Thanks.

 

[Colton]

When I see something like this that nobody else is selling, my first thought is that it is a banned product on Amazon. I haven't researched it, but it's my initial thought.

I have been looking into the possibility of selling knives on Amazon as well, so I can shed a little light on this. I dug through Amazon's terms of service today and found no restrictions on "ordinary" knives (there are of course restrictions on illegal variants like switchblades, ballistic knives, and throwing stars).

Interestingly, their "prohibited weapons page" stated that throwing spears and knives aren't eligible for FBA, but a quick search on Amazon.com yielded throwing knives that ship with free 1 and 2 day and are indeed fulfilled by Amazon... LOL. I called Amazon support and the nice lady informed me that if you wish to sell knives on their website (Any knives) you will need to have your manufacturer send along an MSBS document for hazardous materials.

If you want to sell knives then I would definitely call them again and verify that that's really all that is required. On another note, has anyone here actually gone through the process of getting an MSBS document? Am curious as to how difficult that process is.

 

[biophase]

What about improving a product like this?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CJ31Z8Q/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

or more general:

Amazon.com: molle backpack: Sports & Outdoors

I own one myself and the quality is pretty terrible. The "hard plastic" backing is like cardboard, the straps have virtually no padding, the clips feel like crap, the thing just feels cheap as hell, and I know it's gonna fall apart.

My only concern is that the product is a little big and I'm not sure if the market can support a high quality and pricier option.

Thanks.

That is a very competitive market. How many pages of the same looking MOLLE backpack do you see in the search results? 5? 10?

That product probably ships fairly flat, but might be in the oversized category. At $28, you would net about $15.

I've sold molle products before and it's very competitive and most products are the same. The made in USA ones go for alot more. Everyone thinks they can start a tactical gear brand. There's not much profit as the backpack will cost at least $8-$10. You need alot of volume to get the price down.

 

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[steelandchrome]

I have been looking into the possibility of selling knives on Amazon as well, so I can shed a little light on this. I dug through Amazon's terms of service today and found no restrictions on "ordinary" knives (there are of course restrictions on illegal variants like switchblades, ballistic knives, and throwing stars).

Interestingly, their "prohibited weapons page" stated that throwing spears and knives aren't eligible for FBA, but a quick search on Amazon.com yielded throwing knives that ship with free 1 and 2 day and are indeed fulfilled by Amazon... LOL. I called Amazon support and the nice lady informed me that if you wish to sell knives on their website (Any knives) you will need to have your manufacturer send along an MSBS document for hazardous materials.

If you want to sell knives then I would definitely call them again and verify that that's really all that is required. On another note, has anyone here actually gone through the process of getting an MSBS document? Am curious as to how difficult that process is.

Its an MSDS form that lists anything potentially hazardous which would be surprising on a knife other than maybe the blade being oiled? I have been dealing with getting one approved for FBA for almost three weeks now on a different style product. It's a pretty basic process where you click convert to FBA and then select the ASIN you want to upload MSDS sheet for and wait 4 days for reply. Mine had a mistake on spelling of manufacturer vs MSDS sheet so was rejected and then i sent it back in to get a reply that it was denied because my private label "brand" wasn't listed on the MSDS and had to have that added and sent back in again to wait another 4 days. Hopefully this one is good and it's ready to go when my product lands from China.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Colton]

Its an MSDS form that lists anything potentially hazardous which would be surprising on a knife other than maybe the blade being oiled? I have been dealing with getting one approved for FBA for almost three weeks now on a different style product. It's a pretty basic process where you click convert to FBA and then select the ASIN you want to upload MSDS sheet for and wait 4 days for reply. Mine had a mistake on spelling of manufacturer vs MSDS sheet so was rejected and then i sent it back in to get a reply that it was denied because my private label "brand" wasn't listed on the MSDS and had to have that added and sent back in again to wait another 4 days. Hopefully this one is good and it's ready to go when my product lands from China.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

MSDS, got it. Thanks for clearing that up. I agree that it doesn't make sense why they would require that for knives... I'll be calling them back to double check with another employee.

