I still possess a garage shelf dedicated to my "Tuition Payments"—boxes of inventory that never sold. The crown jewel of this collection is a crate of 500 "premium" fidget spinners I bought in late 2017. I was convinced I had found the golden ticket. I had seen kids spinning them, I had seen memes, and I assumed the demand was infinite. I dropped $1,500 on inventory without checking a single data point regarding market saturation. By the time they arrived, the trend was dead, and I couldn't give them away for free at a yard sale.
That expensive mistake taught me that "hunch-based" selling is just gambling with better logistics. Since that disaster, I’ve generated over six figures in profit by refusing to buy a single item unless the data screams "yes." Whether you are looking into ebay product research or trying to launch a private label brand, the game is won or lost before you ever buy inventory. Real product research isn't about finding what you like; it's about finding what the market is desperately searching for but can't find.
What Should One Research Before Creating a Product?
If you search what should one research before creating a product, you usually get vague advice about "knowing your customer." That’s not enough. You need to research the gap. The most dangerous trap in e-commerce is the "Me Too" product. You see someone making money selling garlic presses, so you sell a garlic press. That is a race to the bottom.
Here’s where it gets interesting... To validate a product, you need to answer three specific questions with hard data:
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Is the Search Volume Real? Are people typing the words into Amazon/Google?
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Is the Competition Weak? Do the top results have less than 50 reviews?
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Is the Margin Healthy? Can you sell it for 3x your landed cost?
Honest Failure: In 2020, I tried to launch a line of "Eco-Friendly Yoga Mats." I confirmed high search volume. I confirmed high prices. But I failed to check the competition density. I was competing against Lululemon and 50 other established brands with 10,000+ reviews. I sold three mats in six months. Lesson: Demand doesn't matter if the competition is insurmountable.
eBay Product Research and the Terapeak Reality
For resellers, ebay product research is the bread and butter. eBay actually gives us the best free tool in the industry: Terapeak. If you aren't using terapeak product research, you are flying blind. It shows you exactly what sold, when it sold, and for how much over the last 365 days.
How I use it: I don't just look at the "Average Sold Price." I look at the Sell-Through Rate (STR). If there are 1,000 active listings for "Vintage Levi's 501s" and only 100 sold in the last 90 days, the STR is 10%. That means if I list mine, I have a 1-in-10 chance of selling it. I only touch items with an STR of 50% or higher.
Parenthetical Aside: (I once found a rare "Sony Walkman" at a thrift store for $5. My gut said it was worth $20. Terapeak showed me that broken ones were selling for $80. I listed it for $75 and it sold in 12 minutes. Never trust your gut; trust the sold listings.)
The Limits of Historical Data (Looking Backward)
Here is the problem with Terapeak and best amazon product research tool options like Jungle Scout or Helium 10. They are rear-view mirrors. They tell you what already happened. They answer: "Did this sell last month?" They do not answer: "Will this sell next month?"
If you rely solely on historical data, you are always late to the trend. You are buying fidget spinners in November 2017 because the data from October looked great. To win in 2026, you need to predict how to research if potential new product would sell in the future.
The New Era: Closo Demand Signals
This is the biggest shift in my business in the last two years. I moved from "Historical Analysis" to "Predictive Analysis." I use Closo Demand Signals to see the wave before it breaks.
How works Closo Demand Signals? It aggregates data from search engines, social media (TikTok/Pinterest), and early-adopter forums to identify keywords that are spiking in interest but low in supply. How Closo helps me predict demand across categories 6 weeks ahead is by identifying the "Interest Gap."
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The Scenario: In August 2024, everyone was selling "Stanley Cups." The market was saturated.
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The Signal: Closo showed a massive spike in search intent for "Owala Water Bottles" specifically in "Retro" colorways.
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The Action: While competitors were fighting over Stanley stock, I sourced Owala-style bottles.
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The Result: By October, the trend hit mainstream Amazon. I was already ranked on page 1.
I use Closo to automate my trend spotting – saves me about 3 hours weekly of scrolling TikTok to guess what's cool.
Product Research for Amazon FBA
When doing product research for amazon fba, the stakes are higher because you have to buy in bulk. You can't just buy one item; you have to buy 500. Which viability factor researches the demand for products or services best on Amazon? It is the Review-to-Sales Ratio.
The Formula: If a product has 10,000 monthly sales and only 50 reviews, that is a goldmine. It means customers are buying it faster than they are complaining about it. It also means the current sellers aren't dominating the "social proof" game yet.
