What is Amazon product research?
Amazon product research is the work of deciding whether a product is worth selling before you buy stock. The question is not "does it sell?". Many products sell. The question is whether you can sell it at a profit against the sellers already there.
Software gives you a shortlist. It does not give you a decision. Most of the estimates in these tools are modelled, so use them to find candidates and check them yourself.
Step 1: Check demand over time
Look at how the product sold across the last year, not at a single month.
- Is demand steady, rising, seasonal or a spike? A spike that has already passed is a trap.
- Do the search terms buyers use have real volume? Our keyword tools guide covers where the numbers come from and how reliable they are.
- Does demand depend on one event or trend?
Step 2: Read the competition honestly
Open the top ten listings for the main search term.
- Review counts: if the top results have thousands of reviews and you have none, you are buying your way into a long fight.
- Concentration: does one brand hold most of the page?
- Price spread: is there room between the cheapest and the best-selling price?
- Listing quality: weak photos and thin titles are an opening. Strong ones are not.
Step 3: Do the margin sum
Work out profit per unit with real costs before you fall in love with a product. Here is a hypothetical example. Your numbers will differ.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Selling price | $29.99 |
| Landed cost (product, shipping, duty) | $7.00 |
| Amazon referral fee (about 15% in many categories; check yours) | $4.50 |
| Fulfilment fee (varies by size and weight; check Amazon's calculator) | $5.50 |
| Advertising allowance per unit | $4.00 |
| Profit per unit | $9.00 |
If a small change in cost or a few returns wipes out the margin, the product is too thin.
Step 4: Find the gap in the reviews
Read the 1, 2 and 3-star reviews of the top three products. Sort the complaints into themes: breaks, wrong size, unclear instructions, poor packaging. A theme that appears again and again is your opening. A product where the common complaint is something you can fix cheaply is a better candidate than one with no clear problem.
Step 5: Check the risks
- Supply: can you source it reliably, at a quality you can control?
- Restrictions: does the category need approval, or carry safety or compliance rules?
- Size and weight: bulky and fragile items cost more to ship and return.
- Intellectual property: check that the design is not protected.
Step 6: Test small
Order a small batch first. Check the real product, the real landed cost and the real return rate before you commit to a large order.
Where tools fit
You will meet three kinds of tools: Amazon's own seller tools, third-party product databases and AI assistants that answer questions about the market. All three are best used to produce candidates. None of them replaces steps 3 to 6. Treat any monthly revenue or sales figure as an estimate.
Frequently asked questions
How do I research a product to sell on Amazon? Check demand over a year, read the competition, calculate profit per unit with real costs, read the 1 to 3-star reviews for a fixable gap, check supply and restrictions, then test a small batch.
Are Amazon product research tools accurate? Their sales and revenue figures are estimates. Use them to build a shortlist and verify the key numbers yourself.
What makes a good Amazon product? Steady demand, room in the price range, a margin that survives cost changes, a fixable gap in competitors' reviews and a supply you can control.
How much profit per unit should I aim for? It depends on your costs and risk. Calculate it after all fees and advertising, and make sure a modest cost rise does not erase it.
Can I research Amazon products with ChatGPT? It can help brainstorm candidates and summarise review themes. It cannot see Amazon's sales data, so verify demand and margin with real numbers.
Get the research done for you
If you want the demand, competition and keyword work done by someone who does it every day, TapasSEO's E-Commerce Opportunity Report finds and scores product and niche opportunities for your marketplace and delivers the shortlist with the evidence behind it.
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For the search side of an online store, our ecommerce SEO guide covers how to rank product and category pages.