Questions to ask when doing market research

I have no real experience doing market research. I would like some information on what I should look for in researching a "platform" such as eBay, Amazon,etc. I also need information on what questions I should get answered about products I want to sell. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

The Gadgeteer

The main problem I've noticed, is that none of the product listed has any suppliers on this site. Maybe if they only listed items on Market Research that they have suppliers for, that would be great.

ljfoote wrote:I have no real experience doing market research. I would like some information on what I should look for in researching a "platform" such as eBay, Amazon,etc. I also need information on what questions I should get answered about products I want to sell. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

The Gadgeteer

Hi Lola and welcome to the forum,

In regards to what sort of research you need to do, it really breaks down like this. Pick a product/s, then hit your chosen market place (eBay for example) and start looking at your competition. This will give you a price and service guideline that gives you an indication of what you will need to at least match to be competitive.

After you have that, then you start looking for suppliers and see what the best deal is that you can get. If you find a supplier that gives you the margin required to compete and leave you something in your pocket after removing your costs, including payment fees, shipping and whatever else.

If you are unable to find a supplier for that product/s that will allow you to compete, then you have to move on to another and start the process all over again. It's time consuming for sure and most won't spend that time and just jump in, but if you jump in blind then there is no telling what you will hit, you're purely relying on luck and luck runs extremely thin in this industry.

In regards to what questions you need to ask, I think the best way to approach that is from a buyers perspective, Think about all the questions you would have if you were the customer, warranty, shipping and so on.

I hope that gives you a decent starting point :)

michaeld8577 wrote:The main problem I've noticed, is that none of the product listed has any suppliers on this site. Maybe if they only listed items on Market Research that they have suppliers for, that would be great.

Hi Michael and welcome to the forum also,

The data from our market research lab is raw data directly from eBay.com, it's not in any way reconciled with our suppliers list. They are two very different things. If we were to only list items based on eBay's data, then we would be having to delete suppliers as the data kept changing, which of course it does, and then we're in a position where we are limiting verified supplier information for our members and I'm quite sure no one would be happy with less options available.

If you find a product through our research lab that interests you, but you can't find a verified supplier. All you need to do is email Link hidden: Login to view with your product, inform them that there are no available suppliers currently and support will then do their best to find you some unverified supplier contacts that you can then follow up with.

If you find a supplier outside of the directory that you would like to see verified and part of the directory for you to deal with, then same process. Message support with the company details and we'll approach the company and see if they are willing to comply with verification process. If they agree, then we will do our best to certify and add them to the directory, so long as they qualify for everyone's safety of course.

We're always looking for new suppliers to verify for our members, so we're more than happy for members to recommend companies that they would like to see as part of our directory and we'll do our best to get them on board for all members.

Cheers

Hello Mark,

I have pretty much been doing exactly what you suggested. I just wanted to find out if there was anything else I could be doing. (I'm sure there is, :)
Thank you for both your posts. They are very helpful.

Lola

Hi Lolo,

Can I ask what sort of results you've found with your research, that will give me a better idea of moving you to the next step. You can OM me if you have sensitive data that you don't want aired in public.

Cheers

Market Research Labs is a waste of time IMHO because it reveals products that you or I cannot source.

Hi Ben,

I'm sorry that you don't see any value in the tool, but many other members do and is why we continue to provide the data stream from eBay.

Can you give an example of a product that cannot be sourced that is showing in the lab results and I'll follow up for you.

Just one? Canon sx400.

I'll pass that request through to support and they'll see if they are able to find you any supplier leads to follow up with.

Here you go:

Link hidden: Login to view

I searched their site and they carry this product, but as of right now it's out of stock. Contact them directly to inquire on when they'll have it back in their inventory and for their price.