Best Tools:
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Helium 10 (X-Ray): Essential for seeing revenue estimates.
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Keepa: The holy grail of price history. It tells you if that $50 price tag is real or just a one-day spike.
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Google Trends: To verify if the demand is seasonal (don't buy pool floats in September).
How Does Artificial Intelligence Help with Dropshipping Product Research?
You often hear about AI in e-commerce. How does artificial intelligence help with dropshipping product research? It analyzes sentiment. Old tools counted numbers. AI reads minds. AI tools can scan 5,000 reviews of a competitor's product and tell you: "Customers love the design but hate that the battery cover falls off."
The Strategy:
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Find a popular product with 3.5 stars.
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Use AI to summarize the negative reviews.
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Fix that one specific flaw (e.g., improve the battery cover).
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Launch your product as "The one with the secure battery cover." This is how you win. You don't invent; you improve.
Opinion Statement: I honestly believe that 50% of "dropshipping winners" are just standard products with better marketing angles found by AI. You don't need a new product; you need a new hook.
How to Find Products to Sell Online (The Manual Method)
Sometimes, tools blind you. Sometimes, you need to go "analog." How to find products to sell online without software? Go to the "Best Sellers" list on Amazon, click on a random sub-category (e.g., "Kitchen & Dining > Utensils"), and then drill down three more levels until you are in "Kitchen & Dining > Utensils > Tongs > Escargot Tongs." Look at the new releases. Look at the "Customers Also Bought" section. This "Rabbit Hole" method often reveals niches that the software algorithms miss because the volume is too "low" for them to flag, but the profit margins are huge.
Anecdote: I found a niche selling "replacement ceramic lids for vintage crockpots" by reading comments on a recipe blog. No software would have ever told me to sell crockpot lids. But I buy them for $1 at thrift stores and sell them for $30 on eBay all day long.
Expanding with Closo 100% Free Crosslister
Once you research and find a winning product, the research phase isn't over. You need to research where it sells best. Is it an Amazon item? An eBay item? A Poshmark item? Usually, it's all three. I use the Closo 100% Free Crosslister to test my research across multiple marketplaces.
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The Test: I list the researched item on eBay first.
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The Expansion: If it gets views, I use Closo to push it to Poshmark and Mercari.
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The Data: If it sells on Poshmark for $40 but only $25 on eBay, I know my research missed the "fashion" angle of the product.
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The Result: I shift my sourcing strategy to focus on the higher-margin platform.
Best Product Research Tools: A Quick Comparison
If you are overwhelmed by the options for best product research tools, here is my breakdown:
Now the tricky part... Don't pay for all of them. Pick the one that matches your business model. If you are a thrift store flipper, you only need Terapeak (and maybe the eBay app). If you are a private label builder, you need Jungle Scout and Closo.
Common Questions I See
People always ask me... How long should I research before buying?
My rule of thumb is the "10% Rule." Spend 10% of your total estimated project time on research. If you plan to spend 100 hours launching a product, spend 10 hours researching it. Do not get stuck in "Analysis Paralysis" where you research for six months and buy nothing. Data is useless without action.
Common question I see... Can I just copy the best sellers?
No. By the time a product hits the "Best Sellers" list, the market is saturated. The sellers at the top have thousands of reviews and can lower their prices to crush you. You want to find the products that are on page 2 but climbing fast, or products that should be best sellers but have terrible photos.
People always ask me... Is seasonal product research worth it?
Yes, but you must be early. If you are researching "Christmas lights" in November, you are too late. You need to be researching Christmas items in July and sourcing them in August. Closo Demand Signals is particularly good at this because it alerts you when the interest starts ticking up, usually 6-8 weeks before the sales spike.
Conclusion
Mastering product research is about silencing your ego. It doesn't matter if you think the product is cool. It matters if the data says it will sell. Use Terapeak to learn from the past. Use Closo Demand Signals to predict the future. And use your own common sense to avoid the competitive bloodbaths.
My honest assessment is that you should spend this weekend researching just one niche. Go deep. Read every review. Track the prices. Become the world's leading expert on "left-handed scissors" or whatever micro-niche you choose.
If you are ready to stop guessing and start knowing what will sell next month, use the Closo Seller Hub to access predictive insights.
For more on managing your inventory once you find those winners, read our Listing Management Guide
And if you want to know what products are forecasted to spike in Q3, check out Trending Products Forecast 2026
