eBay is a superb platform to showcase and sell products. However, with 1.7 billion live listings as of 2022, competition can be tight and it can be challenging to find profitable niches.
Using a product research tool is essential for eBay sellers who want to stand out in an increasingly competitive market. These tools eliminate guesswork by identifying niche categories where a seller has the best chance of success. They also provide valuable insights into customer behavior, giving you a competitive advantage against other sellers in your category or niche.
Here are some of the best eBay product research tools to help you decide which one to invest in.
7 Best eBay Product Research Tools in 2023
Terapeak is eBay’s dedicated product research tool. It provides easy-to-understand reports on the performance of products and categories across all of eBay’s marketplaces, allowing sellers to identify popular buys and effective strategies to attract customers. Compared to eBay’s search results, Terapeak delivers more comprehensive data, calculated metrics, and precise results. You can gain customized and targeted insights about your target audience segments by entering a keyword or product name and then filtering your search by Listing type, Start price, Buyer country, and Time of day. Terapeak can pull up years of sales data on millions of products, including listing quantities and popular products sold, average sales prices, product condition, seller and buyer locations, sales trends over time, and more. Sellers can develop sourcing strategies and spot profitable opportunities with Terapeak Sourcing Insights. This complementary research tool provides insights into eBay categories with high- and low-demand inventory. For example, you can research the demand for iPhone cases. If the listings for that product indicate high demand, it means selling iPhone cases can be profitable because stocks move fast. On the other hand, if the listings indicate low demand, you can avoid that product and search for a more popular alternative. Key Features Pricing ZIK Analytics helps find profitable eBay products by identifying popular categories and scanning competitors for ideas. It provides data on any eBay product and niche, offering insights for managing listings. Sellers can generate product ideas from competitors using the Competitor Research Tool. It spots which of your competitors’ products sell well and which ones do not and reveals the strategies they use to dominate eBay. You also can view competitor analysis, market insights, and profitable products on one dashboard. Moreover, ZIK Analytics determines the selling potential of any eBay category based on metrics including total sales, average price, sell-through rate, and more. It also extracts selling trends data from Google and digs into any market niche to help you focus on top-selling items and highest-ranked listings. It aids in keyword research by identifying the best keywords for any eBay product, sorted by competitor volume and sales. It then uses that data to create optimized titles for your eBay listings, helping drive sales. Key Features Pricing If you’re looking for the most profitable products to dropship on eBay, consider AutoDS. It scans over 1 million products daily to identify which sell well on eBay. AutoDS’ workflow sequence starts with choosing a supplier. Options include Amazon, AliExpress, Walmart, Home Depot, and Costway. Once you’ve selected a supplier, you can upload your product’s category to the tool by selecting one from the Finder category, which offers selections based on the past month’s sales. Alternatively, you can choose categories from the Coupons Finder, which shows the products with available discounts and coupons. After uploading the product categories, you can configure your upload settings by specifying your break-even, profit, and quantity. You can also select your eBay business’ policies and adjust other settings, such as variations, listing image/s, titles, and more. From there, AutoDS can automate daily eBay tasks, such as listing products. You can also use it to upload bestsellers to your non-API store by downloading the AutoDS Manual dropshipping Chrome extension. Key Features Pricing ShelfTrend provides inventory and sales data for over a billion eBay listings across a multitude of categories. It offers insights into any product identifier, search term, category, or competitor to secure your sales position and competitive advantage. More than just your typical eBay product research tool, ShelfTrend tracks competitor activity, including their listing levels, price shifts, and Best Match rank over time. You can also stay updated on marketplace movements, such as top 500 items, upcoming competitors, new products, and buyer demands. Furthermore, you can determine gaps in supply that may indicate demand changes. Key Features Pricing Sellerhook is an individual product research tool developed by AMZScout. It generates reports on the most profitable and least competitive product ideas for Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, eBay, and other online marketplaces. A standard research report on one product covers successful products from a trending niche in your target category, an item that meets all your criteria (such as price range, revenue, competition), an explanation of why the product fits your business, popular keywords, and possible suppliers. You can also receive an extended research report, which compares two product ideas and provides extensive research on the best choice. The report also estimates the first-batch profits and return on investment (ROI) for your chosen product, factoring in costs and pay-per-click (PPC) ads so you can compute your budget. Sellerhook’s extended research report also demonstrates how price shifts impact sales, helping you set prices for maximum revenue potential. If you need to know more, you can indicate the additional information you want to add to the report and Sellerhook’s analysts will address your questions accordingly. Key Features Pricing Putler is a multichannel eCommerce analytics tool for eBay and other online marketplaces. It provides in-depth analytics and reports on products, sales, orders, customers, and visitors, with infinite segmentation, insights, forecasts, and more. Using Business Intelligence, Putler helps you discover the best products to offer and plan for the future with forecast and planning analytics. It also shows trends for major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Furthermore, it provides historical analytics, reports, and comparisons and extracts 200+ metrics and advanced eCommerce reports. You can also view reports on product variations, sales velocities, sales heatmaps, visitor traffic, devices used, channels preferred, and customer profiles. Putler also shows which products are frequently bought together, helping you create profitable item bundles. Key Features Pricing SaleHoo is a Market Research Lab for dropshipping, private labeling, and wholesaling on eBay and Amazon. It finds affordable wholesale product suppliers and keeps you posted on sales trends, competitor stats, and hot new niches. SaleHoo answers one of the most critical questions: How competitive is your product idea? Using simplified competition ratings, its research software determines how well other sellers know your product. You can also discover sales averages and trends for a specific product, allowing you to make a more accurate calculation of your potential profit. You can also compare product ideas by saving your favorites and viewing them side by side to determine the one with the best sales and profit potential. Once you’ve chosen a product and are ready to source, you can use SaleHoo’s Wholesale Directory to find trusted suppliers and start selling. Key Features Pricing1. Terapeak
2. ZIK Analytics
3. AutoDS
4. ShelfTrend
5. Sellerhook
6. Putler
7. SaleHoo
Pros and Cons of eBay Product Research Tools
Product research eliminates guesswork and helps analyze customer behavior and demand, ensuring that your product ideas will make a profit.
