Amazon dominates ecommerce, and Fulfillment by Amazon, or FBA, is a popular way to get your products on the world’s most popular marketplace without having to fulfill each order by yourself. Similar to dropshipping, you as the entrepreneur don’t need to operate a facility for your business to run, hence why it’s an exciting opportunity.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at the difference between Amazon FBA and traditional dropshipping, pros and cons of the model, and some of the best products that you can sell this year. The focus is going to be on smaller, easier-to-store products because Amazon charges fees each month to keep your products in their warehouses, so the less space your products occupy, the better.
Keep reading to find out what we recommend you start selling with Amazon FBA.
Amazon FBA Versus Traditional Dropshipping
If you think Amazon FBA sounds very similar to traditional dropshipping, you’re right. While there are a few major differences between the two, there’s also a lot of similarities.
- With both Amazon FBA and traditional dropshipping, sellers don’t manage the fulfillment.
- Sellers can create their own product or modify an existing one in both cases, or they can simply market something from off the shelf.
- There’s a certain level of marketing involved with both strategies. With dropshipping you have to run ads, and with Amazon you have to get your listing to rank high through several different strategies.
But, the main advantage of Amazon FBA is that the customers are already there. Rather than trying to acquire new customers from cold traffic to a brand they’ve never heard of, you can tap into Amazon’s pre-existing marketplace of millions of active shoppers.
The 12 Best Amazon FBA Products in 2024
Without further ado, these are some of the best categories to sell on Amazon this year:
1. Fashion Water Bottles
Stanley, the over-100-year-old container brand, and smaller upstarts like Owala and Simple Modern have exploded in popularity in the last few years, even creating an entirely new “fashion water bottle” market. They’ve gone totally viral on TikTok and Instagram.
In fact, Simple Modern was built primarily on Amazon before venturing into a direct-to-consumer website. This newly generated demand has paved the way for new entrants to offer similar products with more variety.
Water bottles are great because they don’t take up much space relative to the price you can charge, even upwards of $50.
2. Golf Accessories
Even though Tiger Woods’ career is wrapping up, golf is seeing a resurgence among Gen Z and millennials. In fact, Tiger Woods even launched his own line of premium golf gear this year.
Brands like Malbon and Bogey Boys are growing in the lifestyle apparel sector, so offering accessories like cheaper balls (for the casual players), towels, and even rangefinders present a great opportunity for sellers.
Especially for the Memorial Day through Labor Day time period, golf season will be in full gear so expect an increase in demand for high-quality goods to help players with their game.
3. Car Cleaning Gel
Spring cleaning all year round. Memorial Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July, and President’s Day tend to be when dealerships offer the biggest promotions, so new car purchases will be increasing.
Match new owners’ desire to keep their new whip clean with these trendy tools. Thankfully, they’re not just a fad, but extremely useful for picking up dust and specks.
You can get them on AliExpress for around $1 and they ship in small packages, so Amazon fees will be lower and your margin will be protected.
4. Sandals
Crocs, and similar rubber sandal-type “shoes,” are hot sellers on Amazon because the consideration cycle is low and people don’t necessarily need to try them on in order to make a purchase online. One big opportunity is to find unique designs that other sellers aren’t offering to create a fun fashion statement that people can mix and match. They’re extremely lightweight, have fairly universal sizing, and are made of inexpensive materials.
5. Sundresses
Seasonal apparel is a great thing to sell on Amazon. Typically, consumers buying new clothing are extremely conscious of brand recognition and will pay more for something they know and love, but with styles that get used only for a limited time affordability is more important.
Sundresses can come in a wide variety of fun prints, offering sellers more options, and their lightweight fabric allows them to be shipped in light packages and take up less space, making them a great product to sell in summer.
6. Acne Patches
Products combating acne and other skincare issues sell fast on Amazon because of how dire the need is. Hero sells over 100K ( a hundred thousand, that’s right) units a month purely on Amazon because they offer a powerful solution.
