The product-check guide

The four signals

Every score is built from four things. None of them decides the verdict alone.

• Demand. Is search interest rising, flat, or falling over the last 90 days?
• Competition. How many advertisers and stores are already selling it?
• Margin. What is left after product cost, shipping, and a realistic ad cost?
• Risk. Trademark lookalikes, claims ad platforms reject, and items that break or come back.

Reading the verdict

A Go means the product is worth testing, not that it will sell. A No-Go means the odds are against you, and the reasons are listed so you can check them yourself. You always make the final call.

Pick a supplier on landed cost

Landed cost is product cost plus shipping. The cheapest listing is often not the cheapest landed cost, and a week of extra delivery time raises refunds. Compare all three: landed cost, delivery time, and rating.

Set your two lines before you spend

Decide these before the first ad runs, while you are calm.

• Kill line. The spend at which you stop if there is no sale. Example: no sale by $40.
• Scale line. The return at which you raise the budget. Example: ROAS above 2.0 for three days.

Use the profit margin calculator to find your break-even ad cost first.

New to all this? Start with what dropshipping is and how it works. More tools: ROAS calculator and ad test budget calculator.