Woohoo! It is a New Year and a fresh chance to launch new products on Amazon. Before you commit to a new product – make sure to avoid problem products!
In this article we are going to cover the top seven types of product you should avoid selling on Amazon.
Tip 1 Electronics
There’s a lot that can go wrong with any electronic product.
They also need special certificates for customs. Avoid any product with a battery or a circuit when first starting your Amazon business.
Only if you are an electrical engineer and have a lot of experience in this sector – then maybe you can consider it. But for new sellers or new products – electronics is a super hard and competitive niche.
Tip 2 Supplements
Supplements are extremely competitive. Maybe 10x more competitive than any other niche on Amazon.
Also, unless you’re willing to pay for lab tests and checks there is no way to be certain the products you are selling aren’t harmful to people. It’s best to avoid supplements altogether when you’re just getting started.
Lots of sellers get burnt trying to sell in the supplement or health category.
Tip 3 Restricted Categories
Some products such as jewelry require additional approvals from Amazon before you can begin selling them.
This adds extra time before you can get going, and also you might not have the necessary paperwork to start selling in these categories. Go with the categories that don’t require extra approval.
Also, Amazon has become a lot more strict on granting access to sellers to sell products in gated categories – you might not even get approved. That is especially true for supplements.
Tip 4 Oversize Items
Oversize items require more investment for freight costs and the product is likely to be more expensive. Amazon’s fees for oversize items are also huge, which eats into your margin.
To begin, start with something super light and small. If the item is bigger than a shoebox, avoid it for your first 10 products.
Oversize items have huge FBA fees and can cost a lot of money just to ship or store them. If you don’t have deep pockets this might eat up all your budget before you even start.
Tip 5 Silicon
Silicon items are very competitive. This is because a lot of new sellers start with silicon.
It’s a light, cheap material, so most silicon items cost less than a dollar to manufacture. The margins can be high, but there are thousands of people selling the same products, making it hard to get your product ranked.
Avoid listing anything with silicon in the name on Amazon.
Tip 6 Patented Product
If you suspect the product may have a patent, you should definitely check using a Google search.
You want to avoid any legal issues, so stay away from unique items where the seller has some sort of IP protection. It’s not easy to know if something has a patent, but from the product images and the description you should be able to see if there is a patent number on the product.
Tip 7 Other Sellers’ Products
If you find the same product in a factory that someone else is selling, stay away from it.
For example, someone might be selling a silicon kitchen spatula, and while you are sourcing you find the exact same item. You may be tempted to brand it and sell it yourself, but in the end this will just create a price war.
It’s wiser to sell a better product and bundle it to create a more appealing package.
