Reviews: The Key for Private Label Inspiration

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As much as some see online arbitrage as a game – a hunt to find those rare times when a product is much higher on Amazon than it is on another website – private label is as much of a hide-and-seek activity. These days the name of the game is to find products that sell well on your Amazon marketplace of choice and figure out how you can outrank them with a product of your own.

Even with unique qualities, stand-out imagery, attractive packaging, a competitive price and a great launch strategy, the long-term success depends on whether your product meets the needs of your customer. The best way to do this is to copy your biggest competition, and use their flaws to your advantage. Don’t know where the flaws are? Head straight to the product reviews.

Yes, I understand that the biggest problem with Amazon private label product reviews is that a number of the reviews will be incentivised in some way or another. However, it just means that it’s very easy to identity all of the fake ones and the ones that you don’t need to pay any attention to. The five-stars are either illegitimate or are from someone with such a positive experience that they probably ignored any flaws. When you’re looking at how you’d like to improve upon a product, head to the four-star reviews and work your way down.

Take notes. You need to know if their issues were with:

Non-durable materials
Poor packaging
Breakable components
Inadequate instructions
Lacking aftercare

You’re going to get a lot of answers very quickly, giving you plenty of details for your manufacturer to be aware of before they get to work on your goods. It’s up to you to make sure that they ensure that all of these details are ironed out for your product. It may mean that you have to invest in more expensive materials, better packaging and a bonus extra included in the listing. Whatever it may be, ensure that you’re about to outdo your competition with quality first and foremost.

If you’re absolutely certain that you know what product you want to create and there’s essentially only a couple of viable competitors, your first port of call should definitely be the reviews. On the occasions where you can’t find any flaws through the reviews, buy the product(s) yourself and test them out. You may find room for improvement. Show it to someone impartial and let them try things out. Gather as much information as you can before you make your next move.