Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) is one of the most popular ways to sell on the Amazon platform, with more than 90% of top sellers participating in the program. It lets you leverage Amazon’s warehousing, two-day Prime shipping, and customer service to increase sales.

Still, while it’s easy to join FBA, reaping its rewards takes more effort. If you sell the same products as everyone else, you could earn zero sales or engage in a race to the bottom on price and profit margins. Or, if you invest in the wrong products, you risk slow-moving sales and high fees from Amazon. Finding the sweet spot requires Amazon FBA product research to select the right items and improve your product line over time.

What does Amazon FBA product research entail?

Amazon FBA product research is a two-part process:

1. First, you identify items with market demand.
2. Second you narrow down that list to products you can source to deliver something new to the market (while making sure they fit well into your FBA product strategy).

The goal of this Amazon FBA product research is to hone in on an offering that you can source with minimal hassle through a manufacturer or supplier. It should enable you to stand out on the Amazon marketplace, drive sales, and turn enough of a profit to justify your investment. So, you’ll have to consider factors like product quality and potential customer feedback in your research.

Strategies for Amazon FBA product research

Sellers have a few routes to discover products and potential ideas for FBA. The two primary approaches are to see what’s selling now and consider what’s not on the market.

Follow trends

Amazon provides numerous tools to help you stay on top of trends and see what’s hot at the moment. They’re a great way to break into popular products, but even if you jump on a trend, you don’t have to launch the same item on the market. Instead, you could put your own spin on it, create bundles and packages that leverage the trend, or design something new (e.g., a premium or high-quality alternative to a cheap, low-quality item).

To hone in on trends that could be lucrative for your business, check Amazon’s:

• Best Sellers list
• Movers & Shakers
• Hot New Releases

Consider market demand

Market demand refers to the predicted rise in popularity for products that may not be hot right now but could be soon. You can gather this data by paying attention to current trends, seasonality and time of year, and what competitors and larger companies are developing.

A seasonal trend, for example, would be the impending start of a new school year, which increases demand for supplies like lunchboxes, backpacks, stationery, textbooks, etc. Meanwhile, during the holidays, themed ornaments and gifts usually enjoy a boost in popularity.

You should also keep in mind less obvious trends like elections so you can prepare (or withhold) goods accordingly. Larger trends also require your attention: Considering the rise of AI, for instance, you could develop a product around that, or look at the increasing importance of sustainability and see which categories lack affordable, eco-friendly products.

Critically, throughout your research, be sure to consider:

• Demand
• Potential for growth
• Feasibility of producing the item in time to meet demand

Fill a need

Consider beginning your Amazon FBA product research with a needs analysis. What’s missing in a field you know a lot about? What gaps are present in a category of interest? You don’t have to create a completely unique offering, but it should be one with lower competition so you can more easily find a place for it on the market.

What makes a great FBA product and what to avoid

Most products have at least some lucrative potential for an FBA seller. However, some simply aren’t a good fit for the program. Before you commit to a new offering, follow these recommendations:

• Consider weight: The larger and heavier your products, the more it’ll cost you to ship and store them in FBA. Large, bulky items start at $10.65 for fulfillment, with an additional $0.38 cents per pound above the first. While FBA storage costs are cheaper for oversized items at $0.56 cents per cubic foot (although that increases to $1.40 in Q4), you’re still better off fulfilling larger and heavier items yourself.
• Keep throughput in mind: FBA calculates restock limits and fees based on how quickly your inventory moves through FBA, so if your product is too expensive, it won’t sell quickly enough to maintain your throughput. Ideally, you should be able to move through your full inventory every 30–60 days. You can’t do that, though, if you sell something like a $400 coffee machine with a long sales pipeline. For most sellers, the sweet spot for FBA is $15–$75.
• Avoid fragile items: If you sell fragile objects, you have zero oversight of them; you’ll have to rely on Amazon to pack and deliver your goods securely. Granted, there are ceramics and dinnerware giants on the marketplace, so it is possible to ship fragile items without issue. But FBA return fees can also be expensive, and if your returns are higher than the thresholds for your category, you’ll pay extra fees as well. So, for FBA, it’s better to stick to products that don’t break easily to avoid costly returns.
• Review the competition: It doesn’t matter how attractive your product is if you face 300 competitors for the same offering. Look for items with lower competition or, preferably, no other sellers listing that specific product on the marketplace.

Steps for Amazon FBA product research

Although every business has unique circumstances and limitations, this is the general process to conduct thorough Amazon FBA product research:

1. Pinpoint a need: Consider trends, bestsellers, and market gaps.
2. Determine sourcing: Will you acquire your new product from a supplier? A manufacturer? What’s the design process? How reliable is the supplier?
3. Calculate potential profit: Add up costs like shipping, import, product prep, actual cost of product, and FBA fees to estimate how the item will help or harm your margins.
4. Consider suitability and scalability: Is there room for this product to grow? Does it align with best practices for FBA? Can you scale the item to entice more sales as you obtain more capital? What’s the competition like?

In most cases, a product shows strong potential if it has low competition and high demand, stable supply, and affordable import. Additionally, if it’s under 50 pounds, not fragile, and priced below $75, it’s likely a great fit for FBA. Double-check your numbers and don’t hesitate to seize a promising opportunity.

Wrapping up — Zero in on your next bestseller

Joining Amazon’s FBA program doesn’t automatically boost your selling performance. To see a significant change, you need to devote ample time to conduct Amazon FBA product research and identify offerings that’ll support healthy profit margins. Follow the recommendations in this article to pinpoint a new moneymaker.

Selling products through FBA entails more than product research though. You also have to order goods, set up labeling procedures, figure out packaging, and invest in infrastructure to prep your products from manufacturing to ship to Amazon.

To avoid this headache, sellers are increasingly choosing to work with 3PLs that can receive goods into their warehouses, prep products professionally for FBA, and then split pallets and boxes for FBA. They take on your fulfillment burden, and you receive professional packaging and labeling, which reduces fees and ensures a positive customer experience.

Want to get started faster? Take a look at our Best Products to Sell on Amazon FBA article and see what inspiration strikes you.