What Can I Sell on Amazon?

Successful people get that research is necessary, but action is mandatory.

The almighty question: What can I sell on Amazon?

The answer: stuff

Okay -that answer sucks. No one wants to hear "stuff" or "widgets" or "thingamigingys". But no one is going to tell you exactly what they sell either. Competition is stiff enough without inviting it.

So what can you sell on Amazon?

You can sell anything in a category that doesn't require approval. Start with toys, home & kitchen, office supplies, baby items (no clothes or accessories), sports & outdoor, and lawn & garden. You can sell just about anything in these categories (with some exceptions). It's your job to read through seller central and learn what can and can't sell. Do that first.

Once you have a handle on the categories -choose one. Pick one that you know something about. Your a gourmet chef (or at least that's what you try to be in the kitchen), then focus on kitchen stuff. You have a passel of kids -toys. You live and die for sports -yeah, sports. Pick a category in your comfort zone. Live and breathe it for awhile.

Then pick a store. Go to that store and scan everything in that category until you're done (which could take hours or days or weeks). Just pick a small section, and scan every single item in that section. When you find profit potential -go deeper with your research.

Researching a Potentially Profitable Item:

• What is the buy box price?
• How many sellers have the item (how many FBA and how many MF)?
• What is the average low price among the 10 lowest priced sellers?
• What is the ranking?
• Is Amazon selling this item themselves?
• How much profit could you make after cost, fees, and shipping & handling?
• How much does the item weigh? How big is it? (Weight & size effects shipping costs inbound and fee wise.)

Once you've discovered a potential item look to see if you can buy more than one. Most sellers suggest testing 3 to 5 to see if it's a seller. If you can get 10, and the cost is super low (like a dollar or so), then you might go ahead and splurge. This is something you have to decide. 

Keep working the category in this one store, then move to another store, and then another. Get a strong sense of what sells in this category, what makes a good profit, and where to find the best deals. Do an online comparison as well. 

You will probably find stuff that no one else has found, or only one or two sellers have found. Stick with the buy box price. Don't go low to go fast and end up taking everyone to the bottom with you. If it's already selling at $20, then it will sell at $20. If there are other sellers -SHARE the buy box. It's okay! You will get your turn. If you price your item at $10 just because you can, you might sell it a little faster, but you're also leaving a lot of money on the table! And other sellers will not thank you for it. So please...don't go there (tirade over).

There you go. You can sell stuff on Amazon. Lots of stuff.