But like most eCommerce software, eBay product research tools have their fair share of pros and cons. It’s best to know them before investing in any particular tool.
Pros
- Streamlines Product Research Tasks
With an eBay product research tool, you don’t have to spend hours combing through eBay listings. All you need to do is enter a keyword or product name, and all the relevant information you need will be displayed on your screen. Some tools even give you supplier options to help source your products without additional research.
- Minimizes Risk
Although running a business always involves risks, product research can minimize them. You can turn any market situation to your advantage when you know which product to sell and when. If you want to expand your catalog, rebrand, or tap into a new market, product research will ensure that the benefits outweigh the risks, maximizing your chances of success.
- Increases Sales
eBay product research tools can tell you what your target audience needs and wants. You can also stay updated on trends and tailor your product ideas and marketing strategies based on these.
Some tools even show customer feedback, giving you opportunities to improve a trending product based on the weaknesses you identify. As a result, you can sell a product with greater value and draw more revenue.
Cons
- Expensive
An eBay product research tool can be expensive, especially if you’ve just begun your business. But you can find a tool that doesn’t break the bank by focusing on options with flexible pricing plans. Several tools have scalable features, so you only have to pay more when your business grows.
- Not Enough Features
With numerous eBay product research tools in the market, comparing options and eventually choosing one can take some time. However, rushing the process can result in selecting a tool that does not have the features your business needs. It’s crucial to take the time to research and compare different tools based on their features, pricing, and compatibility with your business model before making a final decision.
Now that we’ve explained the pros and cons of eBay product research tools, let’s discuss the features you should look for to ensure that you’ll end up with the tool best suited for your business.
Features to Look For in an eBay Product Research Tool
The features you should look for in an eBay product research tool depend on different factors, such as the size of your business, model, and budget.
As a new eBay seller, you may benefit most from simplified reports and analytics, competitor analysis, keyword research tools, listing builders, and a user-friendly dashboard. In that case, Terapeak could be the best eBay product research tool for you. It's free for Basic, Premium, Anchor, and Enterprise eBay Store subscribers. If you want to use Terapeak Sourcing Insights, it only costs $12 a month for Starter Store subscribers.
ZIK Analytics and ShelfTrend may also suit new eBay sellers and medium-sized businesses. ZIK Analytics has affordable paid plans for businesses of any size, while ShelfTrend has scalable plans for every type of eBay seller.
If you’re an eBay dropshipper, AutoDS and SaleHoo are specifically designed for your business model. Their features aid in supplier selection, product category search, store configurations, and trend monitoring, helping your dropshipping business take off successfully.
Lastly, advanced features such as competitor analysis, profit and ROI estimation, forecasting, and Business Intelligence reports may greatly benefit large businesses. Although these eBay product research tools can be expensive, their capabilities extend beyond product research and play a crucial role in business success.
Wrapping Up
Selling on eBay has significant advantages, such as low startup costs and access to a wide audience. However, you'll also be competing against billions of listings, so standing out can take considerable effort.
By using the right eBay product research tool, you can focus on profitable product ideas, tap into opportunity-rich niches, keep up with trends, and stay ahead of the competition. These tools can also grow with your business, providing scalable features and enabling you to achieve consistent and long-term success on eBay.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best eBay product research tools?
The best eBay product research tool depends on the size of your business, model, and budget. We’ve rounded up the tools that can accommodate each of these factors. These tools include Terapeak, ZIK Analytics, AutoDS, ShelfTrend, Sellerhook, Putler, and SaleHoo.
What is the best eBay product research tool for new sellers?
Terapeak, ZIK Analytics, and ShelfTrend offer beginner-friendly reports and dashboards. They also have free and budget-friendly plans.
Terapeak is eBay’s dedicated product research tool, so it can be easily integrated into your account. If you also need to research suppliers, Terapeak offers a complementary research tool called Terapeak Sourcing Insights which is free for Starter Store subscribers.
ZIK Analytics’ Pro plan only costs $14.99/month or $209.91/year. This tool monitors your competitors’ performance and marketing activities, helping you find gaps in their strategies and outperform them. It also helps optimize your listings to rank them high on search results.
ShelfTrend’s New Seller plan is free, and it provides real-time clear and concise data, key metrics, and analytical tools.
What is the best eBay product research tool for dropshippers?
AutoDS and SaleHoo are designed for eBay dropshippers. Their features aid in supplier and market research and determine how competitive a dropshipping product idea is.
Which eBay product research tool should mid to large-sized businesses choose?
Mid to large-sized businesses will benefit the most from sophisticated eBay product research tools like Sellerhook and Putler. These tools provide advanced reports using Business Intelligence, estimate profit and ROI, and forecast sales, among others.
