Research
Vet a product niche
Whether it is worth inventory money, with the reasons it might not be.
Fill it in
What you are considering.
Review counts and how entrenched the top sellers are.
Seasonality, returns, IP, and the incumbent who will price you out.
Your prompt
Vet this niche. [the niche] Check saturation properly: how many established sellers, how entrenched the review counts are, and whether the top listings are old. A niche where the top five have 4,000 reviews each is not entered with a better listing. Name the risks that end these ventures: seasonality that ties up cash, a return rate the category always has, a brand that will file an IP complaint, and an incumbent who can price below your landed cost for as long as it takes. Work out the landed cost and the real margin after fees, storage, returns and advertising. The gross margin on the product is not the number. End with a recommendation and what would change it.
Use Vet a product nicheOpens with everything above already filled in.
Why this works
Gross margin on the product is not the number. This works out the landed cost after fees, storage, returns and advertising, and names the incumbent who can price below it.