 

[Denim Chicken]

MSDS, got it. Thanks for clearing that up. I agree that it doesn't make sense why they would require that for knives... I'll be calling them back to double check with another employee.

Knives are used for prepping food is my guess. There are different heavy metal and contaminants you should check for

 

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[amp0193]

Interestingly, their "prohibited weapons page" stated that throwing spears and knives aren't eligible for FBA, but a quick search on Amazon.com yielded throwing knives that ship with free 1 and 2 day and are indeed fulfilled by Amazon... LOL.

Just because people are selling something on Amazon, doesn't mean they aren't breaking Terms of Service to do so.

I would never sell something in any sort of "grey" area that could potentially get banned from Amazon.

 

[Castillo]

So you are making a camera bag with a clip on the front strap.

Maybe like this?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HIXQMEO/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

Nope, not a clip, like having one of these attached to the front strap BlackRapid Sport Breathe Camera Strap 361005 B&H Photo Video

so you can have your camera attached to the front of the backpack. It wouldn't be the same as this, I'd have to find a better design something shorter and possibly retractable?

The other thing that bugs be about backpacks is how the straps dangle everywhere as long as having long zipper handles, I would like to make it a "minimalist" type of design that looks very clean without zipper handles and straps that are everywhere, that would be the biggest challenge though I think.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

Nope, not a clip, like having one of these attached to the front strap BlackRapid Sport Breathe Camera Strap 361005 B&H Photo Video

so you can have your camera attached to the front of the backpack. It wouldn't be the same as this, I'd have to find a better design something shorter and possibly retractable?

The other thing that bugs be about backpacks is how the straps dangle everywhere as long as having long zipper handles, I would like to make it a "minimalist" type of design that looks very clean without zipper handles and straps that are everywhere, that would be the biggest challenge though I think.

Check out Everyday Backpack and Capture PRO

Has lots of hidden straps for tripods etc and they make a wicked camera clip.

 

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[AG356]

so you wouldnt give it a go? at the end i think not only gamer would buy it, but i speculate

@biophase also no recommendation on this one?

Since your location states "Germany" I reckon that you will sell on the german marketplace. If this is the case you have to check the laws regarding selling knives, especially those with a special mechanism which allows you to open the knife with one hand (similar to a flick knife). Those are included in the gun control law and can only be bypassed by lowering the length of the blade, the width of the blade and they are not allowed to be bilateral sharpened.

As a side note, the knives you probably were looking for are called "Karambit" and are popular amongst CS:GO players. ( DE marketplace / US marketplace )

Those were one of many researched products I went through a few months back. I decided against it.

 

[biophase]

Check out Everyday Backpack and Capture PRO

Has lots of hidden straps for tripods etc and they make a wicked camera clip.

That's what I have, it's the Capture PRO. It's really nice and bites well onto the backpack strap, holds the camera in place right up against the strap.

I guess what I'm saying is that I want the best backpack out there for me. Then I will couple it with the best camera holder. I think it is rare that you will be able to make the best in both worlds. For hiking, my packs are Osprey, but my friend likes Kelty. It's unlikely either of us would get a half photography, half hiking backpack. I also have another pack for mountain biking, again, highly unlikely that a company would make a biking/photography backpack that suits my needs.

Another example of this is that I'd love to have a holster integrated into my backpacks. I thought of making one, but again, the same combo issues. It's better if I made a holster that works with mainstream backpacks so the end user can choose their brand.

 

[NightFury]

Reverse threaded head. That way when you are unscrewing the lightbulb it is actually tightening the pole head. Simple, works, and doesn't add complexity.

Except that you also have to put a new bulb in, which would now be loosening the head.

This could actually be a lot worse because if it comes loose when you're trying to remove an old bulb, at least it will stay stuck to the bulb, but if it could unscrew when you're putting in a new one, the new bulb might not be fixed in the attachment yet and it could come crashing down on your head.

 

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[freelancedev]

Really loving the thread @biophase its proving to be really valuable.