Find a product with natural ingredients like essential oils and give consumers alternative, healthier options. They also come in small boxes, which is a big advantage for FBA.
7. Tracking Accessories
Companies like Tile, Ekster, and Apple have all tapped into the bluetooth accessory market. But, these are premium brands often charging over $20 for a small item, so they could be out of reach for some, but they have mass-market appeal.
Offer multipacks to increase your average order value without adding much more packaging or freight costs. Plus, they’re available for around $1 each on AliExpress.
8. Value Basic Multipacks
Luxury-brand apparel is nice, but that shopper isn’t going to Amazon to find this season’s latest collection. Clothing “essentials” are popular on Amazon because people like buying in bulk, but don’t always have a Costco membership.
You can source quality clothing from a country like China—where about 65% of the world’s supply is made—and compete by offering a good deal on packs of several pieces. Think cotton t-shirts, boxer briefs, and more.
9. Kitchen Thermometers
No one wants to eat raw chicken. As dining out becomes more and more expensive and the summer months bring on more cookouts, meat thermometers and other useful kitchen tools grow in popularity.
Currently some of Amazon’s top products in the kitchen category, these small tools are compact and command strong margins.
10. Portable Battery Packs
Similar to bluetooth tracking tags, portable chargers fulfill a genuine need but a lot of brands are quite expensive. They can fit into a compact package and because most electronics manufacturers are based overseas, you can find powerful options at reasonable prices.
11. Trendy Earrings
Earrings are super easy to ship, compact, and, best of all, potential customers typically have multiple pairs versus just one go-to style. Find new designs and creative expressions from suppliers to offer on-trend styles.
They also don’t have sizing, so one SKU can serve everyone.
12. Multi-Port Wall Charger
Wall Chargers are effective solutions for apartments and smaller homes with limited outlets. They’re available on AliExpress for just a few dollars and are some of the biggest sellers in Amazon’s electronics category, selling several thousands each month.
Pros of Amazon FBA
Now that you have a list of products to get started with, here are some reasons why Amazon FBA can be a great business for anyone:
Pre-Existing Audience
The biggest challenge with any internet business is finding new customers. Running ads is the primary means for growing an audience, but they’re hard to manage.
You need to be able to create great content for ads and iterate on that when it gets old, you need to be skilled at setting up and managing campaigns, and you need to have some financial and analytical literacy when it comes to tracking your advertising spend and conversions.
With Amazon FBA, since you’re selling on Amazon’s vast marketplace, you already have a built-in group of highly-engaged customers who are ready to buy. This is especially when they come to your listing, as they’re likely ready to make a purchase, so you’re targeting a warm audience.
Hands-Off Fulfillment
You’re sending your products to Amazon’s fulfillment center rather than shipping it out on your own. This takes away your need for a building, shipping supplies, and perhaps hardest of all, managing a staff.
Amazon takes care of all of this once your product arrives at its doorstep.
Hands-Off Support
Since your products are essentially coming from Amazon, not a separate brand, Amazon handles the customer support including returns, refunds, and exchanges. This is extremely beneficial to sellers because they don’t need to worry about handling email inquiries, calls, or live chats.
Cons of Amazon FBA
These advantages come with a few tradeoffs. Here’s what can make Amazon FBA difficult:
Lack of Customer Data
One of the most valuable parts of an ecommerce brand is the data you receive on your customers. Emails, phone numbers, and personal information allow you to keep in touch with them, sell them more products and upsells, and extend their lifetime value.
Unfortunately with FBA, Amazon owns this information, not the seller. You’re essentially targeting existing Amazon customers, not your own net-new customers.
Fees, Fees, and Fees
Amazon manages most of the operational aspects of your business, and they charge for it. One of the biggest cons of selling on Amazon are the costs associated with having someone handle a lot of your stress.
