Amazon product research with Dana Derricks - a podcast by Michael Veazey

Get the notion of secret hidden products out of the way in the Amazon product research niche. Find out in today's episode.







Learn more about Dana and "The truth about business".



Dana had a 7-figure amazon business he ran for 2 ½ years before selling it. 



He was a freelance copywriter for about 8 years before that. 



So 10 years’ Amazon experience in all. 



Dana likes to look at building a portfolio - 



The big programmes ask you to find secret hidden niches. This is wrong!

The “Hidden niche” fallacy

Dana worked with a bunch of sellers who launched a product, spent all their money, though it was a Hidden niche. Then they see 3 other people selling it. 



Dana sees other people selling it - that means that other people are buying it - there’s a market for it. 



Get the notion of secret hidden products out of the way!



There are a lot of people selling software based on the “hidden niche” idea. 

Other ways to figure out what to sell

Dana looked at businesses on Craigslist. 



He’d heard horror stories of sourcing from China and wanted an alternative. 



Lady selling pet supplements company - all-natural formulas.



Obviously not doing well at selling



Great at science

Great at products



Dana bought it for $3500! 



He wasn’t looking for pet supplements but it “found him”.

Product line

The key: make sure you have a product line in Amazon product research.



So you can sell more stuff to the same customers



Random products make no sense. 



Instead, sell a line of products that all fit under an umbrella!



You have a tiny store in a large town (your storefront within Amazon). 



Think about who would come in to buy things. 



Think of a specific person who comes with the intent to buy something. 



Sell something you care about and will do good. But also you can package and bundle and create a business

Creating a sellable asset

When you go to sell this thing, it will be way easier to find a good buy if you find an umbrella of products in Amazon product research. 



Dana sold his business within a week - didn’t even use a broker, just someone in his network. 



He sold to a friend doing $3-5M with 2 brands on Amazon - he thought their portfolio could grow to $10m - and then sell to an even bigger company!



Average customer value was high from selling more to each customer, so that also helped the sale. 

Opposite example

Friend no. 1 seller of umbrellas on amazon - $1M a month



Sold a bunch of random products. They made good money. 



However, they had a terrible time selling the company. The margins were good, but their products were all over the place!

Sourcing - quality vs. Profitable

Sourcing is not something that Dana is good at in Amazon product research. 



That’s why we have real experts in different areas. 



Dana was afraid of sourcing from China because of horror stories first-hand. 



That is not what others have to do. 



Dana decided to acquire the pet supplements company in part because he knew he could produce it. 



It was essential-oil based - holistic herbal remedy for 36 different things. 

Start small and grow

He didn’t roll all of them out at once - it would have been risky. 



He started with 4 products



He got as much info as he could from the person who started the company. 



Made calls to see if he was getting good deals. 

Further episodes of Amazing FBA Amazon and ECommerce Podcast, for Amazon Private Label Sellers, Shopify, Magento or Woocommerce business owners, and other e-commerce sellers and digital entrepreneurs.

Further podcasts by Michael Veazey

Website of Michael Veazey