I have a product idea that I think will work great and has a definite benefit over the other products available on amazon UK. From what I can see I don't think the sales would be as high volume as perhaps other products in its general niche, but there seems to be some pretty strong competitors for other related products

Basically, there are about 4 or 5 different types of product in this niche. This one small product has a few different listings, but none of them come with comprehensive instructions on how to use it (which would definitely enhance the product).

I can see that the other few products in the niche have listings with instructions which seem to have way more reviews so it looks like this would be appealing to customers.

Where would you start for assessing whether this product is a good one to go into? I get the feeling that it could be quite a good product based on gut feeling, but I'm worried that this product may have low sales volume as they're getting way less reviews than the other products in the niche, and that the presence of big brands already selling these products could make it quite competitive.

 

[KeepGoin]

Recently I've started meal prepping. It's great and as a result my diet is healthier.

By far the best product I've used to store food is the Ikea glass container with a plastic lid, it includes a gasket type and is airtight.

But after a few days a lot of condensation fills up on the lid because of moisture in vegetables and food.

If someone was able to add a pump in the lids to remove as much air/moisture out of the meal prep container as possible it would increase the amount of meals I'd be able to make without having to freeze things.

Some sort of pump within the lid perhaps?

 

[biophase]

Really loving the thread @biophase its proving to be really valuable.

I have a product idea that I think will work great and has a definite benefit over the other products available on amazon UK. From what I can see I don't think the sales would be as high volume as perhaps other products in its general niche, but there seems to be some pretty strong competitors for other related products

Basically, there are about 4 or 5 different types of product in this niche. This one small product has a few different listings, but none of them come with comprehensive instructions on how to use it (which would definitely enhance the product).

I can see that the other few products in the niche have listings with instructions which seem to have way more reviews so it looks like this would be appealing to customers.

Where would you start for assessing whether this product is a good one to go into? I get the feeling that it could be quite a good product based on gut feeling, but I'm worried that this product may have low sales volume as they're getting way less reviews than the other products in the niche, and that the presence of big brands already selling these products could make it quite competitive.

I would start tracking the sales volume using the add 999 to cart method, or you can pay for Jungle scout or something similar. The presence of big brands doesn't worry me as they usually don't actively compete. I would challenge you to post your product idea here so we can discuss it. But that's up to you.

 

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[biophase]

Recently I've started meal prepping. It's great and as a result my diet is healthier.

By far the best product I've used to store food is the Ikea glass container with a plastic lid, it includes a gasket type and is airtight.

But after a few days a lot of condensation fills up on the lid because of moisture in vegetables and food.

If someone was able to add a pump in the lids to remove as much air/moisture out of the meal prep container as possible it would increase the amount of meals I'd be able to make without having to freeze things.

Some sort of pump within the lid perhaps?

I think what you actually want is a vacuum sealed bag effect in a meal prep container. But then the lid would need to be solid and non-flexing.

Question, does the condensation make the food not last as long?

 

[kutlarvadisi]

I Want to sell Football kicking cage like this :

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000B6LN3G/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

People are complaining about the net quality and there is no bag to pack the product

so the improvements I will make to this product are : improve the quality of the net and add nice bag to it

What do you think @biophase

 

[biophase]

I Want to sell Football kicking cage like this :

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000B6LN3G/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

People are complaining about the net quality and there is no bag to pack the product

so the improvements I will make to this product are : improve the quality of the net and add nice bag to it

What do you think @biophase

I think this product has potential. It came be broken down into a small package for shipping and adding the carry bag would not cost much at all. The nice thing is that the improvement portion is the net, which can be easily made without new designs or molds.

 

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[kutlarvadisi]

I think this product has potential. It came be broken down into a small package for shipping and adding the carry bag would not cost much at all. The nice thing is that the improvement portion is the net, which can be easily made without new designs or molds.

thank you so much

 

[MoneyDoc]

I Want to sell Football kicking cage like this :

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000B6LN3G/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

People are complaining about the net quality and there is no bag to pack the product

so the improvements I will make to this product are : improve the quality of the net and add nice bag to it

What do you think @biophase

With respect to competition, this is a good product. However, I personally wouldn't put efforts into this niche/product as the volume isn't there for me... The top two listings have 20k bsrs in Sports & Outdoors and the seller is amazon. Every other listing is 100k+ in BSR which is virtually no sales.

