How to Find a Product to Sell Online

  • 14 chapters

Looking to start an online store but not sure what to sell? This guide gives you an easy-to-follow framework for finding, evaluating and validating product ideas that you can build a profitable online business around.

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14 chapters

1. Introduction

1 min

Starting an online business? finding, evaluating and selecting a product to sell online is no easy take. This guide will break down the process step by step to help you find the perfect product.

2. The 8 Product Opportunity Types

7 min

Understanding the 8 product opportunity types is critical to finding the perfect product to sell online. In this chapter, we break down each of the 8.

3. Where to Look for Product Ideas

10 min

In this chapter, we'll show you the ten best places to looking for and discover the best product ideas for your new online business.

4. Trending Product Ideas

8 min

We used our list of the best places to look for product ideas to uncover 10 products that are currently trending on Google Trends.

5. Selecting a Product & Niche

6 min

Armed with product ideas, it's time to decide which one you want to further evaluate. In this chapter, you'll learn how to choose a product and zero in on a great niche.

6. Evaluating Your Product & Niche

17 min

In this chapter, you'll learn the 17 point product evaluation criteria you need to go through to make sure your product is a great choice.

7. Evaluating Market Demand

5 min

Not only do you need to evaluate product viability, but you also need to understand market demand. In this chapter you'll learn how to better understand market demand for your potential product idea.

8. Evaluating Potential Competition

4 min

After choosing a product and evaluating product viability and market demand, the next step is to understand the competition. In this chapter, you'll learn exactly how to research your potential competition.

9. Validating Your Product & Niche

5 min

Research is great but before you spend too much time and money starting your business, it's always a good idea to test it in a real world scenario first. In this chapter, we'll show you several ways to validate your business concept before sinking a lot of time and money into it.

10. Make, Manufacture, Wholesale or Dropship

10 min

There are four common ways to acquire your product. Make, manufacturer wholesale or dropship. In this chapter, we'll explore each option in more detail.

11. Locating a Supplier

9 min

With all your evaluations complete, it's now time to source the supplier for your product. In this chapter, you'll learn where to look for them and how to negotiate with them.

12. Final Thoughts

1 min

You've made it. You came up with a bunch of ideas, narrowed it down, chose one, evaluated it and found a supplier. Congratulations!

13. Advice From Ecommerce Experts

5 min

Quotes

14. About the Author

1 min

About Richard Lazazzera, Author of What To Sell Online: The Definitive Guide

Author

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Richard Lazazzera

Richard Lazazzera is an ecommerce entrepreneur and content strategist at Shopify. He is also the founder of A Better Lemonade Stand, a blog dedicated to reverse engineering the process of building and growing ecommerce businesses.

Follow Richard on Twitter.

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