Amazon charges a percentage commission (typically 15%), shipping fee, and an inventory storage fee. However, this tends to be similar to what you would already be paying by doing it yourself (remember, you need to pay customer acquisition costs and any shipping fees either way), but it presents a big challenge because Amazon sellers expect low prices already.
Global Competition
Selling on Amazon is tough, simple as that. Historically, sellers were United States-based companies getting products overseas from China or other countries. Today, the number of international sellers has grown tremendously.
Overseas sellers have certain advantages such as being closer to the factory (able to make quicker product changes) or running the factory themselves, thus having lower cost of goods. The influx of global competition drives the prices lower and lower, which eats into your profit as a seller.
How to Find Products to Sell on Amazon FBA
We've given you twelve products to get started with, but to be a successful seller you need more products than that. So how do you find products to sell? Research, research, research. Being successful with Amazon FBA all comes down to the preparation you put in on the front end.
There are so many different categories, niches, variations, and opportunities on a platform as big as Amazon, so being successful really comes down to where you decide to put your focus and energy. Without putting in the effort before you start, all of your hard work will go to waste.
The two best ways to find winning Amazon FBA products are Google Trends and looking at Amazon’s current bestsellers. Of course, once you become more familiar with the platform there are more advanced tools like Jungle Scout and SmartScout that can help you further, but starting off with the basics is the best option.
Google Trends will show you what people are searching the internet for generally, so if there is a rising search volume for a particular product you know that the demand is growing. Stay away from products that are seeing a decline in search volume as this means that the demand is lower.
Searching Amazon is the best next step. Once you’ve found a few products that people are generally looking for more, then Amazon is where you can go to find out what’s actually moving. For example, you could find that t-shirts are growing in popularity on Google Trends and Amazon can help you find out what specifically is selling. Is it moisture-wicking, technical fabrics or plain cotton? Once you see what other people are buying on Amazon, then you can figure out how to make it better or offer more variety.
But there is one avenue that is better than both Google Trends and searching Amazon - and that's joining a community that does the hard work for you! Amazon FBA communities are premium groups dedicated to the art of selling with Amazon FBA, and they lead you through the whole process - including what products to sell and where to find them.
Find Winning FBA Products with Whop
As with all businesses, the best way to succeed is to learn from the experts. Whop is home to hundreds of ecommerce communities, all led by experienced sellers. In these communities you can find everything from courses and ebooks to live-coaching and webinars. These groups will help you to set up your store, find the best products at the lowest prices, and bring in as much profit as possible.
Whether you decide to go with Amazon FBA, traditional dropshipping, or another business model, Whop has you covered with groups to help you avoid common pitfalls. Check out one of our Amazon FBA groups to learn from the best in the business.
Why You Should Trust Us
Joe Niehaus is a freelance writer here at Whop covering all things ecommerce. His career has ranged from selling Air Jordans on eBay to helping manage affiliate marketing programs at nine-figure brands to writing for publications like Business Insider and Travel + Leisure. He has extensive experience in all things digital marketing and his work is backed by experts’ advice and thorough research.
Amazon FBA FAQs
Answers to some of the most common questions about Amazon FBA:
Where to Buy Products to Sell on Amazon FBA?
Alibaba is the go-to place to find inexpensive products to sell via Amazon FBA. The site connects you with global suppliers who can customize existing products to your liking.
What is FBA Amazon Product Research?
Product research for Amazon FBA is simply finding the product products to sell on Amazon. This requires understanding market trends, being able to analyze unit economics, and consider whether or not you can beat the competition.
Does Amazon Have a Product Research Tool?
Yes, Amazon has a product research tool called Product Opportunity Explorer. It’s a software that updates each week and has data on search volume, category demand, and profitable opportunities.
Which Amazon Research Tool is the Best?
There are a wide variety of research tools available for Amazon, and different ones will work better for different types of businesses. Amazon’s own Product Opportunity Explorer is great if you’re just starting out because it’s user friendly and created for sellers by the company, and softwares like SmartScout, AMZScout, and Jungle Scout are also established leaders in the industry.