 

[kutlarvadisi]

With respect to competition, this is a good product. However, I personally wouldn't put efforts into this niche/product as the volume isn't there for me... The top two listings have 20k bsrs in Sports & Outdoors and the seller is amazon. Every other listing is 100k+ in BSR which is virtually no sales.

Good observation thank you
@biophase can you explain to us how do you find if the niche has big or low volume in sales do you look at BSR as @MoneyDoc ??

 

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[PersistentlyHungry]

Good observation thank you
@biophase can you explain to us how do you find if the niche has big or low volume in sales do you look at BSR as @MoneyDoc ??

If I'm not mistaken, you can use Unicorn Smasher or Jungle Scout for that.

 

[Colton]

This thread is awesome, thanks Biophase

I've got a quick question related to ecommerce that I haven't seen asked around here before (let me know if I'm getting off topic)

If I want to sell something that ties into a popular video game, do I need to sign a license agreement and pay the game developer royalties? (For example, the gentleman on this thread who was interested in selling a replica knife from CS:GO)

Specifically, i'm interested in designing and selling vinyl wraps to replicate popular weapons skins (camo) from video games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, CSGO, etc. I think kids would get a kick out of making their nerf/airsoft guns look like their favorite video game weapons.

If anyone here knows the answer to that it would be much appreciated!

 

[Denim Chicken]

This thread is awesome, thanks Biophase

I've got a quick question related to ecommerce that I haven't seen asked around here before (let me know if I'm getting off topic)

If I want to sell something that ties into a popular video game, do I need to sign a license agreement and pay the game developer royalties? (For example, the gentleman on this thread who was interested in selling a replica knife from CS:GO)

Specifically, i'm interested in designing and selling vinyl wraps to replicate popular weapons skins (camo) from video games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, CSGO, etc. I think kids would get a kick out of making their nerf/airsoft guns look like their favorite video game weapons.

If anyone here knows the answer to that it would be much appreciated!

The work is copyrighted by the designer or artist or company who produced it. Rule of thumb, any brand name or recognizable movie, show, game etc you could count on the fact that you cannot make or sell those.

There are people who sell fan produced artwork of shirts and hats, like Rick and Morty tshirts, etc. thru Facebook and Teespring, but they're just assuming that nothing will happen because they're so small. Amazon definitely a harder time getting away with it than your own shopify store.

 

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[biophase]

This thread is awesome, thanks Biophase

I've got a quick question related to ecommerce that I haven't seen asked around here before (let me know if I'm getting off topic)

If I want to sell something that ties into a popular video game, do I need to sign a license agreement and pay the game developer royalties? (For example, the gentleman on this thread who was interested in selling a replica knife from CS:GO)

Specifically, i'm interested in designing and selling vinyl wraps to replicate popular weapons skins (camo) from video games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, CSGO, etc. I think kids would get a kick out of making their nerf/airsoft guns look like their favorite video game weapons.

If anyone here knows the answer to that it would be much appreciated!

It's dangerous to build a business based on this. But if the games use generic camo patterns or you can design some yourself, you can list them as generic gun wraps. If you start putting video game titles in the keywords or description, just know that it can get taken down at any time.

 

[Theross]

Hey @biophase, thanks for continuing to give back to the community!

I'm interested in your thoughts on this idea.

This product sells very well: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZPWGHXC/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

The problem: Poor reviews due to lack of strength. The product sags in the middle. There are already many knock-offs out there (it says its patented??), but none solve this problem. Also its plastic, so some folks may not like the esthetics.

The opportunity: Build a similar shape product, but made from bamboo. There are many bamboo spice racks out there, but none in this "U" shape for fitting into a cabinet. It would be screwed together by the consumer, packaged flat, and can be landed in the US for under $5 each.

The challenge: The bamboo version wouldn't be expandable like the starting product. The plan would be to start with one size that fits a common cabinet width, give it a go, and then if it works, offer additional widths that fit other cabinet sizes.