/Market Analysis & Strategy
Discussion
Everyone says "find a winning product" but how do you actually know if a product will work before spending $500 testing it?
Posted by •10/8/2025
I'm seeing this advice everywhere - test products until you find a winner. But testing is EXPENSIVE. I've already spent $600 testing 2 products that went nowhere and I'm running out of budget to keep testing blindly.
What I don't understand is how people "validate" products before running ads. Like what are you actually looking for? I see people using:
- Facebook Ad Library (but every product has ads running, doesn't mean they're profitable)
- AliExpress order counts (but how do you know those are dropshippers vs. regular buyers?)
- "Wow factor" (super subjective)
I feel like I'm just guessing and hoping. There has to be a better way to evaluate products before dropping $300-500 testing each one.
For example, I'm looking at these 3 products right now:
1. Car cleaning gel (that putty stuff for vents/keyboards)
2. Portable blender for smoothies
3. Neck and shoulder massager
They all have ads running, decent engagement, solve a problem... but so did my last 2 failed products. How do I actually evaluate if these are worth testing or if I'm just going to burn another $600?
What's your actual process for product validation before you spend money on ads?
What I don't understand is how people "validate" products before running ads. Like what are you actually looking for? I see people using:
- Facebook Ad Library (but every product has ads running, doesn't mean they're profitable)
- AliExpress order counts (but how do you know those are dropshippers vs. regular buyers?)
- "Wow factor" (super subjective)
I feel like I'm just guessing and hoping. There has to be a better way to evaluate products before dropping $300-500 testing each one.
For example, I'm looking at these 3 products right now:
1. Car cleaning gel (that putty stuff for vents/keyboards)
2. Portable blender for smoothies
3. Neck and shoulder massager
They all have ads running, decent engagement, solve a problem... but so did my last 2 failed products. How do I actually evaluate if these are worth testing or if I'm just going to burn another $600?
What's your actual process for product validation before you spend money on ads?
3 Replies
•10/9/2025
Damn... I never thought about it like that. I've been so focused on finding the magic product that I haven't even checked my store's conversion rate. Just looked in Shopify analytics and it's 0.4%.
So you're saying even if I found a "winning product" I'd still probably fail with a 0.4% conversion rate? That's eye opening. Maybe I need to fix my store foundation first before testing more products.
So you're saying even if I found a "winning product" I'd still probably fail with a 0.4% conversion rate? That's eye opening. Maybe I need to fix my store foundation first before testing more products.
•10/8/2025
Real talk: I wasted $2000 testing 6 products before I realized my store was the problem, not the products. My conversion rate was 0.3% across ALL products.
Fixed my store (better images, clearer CTAs, trust badges, faster checkout), tested the SAME product again... 2.1% conversion rate. Same ads, same audience, same product. Just a better store.
Stop obsessing over finding the "perfect product" and build a store that can actually convert traffic. The product research rabbit hole is a distraction from the real work.
Fixed my store (better images, clearer CTAs, trust badges, faster checkout), tested the SAME product again... 2.1% conversion rate. Same ads, same audience, same product. Just a better store.
Stop obsessing over finding the "perfect product" and build a store that can actually convert traffic. The product research rabbit hole is a distraction from the real work.
•10/8/2025
This is actually the wrong question to be asking, and that's why you're struggling. Here's the truth nobody wants to hear:
**The product matters way less than your ability to convert traffic.**
I've seen people make money with "saturated" products like phone cases and fail with "unique" products that nobody else is selling. The difference? Their store converted at 2-3% while the failing stores converted at 0.5%.
Think about it: If you're spending $500 to test a product and getting 500 visitors, that's $1 per click (pretty normal).
- At 0.5% conversion = 2-3 sales
- At 2.5% conversion = 12-13 sales
Same product, same traffic, 5X difference in results. **The conversion rate IS the business.**
Here's what you should actually be testing:
1. **Margin potential** - Can you sell it for 3X+ cost and still be competitive? If not, skip it. You need room for ads.
2. **Immediate visual appeal** - Can you demonstrate the benefit in 3 seconds of video? If it requires explanation, it's harder to sell cold traffic.
3. **Impulse buy price point** - $20-50 sweet spot. Too cheap = looks scammy. Too expensive = needs more trust.
4. **Built-in urgency/scarcity angle** - Can you naturally create FOMO? "Limited stock", "seasonal", "trending", etc.
But here's the thing - ALL three of your products meet these criteria. Car cleaning gel, portable blender, neck massager... these can all work IF your store is optimized for conversion.
Before you test another product, answer this: What's your current store's conversion rate? If you don't know, you're flying blind. If it's under 1.5%, product selection isn't your problem - your store is.
**The product matters way less than your ability to convert traffic.**
I've seen people make money with "saturated" products like phone cases and fail with "unique" products that nobody else is selling. The difference? Their store converted at 2-3% while the failing stores converted at 0.5%.
Think about it: If you're spending $500 to test a product and getting 500 visitors, that's $1 per click (pretty normal).
- At 0.5% conversion = 2-3 sales
- At 2.5% conversion = 12-13 sales
Same product, same traffic, 5X difference in results. **The conversion rate IS the business.**
Here's what you should actually be testing:
1. **Margin potential** - Can you sell it for 3X+ cost and still be competitive? If not, skip it. You need room for ads.
2. **Immediate visual appeal** - Can you demonstrate the benefit in 3 seconds of video? If it requires explanation, it's harder to sell cold traffic.
3. **Impulse buy price point** - $20-50 sweet spot. Too cheap = looks scammy. Too expensive = needs more trust.
4. **Built-in urgency/scarcity angle** - Can you naturally create FOMO? "Limited stock", "seasonal", "trending", etc.
But here's the thing - ALL three of your products meet these criteria. Car cleaning gel, portable blender, neck massager... these can all work IF your store is optimized for conversion.
Before you test another product, answer this: What's your current store's conversion rate? If you don't know, you're flying blind. If it's under 1.5%, product selection isn't your problem - your store is.