Most failed FBA products were doomed before the first supplier email, because the seller browsed for ideas instead of filtering against criteria. This lesson has you write your criteria down first, so every candidate product gets judged the same way and emotion stays out of the decision.
Why Criteria Come Before Ideas
When you look at products without a filter, everything looks promising. A written checklist reverses the process: instead of asking whether a product could work, you ask whether it fails any rule you set. Rejection becomes fast and unemotional, which matters when dozens of candidates precede the one you fund.
The Physical and Practical Filters
Start with constraints that protect a beginner. Favour products that are small and light enough to keep storage and fulfilment fees manageable, durable enough to survive shipping without a wave of damage complaints, and simple enough that nothing breaks, leaks, or needs batteries. Avoid categories that commonly require approvals, certifications, or safety testing until you understand what compliance actually involves for them.
The Market Filters
Next add market rules: a price range high enough to leave margin after fees, demand that exists year-round rather than one seasonal spike, and competition you can realistically enter — not a first page owned entirely by major brands with thousands of reviews. You will refine the exact thresholds later; what matters now is that each rule is explicit and written down.
Action Step
Write your personal product criteria sheet with at least eight rules covering size, weight, durability, complexity, compliance risk, price range, seasonality, and competition. Keep it to one page and treat it as the gate every product idea must pass before you research it further.
Educational content only — not business, financial, or legal advice, and no income outcome is promised or implied. Marketplaces change their fees and policies; verify current rules on the platform itself before acting.