To choose what to sell online, don't pick what everyone else is selling. Pick something that solves a problem people already pay to fix, where the current options leave people unhappy, and where you can actually reach the buyers. Then test it small before you spend real money.
That sounds obvious, but most people do the opposite. There's a simple reason why.
Why is everyone online selling the same thing?
In 1929, the economist Harold Hotelling described something you've probably seen without noticing. It's usually explained with a beach.
Imagine a long beach with two ice cream sellers. The smart move would be to split it: one on the left half, one on the right, so nobody has to walk far. But each seller wants a few more customers than the other, so each one moves a little closer to the middle. Then a little more. In the end, they're both standing side by side in the center of the beach.
Now they're fighting over exactly the same customers, and the people at both ends of the beach have to walk all the way to the middle, or go without ice cream.
That's what happens online. Everyone watches the same videos about the same "winning products", so everyone ends up selling the same thing to the same people, competing on price. Meanwhile, the ends of the beach, the people with problems nobody is paying attention to, stay empty. That's where your opportunity is.
How do you find what people actually want to buy?
Don't start with a product. Start with a problem. The best places to find them:
- Bad reviews of products that already exist. Go to Amazon or any store, find popular products in an area you like, and read only the 1 to 3 star reviews. People tell you exactly what's missing: "it breaks after a month", "too complicated", "I wish it came with...". Every repeated complaint is a product idea.
- Complaints in online communities. Reddit and Facebook groups are full of people describing their problems in their own words. I explain how to find them in How to Find Clients on Reddit and Facebook.
- "Is there a..." searches. Search phrases like "is there an app for" or "is there a tool that" plus a topic. When people ask that, they're telling you something doesn't exist yet, or they can't find it.
Notice that all three take you to the ends of the beach: the people the popular sellers aren't serving well.
How do you know if enough people will buy it?
An empty part of the beach is only worth it if there are people there. Before you commit, answer two simple questions:
- Are people already paying for something similar? If nobody pays for anything close to it, be careful. A problem people complain about but never pay to fix isn't a business. Some competition is actually a good sign: it proves the money exists.
- How much does it sell, and how fast? Look at how many reviews similar products have, how recent they are, and how often new ones appear. A product with a great margin that sells once a month ties up your money. A product with a smaller margin that sells every day keeps it moving.
How do you test an idea before spending money?
Start small, the way you'd dip a toe in the water before jumping in:
- Make a simple page explaining what you'll sell and at what price, and show it to the people who have the problem. If some of them try to buy, you have a signal. I explain this in Why Do Good Products Fail?
- If it's a physical product, buy a small amount first, not a container. Sell it, see how fast it moves, and only then buy more.
- Decide in advance what result would make you continue and what would make you stop, so you don't keep going just because you already invested. More on that in When Should You Quit Your Business Idea?
The middle of the beach is crowded because it's the easy choice. The ends take a bit more looking, but that's exactly why there's room for you there.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I choose a product to sell online?
Pick something that solves a problem people already pay to fix, where current options leave them unhappy, and where you can reach the buyers. Avoid choosing just because a product is trending, since everyone else is selling it too.
How do I find product ideas that people want?
Read the 1 to 3 star reviews of popular products, look for complaints in Reddit and Facebook groups, and search for phrases like "is there an app for". Repeated complaints point to products people would buy.
How do I know if there's demand for a product?
Check whether people already pay for something similar, and how much and how fast those products sell. Then test with a simple page or a small first order before investing more.
What is Hotelling's law in simple terms?
It's an idea from economist Harold Hotelling: competitors tend to crowd into the same spot, like two ice cream sellers ending up side by side in the middle of a beach. That leaves the people at the edges underserved.