Methods To Find Hot Selling Products?

[olimits7]

Hi,

I want to venture out and try selling different types of products, but I'm not sure what methods I could use to research and find out what products are currently "hot selling" in today's market.

I've checked on the eBay Pulse website which is ok, but I'm trying to find other methods that would give me better results.

Does anyone know of other websites I could use where I could get market info on what products are currently selling?

Thank you,

olimits7

[jwolthuis]

What about the Amazon bestsellers lists?

[olimits7]

Thanks, I haven't taken a look there yet; I'll check it out!

olimits7

[Luxoria]

I can't really offer an insightful information but only a cobbled assortment of thoughts.

My sister is trying to do the same thing, finding hot items to invest in. I don't think she has had much success. My parents told me a story of a story about a women who has some sort of insideconnection and a few weeks before Dec 25th she and her father go around locally buying all of a particular type of toy, investing over $25,000. Well it turned out one year the toys they bought had a huge recall because of lead in the materials. (china specials) My speculation of this inside connection could be to a advertising agent who know how much big toy companies spend on advertising for the holidays and goes with that. I don't know.

The only decent generic advise I could offer that I would do is go to the mall look around. I don't suspect you will find much more than broke teenagers dressed in expensive cloths.

Ask children and other youth, look up 'hot christmas toys' on google, read blogs and such. I suspect you want a long term project vs. buying toys at KB and eBay bombing them. (like PS3s way back)

In my unresearched opinion you have a better chance of knocking down those bottles at the fair than hitting it big on the next beanie baby bubble.

[HRoth]

Instead of looking for hot items, where there will be tons of competition for suppliers, for prices, for keywords in search, and for ads, what about considering branching out into or creating a niche? Some years ago now I read a business book called "Blue Ocean Strategy" which describes focusing on a niche where you have little or no competition. Being in a niche allows you to focus on something that you really personally know about. And it is way more enjoyable, I can attest to that. Something to consider.

[olimits7]

Very true; maybe I should be focusing on "niche" markets where the competition isn't that intense!

Is this the business book you are referring to?

<<Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne>>

If so, I'll definitely take a look at reading this book and hopefully learn methods to discovering untapped "niche" markets.

What type of research could I perform to try to find "niche" markets that don't have high competition in them?

Thank you,

olimits7

[jwolthuis]

Have you ever thought, "If they can put a man on the moon, why can't they make a <<fill-in-the-blank>>."

Finding a niche isn't something that can be researched. It comes from long-term observation, traveling down the backroads, brainstorming over drinks, your hobbies, or just building a better mousetrap.

[olimits7]

That's very true...

I guess it comes down to finding products that work well with the classic saying of "If you build it, they will come".

The hard part is trying to find products that a lot of people are interested in, but there isn't an ecommerce site that provides these products to the end customers.

olimits7

[HRoth]

Yeah, that's the book. How I applied the book to my biz was that I knew from experience that my area was filled up with cheap products made with synthetic aromatics, chemical dyes, mineral oil, wood flour, and other dreck, all packaged cheaply with cheezy labels that many would be embarrassed to let others see. I myself didn't buy these things because I thought they were junk. I wanted something more, so I made it for myself. I could see that no one in my area was trying to make products that were 100% natural, of high quality ingredients, more sophisticated packaging, original formulae, and gods forbid, more expensive. So I could see immediately what my niche was. I personally enjoy such products, and no one else is making them. So I don't have to get into the feeding frenzy with people who are selling what everyone else is selling--cheap gimcrack.

To me, the classic niche is something that interests you personally, something related to a hobby or activity or belief. That way you start out with a body of knowledge that others entering the area might not have, which is an advantage in terms of writing copy, choosing or making products, and answering customers' questions. And it is just more pleasurable to sell something you yourself enjoy. Life is short and all that.

Re how to find an unfilled niche, one possibility is to use AdWords keywords suggester. When I am looking for ideas for products, I look for things people are searching on that don't attract ads. The distance between search frequency and ad prevalence can reflect an unmet need.